Helio Castroneves made his place in history as a quadruple winner of the four-time Indianapolis 500, as the 46-year-old beat Alex Palou – at 24, almost half his age – in a thrilling duel at the checkered flag.
Castroneves, who also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, won the 500m in 2009 a dozen years ago, but has now turned Indy’s special trio into a quartet by joining AJ Foyt, Al Unser Sr and Rick Mears on four wins – exactly 20 years after his debut at the Great American Race.
Veterinarian beats new generation
The race had been billed this year as a junk between the veterans and the new generation, and it turned out as the 500 entered its finals. Driving a Honda-powered entry for Meyer Shank Racing, Castroneves had been a contender all month and qualified in the middle of the third row – then when he counted his experience made the difference as he and Palou argued. the lead over the last 24 laps. after the last series of pit stops.
The Brazilian and the Spaniard seemingly forgot that overtaking was supposed to be difficult in these aerodynamic times, as they happened and saw each other again as the laps went by. With two to go, Palou once again weaved on Turn 1’s drag in his attempts to break up the draft, but Castroneves’ black-and-pink # 06 Dallara swept the outside to claim a lead he wouldn’t lose this time around. – despite the pair catching a herd of backmarkers.
‘Spider-man’ climbs again
The celebrations following his victory in the 105th Indy 500 will be some of the most memorable in racing history. Known throughout his career for his iconic gesture of climbing debris fences after a win, “ Spider-man ” again climbed to scream at the roaring masses who had returned to Indy after missing the delayed 2020 race by the pandemic. How perfect it was for a big fan favorite to win again this year when their home crowd was back to share the moment.
“I love Indianapolis!” shouted the delighted winner when the interviewer finally managed to get a word out. “From the start I was so comfortable and happy, I knew the car was good, that I would be in the fight and I should stick my elbows out. I did two races this year and won them both! It was good to teach the new guys a lesson.
Daly’s Lucky Escape
On a day when few accidents interrupted the action, a major incident almost turned into something horrible. It started when Graham Rahal lost his left rear wheel which had not been fully tightened at a pit stop. When the American’s car hit the wall, the wheel bounced off the track and was picked up by Conor Daly’s Ed Carpenter Racing. The son of ex-Formula One Tyrrell driver Derek Daly led 40 laps, more than anyone on Sunday, to drop to 13th place at the flag. But after that breakout, his disappointing result surely didn’t matter. The Firestone sounded his Dallara’s nose, leaving incredibly minor damage under the circumstances – but he could have so easily landed on his head. At times like this, it’s hard to argue against IndyCar’s enveloping Aeroscreen which was introduced last year to protect drivers at such times. The screen was not fully tested on this occasion, but Daly must have been so grateful for having experienced this terrifying moment while watching it.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-31 07:08:24
