Scott McLaughlin has successfully rounded out his virtual six-round IndyCar iRacing Challenge with a surprising last-lap victory at the Indianapolis First Responder 175. Having started the lap from fifth, a string of incidents saw him rise to the top spot by the chequered flag.
The race came down to a hectic nine-lap sprint to the chequered flag; McLaughlin, the race pole-sitter and sporting backing from PIRTEK, sat buried in seventh as Simon Pagenaud and Graham Rahal held the top two spots.
And we are green! @smclaughlin93 leads the field in to turn 1!#INDYCARChallenge // #INDYCAR // @IMS pic.twitter.com/MZoJ92XZcR
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 2, 2020
It only took another lap for defending Indy 500 winner Pagenaud to be pushed into the wall at turn one, following contact with Rahal as a result of a rocketing Norris making the lead battle three wide at turn one. The incident made it a McLaren SP 1-2-3; Norris leading Pato O’Ward and Oliver Askew.
Read more: Shane van Gisbergen wins again as Holdens dominate Supercars chaos
McLaughlin had carved his way up to fourth, bringing Marcus Ericsson with him. The Supercars ace had the freshest tyres out of all the leaders, but was battling a creased wing. The top five all jostled, Ericsson getting by McLaughlin with six laps to go. Ericsson continued to progress, momentarily passing O’Ward for third before losing the spot again.
Norris was able to drive away from the pack, and looked like a likely victor until three laps to go, when he crashed into the lapped car of Pagenaud at the final corner. It sealed a brilliant, chaotic final lap.
Ericsson had a fantastic run on the leading pair of McLarens on the back straight, seeing the former Formula 1 driver claim the lead in turn three. Into turn four they were neck-in-neck. Ericsson then copped a big hit from O’Ward at the final corner into the wall.
Another look at the last half lap, onboard with @ConorDaly22 who we're sure had no reaction nor raise in heart rate. #INDYCAR // #INDYCARChallenge // @IMS pic.twitter.com/QJANbDjKUN
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) May 2, 2020
This left Askew and the late-rising Santino Ferucci to fight for the win on the final stretch to the finish-line. It looked like Askew would be able to find off his fellow youngster, only for Ferrucci to appear to veer hard left into the McLaren while trying to side-draft.
The two crashed hard, leaving McLaughlin with a clear run up the inside to collect what wound up being an unlikely Indy win. Conor Daly claimed second, some two tenths off the lead, with the wrecked cars of Ferrucci, Askew, and O'Ward finishing third to fifth. Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Zach Veach, Felix Rosenqvist, and Scott Dixon completed the top 10.
First Responder Indianapolis 175
1. Scott McLaughlin
2. Conor Daly
3. Santino Ferrucci
4. Oliver Askew
5. Pato O'Ward
6. Sebastien Bourdais
7. Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. Zach Veach
9. Felix Rosenqvist
10. Scott Dixon
11. Marcus Ericsson
12. Alexander Rossi
13. Graham Rahal
14. Will Power
15. Scott Speed
16. Helio Castroneves
17. Marco Andretti
18. Jack Harvey
19. James Davison
20. RC Enerson
21. Lando Norris
22. Josef Newgarden
23. Max Chilton
24. Rinus Veekay
25. Simon Pagenaud
26. Alex Palou
27. Sage Karam
28. Ed Carpenter
29. Stefan Wilson
30. Takuma Sato
31. Dalton Kellett
32. Colton Herta
33. Tony Kanaan