Marcus Erikson won the famous Indianapolis Oval race, becoming only the second Swede in motorsport history to do so. And his first compatriot to reach this height in 1999 was Kenny Breck.
The end of the Indy 500 was quite exciting. With six laps to go, another crash occurred and the race was halted by red flags. After a break, a restart was given and the drivers actually had to drive three laps to the finish.
Before that, Erickson had displayed impressive speed for several rivals, including both Arrow McLaren SP drivers, to take the lead. It is worth noting that Pato O’Ward was one of the main contenders for the win and almost from the start he fought for leadership, not with Erickson at all, but with Scott Dixon, the owner of pole position.
However, the New Zealander was unlucky: on lap 175 of the race, he made his way to the final pit stop, but exceeded the speed in the pit lane, resulting in a fine and no time to recover.
So before the restart the first four were: Erickson – O’Ward – Tony Kanaan – Felix Rosenquist. The winner of the race would be determined by the results of the sprint, which lasted only a few minutes.
Rosenquist managed to outrun the Brazilian almost immediately and take third place, but Pato O’Ward, his partner in the Arrow McLaren SP, was unable to evade the former Formula 1 driver, although he made several attempts to attack , and Erickson was the first to cross the finish line, a split second ahead of the Mexican.
The Indy 500 winner is entitled to a very hefty cash prize, but the first thing he does when he steps out of the cockpit of his car is traditionally handed a bottle of milk.
Happy Marcus took a few sips, poured half a bottle over himself and gave the rest to Chip Ganassi, the owner of the team he plays for. After which, struggling to find words, he commented: “I can’t believe it! Victory is never guaranteed. There was very little left before the finish, I was in the lead and just prayed that the race wouldn’t be interrupted again because of some accident.
But still she was stopped and at that moment it was very difficult to maintain concentration. However, I knew I had a great car and the team just handled flawlessly, and I had to do everything I could to fend off the attack of rivals. I made it, though I still can’t believe it, but I’m very happy.
Today my parents are here, my brother, my girlfriend, my sponsors and managers are all there and I just won! It’s unbelievable!
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
