"Once we analyze everything, there are some things we could have done differently, but all in all, it’s good to finish the race with a strong result"- Katherine Legge enjoyed a very positive weekend at the Milwaukee Mile double-header, where she achieved a season-best finish in Indycar.
Katherine Legge enjoyed a very positive weekend at the Milwaukee Mile double-header, rounds 15 and 16 of the IndyCar season, where she achieved a season-best finish of 15th in Race 2, gaining seven positions from the start and improving on a top-20 finish in Race 1.
This was Legge's best finish in IndyCar since 2012, in her fourth weekend behind the wheel of the #51 Dale Coyne Racing e.l.f. Cosmetics Dallara this year.
Legge joined the grid at the Indy 500 thanks to a revolutionary partnership with cosmetics brand e.l.f. Although her race was soon marred by engine issues, the British ace secured a deal with Dale Coyne Racing for the oval races, which allowed the pink e.l.f. machine to return to Iowa and Gateway before Milwaukee.
Legge made good progress at Iowa Speedway, securing a top-20 finish in 17th that showed promising signs. Unfortunately, contact in the opening stages of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway resulted in an early retirement, curtailing her driving time and progression in her IndyCar return. However, the IMSA race winner had an opportunity to redeem herself at the two Hy-Vee Milwaukee Mile 250 races, marking the Wisconsin oval circuit's return to the IndyCar calendar since 2015.
Katherine built speed through the practice session, improving progressively and ending P27 with some setup work needed, especially on fresh tyres.
She was the second car out in qualifying and completed her two laps with an average 155.842 mph on the first lap and 155.735 mph on the second. This strong run placed her in provisional second place. Ferrucci, Robb, Rahal, Simpson, Lundgaard, and Fittipaldi all qualified behind Legge, and with several engine penalties, she gained a few more grid spots.
She would end up P18 for Race 1 and P22 for Race 2, after a very positive qualifying session where she showed enough speed to battle in the midfield, having reported that the car had improved significantly after practice but still had some understeer to fix for the race.
McLaughlin started ahead of Malukas and Rossi on the Race 1 grid, with Legge lining up in P18. The whole field had a clean getaway and Legge, with a cautious start, slotted into P23.
Katherine then tried to find a way past Rasmussen while also opening a gap on Rahal; she spent 20 laps right behind Rasmussen, maintaining her rhythm and staying with the pack, logging steady laps as they hit 50 laps.
The race remained green throughout the first part, with Lundqvist taking the lead over McLaughlin as the leaders caught the back of the pack and had to manage traffic.
Katherine passed Rasmussen and picked up another position when Siegel pitted. She was P21 on lap 56, now ahead of the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing car, and soon pulled away to chase Sting Ray Robb. During the first round of pit stops, Legge went longer and pitted on lap 64, having run as high as eighth.
Unfortunately, she lost a few positions during the round of pit stops and rejoined in P25 behind Lundgaard and Rasmussen. However, her pace was good, and she picked up one position on Simpson.
O'Ward and Herta moved ahead of McLaughlin after the pit stops, with Newgarden brushing the wall and dropping down. The leaders navigated through heavy traffic, and Legge was P23 by lap 80.
The first caution of the day came on lap 81 when Katherine spun but managed to get going again with no damage. She pitted and lost a lap, dropping to P25.
Once back to green on lap 94, McLaughlin led Herta, with Robb and McLaughlin still on a single stop.
Legge got back up to speed, catching Rahal and Fittipaldi. She passed the Brazilian for 24th, then got back ahead of Rahal as well, moving to P23. She now had 21 seconds to close to catch Kirkwood. Ahead, O'Ward and McLaughlin alternated in the lead. When Robb finally pitted for the second time, Katherine Legge moved ahead to P22.
The second round of pit stops came soon after—Legge pitted on lap 139 from P23.
