Click it and Unblock the Notifications
Alex Palou Wins First Hybrid INDYCAR Pole With Honda At Mid-Ohio
Alex Palou secured his second consecutive pole position of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, marking his sixth career pole. His impressive lap time of 1:05.3511 was just 0.0024 seconds faster than the runner-up, ensuring his pole position for the first-ever hybrid race in the series.
Honda drivers dominated the qualifying session at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, claiming five of the top six starting positions. David Malukas from Meyer Shank Racing qualified third in only his second race back after a wrist injury. Last year's pole sitter, Colton Herta, will start fourth, while Marcus Ericsson from Andretti Global secured the sixth spot.
This weekend's event marks the beginning of the hybrid era in NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition. The cars are equipped with 2.2-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engines and a hybrid Energy Recovery System (ERS). Both Honda and Chevrolet supply these engines, which include an electric Motor Generator Unit (MGU) and an Energy Storage System (ESS) developed by Honda Racing Corporation USA.
Pierre Descamps, Technical Director at Honda Racing Corporation USA, praised Palou's performance: "I think this pole position is a great reward for all the hard work that everyone has put into this hybrid program—at the factory, at the track, the suppliers." He added that Palou's smart and calm driving during qualifying was crucial to securing this pole position.
Christian Lundgaard and Linus Lundqvist also advanced to the second round of knockout qualifying for Honda, finishing 10th and 11th respectively. Meanwhile, Marcus Armstrong from Chip Ganassi Racing qualified fifth but faces a grid penalty for Sunday's race.
David Malukas expressed his satisfaction with his performance: "Talk about a turn-around! This year has been an emotional roller coaster and honestly, just looking back at everything that's happened I feel like I'm back at my maximum potential." He credited extensive testing and support from Josh Pitts at HRC for his strong showing.
Historical Success
Honda drivers have historically performed well at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, winning 12 out of 18 races since 2007 under the Honda Indy 200 banner. Last year saw Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Alex Palou and Scott Dixon finish first and second respectively at Mid-Ohio.
Television coverage of Sunday's race begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Full race coverage will also be available on NBC Peacock, INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
Quotes:
Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda), pole qualifier: "It's busy [on track] with the hybrid, but I think it was busy for everybody. Qualifying was super close, even Q1 and the Fast 12 was super tight. But I knew we had a really fast car. The car, the team and everyone was great today. Kudos to HRC for placing five cars in the Fast Six; they did an amazing job. It was an awesome result for them."
David Malukas (#66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda), starting third: "We haven't done much racing but have done a lot of testing and sim work. Also Josh [Pitts] from HRC helped a lot. I knew our car was there; the setup was there so now we had to put it together."
The new hybrid system requires drivers to be strategic during their laps to maximise its benefits. This aspect added another layer of complexity to qualifying sessions but also made victories more rewarding due to tight competition.
The following table summarises Honda's qualifying results:
*Note: Marcus Armstrong faces a grid penalty for Sunday's race.
The anticipation is high as fans look forward to witnessing how these new hybrid systems will impact race strategies and outcomes in this new era of NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing.
Continue with Google