The Indycar Championship took a break this weekend but the drivers still raced during the $1 Million Dollar Challenge at the Thermal Club circuit, near Palm Springs, California. 12-minute qualifications on Saturday, then two qualifying races and the final on Sunday, were therefore organized.
Romain Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger Racing), present in the first “semi-final”, was eliminated at the first turn, in a collision caused by Scott Dixon. Which didn’t exactly delight the Frenchman: “I was hit while braking, and the car spun. Who will pay for this damage? We come here, there are no points at stake, we don’t do anything wrong and the car is destroyed. I didn’t sign for IndyCar for that. »
During the final, consisting of two ten laps with a ten-minute break in the middle, for which 12 drivers were qualified, Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing) generally dominated the proceedings, winning ahead of Scott McLaughlin and Felix Rosenqvist. It was therefore he who won the $500,000 check promised to the winner. The real Championship will resume on April 21 in Long Beach.
