Tag: Rolex 24 Hours

Meyer Shank Racing claimed a famous overall victory in the the 60th running of the ROLEX 24 Hours at Daytoma on Sunday.

NTT IndyCar Series stars, Helio Castromeves and Simon Pagenaud got their year off to a fantastic start taking victory.

Speaking following the race, Simon Pagenaud said:

I know it sounds pretty good, that’s for sure. I’m very proud and excited to be part of this racing. Sports car racing brought me to the forefront of the racing scene. I always loved to come back and have a chance to be on the top team like Meyer Shank Racing.

Personally, it’s amazing to think about what has gone on since we decided to work together. Joining Helio obviously on the INDYCAR side and also on the sports car side with Oliver and Tom. Fit right away. Felt like the relationship started really quickly to grow. And also felt like the vibe was right.

And this weekend it felt like, okay, we had some setbacks, but we fought and everybody kept a good spirit. Obviously my mate, Helio, he’s really good at doing that in the team. It was a great atmosphere and obviously good people get good results and get what they deserve.

Just very happy, very proud of the entire team, quite frankly. It’s my first race with Meyer Shank Racing. But if you look closely at what happened today, the strategy was just fantastic, fantastic. Every stops, I believe, we were the fastest on pit lane. I haven’t seen the numbers but I can guarantee you we were.

And the guys did a great job in the pits, no mistakes. Execution was amazing.

But first and foremost was the strategy. We were able to save fuel and go longer than anyone. And the team, the strategy and Mike and Ryan, they set themselves up to make sure at the end we would put less fuel in the car, would take us less time to leapfrog everybody, basically, in the pits. And that’s exactly what happened.

Helio Castroneves, who will return to full-time IndyCar competition next month commented saying:

It’s taken momentum. When Ricky and I won the championship in 2020, me winning the Rolex last year, and then jumping with Mike and Jim for the Indy 500, we knew — it’s all about, it sounds cliché, but it’s all about belief: I believe in them; they believe in me. This is exactly what’s happened with this group here.

With Simon and Tom and Oliver, we all believe, and the team, obviously, that we could do it. We know the hard work. We know that everybody in this entire series, we know that everybody worked really hard. It’s a very competitive series. Very difficult.

And Jim always reminds us of that, right, Jim? He always says, I didn’t know it was going to be that hard and so difficult. It should. However, when we accomplish what we just did today, oh, it’s priceless.

So in my case, I’m still very much passionate about it, learning every day, having new teammates like Tom and Oliver — I know Simon from a long time — improving my driving skills and looking to everyone here. So that makes a better driver. That’s why I enjoy it. That’s why I have fun and that’s why probably when you go out there you push as hard as you can to win the Rolex.