Felix Rosenqvist has clinched the first pole position of his NTT IndyCar Series career, leading a Chip Ganassi Racing 1-2 in qualifying for Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
Seamlessly progressing through the qualifying stages, 2019 series rookie Rosenqvist produced a storming lap in his third Firestone Fast Six appearance of the season to edge team-mate Scott Dixon to pole at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course by 0.019 seconds.
It marks the first pole position by a Swedish driver in IndyCar/CART racing since Kenny Bräck. Felix Rosenqvist was just ten years old when Bräck started from the front of the grid at Rockingham (UK) in 2002.
“What a fantastic day,” reacts Felix Rosenqvist. “The NTT DATA Honda car was amazing out there and the team did an incredible job to put us 1-2. I’m so happy right now; being an IndyCar pole-sitter really is a dream come true. Tomorrow is when it really counts, but this is one major step for me in this new adventure. Big, big thanks to the entire Ganassi crew.”
Rosenqvist headed a dramatic qualifying session, which saw the top four covered by just a mere tenth of a second.
“The first two laps I didn’t really feel like I had the grip and then on the final lap there was just something switching on,” Rosenqvist explains of his pole effort. “Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to be enough. It is so tight and I looked up at the screen and we were P1. I just prayed it was going to hold, and ultimately it did. Fantastic.”
Saturday’s INDYCAR Grand Prix will go green at 3.40 pm local time, spanning 85 laps.
RESULTS
INDYCAR Grand Prix | Indianapolis Road Course
Qualifying
11 May, 2019 @ 15:39
Stort SuperGrattis Felix du gör mig stolt att vara svensk Racingfan. Super lycka till på Racet imorgon. Herregud vad jag önskar att jag var där och fick se detta Historiska ögonblick.
Great Congratulations Felix you make me proud to be Swedish Racingfan. Super good luck on the race tomorrow. My God what I wish I was there and got to see this historic moment.