Photo by Whit Bazemore instagram.com/whitbazemore/
Editor-in-Chief's Note: Niki Lauda, the three-time F1 World Champion (1975, 1977 and 1984) and a man of incredible will, guts and an almost incomprehensible level of determination, is gone. One of the all-time greats in the sport, Lauda almost died in a fiery crash at the Nurburgring in 1976, but came back to race just six weeks later to finish fourth at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Rest In Peace, Niki. -PMD
(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
Simon Pagenaud and Roger Penske talk after Pagenaud (No. 22 Team Penske Menards Chevrolet Turbo V6) completed a four-lap Fast Nine Shootout qualification run on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway superspeedway at 229.992 mph to earn the NTT P1 Award, the eleventh pole position of his eleven-year Indy car career and first at the Indy 500. Pagenaud also delivered the eighteenth Indianapolis 500 pole position for Team Penske, extending the benchmark NTT IndyCar Series program's record that stands at thirteen more than any other team. In addition, Pagenaud became the first Frenchman in a century to capture the Indy 500 pole, since Rene Thomas in 1919. "Team Menards and Team Penske have been phenomenal about giving me the best equipment," said Pagenaud, who turned 35 on Saturday. "I can't thank them enough and my teammates for always pushing me to the limit. This is incredible. This is the biggest race in the world, so obviously I'm on Cloud Nine."
(Photo by Tim Holle/INDYCAR)
Ed Carpenter qualified the No. 20 ECR Preferred Freezer Services Chevrolet Turbo V6 in second position at 229.889 mph, narrowly missing winning the Indy 500 pole for a fourth time.
(Photo by James Black/INDYCAR)
Spencer Pigot (left) was fastest in first-day qualifying on Saturday and ranked a career-best third Sunday in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet Turbo V6 at 229.826 mph. Ed Jones was fourth in the No. 63 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet Turbo V6 at 229.646 mph as Chevrolet power dominated qualifying. "I was hoping one of the three of us was going to get the pole, but finishing 2-3-4 is the next best thing," team owner/driver Carpenter said. "I'm really proud of the whole team to give us the cars we had, which put us in the position to go out and qualify the way that we did."
(Photo by Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR)
Team McLaren's Zak Brown and Fernando Alonso before Alonso's final qualification attempt. Team McLaren's effort wasn't good enough and Alsonso wasn't fast enough to make the field. A bitter day for the vaunted Team McLaren effort. Read Peter's column about "The Fastest 33" in Fumes.
(EPA/BBC)
Seven-time world champion Marc Marquez (No. 93 Repsol Honda team) increased his lead at the top of the MotoGP standings with victory in the French MotoGP at Le Mans. The 26-year-old Spaniard, who started on pole, finished almost two seconds ahead of Italy's Andrea Dovizioso (No. 4 Ducati Team). It was Marquez's 47th victory - joint fourth on the all-time list with teammate Jorge Lorenzo - and Honda's 300th. Dovizioso moved up to second in the standings, eight points behind Marquez, winner of five of the last six titles. Danilo Petrucci (No. 9 Ducati Team) finished third. Marquez's younger brother Alex won the Moto2 GP earlier in the day.