Juan Pablo Montoya claims Legends Trophy title; Alonso, Barrichello win

By Jun 28, 2020, 8:45 AM EDT
The Race
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Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso and F1 winner Rubens Barrichello won Saturday at the virtual Le Mans circuit in the finale of the Legends Trophy Triple Crown.

Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Juan Pablo Montoya won the championship of the six-race sim racing series that was contested over Monaco, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Le Mans.

Though he was winless, the Colombian had three runner-up finishes and clinched the championships with a fourth in the double-points finale on the virtual 8.45-mile Circuit de la Sarthe. Montoya finished four points ahead of 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans winner David Brabham for the title.

Rubens Barrichello won the Legends Trophy Triple Crown finale (The Race).

Alonso won the opening three-lap qualifying race despite starting last. He caught fellow Spaniard Oriol Servia on the final lap and won by 0.962 seconds for his series-high sixth victory. Servia took a series-best second.

Alonso held the championship lead (by four points over Brabham and 12 over Montoya) entering the 45-minute finale, which featured 60 cars from all three classes of The Race All-Star Series powered by ROKiT Phones.

Alonso was eliminated by a multicar crash at the start. Montoya hung on for fourth despite nearly crashing twice in the last few minutes after contact with Servia and Andy Priaulx.

Barrichello started on pole and led all 13 laps on the famed course, winning by 17.238 seconds ahead of F1 veteran Karun Chandhok and Servia.

The Race All-Star Series will return with its fourth season after a July hiatus.

 

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)