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iRacing – Simon Pagenaud Talks Sim Racing
Marketing Manager at iRacing.com, Greg West interviewed 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud.
They talk Indycar, Sim Racing and Simon’s participation in the Indycar iRacing Challenge which is a live broadcast virtual racing event featuring a field of NTT Indycar Series drivers.
Simon Pagenaud is back in 2020 for a sixth season with Team Penske, the most successful North American single-seater team. Pagenaud brilliantly won the 2019 Indianapolis 500 and became the first Frenchman to win “the greatest race in the world” in 99 years. Pagenaud’s IndyCar record includes 14 wins, 14 pole positions (including the Indy 500), the 2016 IndyCar Series title and runner-up in 2017 and 2019. The Frenchman (Montmorillon, close to Poitiers) was voted Best Rookie in 2012 and won the U.S. ALMS LMP Endurance Championship in 2010.
Before becoming a champion in America, Pagenaud competed in Europe for several years before moving to the United States in 2006. After winning the “Volant Elf” (young drivers’ competition), he got into motorsports in 2001 and finished second in the Formula Renault Campus championship straight away.
The following year he moved to Formula Renault and finished runner-up in the Eurocup. He moved to the World Series by Renault in 2005. Attracted by the American championships, he participated in some tests with several Formula Atlantic championship teams and was hired by Team Australia in 2006 when he won the title ahead of current IndyCar driver Graham Rahal.
Simon Pagenaud used his prize money to move up to the Champ Car World Series with Walker Racing and Team Australia in 2007. Already team-mate of Will Power at the time, he finished eighth in the final standings. Following the bankruptcy of Team Australia, he joined the American Le Mans Series in 2008.
At the same time, he participated in several endurance races in Europe, such as the 1000 kilometers of Spa which he won or the 24 Hours of Le Mans where he missed victory in 2011 by a close margin. The following year he signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports and thus started his first full-time season in IndyCar.
Official Webpage – www.iRacing.com – simon-pagenaud.racing |
2020 Indycar iRacing Challenge
The iRacing Challenge events are streamed through INDYCAR.com, INDYCAR’s YouTube and Facebook platforms as well as iRacing’s Twitch channel. The NBC broadcasting team of Leigh Diffey, Townsend Bell, and Paul Tracy are calling the action.
The entry list of 25 drivers includes series champions Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Sebastien Bourdais, Tony Kanaan, four Indianapolis 500 winners and collectively has registered 140 series victories. The Team Penske trio of Newgarden, Pagenaud, and Power, along with the A.J. Foyt Racing duo of Bourdais and Kanaan, have combined for nine series championships led by Bourdais’ four and two by Newgarden.
If that wasn’t enough talent, a driver with a record-tying seven NASCAR Cup Series crowns – Jimmie Johnson joined the virtual race as a “special guest” entrant.
The American Red Cross Grand Prix is the first of six events to be held weekly each Saturday through May 2. The opening event will be followed by others at Barber Motorsports Park (April 4), a “Driver’s Choice” track (April 11), a “Random Draw” track (April 18), Circuit of The Americas (April 25) and a non-INDYCAR “Dream” track (May 2).
