The pleasant story on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park was delivered by rookie Romain Grosjean, who humiliated some of the best in the NTT IndyCar series on their way to seventh place.
Just behind the 34-year-old Frenchman were Josef Newgarden, a two-time champion of the Penske team, and Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport, who also happened to be drivers who finished in place. second and third in the 2020 ranking.
Grosjean won two places over defending championship winner and Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon in fifth place and Marcus Ericsson from CGR in sixth place, who spoke about where the 51st Honda debuted. It was a dizzying performance for the former Formula 1 driver, who led the modest Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing to a surprising result; teammate Ed Jones was 13 years oldof in number 18 DCR with Vasser Sullivan Honda.
“What day, the seventh in qualifying, is clearly beyond expectations,” said Grosjean. “It simply came to our notice then [Firestone] Fast Six obviously was really hoping to get in, but it’s still great. ”
The feeling of accomplishment for a driver whose life was threatened at the end of last year in an unforgettable accident and fire was palpable. And, while qualifying for seventh place will not guarantee an excellent 90-lap race on Sunday, Grosjean enjoyed the unleashing of raw speed after spending his last years in F1 surrounded by overwhelming cars.
“The Dale Coyne Racing team with the RWR team really helped me understand the qualifying tires,” he said. “We did a very good job with the set and I think we know where to look to go faster, which is very positive. We will enjoy today, but focus on tomorrow. We have 90 laps of racing to do, I have to learn tire degradation, fuel saving, refueling, career stops, how an IndyCar race goes So there is still a lot to learn tomorrow, but I am very happy with today. ”