Rosenqvist and Palou on pole in both races at Thermal

Who says special weekend, says special format! For this non-championship event, which will offer $500 to the winner this Sunday, two qualifying races will take place. L'IndyCar placed drivers in two groups for qualifying on Saturday, with the results of each group determining the grids for qualifying races 1 and 2.

The first group had a very quiet session despite a very strong wind, which swept sand onto the track. Felix Rosenqvist took pole position, ahead of Scott McLaughlin, one of the strong men of the weekend. Rinus VeeKay and Christian Lundgaard will share the second row, ahead of Josef Newgarden and Will Power.

Seventh on the grid, Romain Grosjean made a mistake in his fast lap, but he remains in the race to qualify for the final: « We knew qualifying was going to be a challenge. The conditions were very difficult. I made a small mistake in my turn which cost us dearly. But we are in the good field, so the car has a lot of potential. »

Ericsson at fault

In the second group, the reigning champion Alex Palou won pole, after a poker game! The Spaniard returned to the track after a period under red flag, following an exit from Marcus Ericsson. The wind picked up at the same time, but that didn't stop the Ganassi driver from moving to the top of the hierarchy.

His teammate Marcus Armstrong will accompany him on the front row, ahead of Graham Rahal and Linus Lundqvist. Ericsson will have a lot to do in the race this Sunday, since he will start from last position. The Swede lost control on the bumps of turn 8, which have caused many problems for the drivers since the start of the weekend.

The No. 28 goes around!

Big trouble for @Ericsson_Marcus in Group 2, spinning into the barrier.#INDYCAR // #ThermalChallenge pic.twitter.com/ygIcX4jErw

- NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 24, 2024

The two qualifying rounds will take place from 17:15 p.m. this Sunday evening. Each race will last 10 laps, and the top 6 will qualify for the final heat, of 20 laps. It will be divided into two segments of ten laps. Drivers will only be able to use one set of tires. Given the deterioration of the tires since the start of testing, strategy will play a key role in the quest for $500!

Race 1 – The grid

Race 2 – The grid