Vautier describes his "rollercoaster of emotions" throughout month of May - MotorSportsTalk

INDIANAPOLIS – It’s been an utterly bizarre year for Tristan Vautier in terms of opportunities he’s had, thought he’s had, or wound up having after circumstances changed.

It began when Vautier got a last-minute Prototype Challenge ride with JDC/Miller Motorsports in the Rolex 24. He then lost a FIA World Endurance Championship ride he was supposed to have with Team SARD-Morand for the opening two races when the team withdrew the car he was supposed to have, but then that led to his Blancpain Endurance Series opportunity with his current team, Team Akka-ASP.

And then this year’s month of May happened.

The 2013 Verizon IndyCar Series rookie-of-the-year hasn’t started an IndyCar race since that year, but will on Sunday in the 99th Indianapolis 500, driving the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda under the most abnormal of circumstances.

He didn’t know if he’d have a ride for the month of May to begin with until James Davison’s deal in the No. 19 car was confirmed.

With Davison having a conflict on qualifying weekend, an arrangement was made for Vautier to qualify the car.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions,” Vautier told assembled media on Friday. “I came before the road course race. I knew if James was getting the deal with them, I would qualify. It was not done. It happened finally on Tuesday night I think before qualifying. That was the first good news.”

And then, last night, it began to emerge Vautier would actually be in the race – but not in Davison’s No. 19 Always Evolving/Dale Coyne Racing Honda that he’d qualified. He’d take over for Carlos Huertas in the No. 18 car after Huertas was not medically cleared to drive.

Vautier only became available once his Blancpain team – Team Akka-ASP – allowed for him to miss this weekend’s race in Silverstone to race in the Indianapolis 500.

“Yes, I was meant to race in Europe in the GT Series in Silverstone. Yeah, the team I think was very understanding. I have to thank them,” Vautier said. “It’s Team Akka-ASP. We just had a call and they said I could race, seize the opportunity that opened up. They would find a replacement driver (Ludovic Badey) so I could race in the 500.

“That’s really cool from them to let me do that. But, yeah, I was meant to be in England today.”

Vautier described his travel situation. He was going back-and-forth between Indianapolis and Chicago, as it turned out, during the week, wondering if or when he’d board a plane.

“I was in Chicago O’Hare when I had to come back,” he said. “An hour and a half or something (from boarding). I put my luggage out, went to Alamo and rented a car and just drove back (laughter).”

Although Vautier will be replacing Huertas, he paid tribute to the Colombian’s qualifying efforts last weekend.

“Then, yeah, on this one, it’s not really the way you want to get back in the car honestly,” he said. “I think Carlos deserves to be racing because he did a really good job in qualifying and on practice. Obviously you can’t help but be excited to start your second Indy 500.

“It’s good to work with the guys. Not a lot of prep for the race. The practice we did last week was aimed for the complete opposite in running by ourselves, setting the car up for qualifying in low trim.

“At one hour, we made the most of it and have a direction for the race.”

Vautier will start 32nd, with Davison 33rd. It is believed to be the first time in Indianapolis 500 history that a driver has qualified one car and started another.

It’s been a strange odyssey but a cool one that will enter the record books for the amiable Frenchman.

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Jett Lawrence remains perfect in the Pro Motocross series after recording another perfect round at Hangtown in Rancho Cordova, California. In his second start on a 450, Lawrence won his second National with his fourth consecutive moto win. It is getting increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives to describe the exploits on the reigning 250 West Supercross champion.

“The track was so brutal out there,” Lawrence told NBC Sports Jason Thomas. “The bike handles amazing even when it’s not too friendly. You had to be really patient; you couldn’t take too much. I didn’t eat enough before that second moto. I kind of lost energy halfway through, but luckily I could use technique and balance and just keep that flow going.”

Lawrence leaves Hangtown with an 18-point advantage over Ferrandis in the 450 Motocross standings, but perhaps more importantly, he climbed to 19th in the SuperMotocross standings and should he stay there, he has an automatic invitation to the Main events in the SMX Championship.

“On this track, you just have to manage,” Lawrence continued. “If you try to take too much and not respect the track, it will bite you very quickly. It was humbling on the first few laps. I got kicked on the cutout at the start of the third section, the tabletop going to the left. I had to get my focus because the boys were coming.”

Still in his first few races since returning from a concussion suffered at Houston in the Supercross series, Dylan Ferrandis finished second with results of third in Moto 1 and second in Moto 2. While Ferrandis was happy with the result, he remains hopeful that he will contend for victory shortly.

