Rasmussen wants to bounce back after the disappointment in Phoenix: "Race is 95% defeats"

While theIndyCar As he prepares to contest his first race this Sunday at Arlington (start at 18:07 PM French time), Christian Rasmussen will line up at the start with the desire to redeem himself after a masterful race in Phoenix that ended badly. The Danish rider, winner of last year's Milwaukee round, dominated last Saturday's race, but contact at the end of the race with Will Power (Andretti Global) relegated him to the back of the pack.

Immensely disappointed by his 14th place finish, Rasmussen is now approaching the race result with more philosophy, and is looking ahead to Arlington, a circuit that nobody knows, and which could therefore produce some surprises in the standings.

“It hurts, especially when you have such a competitive car throughout the race. But at the end of the day, that’s racing. It’s 95% losses, and we live for the remaining 5%. We’ve been the car to beat in two of the last three oval races. There’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue. We’ll take the positives, leave the negatives, and we’ll see what we can do at Arlington.”

The performance of the No. 21 Dallara-Chevrolet also had a reassuring effect on Christian Rasmussen. After running well ahead of the rest of the field at Milwaukee, another short oval, last year, the Dane didn't know before the start of the Phoenix race if this good form would continue. He quickly got his answer.

“I’m very happy that we started the year, especially on ovals, so well, fighting for the win right from our first oval. This confirms to me that we’re continuing the momentum from last year. I’m going to continue my development. I’m not done improving. I think we have an exciting year ahead of us, where I’ll continue to progress and, hopefully, win more races.”

"People can think what they want."

Once again criticized by some of his peers for overly aggressive maneuvers, the Copenhagen native doesn't necessarily see it as a bad thing. Indeed, some drivers may now be taking fewer risks around car number 21, which only makes overtaking maneuvers easier for Christian Rasmussen.

“It doesn’t change anything. In the end, people can think what they want, I’m not going to change that. What we’re doing works, especially on ovals, so we’re going to continue in this direction. I noticed this weekend that some overtaking maneuvers were easier. If people move aside because of what they think I’m going to do, all the better, it makes my job easier.”