Fernando Alonso scores fifth consecutive Legends Trophy victory

By Jun 7, 2020, 6:00 AM EDT
The Race
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Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso continued his winning ways in the Legend Trophy sim racing league Saturday, winning on the virtual Monaco Grand Prix street course.

Three-time touring car champion Andy Priaulx also won as the series doubleheader on the virtual streets of Monaco kicked off the opening leg of a “Triple Crown”

In the opening race, Alonso started on the pole position and led all 10 laps, passing Helio Castroneves after the three-time Indianapolis 500 winner briefly nabbed the lead from a great start on a daring move through the pit lane into the first turn.

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Alonso, who won Monaco in 2006 and ’07, scored his fifth consecutive Legends Trophy win in The Race AllStar Series powered by ROKiT Phones after sweeping the past two weekends at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Silverstone.

He won by 10.46 seconds over Juan Pablo Montoya, and Jan Magnussen took third.

“It was good to have a clean race, even if at the start we saw one car in front that I don’t know what
happened there,” Alonso said of Castroneves. “It was a good race. We knew how important qualifying was, so it was vital to put the lap together and start first.”

Priaulx won the second race by 10.7 seconds over Montoya.

Alonso, who started last, went from 13th to a third-place finish over the 10 laps after being caught in a multicar crash on the first lap.

The Legends Trophy will head next to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 20 and Le Mans on June 27. If a driver wins all three, a $25,000 donation will be made to their selected charity.

Alonso also leads the championship standings with 90 points, two more than Montoya, followed by Priaulx (76), Castroneves (70) and Magnussen (66).

IndyCar Power Rankings: Pato O’Ward moves to the top entering Texas Motor Speedway

By Mar 29, 2023, 6:00 AM EDT
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The NBC Sports IndyCar power rankings naturally were as jumbled as the action on the streets of St. Petersburg after a chaotic opener to the 2023 season.

Pato O’Ward, who finished second because of an engine blip that cost him the lead with a few laps remaining, moves into the top spot ahead of St. Pete winner Marcus Ericsson and Alexander Rossi, who finished fourth in his Arrow McLaren debut. Scott Dixon and St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who led 31 laps) rounded out the top five.

St. Pete pole-sitter Romain Grosjean (who started first at St. Pete after capturing his second career pole position) Callum Ilott (a career-best fifth) and Graham Rahal entered the power rankings entering the season’s second race.

Three drivers fell out of the preseason top 10 after the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – including previously top-ranked Josef Newgarden, who finished 17th after qualifying 14th.

Heading into Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through the first of 17 races this year (with previous preseason rankings in parenthesis):

NBC Sports’ IndyCar Power Rankings

1. Pato O’Ward (5) – If not for the dreaded “plenum event” in the No. 5 Chevrolet, the Arrow McLaren driver is opening the season with a victory capping a strong race weekend.

2. Marcus Ericsson (7) – He might be the most opportunistic driver in IndyCar, but that’s because the 2022 Indy 500 winner has become one of the series’ fastest and most consistent stars.

3. Alexander Rossi (10) – He overcame a frustrating Friday and mediocre qualifying to open his Arrow McLaren career with the sort of hard-earned top five missing in his last years at Andretti.

4. Scott Dixon (3) – Put aside his opening-lap skirmish with former teammate Felix Rosenqvist, and it was a typically stealthily good result for the six-time champion.

5. Romain Grosjean (NR) – The St. Petersburg pole-sitter consistently was fastest on the streets of St. Petersburg over the course of the race weekend, which he couldn’t say once last year.

6. Scott McLaughlin (6) – Easily the best of the Team Penske drivers before his crash with Grosjean, McLaughlin drove like a legitimate 2023 championship contender.

7. Callum Ilott (NR) – A quietly impressive top five for the confident Brit in Juncos Hollinger Racing’s first race as a two-car team. Texas will be a big oval litmus test.

8. Graham Rahal (NR) – Sixth at St. Pete, Rahal still has the goods on street courses, and Rahal Letterman Lanigan remains headed in the right direction.

9. Alex Palou (4) – He seemed a step behind Ericsson and Dixon in the race after just missing the Fast Six in qualifying, but this was a solid start for Palou.

10. Will Power (2) – An uncharacteristic mistake that crashed Colton Herta put a blemish on the type of steady weekend that helped him win the 2022 title.

Falling out (last week): Josef Newgarden (1), Colton Herta (8), Christian Lundgaard (9)