2023-05-29 14:16:08
After 150 laps without incident (out of 200), the Indianapolis 500 race was disrupted by a very large number of collisions and accidents. It was the American Josef Newgarden (Penske) who won the 107th edition of the oldest car race in the world still organized. The first victory for an American since 2016.
He took advantage of two red flags in the final laps to swallow the Swede and defending champion Marcus Éricsson (Chip Ganassi). The first, and most spectacular, of these was caused by a collision between Kyle Kirkwood (AJ Foyt Enterprises) and Felix Rosenqvist (McLaren) 16 laps from the end. Kirkwood saw his single-seater hit the wall hard and flip over as his left rear tire flew over the safety fence. Miraculously he did not touch the public, passing between two stands.
Two laps later, it was the Mexican Pato O’Ward who had to retire after a crash caused by a light touch from Marcus Éricsson. The McLaren driver spun and ended up in the wall.
On the French side, Romain Grosjean (Andretti) also had to give up following a shock against the limits of the track. He had already snagged Colton Herta in the pits. The other tricolor, Simon Pagenaud (Meyer Shank), winner in 2019, did not cross the finish line either. He spun, after being jostled at the back by New Zealander Scott McLaughlin (Penske).
#miles #Indianapolis #wheel #flew #stands #tragedy #narrowly #avoided