In typical HMD Motorsports fashion, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires team continued their dominating season this past weekend at the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle. Coming off back-to-back wins in Indianapolis, the team was ready for another winning sweep at the double-header weekend.
After one practice session, the team entered a new qualifying format with the session divided into two parts to set the grid for each race. In qualifying one, HMD Motorsports came in strong with Linus Lundqvist claiming pole, followed by Benjamin Pedersen in second and Danial Frost in fourth. Christian Bogle qualified the twelfth position while Antonio Serravalle claimed thirteenth. Five minutes later, the second qualifying stint was underway and the front of the field remained unchanged. While Lundqvist again claimed the pole position, the rest of the team qualified seventh, eighth and twelfth. Benjamin Pedersen was on track for a front-row qualifying finish, but suffering from a mechanical failure with a broken half shaft and causing a red flag, he was penalized his fastest two laps and was classified in P13.
On a track with a history of drivers making contact with the close cement walls, all five HMD Motorsports drivers ran steady in the first race of the weekend. While the rest of the field struggled around the 14-turn course, all five drivers held their line and worked their way to the front. After starting from first and second, Lundqvist and Pedersen continued to pull ahead through the 25-laps race to finish on the top two steps of the podium. With less than ten laps to go, Danial Frost moved into the third position. With two laps to go, and HMD Motorsports looking to claim their first podium sweep of the season, Frost suffered from a broken half shaft, the team’s second on the weekend. Christian Bogle navigated his way through the carnage of the race and kept his focus on moving forward to claim a career-best fourth place finish while in a battle for the final podium position. Antonio Serravalle, in his second weekend with the team, matched his best finish of sixth.
After a strong race one, HMD Motorsports was eager to see what they could accomplish. Suffering from two sudden and identical mechanical failures over the weekend, HDM Motorsports proactively replaced the half shafts on all five entries prior to race two. With four of the five drivers starting further back in the field, they would have to focus forward and move their way up. Linus Lundqvist had yet another near-perfect race and went on to claim yet another win – his fourth of the season. After enduring a DNF the day before, Danial Frost turned his focus to gaining as many points toward the championship as he could. Gaining two positions, Frost finished in fifth. Benjamin Pedersen was the biggest mover of the race. After gaining an impressive seven positions, Pedersen finished in sixth behind his teammate. Antonio Serravalle drove another clean race for an eighth-place finish. Coming off a strong race one, Christian Bogle’s weekend came to an unfortunate end after making contact with the wall.
In the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports driver David Malukas had his strongest street course weekend of the season. Quick in practice, Malukas and the DCR w/ HMD crew were confident heading into qualifying. All season, Malukas has been unable to move out of the first qualifying round. This weekend, however, Malukas set the fastest time in round one, the second fastest time in round two and moved up into the Firestone Fast Six where he qualified sixth for the Detroit Grand Prix. Heading into the race, tire wear was known to be the biggest factor when it came to race strategy. With multiple strategies at play throughout the field, Malukas was fast, but unable to work his way up through the field. At the end of the 70-lap race, Malukas finished the race in eleventh, matching his best result and as the highest-finishing rookie. While strategy did not play out in his favor, Malukas put his speed on display as he set the fastest lap of the race.
After a strong weekend for HMD Motorsports in both the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, focus will now quickly shift to the next event. This weekend will host the next round of both series in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America. After a swift turnaround, HMD Motorsports will hope to carry their momentum into the next event. As both series begin to near the half-way point of the season, driver, team, and rookie championships are beginning to become the focus.
Returning to the single-race format this weekend, both series will see the green flag for the Grand Prix at Road America this Sunday, June 12 with the Indy Lights race beginning at 10:35 AM ET followed immediately by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at 12:30 PM ET.
Detroit Grand Prix Weekend Schedule *all times EDT
Friday, June 10
3:15 PM – 4:10 PM Practice 1 Indy Lights
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM Practice 1 INDYCAR
Saturday, June 11
9:45 AM – 10:25 AM Practice 2 Indy Lights
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM Practice 2 INDYCAR
1:00 PM – 1:20 PM Qualifying Indy Lights
1:45 PM – 3:00 PM Qualifying INDYCAR
5:20 PM – 5:50 PM Final Practice INDYCAR
Sunday, June 12
10:35 AM Race Indy Lights
12:30 PM Race INDYCAR
How To Watch – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
All 2022 Indy Lights races will be available on Peacock Premium in the United States, REV TV in Canada and ESPN – Star+ in Latin America and Brazil. For fans outside of those areas, Indy Lights races will be available through the new INDYCAR Live! streaming platform. INDYCAR Live! will also feature every practice and qualifying session worldwide. The award-winning INDYCAR Radio Network also will provide coverage of all Indy Lights sessions alongside the INDYCAR App Powered by NTT DATA.
INDYCAR Live! – Indy Lights https://www.indycar.com/IndyLights/OTT/IL-stream
How To Watch – NTT INDYCAR SERIES
All practice and qualifying sessions for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES are available for streaming on Peacock Premium and INDYCAR Live! Watch the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix live on Peacock Premium and NBC. For all sessions, tune in to the INDYCAR Radio Network. For more information on international broadcasts, visit https://www.indycar.com/ways-to-watch/international.
INDCYAR Live! – NTT INDYCAR SERIES https://www.indycar.com/ways-to-watch/stream
Photos: INDYCAR Media
