IndyCar – Will Pagenaud keep the lead over Barber?

With his victory at the Grand Prix of Long Beach (California), simon pagenaud leads the Championship with 14 points ahead of Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing). IF Poitevin has never won at the Barber Motorsports Park which hosted the six editions of the Alabama GP, Team Penske was the most victorious there with three successes from 2010 to 2012 won by Helio Castroneves and Will Power.

“We had some great success at Barber with the No. 12, leading quite a few laps.”, recalls the double winner of the event Will Power. “We haven’t won here since 2012 and I want to change that. I was not particularly satisfied with my result in Long Beach (7th). It’s been an up and down start to the season and a good weekend at Barber could put us back on track before the very important month of May. »

“It’s been a few years since we got the results we wanted at Barber.”, recognizes the winner of the first edition, fourth in the Championship. “We won pole last year, but the race didn’t go the way we wanted (15th). We got three poles and a win here and we need to repeat that type of performance. I feel like we missed some opportunities this season. I'm not at all happy with my start to the season and I need to get better results. »

Simon Pagenaud can hope for a second victory in a row which would allow him to secure his position as leader of the Championship. “This first victory with Team Penske was fantastic and I will try to stay in this positive spiral at Barber where I have had good performances in the past”, declares the Frenchman who finished ninth in the last edition. “It’s been an incredible start to the season and it’s fantastic to be top of the table even though the season is still long. »

Scott Dixon will be able to use his experience to prevent Simon Pagenaud from achieving his objectives, he who has always finished on the podium at the Alabama Grand Prix. “Barber is a demanding circuit, very fast with high grip. The turns are both fast and blind, but some passages are narrow. We got good results here and we plan to do the same this weekend.”, warns the reigning champion.

The Alabama Grand Prix will be followed live this Sunday April 24 from 21:30 p.m. on Canal+ Sport.