Will Power takes pole at Laguna Seca and breaks Mario Andretti's record

By being the only contender for the crown to advance into Fast Six, the final phase of qualifying at Laguna Seca (California), the championship leader IndyCar Will Power (Team Penske) carried out an optimal operation with a view to the title this Saturday, September 10.

Even better, the Australian, champion in 2014 and winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2018, pocketed an additional point, which is no small feat. For the symbolism, it is also a great day: Will Power beats the record previously held by the legend Mario Andretti with a 68th pole position in the North American discipline. Mario Andretti was also present in the pit lane to congratulate his successor.

The greatest qualifiers of all time in #INDYCAR.@12WillPower: 68 poles@Marioandretti: 67 pic.twitter.com/E37OQdwckz

— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) September 10, 2022

The session was disastrous for the two men tied for second in the championship, Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) and Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing). The American and the New Zealander, only 20 points behind Will Power, were eliminated in the first part of qualifying.

Josef Newgarden made a mistake while negotiating the most legendary corner of the Californian track, the Corkscrew. Engine stalled, the double champion caused the red flag to come out.

Championship implications.@JosefNewgarden will not advance to the next round of qualifying after this spin.#INDYCAR // @WeatherTechRcwy pic.twitter.com/odaVz7qemf

- NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) September 10, 2022

In IndyCar, the driver responsible for a neutralization is automatically sent to the back of the grid; this will be the case for the most successful driver in 2022 (five successes), penalized in 25th and penultimate place. “It’s not over for the championship, but it’s far from ideal. It’s so infuriating.”, he admitted.

Scott Dixon, for his part, did not make any mistakes, but a bad combination of tires not warm enough and a lack of time to record a new time following the red flag prevented him from progressing to the rest of the tests. . The record holder for titles (6) does not lose hope for Sunday by starting 13th.

ALSO READ > Five drivers for a title at Laguna Seca: all possible scenarios

“Everything remains to play for tomorrow, the race will undoubtedly be different from what we are used to here due to the lack of grip offered by the asphalt. There will probably be four pit stops, as it will be impossible to keep the tires on for the length of a normal stint. »

The last two outsiders for the coronation, Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske) and Marcus Ericsson (Chip Ganassi Racing), will start 8th and 10th respectively.

With the French, Romain Grosjean (Andretti) achieved one of his best performances in 2022 with the fourth time while simon pagenaud (Meyer Shank Racing) will look to enter the top 10. Note the second time achieved by English rookie Callum Ilott (Juncos Hollinger Racing).

The Monterey Grand Prix will begin at 21:30 p.m. French time on Sunday September 11 and can be followed live in Spaces audio on our Twitter page @autohebdo.