INDYCAR

Pagenaud takes the lead at the end and wins Indy virtual race at Motegi

Simon Pagenaud won on Saturday afternoon (18) the fourth stage of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, Indy's virtual racing championship, played on the Motegi circuit. The Penske Frenchman remained in the group of top finishers throughout the 113 laps on the Japanese track, but took the lead only in the final ten spins, taking advantage of a dispute between Wil Power and Scott McLaughlin, his teammates. It was the second victory for the current Indianapolis 500 winner in the tournament.
The race was marked by a good race for victory between Power, Dixon and McLaughlin. The three stayed close throughout the race, with the New Zealander from Penske attempting the attack on his teammate, stopping at the wall when nine laps remained. At this point, Pagenaud arrived for the dispute and overcame Power, which had a damaged front wing.
Chip Ganassi rider Dixon ended the race in second place after attempting a final attack on Pagenaud on the final lap. Power, who damaged the front wing in the race with McLaughlin, finished third, followed by Marcus Ericsson, fourth with the other Ganassi car. The top five group was completed by McLaren driver Robert Wickens who started from pole position.
Jack Harvey, who went on to win the race, was sixth with the Meyer Shank car, followed by Sage Karam, Dreyer & Reinbold driver and winner of the first race of the tournament at Watkins Glen. Zach Veach, from Andretti Autosport, Santino Ferrucci, from Dale Coyne, and Graham Rahal, from Rahal Letterman Lanigan, closed the top ten list.
This week's guest on the Indy virtual race, Kyle Busch, one of Nascar's top drivers, performed only modestly, and finished the race in 13th position after spending time in the top ten. Although virtually, it was the first experience of the two-time champion of the most important category in the United States in a single seat.
The Brazilians did not perform as well as the best at Motegi this afternoon. Helio Castroneves suffered an accident early in the race and finished the race in 29th place with the Penske car. Tony Kanaan, who raced a car with a layout similar to 2004, when he was Indy champion, finished 30th. The AJ Foyt driver was followed by Felipe Nasr, from Carlin, who finished 31st. by Leonardo Marson