Los Angeles (AFP)

Frenchman Simon Pagenaud, winner of the 2019 edition of the Indianapolis 500 miles, won a second race on Saturday of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, a virtual championship organized in anticipation of the 2020 season of IndyCar suspended by the coronavirus pandemic.

Pagenaud, driving a virtual car at home in a simulator, won ahead of New Zealander Scott Dixon and Swede Marcus Ericsson, while Canadian Robert Wickens, partially paralyzed since a terrible accident during the 2018 IndyCar Championship , finished in 5th place after winning pole position in qualifying.

The event was disputed on the Japanese circuit of Motegi, even if this stage does not appear any more on the calendar of the IndyCar Championship since 2011.

Pagenaud, crowned IndyCar champion in 2016, had already won the previous race which took place last weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

"It was a little crazy race (...) I worked hard all week to be competitive and I think I am figuring out how to drive," said the Penske team driver. .

Two other races are on the program of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, before the launch of the 2020 season of the IndyCar Championship that its organizers hope to organize on June 6 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The 2020 Championship was originally scheduled to start in mid-March in St. Petersburg, Florida, but the first race and the following seven, including the prestigious 500 miles from Indianapolis scheduled for May 24, were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

© 2020 AFP