By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer
McLaren Formula One driver Lando Norris had shades of Danny Sullivan’s ‘spin and win’ on route to an IndyCar iRacing Challenge victory at the virtual Circuit of the Americas.
Representing Arrow McLaren SP in the IndyCar race, Norris proved to be the driver to beat. He dominated practice, qualifying, and the first 11 laps in the virtual No. 04 Arrow Dallara. After the competition caution in the AutoNation Challenge was when the show began for the Englishman.
One lap after the restart, Norris broke loose and spun off the final corner. He dropped from fourth down to 13th on the running order. With 16 laps to go and another pit stop needed, Norris had his work cut out for him.
Luckily for the NTT IndyCar Series’ invited guest the regulars encountered their own issues. Will Power spun twice following his pit stop. Felix Rosenqvist pitted at halfway while Norris ducked onto pit road for fuel and tires with eight laps to go. That setup a duel between the two drivers.
(Photo by SETH EGGERT for KICKIN’ THE TIRES / iRacing)
Alex Palou spun as Norris and Rosenqvist bore down on them. Once Norris’ Arrow McLaren SP teammate Patricio O’Ward pitted for the final time, Norris and Rosenqvist inherited the battle for the lead. As they caught slower traffic, Rosenqvist hit the curbing and spun. Norris narrowly avoided contact and moved back into the lead with three laps to go.
Although O’Ward had four push-to-pass options left compared to Norris’ one, there was not enough time. The Formula One driver cruised to take the checkered flag with 1.444 seconds to spare over his teammate. Rosenqvist rounded out the podium finishers.
“It was not east at all which was on myself and that spin in the second stint,” admitted Norris. “It was a tough race, especially with Pato (O’Ward) closing down on the new tires at the end. I didn’t think I was going to get back to the lead. I was gutted, but I got a call from my engineer on the team radio, Andrew Jarvis. Then Will spun which was key in allowing me to get back to P1.”
One reason for Norris’ speed is his dedication and experience in sim racing. While only 20 years old, the Bristol, England native has over 10 years of experience sim racing. The sim rig that Norris has, Cool Performance Sim, is among the top-of-the-line in terms of sim rigs.
“It’s important because I use the sim to help with my braking and to work with my engineer. I did that this past week for this IndyCar race. I don’t just use it for fun but for work to replicate driving car, which I think is the best thing in this sad time with (the COVID-19 pandemic) going on. Being able to drive constantly, pretty much every single day, I’m able to keep on top of things.”
Similar to the IndyCar iRacing Challenge at Barber Motorsport Park several weeks ago, pit strategy was ultimately the key. The competition caution on lap 12 split the strategy. Norris, along with the bulk of the field, pitted prior to the caution and then with several laps to go. Power, O’Ward, and others attempted to split the race in half with one stop.
The results of the strategy were just as split with Norris and O’Ward finishing first and second. The pit out-lap determined whether the strategy chosen worked, as it did for Norris and O’Ward or negated the strategy in the case of Power. After his two spins, took the checkered flag in sixth.
For the sixth and final race of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, the series will venture to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. All full-time teams, former Indianapolis 500 winners, and winners in the iRacing Series will be guaranteed starts. The rest of the 33-car field will be determined after a qualifying session Wednesday.
The Finish
1. Lando Norris [1], 2. Patricio O’Ward [5], 3. Felix Rosenqvist [3], 4. Scott McLaughlin [4], 5. Santino Ferrucci [12], 6. Will Power [2], 7. Rinus VeeKay [9], 8. Marcus Ericsson [13], 9. Alex Palou [7], 10. Josef Newgarden [8], 11. Scott Dixon [15], 12. Felipe Nasr [10], 13. Colton Herta [26], 14. Simon Pagenaud [11], 15. Alexander Rossi [32], 16. Jack Harvey [31], 17. Graham Rahal [18], 18. Dalton Kellett [24], 19. James Hinchcliffe [22], 20. Chaz Mostert [21], 21. Max Chilton [19], 22. Ed Carpenter [30], 23. Tony Kanaan [25], 24. Sebastien Bourdais [24], 25. Spencer Pigot [17], 26. Zach Veach [29], 27. Kyle Kaiser [27], 28. Oliver Askew [14], 29. Conor Daly [28], 30. Takuma Sato [16], 31. Ryan Hunter-Reay [33], 32. Robert Wickens [20], 33. Sage Karam [6].
Lead Changes: Four among four drivers.
Lap Leader(s): Lando Norris 1-11, Will Power 12-17, Patricio O’Ward 18-27, Alex Palou 28, Lando Norris 29-32.
Laps Led: Lando Norris 15, Patricio O’Ward 10, Will Power 6, Alex Palou 1.
Hard Charger: Alexander Rossi (+17)
Cautions: One for three laps.
Margin of Victory: 1.444 seconds.
Time of Race: One hour, two minutes, 27.063 seconds.
Average Speed: 105.329 mph.
Fastest Lap: Lando Norris (1:44.372 seconds, 118.170 mph)
Pole Winner: Lando Norris (1:43.469 seconds, 119.201 mph).