IndyCar | Race | Detroit GP | Kirkwood takes the win with a damaged front wing - Motorsport

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Qualifying for the IndyCar Detroit GP saw Colton Herta take pole position, but it was his teammate Kyle Kirkwood who took home the win, view the full race report and results here. Kirkwood drove a clinical race despite having damage to his front wing. Find out what happened in the report and results below.

Andretti takes an early 1-2 in IndyCar Detroit GP

The race started with Christian Lundgaard overtaking pole-sitter Colton Herta for the lead into Turn 1. Herta got the place back immediately. Championship leader Alex Palou got up to P3, while David Malukas dropped from P2 to P5. Rinus VeeKay dropped positions after making contact with Christian Rasmussen.

On Lap 2, Kyle Kirkwood cut his way through the field, overtaking both Palou and Lundgaard to make it an Andretti 1-2.

Pit stops commence

By Lap 8, the soft tyres started to wear out. Felix Rosenqvist pit off the soft tyres. David Malukas came in from P5 and pit for hard tyres. Lundgaard followed one lap later.

VeeKay reported no power on the straights and entered the pit lanes. VeeKay retired from the race.

Andretti split the strategies between the their cars. Kirkwood pit onto scuffed hard tyres to increase his performance on his out lap. He came out into traffic behind Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel. On Lap 12, the pole-sitter headed to the pits followed by Palou. Herta exited the pits ahead of Kirkwood.

Kirkwood gets past Herta in IndyCar Detroit GP

Siegel got his elbows out on Lap 13, making his way around Herta. That opened the door for Kirkwood to get through his teammate. At the same time, Felix Rosenqvist spun around, bringing out the first caution of the race.

Christian Rasmussen currently leads the race, followed by Graham Rahal and Marcus Ericsson. They are running an alternate strategy on the hard tyres.

Another caution is waved

On Lap 17, the green flag waves again. Scott McLaughlin spun Siegel’s car around. Siegel fell to the back of the grid.

On Lap 19, Devlin DeFrancesco’s wheel fell off his car and onto the track. It appeared that he clipped the wall, making his right rear tyre loose. Another caution is waved. Rasmussen continued to lead the field, but rookie Louis Foster overtook Ericsson for P3.

Rasmussen leads the alternate strategy in IndyCar Detroit GP

The green flag is waved on Lap 22. Rasmussen locked up into Turn 1, but he kept the lead from Rasmussen. On Lap 24, Herta got past Palou but made contact with Will Power. Scott McLaughlin was handed a drive-through contact for avoidable contact with Siegel.

By Lap 25, Scott Dixon has made his way up to P5 on the alternate strategy. The Detroit GP was Dixon’s last win in IndyCar.

On Lap 30, Andretti were managing their tyre temperatures. Palou and Lundgaard battled for position. Rahal entered the pits earlier than the other drivers on the alternate strategy. He came out in P22. Rahal went back to the pits with an issue.

Dixon takes the lead

On Lap 36, Rasmussen pit for new tyres. Rahal finally left the pits, dropping a lap behind. Foster pit one lap later, coming out behind Pato O’Ward in P11. Dixon took the lead of the race ahead of his teammate Kyffin Simpson and Will Power. Dixon pit the latest of all drivers on Lap 39. He came out in P6.

Kirkwood and Power together on track

Kirkwood led the race on Lap 41, ahead of Power and Herta. Earlier in the weekend, Power went into the back of Kirkwood during FP1. Rasmussen continued to lead on the alternate strategy in P6 ahead of Foster in P7.

On Lap 45, a piece of Kirkwood’s diffusor flew off of his car and went under Power’s car. Malukas pit again, following a pit on three-stop strategy.

Rasmussen hits the barriers

On Lap 48, Rasmussen pit off the soft tyres, dropping to P12. During his out lap, Rasmussen hit the barriers but was able to keep going. Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden overtook Rasmussen.

On Lap 50, Palou, Power, and Dixon entered the pits. Race leader Kirkwood and Herta entered the pits one lap later. Herta came out behind Power on track.

O’Ward takes the lead

Pato O’Ward led the race after running consecutive two hard tyres. He pit on Lap 53 onto soft tyres, coming out behind Malukas in P8. Kirkwood retook the lead of the race ahead of Power, Herta, Palou, and Malukas.

Since the race start, O’Ward made his way from P18 to P6 behind the drivers on the lead strategy. Newgarden made up 17 positions from the start, currently in P7.

Ilott hits the wall

On Lap 67, Kirkwood, Power, Herta, Palou, Malukas, O’Ward, Newgarden, Rasmussen, Foster, and Lundgaard are in the top ten. O’Ward was the only driver on soft tyres. Callum Ilott ran into the barriers after exiting the pit lane, bringing out the third caution. The wheel nut on his car was not secure, causing his tyre to fall off.

The race leaders headed to the pit lane for their final pit stop. Santino Ferrucci took the lead of the race, ahead of Simpson, and Marcus Armstrong. The three drivers have completed their mandatory stops and can stay out for the rest of the race.

Palou crashes into the barriers

The green flag was waved on Lap 31. Ferrucci got a strong lead ahead of Simpson. Malukas ran into the back of Palou and he crashed into the tyre barriers, bringing out another caution. The Indy 500 winner’s perfect season came to an end.

Malukas was handed a drive-through penalty for [avoidable contact].

Kirkwood retakes the lead

On Lap 75, the green flag was waved again. Ferrucci locked up into Turn 1 but maintained the lead. Kirkwood got a run on Armstrong to take P3. His teammate Herta got past Armstrong, as well.

There was contact between Kirkwood and Simpson on Lap 77. The Andretti driver got damage to his left front wing. Kirkwood overtook the lead from Ferrucci, but his front wing is dragging on the ground. Power overtook Ferrucci for P2 and began chasing down Kirkwood for the win.

Rasmussen retired from the race from the race after completing 80 laps. He had a mechanical failure.

Foster’s suspension failure causes massive crash

On Lap 83, Foster had a suspension failure, losing control of his car. He hit Rosenqvist and both cars ended up in the tyre barriers. Both drivers were able to walk out of their cars. Foster was cleared by the medical team, and Rosenqvist was taken to the hospital after reporting pain in his leg.

A red flag was called.

Kirkwood, Power, Herta, Simpson, Armstrong, O’Ward, Lundgaard, Newgarden and Dixon are currently in the top ten. The Andretti driver is not allowed to repair his front wing during the red flag.

Kirkwood maintains lead on race restart

With 12 laps left in the race, the green flag was waved. Kirkwood got a strong start ahead of Power. At the same time, Power scraped the wall on the restart. Devlin DeFrancesco’s day was fine thanks to a mechanical.

On Lap 90, Ferrucci overtook Power for P2. Herta also got past the Penske driver. Power may have sustained damage from clipping the wall. Rookie Jacob Abel overtook Sting Ray Robb for P15.

Meanwhile, Herta tried to hunt Ferrucci down. With six laps left, Herta started burning through his P2P to attempt an overtake on Ferrucci. On Lap 96, Herta and Ferrucci made contact. They were both able to maintain their positions, but Power brought himself back into the picture.

With two laps left, Power still had 7s left of his P2P. Herta was vulnerable, as he used his remaining P2P on his unsuccessful overtake attempt on Ferrucci. Herta was able to defend against Power to finish on the podium.

Kirkwood took home the win in Detroit while managing damage to his front wing. Ferrucci scored his first podium on a street circuit, finishing P2.