From Surfer Paradise, Australia, to The Thermal Club, California, 16 years passed. The data is an observation of the last two exhibition races that he retraced IndyCaralthough the American event had a million-dollar prize: the cast included $1,756,000. A presentation that had him Agustín Canapino in the exclusive program of 12 drivers who competed for the highest reward: 500 thousand dollars was won by the winner, the second highest figure behind the traditional Indianapolis 500. Fifth in the qualifying series, the definitive act was discovered by 10thninth at halftime, in a column that had the Spaniard as its head and exclusive protagonist Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing). The defending champion celebrated the victory and obtaining the check.
Be part of the race All Star In his second season in IndyCar it was a challenge for Canapino. A solid qualifying test allowed him to take eighth place, an expectant position to retrace the 10 laps of the task – or 20 minutes of racing – that offered six places for the final battle. AND A chaotic launch was the key to grabbing sixth place at the start and advancing a new box with the penalty – pass and continue down pit road – falling on the experienced Scott Dixon. (Chip Ganassi Racing). “The situation was generated by Herta’s movement: Gorsjean ran to the left and I tried to look for a space that there was not there,” admitted Dixon, six-time champion
The New Zealander applied the brakes when the green flag was shown, out of pure speed, and in the desire to control Colton Herta (Andretti) – he moved in advance and through the external sector – he ran over Romain Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger Racing). The Swiss-French, the Argentine’s teammate, spun after Dixon’s impact and in the crazy race he dragged the Dutchman Rinus Veekay (Ed Carpenter Racing). A carom that broke the development of the series, where Canapino dedicated himself to traveling with some signs of good speed and in other sections he regulated his walking with the aim of not wearing out the car.because the technical adjustments for the final competition the singular regulations indicated were minimal.
With his teammate’s car out of battle, Canapino’s mission was to hold on to the fifth box. And he did it easily, because Herta did not have the speed to attack the Reef player and Christian Lungaard’s (Rahal LettermanRacing) position was too far away for him to go in search of the Dane. At the head of the race, the Swede Felix Ronseqvist (Meyer Shank Racing), dominant since the qualifying test, offered no hope to Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske), while Jose Newgarden (Team Penske) was content with third place. The heat ended on time, because the accident caused yellow neutralization flags to go out, and Canapino assured his participation in the final race, with the 12 best.
The final race in Thermal
The Chip Ganassi Racing cars, with defending champion Palau and Marcus Armstrong – like Canapino in his second IndyCar experience – set the pace in the second battery. The Spaniard was a permanent entertainer at the Thermal circuit, where the disappointment of the heat was caused by two of the three Arrow-McLaren cars: Pato O’Ward and Callumm Ilott were left out of the 12 best, an error that began in qualifying when with a few minutes left they were first and second, and the team decided not to go out on the track again and their times were exceeded until they fell into positions that compromised the task. The hope of coming back was short-lived and the Mexican’s seventh place and the British’s ninth place, Canapino’s teammate in 2023, left two top drivers as simple spectators. The only driver of the giant who made the cut was the American Alexander Rossi, who captured the last place.
In the final race, which was divided into two sections, also of 10 laps each, Canapino’s primary performance was surprising, as he took refuge in the last positions, without using the activations of push to passwhich lasted 40 seconds. Tire conservation was also a strategy for the Argentine’s second chapter, while up front Palou scored without cracks, with the virtues that stand out in a champion driver.. Adjusting the angles of the ailerons and tire pressure, refueling and attending to the pilot were the only actions allowed at halftime. Graham Rahal and Pietro Fittipaldi, both from Rahal Letterman Racing, did not take part in the second act, so 10 drivers went to battle for the US$500,000.
The qualifying series in Thermal
Canapino, who finished ninth, started eighth after desertions, although he had no arguments to advance. He dedicated himself to passing through, to completing the race and explaining that, beyond the best result since his foray into IndyCar, he demonstrated his ability to overcome the challenges of a demanding and exhausting circuit. He did not present an aggressive strategy, although the reward is based on the experience he acquired well above the $27,000 he raised.