For Pagenaud, who joined the MSR in the off-season after seven years with Penske, this first success, moreover in a prestigious event of the American Endurance Championship, is full of promise for the IndyCar season to come.
This is the second victory won in this event by the American team, with also the Briton Oliver Jarvis and the Swede Tom Blomqvist at the wheel, after the 2012 edition, when it was still called Michael Shank Racing.
Wayne Taylor Racing, which was aiming for a fourth title in a row with Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens at the wheel, finished three seconds behind in second place.
Castroneves, winner last year with WTR, therefore managed a double with two different teams.
He is the man of the big races, because he also remains on a victory in the last 500 Miles of Indianapolis, in May 2021, already under the banner of the MSR.
The winners had to overcome a complicated start to the race, marked by a puncture for Castroneves then a change of engine cover after 6 hours of racing, as well as a penalty for excessive speed in the pit lane.
Note that the other Frenchman in the running, Sébastien Bourdais, associated with Scott Dixon, Alex Palou and Renger van der Zande in a Cadillac entered by Chip Ganassi Racing, finished 14th, weighed down by a long engine repair.
© 2022 AFP