ALMS – Simon Pagenaud had a blast at Road America

For his return to Endurance and in ALMS, simon pagenaud took a progressive approach on the Road America circuit. Replacing Ryan Briscoe, injured in his wrist, at Level 5 Motorsports, the Frenchman gained momentum throughout the weekend, first of all to get his bearings aboard an HPD ARX-03b that he knows well, then to give free rein to his talent, in the race, in order to achieve victory in LM P2. His 10th category success in this discipline.

“The mission entrusted to me was clear: to bring back victory at all costs in order to allow Scott Tucker, my teammate for the weekend (and boss of the stable, Editor’s note), to score the maximum number of points for their championship, explains the Schmidt resident Hamilton HP Motorsports IndyCar Series. It was Scott who started the race and carried out the first stint in the wet, achieving a magnificent performance by keeping the 'rain' tires on a track which was drying out. After an hour, I took my turn at the wheel with the instructions to attack as much as possible for 1 hour 45 minutes until the checkered flag. Our strategy being based on two stops, I had to get as close as possible to the leaders to regain the lead during their third and final pit-stop. »

A bet that will prove to be a winner. “After two full stints, I definitely regained control of the race when the two leading cars made their final stop. I am very happy to have contributed to this victory with Scott Tucker and Team Level 5.” Admitting that the transition between his car in Indycar and the prototype was not “obvious”, the French pilot however did not hide his desire to repeat the experience as quickly as possible. “I hope to have the chance and time to participate in more endurance races by the end of the year. »