The Week That Was: May 30, 2022
Image via John Cote/Penske Entertainment
Didn’t get to watch all of the action motorsports on two and four wheels that made it to TV this week? We’ve got you covered! Here’s a quick summary of everything that went down over the past few days:
Ganassi Returns to Indianapolis 500 Winner’s Circle With First-Time Winner Ericsson
After putting all five of its cars in the first four rows for the 106th Indianapolis 500, including past series champions Scott Dixon and Alex Palou first and second, Chip Ganassi Racing entered this year’s event as odds-on favorites. But when all was said and done, it was Marcus Ericsson who would score his first career Indy win, after Palou (entering a closed pit for emergency fueling after an unlucky caution) and Dixon (speeding before his final stop) suffered pit stop miscues that knocked them out of contention.
During the final pit cycle, Ericsson managed to get around the alternate strategy cars of Takuma Sato and Jack Harvey more effectively than Pato O’Ward, and with an additional downforce package on his car compared to O’Ward’s Arrow McLaren SP machine, appeared to have it in the bag walking away. Then, Ericsson’s teammate Jimmie Johnson wrecked with six laps to go, setting up a red flag and a two-lap dash to the finish. O’Ward tried to make his move going into Turn 1 on the final lap but backed off, and Sage Karam suffered the final incident of the day just seconds later to lock in the results. Tony Kanaan completed the podium in his only race of the year in the fifth Ganassi car, and both Kanaan and Ganassi left the door open for another shot next year.
Perez Survives Madcap Monaco Grand Prix for Third Career F1 Win
If you had told Red Bull driver Sergio Perez before last week’s Spanish Grand Prix that if he yielded for teammate Max Verstappen to win that race, karma would repay him with a victory in Monaco, he’d probably take the deal. While that was anything but guaranteed to a disappointed Perez in Barcelona, it was how Sunday’s action worked out, with the added sweetener of becoming the winningest Mexican driver in F1 history in the process.
After a delay for a massive downpour right around the start, Monaco’s own Charles Leclerc and Ferrari got to start from pole this time around, after a qualifying crash robbed him of that opportunity last year. But the team misjudged strategy as the track dried, not only pitting Leclerc twice (for intermediate tires first and then hards) but also double-stacking him behind teammate Carlos Sainz on the second stop. Red Bull pulled off their own second stops and double stack a lap later, but Perez still managed to get out ahead of Sainz, and Verstappen got out before Leclerc. They’d hold that order for the remainder of the race, shortened from 78 laps to a timed affair after Haas’ Mick Schumacher suffered a massive incident that forced a red flag.
Sexton, Lawrence Take 1-1s in Pro Motocross Opener at Fox Raceway
The Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship kicked off its 50th anniversary season in style on Saturday at Fox Raceway at Pala, with Team Honda HRC scoring maximum points to kick off the 12-round campaign. In the 450 division, it was Chase Sexton earning the first 1-1 of his career, chasing down teammate Ken Roczen in both motos as the duo finished 1-2 in each. Monster Energy Star Yamaha’s Christian Craig would complete the podium in both motos to post third place overall. Ryan Dungey’s return to racing saw him take a 5-5 for fifth overall, and Antonio Cairoli posted a 10-6 for seventh overall.
On the 250s, it was all about brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence, who posted the same results as Sexton and Roczen with a 1-1 and 2-2, respectively. Monster Energy Star Yamaha’s Levi Kitchen would take third place in the first moto, while Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki rider Jo Shimoda’s 4-3 earned him third overall.