IndyCar – Pagenaud retains progress on short oval

Last Saturday in Iowa, simon pagenaud entered a little more into the history of Team Penske, by offering to the training of Roger Penske a 500th pole position. If in 2015, the Frenchman had not experienced success on the ovals (despite a remarkable performance at the Indianapolis 500), this season sees the former resident of Peugeot Sport en Endurance, shine both on road/urban tracks and the famous American ovals, including a second place in Phoenix (Arizona) at the start of the championship.

Fourth last Sunday in Iowa, the pilot of the car n°22 again gleaned valuable points in the pursuit of the title, but also retained the overall level of performance displayed on this type of track. “We had a very good car at the start and unfortunately the wear on the front tires accelerated in the second stint. We were forced to make do with what we had, comments the Frenchman.

We just didn't have enough pace at the end to fight for the win. Fourth is a good result. I'm very happy with second place in Phoenix and this position here. Our program on short ovals has improved massively compared to last year. »

If his teammate Will Power and the reigning champion Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing – Chevrolet) took points back from the French driver, now followed in the standings by today's winner Josef Newgarden (Ed Carpenter Racing – Chevrolet), Pagenaud maintains a comfortable lead at the top of the championship, while the Toronto urban event looms, and especially the Mid-Ohio road course, where the Penske driver had won a third place l last year.

Find the report on the Iowa Corn 300, in issue 2071 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version, and on newsstands tomorrow.