(MENAFN- Mid-East.Info)
- Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson returns to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship lead with second-place finish at Road America
- Alexander Rossi scores second successive podium with third-place finish
- Honda drivers claim four of the top-five finishing positions with Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta
Dubai, UAE: Last month's Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson led the way for Honda today in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Sonsio Grand Prix of Road America, with a second-place finish vaulting him back into the championship points lead after eight of 17 races.
Starting fourth, Ericsson ran in the lead group throughout the first two stints of the 55-lap, 220- mile race. When a late-race caution flag led to a restart with just three laps remaining, second- running Alexander Rossi made a lunge for the lead, but had to abort the attempt and Ericsson used the opportunity to grab second, finishing three seconds behind winner Josef Newgarden. With today's result, Ericsson has a 27-point lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers' Championship over Will Power, who finished 19th.
Rossi, the pole qualifier on Saturday, recovered to finish third, with his Honda-powered Andretti Autosport teammates Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Also of note, Graham Rahal rebounded from a disappointing 22nd in qualifying to finish eighth today, with his Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammate Christian Lundegaard leading the rookie contingent with an 11th-place finish.
Sonsio Grand Prix at Road America Honda Results
Ranking | Driver | Team |
2 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
3 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport Honda |
4 | Romain Grosjean | Andretti Autosport Honda |
5 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport Honda |
8 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
11 | Christian Lundegaard-R | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
12 | Simon Pagenaud | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
13 | Jack Harvey | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
15 | Takuma Sato | Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda |
16 | David Malukas-R | Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda |
18 | Devlin DeFrancesco-R | Andretti Autosport Honda |
22 | Helio Castroneves | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
24 | Jimmie Johnson | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
27 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact] |
Quotes
Marcus Ericsson (#8 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished second, moves into the Drivers' Championship points lead after 8 of 17 races:“It was a really good race, and we were strong throughout the weekend. Honda, HPD, and everyone on the #8 Chip Ganassi Racing team did an awesome job this weekend, they gave me a really good race car today. Finishing second is great for the championship. I am sorry about the [early race] contact with Alex [Palou]. From my point of view, we were side-by-side and it was a nice racing move. But you never want to have contact with a teammate, and I'm super sorry Alex was damaged there.”
Alexander Rossi (#27 Andretti Autosport Honda) pole qualifier, finished third:“We went for the lead on that last restart, and it kind of cost us [dropping from second to third], but ultimately a good day for us. It took us until the last stint to get the balance right in the car, and then we could make up ground on Josef [Newgarden]. It's always disappointing when you start on pole, but don't win the race, but it's been a good couple of races for us [with podium finishes at both Detroit and Road Amerca]. We'll take to positives from that and move on to Mid-Ohio.”
Rebecca Johnson (Senior Manager, Director of Production, Honda Performance Development) on today's Honda podium finishes at Road America:“While we can't be fully satisfied with missing out on the race win, it was good to seen Marcus [Ericsson] move back to the championship points lead with a strong second-place finish and Andretti Autosport had their best result – across the board – today with [Alexander] Rossi, Romain [Grosjean] and Colton [Herta] all scoring top-five finishes.
The Rahal Letterman Lanigan organization today demonstrated they are improving, with Graham [Rahal] coming from 22nd on the grid to finish eighth; and Christian Lundegaard again leading the rookie field with an 11th-place result. After five consecutive weekends at Indianapolis, Detroit and now here in Wisconsin, it will be nice for the HPD race team to get a brief, but well-deserved break, before resuming the season at our“home” circuit, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on the Independence Day weekend.”
Fast Fact
Honda Indy car drivers have scored eight victories at Road America, most recently in last year's NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, won by eventual series champion Alex Palou in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is back racing at the Midwestern“home circuit” for American Honda, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, for the Honda Indy 200 presented by the all-new 2023 Civic Type R, on July 1-3.
Honda Racing social media content and video links from Road America can be found on Instagram ( Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook ( Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel ( About Trading Enterprises Honda
Trading Enterprises Honda, part of Al-Futtaim Automotive, is the sole UAE distributor for Honda vehicles, motorcycles, marine engines, power products, and parts. Recognised as one of the largest independent Honda distribution companies in the world, Trading Enterprises Honda is supported by an expansive network of modern showrooms, after-sales facilities, and retail Parts counters located across the UAE.
About Al-Futtaim Automotive
Al-Futtaim Automotive, one of the main five operating divisions within the UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group of companies, is a conglomerate of motoring-related businesses, franchising some of the world's most-recognised automotive brands and services.
Operating in 10 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa and empowered by around 9,000 associates, the UAE-headquartered Group's services span the distribution of new and used vehicles, manufacturing, leasing, and aftersales.
Ranging from passenger cars to SUVs, commercial vehicles, industrial and construction equipment as well as motorbikes and quads, Al-Futtaim Automotive Group offers an integrative customer-centric experience for motorists, fleet operators, and contractors alike, and strives to become the leader in tailor-made mobility solutions
About Al-Futtaim Group
Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail, and health; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and, Africa, we partner with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands.
Al-Futtaim's entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organisation to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.
By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration, integrity; Al-Futtaim continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day. For more information visit: >
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