Felix Rosenqvist captures Grand Prix of Long Beach pole – Orange County Register

LONG BEACH – Felix Rosenqvist is flirting with danger and success this NTT IndyCar Series season.

Rosenqvist posted the fastest lap Saturday in the Firestone Fast Six qualifying session and will start on pole position for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday.

“Every lap here, it’s like you’re flirting with the walls,” said Rosenqvist, who qualified second for the IndyCar series opener in St. Petersburg, Florida. easy.”

Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 60 Honda, posted a lap of 1 minute, 6.0172 seconds and was four thousandths of a second faster than two-time IndyCar champion Will Power (1:06.0211) for the Closest margin on the front row in NTT IndyCar. Long Beach History Grand Prix Series.

“He’s the guy I grew up watching on YouTube, so that’s pretty cool,” Rosenqvist, 32, said of Power. “Huge respect for him. He’s the man.

There have only been two tighter front rows in the history of NTT IndyCar Series road courses: the 2022 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and the 2023 GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

“It’s great and I’m really proud, but we still have the victory to achieve,” Rosenqvist said.

Rosenqvist was fastest in the first qualifying group (1:06.3372) and took more than three-tenths of that time in the Fast Six session.

“It was tough (and) I didn’t think I’d get it, but it’s great to get pole,” said Rosenqvist, who won pole in last season’s finale at Laguna Seca and counts now six career poles in the IndyCar Series.

Power, first all-time in the IndyCar Series pole position (70), was also second-fastest in Friday practice.

“I didn’t have much left on the table,” Power said. “It shows what a good ride Felix did and how difficult it is.”

Power’s first IndyCar Series victory came at Long Beach in 2008, but the 41-year-old Australian has not won a race since the 2022 Detroit Grand Prix.

“That’s really the story of my last two years,” Power said. “I feel like we’ve worked to be really fast this season (and) I feel good because I’m going fast again.”

Josef Newgarden (1:06.1059), Colton Huerta (1:06.3784), Marcus Ericsson (1:06.4039) and Alex Palou (1:06.5444) will be in the top three rows for today’s race.

Newgarden, pole and race winner at the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg two weeks ago, won at Long Beach in 2022.

“You have to be perfect here, but it’s so close and so competitive,” Newgarden said. “I’m really disappointed, because it’s a track I know.”

Palou was the only car under 1 minute and 6 seconds in qualifying, posting a time of 1:05.9103 in the second qualifying group.

Christian Lungaard, Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong line up seventh, eighth and ninth, and Kyle Kirkwood, last year’s race winner, did not qualify for Fast Six and will start 10th on Sunday.

“I’m not really happy about it,” Kirkwood said. “There’s only three-tenths difference between first and 10th (and) it’s going to be tough (Sunday), no matter where you start.”