“The first moto was very hard for my physically, Ferrandis said. “I got arm pump and when you get arm pump your body gets tired. But I’m very happy because we made a big change for the second moto. We tried stuff every session today and in the last moto the bike was much better, but unfortunately I wasn’t sure what I could do with this bike because the track was very hard and difficult to pass.”

RESULTS: How they finished in the 450 Overall at Hangtown

With the rash of injuries at the end of the Supercross season, the podium was filled with heartwarming stories. Cooper Webb returned to action last week in Pala and failed to make the podium. He is steadily improving with a third-place finish in Hangtown. after finishing with a 4-2.

“It’s incredible what seven days can do,” Webb said. “Last week I felt like I was going to get lapped in the second moto. This week, I could see the leader. It was nice. I fought hard, learned how to suffer again there and that felt nice.

Moto 2 wasn’t pretty for Lawrence. On several occasions in the opening laps, he nearly high sided as he rode the front wheel through the ruts. The reward was worth the risk. By the halfway point, Lawrence had 4.5-second lead over Webb, who was embroiled in a tight three-rider battle for second with his teammate Aaron Plessinger pressuring him and Ferrandis ready to take advantage if those made contact.

It took 20 minutes for Plessinger to get around Webb and once he did, he trailed Lawrence by four seconds. But then, with three minutes remaining, Plessinger crashed and had difficulty restarting the bike, handing second back to Webb who has seven seconds behind Lawrence. Plessinger fell to fourth with results of third and sixth.

Adam Cianciarulo rounded out the top five with a 5-4.

Heartbreak for Aaron Plessinger as he was charging forward 💔#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/vQtKIsuhVg

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 4, 2023

Last week Hunter Lawrence won the overall with a 3-1. He repeated that feat in Hangtown in an exact replica of his Fox Raceway results last week. In Moto 1, Lawrence got off to a slow start and lost 10 seconds in the opening laps. Forced to overcome a sixth-place position in the race at the end of Lap 1, he once again caught the riders ahead of him when the field hit heavy traffic. For the second week, scored another 3-1 for the Hangtown National win.

“The start was crucial’ I knew I had to go,” Lawrence told NBC Sports’ Jason Thomas. “They laid a lot of water down, so I didn’t want to be behind any longer than [I was]. First hot one of the year, was a bit of a wakeup call, so I’m happy to get out of here safe and healthy.”

Lawrence’s third-place finish in Moto 1 featured a fierce battle for final spot on the podium when he caught Spain’s Guillem Farres and France’s Tom Vialle. With Lawrence hailing from Australia, the international nature of the sport was highlighted.

Lawrence left Hangtown with a 10-point advantage over Haiden Deegan in the Pro Motocross championship battle.

Click here for 250 overall results

Justin Cooper finished second in both motos to finish second overall. Hangtown represented a huge improvement from Fox Raceway where he finished fifth overall with a 5-4 finish in the two motos. Cooper pressured Haiden Deegan in the second half of Moto 1 and he earned the holeshot in the second moto and stayed within three seconds of Lawrence in that race.

“He was following me a little bit, checking out my lines, seeing where he was better,” Cooper said. “It’s disappointing to give up the lead like that but it was way better than last weekend. I will definitely take two seconds. I want to be on the top of the step. I feel like I get close to the top step but I never get it done. That’s building up the frustration – the fire. I really want to get one of these wins, so it’s time to start digging.”

Haiden Deegan earned the first holeshot of his career in Moto 1 and rode away from the field, building a four-second lead in the opening laps. Cooper trimmed the lead at the halfway point and for a while it leveled off at two seconds. Then Cooper made another charge with three to go and closed to within a second. Deegan was biding his time, however.

“I was saving a little. I knew at the end Justin was going to try and put a charge on. I let him get up close and then sent it super hard at the end to break him a little at the end.”

Deegan’s first moto win comes in only his fourth National and he remains perfect in regard to podiums this year.

“This was a dream since I was a little kid, to win,” Deegan said. “And in my fourth race, it’s gnarly. I was just sending it. I was getting a little tired at the end becasue I left my mouth open the whole time. It’s unreal; I’m so hyped. I wanted to win bad and I proved it to you guys.”

Chaos erupted in turn 1 in Moto 2 Jeremy Martin went and another rider ran over his arm. Michael Mosiman crashed further down the track on that same lap. Both riders were helped off course by the Alpinestars Medical team.

Deegan grabs his first 250 Mx moto win!1️⃣#ProMotocross #SuperMotocross #HangtownMX pic.twitter.com/1FH5s1ZHfn

— Pro Motocross (@ProMotocross) June 3, 2023