The past classification of Indianapolis 500 left the record of Alex Palouwho won the fastest pole in history at an average of 234.217 mph (376.93 kilometers per hour) which surpassed the previous record of scott dixon (234,046). And she also broke the record Katherine Legge, who became the woman with the best time in the qualifying for the legendary race. The British marked in her third participation in the 500, an average speed of 231.070 that improved the reference that Sarah Fisher prevailed in 2002 (229.439 mph) to be the woman with the best qualifying average among the ten who have entered the event. “I am very happy to be back and very grateful to the team,” explained Legge after overcoming the Last Chance and secure a place from 30th position on the grid. Unfortunately in the last practice she was involved in an accident with stefan wilson. The pilot of the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing he will not be able to participate in the race to which he classified 25th (his car will be driven by the eliminated Graham Rahal but he will start last due to a change of driver) after fracturing his 12th vertebra, an injury for which he underwent surgery on Tuesday. “Now all that remains is to focus on recovery and I am already looking towards 2024 and thinking of returning next year. This race means a lot to me”, said the injured pilot before going through the operating room
Of the ten women who have started the Indianapolis 500, one name stands out above all others: danica patrick. The American is the woman with the most participations in the event, with a total of seven achieving six top-10s and also has the honor of achieving the best starting position, fourth in 2005, and the best finishing position, third that same year. . In addition, during her career she managed to lead the test for 29 laps.
The first woman to appear on the most imposing oval in the world was Janet Guthrie in 1977 after failing to qualify in the previous year. In 1978 he achieved his best placing, a 19th. The path blazed by Guthrie was followed by Desiré Wilson (who was never able to qualify for the race), Lyn St James (seven participations with an 11th as the best result in 1992 and the oldest woman to participate, in the year 200 with 53 years), Sarah Fisher (9 participations and 17th in the finish line as the best result), the aforementioned Patrick, the Venezuelan Mika Dunothe Switzerland Simone de Silvestro, the brazilian Ana Beatriz Figueredo and the british pippa mann and Katherine Legge. Especially active was the appearance of women at the beginning of the 2010s. That year (Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher, Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro), 2011 (Danica Patrick, Ana Beatriz, Simona de Silvestro, Pippa Mann) and 2013 (Simona de Silvestro, Ana Beatriz, Pippa Mann, Katherine Legge) the 500 grid included the participation of four women.