Japanese driver Takuma Sato grabbed his second Indianapolis 500 victory on Sunday, stopping Scott Dixon before winning under caution on an empty race track.
Sato refused five-time IndyCar champion Dixon after race officials refused to throw a red flag after a late crash by Spencer Pigot. Fernando Alonso, who is bidding to complete a ‘triple crown’ after winning the 24-hour race Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans, could only finish in 21st place.
Dixon was not happy with the decision, after leading 111 of the 200 rounds. Pigot needed medical attention on the track, and his accident left debris lying all over the track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Definitely a hard one to swallow for sure,” said the New Zealander. ‘The first time I saw them it went that way. I thought they would throw a red [flag]. ”
Unlike Nascar, which typically runs two-round shoot-outs to the finish line when a precaution ends, IndyCar rarely follows the same procedure. Sato could instead fight around the highway, with Dixon’s plan to run down his rival, as he worked through unloaded traffic damaged by the accident by four laps.
Sato, who also won here in 2017, said he knew Dixon would have been hard-pressed to hit under green. “I know Scott just came through, from four, he was crying,” Sato said. “I had to stop him.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s teammate Graham Rahal came in third. Team owners David Letterman and Graham’s father, Bobby Rahal, were on track to congratulate both riders. The new track owner, Roger Penske, hosted his first Indy 500 without spectators present, although a new lift that brought Sato to an elevated victory circle survived the formalities.
The highway typically draws more than 300,000 spectators to one of the largest live sporting events in the US; Penske said only 2,500 people would attend Sunday because of the outbreak of the coronavirus. Santino Ferrucui came fourth, with Josef Newgarden the highest ranked Chevrolet in fifth.
Pigot, the third Rahal driver in the race, was taken to his local hospital for further investigation. IndyCar has said it is awake and alert.
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