Kiwi delight: McLaughlin claims first career IndyCar pole

Scott McLaughlin has claimed pole position for the opening race of the 2022 IndyCar championship at St. Petersburg. 

Earlier in the day, McLaughlin set an impressive time in practice two that saw him top the session, the Kiwi was the first to lap the St. Petersburg circuit in under 60 seconds. 

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon will start from seventh after just missing the fast six. 

Scott McLaughlin has claimed pole position for the opening race of the 2022 IndyCar championship at St. Petersberg. 

Earlier in the day, McLaughlin set an impressive time in practice two that saw him top the session, the Kiwi was the first to lap the St. Petersburg circuit in under 60 seconds. 

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon will start from seventh after just missing the fast six. 

Group 1

Dixon set a lap late in the group 1 session that saw him set a time under the 60-second mark to finish the session in fourth, making it through to the fast 12 session. 

Colton Herta topped the session ahead of Graham Rahal, Rinus VeeKay, Dixon rookie Kyle Kirkwood and Josef NewGarden, who moved through to the fast 12 session. 

Group 2 

McLaughlin stayed in the top six for the majority of the group two session, sitting second behind teammate Will Power at the end of the session. 

Pato O’Ward who had been in the top six made contact with the wall at turn 9 leaving his car with damage, going on to narrowly miss the top six, finishing the session eighth. 

Alex Palou recovered from a crash in practice two earlier in the day to finish the session just inside the top six. 

David Malukas was judged to have impeded Jimmy Johnson who was on a fast lap, Malukas lost his two fastest laps, dropping him back in the timesheets. 

Power, McLaughlin, Romain Grosjean, Simon Pagenaud, Marcus Ericson, and Paulo all advance to the fast 12 session. 

Fast 12

McLaughlin continued a strong run, to sit comfortably inside the top six for much of the fast 12 session. 

Dixon however, wasn’t as strong, sitting near the back of the fast 12 until late in the session, though his lap did move him up the timesheets, it didn’t solidify him a spot in the fast six, finishing the session in seventh. 

Power, Herta, McLaughlin, Grosjean, Pagenaud, and VeeKay all advanced to the fast six. 

Fast six

McLaughlin claimed pole position, setting a late lap that put him just over a tenth of a second clear of teammate Power that will start from second. 

Herta who had been strong all weekend will start from third alongside Veekay, ahead of Grosjean and Pagenaud who round out the top six. 

Coverage of the opening race of the season starts at 6 am tomorrow morning.