MONTEREY, Calif., Sept. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- For the
second consecutive weekend, Honda drivers and teams dominated
qualifying today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, sweeping the
front row and claiming eight of the top 12 starting positions for
Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey.
Honda drivers previously swept the top three positions in
qualifying for last Sunday's Grand Prix of Portland, with
championship points leader Alex
Palou going on to score his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory
of the season.
In today's qualifying action, Colton
Herta claimed his second consecutive Laguna Seca pole, and
the seventh of his Indy car career, with teammate Alexander Rossi completing an Andretti Autosport
Honda sweep of the front row. Palou will start tomorrow's
penultimate race of the 2021 season from fourth for Chip Ganassi
Racing, with Oliver Askew qualifying
an impressive fifth in just his second race with Rahal Letterman
Lanigan Racing.
Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey Honda Qualifying
Results
- 1st
Colton Herta
|
Andretti Autosport
Honda
|
-
2ndAlexander Rossi
|
Andretti Autosport
Honda
|
- 4th Alex
Palou
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
|
- 5th
Oliver Askew
|
Rahal Letterman
Lanigan Honda
|
- 7th
Marcus Ericsson
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
|
- 8th
Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
|
- 11th
James Hinchcliffe
|
Andretti Autosport
Honda
|
- 12th
Graham Rahal
|
Rahal Letterman
Lanigan Honda
|
- 13th
Romain Grosjean-R
|
Dale Coyne Racing
with RWR Honda
|
- 14th Ed
Jones
|
Dale Coyne Racing
with Vasser-Sullivan Honda
|
- 19th
Ryan Hunter-Reay
|
Andretti Autosport
Honda
|
- 20th
Jack Harvey
|
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
|
- 22nd
Helio Castroneves
|
Meyer Shank Racing
Honda
|
- 23rd
Takuma Sato
|
Rahal Letterman
Lanigan Honda
|
- 25th
Jimmie Johnson-R
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
Honda
|
R – Rookie
Quotes
Colton Herta (Andretti
Autosport Honda) Pole qualifier, third pole of 2021, seventh
career Indy car pole "We have a great car, to be honest.
It's awesome to be powered by Honda. What an amazing track, I
love this place. You have to drive right to 100% at this track,
especially in the final [qualifying] round when you're on used
tires on a track that typically uses up tires quickly. Tire
[wear] will also will be critical here tomorrow, we need to learn
how long we can make the tires last before the big 'fall off' in
times takes place."
Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi
Racing Honda) Championship points leader, qualified fourth:
"It was an interesting session, I would say. We lacked a bit of
pace in [the first round of qualifying], but we made it up in the
fast 12 [second round]. We were really really strong, and I was
looking forward to the fast six [final round qualifying]. But,
unfortunately, we didn't have the pace today to fight for pole
position on the used 'reds' [soft compound Firestone tires].
Starting fourth tomorrow, the second row, is always good and we
know we have a really strong race car. So, yeah, looking forward to
it. Three [expected pit] stops, should be an exciting race, and
hopefully we can overtake three guys!"
Oliver Askew (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda) Qualified
fifth, tied his career-best Indy car starting position:
"Fantastic qualifying today for the Hy-Vee #45 guys from
Rahal Letterman Lanigan. I felt
really good in the car, and the car complemented me as well. When
you get it right around here, it feels really good. When you
get it wrong, not so much—but today we got it right. It was a
really enjoyable session and I'm looking forward to starting in the
top five tomorrow. I know I have a really good pit crew, we had one
of the best times on pit road in [his first race at] Portland and
hopefully we can capitalize on that. Looking for a clean race
tomorrow and hopefully we can move forward!"
Fast Facts
- This is the sixth pole for Honda this season, and the second
consecutive front-row lockout for the manufacturer.
- Honda teams and drivers have won eight of 14 races to date this
season, and currently holds a 95-point lead in the Manufacturers'
Championship (2,110-1,115) over rival Chevrolet with two races
remaining. The company is seeking it's 10th
Manufacturers' title, and fourth consecutive trophy.
- In a strong all-round qualifying showing for the manufacturer,
Honda drivers claimed eight of top 12 grid positions after the
first round of INDYCAR "knockout" qualifying, with four Honda's
advancing to the "Fast Six" final round and then sweeping the front
row for tomorrow's 95-lap race.
Where to Watch Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
Live network television
coverage Sunday's penultimate race in the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES
starts at 3 p.m. EDT on NBC.
Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on NBC
Peacock, the INDYCAR Radio Network, and on SiriusXM satellite
radio.
Honda Racing social media content and video links from
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca can be found on Instagram
(www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter
(twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook
(www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD). Additional features and
long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube
channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).
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SOURCE Honda Racing/HPD