IndyCar – Dixon: “I knew I still had a chance”

The champion of the 2015 seasonIndyCar remained unknown until the last lap of the Sonoma GP (California). If Scott Dixon did his best to take the victory and get the bonus points for the race, its success depended on the result of Juan Pablo Montoya (Team Penske) who was the only leader of the season before the final. But the winner of the Indianapolis 500 fell short of a happy place, the Colombian needing a top five to take the advantage over the New Zealander who only made the difference in the number of victories.

« I knew I still had a chance and it was exactly what I was hoping for.", declared the four-time champion who had seen Juan Pablo Montoya clash with his teammate Will Power, condemning him to a comeback race. “I've had lots of great races this season but this was the best. My teammates were incredible, they helped me all year and we won this title together. I knew that the car was fast. We were able to manage our fuel consumption correctly, that's what made the difference. »

Juan Pablo Montoya was obviously the big loser of this event. The Penske driver had a 34-point lead over his closest opponent Graham Rahal (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and was assured of the title by finishing in the top three at Sonoma. “I had a good car. I had a good start and everything was going as planned. There was this collision... I did everything possible to get back up but it wasn't enough. It’s disappointing but that’s what happens when you have a race with double points.”, regretted the former pilot of F1.

Video summary of the Sonoma GP

Discover the report of the Sonoma GP in issue 2027 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.