Front-Row Start for Palou, Honda at the GMR Grand Prix
Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayDefending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou led the way for Honda today in qualifying for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and will start on the front row, second in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
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・Championship points leader Alex Palou will start second in Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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・Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing places all three entries in the top 12
Defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou led the way for Honda today in qualifying for Saturday’s GMR Grand Prix on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and will start on the front row, second in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Other Honda drivers to advance out of first round “knockout” qualifying today on the 2.439-mile Indy road course include Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammates Christian Lundegaard and Jack Harvey, who will start eighth and ninth, respectively; and Romain Grosjean, who qualified his Andretti Autosport Honda in 10th. Graham Rahal also advanced to the second qualifying round, and will start his RLL Honda from 12th in Saturday’s 85-lap race.
Fast Facts
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・The “Month of May” begins this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the GMR Grand Prix. Held on the IMS infield road course, Saturday’s 85-lap race will kick off three weeks of on-track activities leading up to the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 29.
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・On the strength of three podium finishes in four races this season, defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion Alex Palou comes to the GMR Grand Prix with a three-point lead in the 2022 title chase.
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・Honda’s most recent win at the GMR Grand Prix came in 2020. Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal scored a 1-2 finish for Honda, with Colton Herta finishing fourth. Honda drivers went on to win the Indianapolis 500 in both 2020 (Takuma Sato, his second ‘500’ victory) and 2021 (Helio Castroneves, for his record-tying fourth win at the Brickyard).
Yeah, it was a good day for us. The #10 Honda was really fast all day, in both practice sessions. We tried to improve the car a bit more for qualifying and we did. We found some stuff that I was happy about, and we got through to the Fast Six [final qualifying round] and that’s always our main target – to start up front. So, making the Fast Six and starting on the front row, that’s a good day for us.
Yeah, it was a good day for us. The #10 Honda was really fast all day, in both practice sessions. We tried to improve the car a bit more for qualifying and we did. We found some stuff that I was happy about, and we got through to the Fast Six [final qualifying round] and that’s always our main target – to start up front. So, making the Fast Six and starting on the front row, that’s a good day for us.
