Mixed fortunes in qualifying sessions and races
Lexington, September 12/13 – Coming back to road circuits after a spell on ovals, turned into disappointment for Monaco Increase Management driver Alex Palou in the NTT Indycar series. The first of the two planned races on the Mid-Ohio street track, on Saturday Sept 12th, saw Alex take P12 after a troubled qualifying session. Having been steadily fast in practice and early in the timed laps session, the 23-year old Spaniard suffered an off-track that cost him dearly, damaging the underwing of his Dale Coyne Racing With Team Goh Honda-powered Dallara and falling back to 20th on the grid.
In the race, though, he was able to charge through the field, delaying his pit-stops and eventually gaining more positions than any other driver that day. Then, Sunday looked like the reverse image of the previous day as Palou managed P4 in qualifying and was able to keep this position at the start, before Santino Ferrucci, rejoining the track after sliding off into the grass, ran into his #55 car putting an end to his race. In the proceedings, Alex also suffered a sprained thumb.
“That’s not how I wanted to end my day”, said Palou. “We were happy to be starting from fourth and to be starting at the front of the field. I had a good start but then I saw a car coming towards me. I moved to the right a bit to try and avoid it, but I couldn’t go very far because Felix Rosenqvist was next to me and we ended up both getting hit and taken out. It just wasn’t our weekend at Mid-Ohio”.
The next round of the NTT Indycar series will take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Harvest Grand Prix doubleheader, October 2 and 3. And Alex is definitely looking forward to it!