Kiwis suffer disappointing Indy 500
Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin were left to rue pit problems after finishing well down the order in the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.
Defending IndyCar champion Dixon started on pole but ran out of fuel during an early pit-stop and his car wouldn’t re-start immediately, forcing him to the back of the field. He eventually finished 17th.
Fellow Kiwi McLaughlin was 20th despite threatening a top-10 finish before he suffered a problem with his brakes coming in for a pit-stop. This led to him locking the car up and he was also handed a penalty for speeding, which required another pit-lane visit.
He says: “You can't make mistakes here. It genuinely needs to be a perfect day. It's a place that really bites you.
“I just made a simple mistake. Didn't quite pump my brake pedal up enough ... Thankfully no one was hurt because I came in there pretty hot.”
Helio Castroneves took the chequered flag at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 31 (NZ time) and joined A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr and Rick Mears as the only four-time winners of race.
The Brazilian, who also won in 2001, 2002 and 2009, held off Alex Palou for his latest victory, with 2019 winner Simon Pagenaud claiming third.
A crowd of 135,000 spectators were at the race, making it the world's largest sporting event since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Palou now leads the championship on 248 points, followed by six-time champion Dixon on 212. McLaughlin, in his rookie season, is in ninth place with 143 points.
The IndyCar series now moves to Detroit for a double-header of races on June 12-13.