The caution came back out on lap 147 when Newgarden and Ericsson tangled and hit the wall. Legge was P22 after the pit stops. On the restart, she couldn't quite keep up with Fittipaldi—who had passed her in the pits—and had to keep Marcus Armstrong at bay, who was a second behind.
Legge held him off until the third round of pit stops on lap 180. Colton Herta lost a wheel after his stop, bringing out the third caution. Legge was running P21 and had not stopped yet; she pitted under caution, retaining P21 with 50 laps to go.
Katherine passed Rahal and, when Grosjean hit trouble, she further moved up into P19.
She clocked the fourth fastest lap of the race on lap 204 with a time of 23.9524, and was now 5 seconds behind Fittipaldi, quickly making up ground. The gap was down to 2 seconds in just a few laps. Once close, however, she had to deal with the traffic of the leaders and lost a couple of seconds to Fittipaldi—but maintained a safe margin to Rahal.
Power and O'Ward battled for the lead, with Conor Daly also joining the fight as they navigated traffic. Pato O'Ward held off Power in a very close finish, beating the Australian and Daly for the victory in Race 1.
Katherine Legge crossed the finish line in P19, completing a solid race and achieving her second top-20 of the IndyCar season.
“There was a lot going on in that race, with many people struggling", Legge explained. "Tyre degradation was huge, which made it interesting depending on the strategy. If there were cars on new tyres, they drove past you like you were standing still, but you felt like a hero if you were on new tyres."
"I think we were working with the tools we had and were able to have a relatively fast race car. I didn’t feel particularly ‘racy’ because of what happened at Gateway. I wanted to finish and get my feet underneath me before taking too many chances, but some are out there racing dirty. I just have to learn and figure it out for tomorrow.”
On Sunday, Legge had a second opportunity to collect more mileage and maintain momentum after the solid performance in Saturday's race.
Legge lined up on row 11, starting P22 and aiming for another finish after the solid finish of the previous day.
Alex Palou stopped on the warm-up lap, and the race started under caution. The green flag waved on lap 6, immediately followed by a crash at the front, when Lundqvist ran into the back of Armstrong, who hit Newgarden, taking both out. Katherine survived the start without issues, moving to P19.
The restart came on lap 17, with Legge settling into P20 and battling Sting Ray Robb. She moved up to P18 as Siegel pitted with car issues, then ran well with the pack, consistently close to Robb.
The first round of pit stops occurred on lap 50, with Legge staying out longer and grabbing the overall lead as everyone else pitted. Having led laps, she stopped on lap 60, rejoining in P19. A caution came soon after, with Malukas hitting trouble. Legge was P19, running well and keeping it clean.
On the green flag, Katherine was passed by Rosenqvist, dropping to P20, but settled nicely behind him with a decent gap to Fittipaldi. As Rosenqvist passed Robb, Katherine also overtook the latter, advancing to to P18. O'Ward pitted with issues and retired, just as Legge, on a great run, passed Simpson and grabbed P16.
Soon after, during the second round of pit stops, she again climbed the order before stopping on lap 105, settling back into P19. When Sting Ray Robb spun, the third caution came out on lap 114, and Legge moved up to P17.
A troubled restart saw Rahal hit the wall—Legge picked up another position, moving to P16, albeit going one lap down as the race reached the halfway point.
Another incident at the restart saw Power spin, bringing out a caution, although he continued. He pitted for a new front wing, dropping to P14.
The restart on lap 139 saw Legge having a good restart as she attacked Rasmussen, who defended, and she again settled into P16.
Unfortunately, she lost out to Simpson but gained a position on Rosenqvist on lap 162. Now, Lundgaard and Simpson battled ahead, with Legge aiming to pick up the pieces.
She navigated the traffic of the leaders cautiously and expertly, moving up to P15 with 30 laps to go. Robb hit the wall with 22 laps to go, triggering the final round of pit stops under caution. The race restarted for the final 12 laps.
Running just behind her Dale Coyne teammate Jack Harvey, Legge just needed to keep her nose clean—and she did just that, finishing P15, her first top-15 of the season after a really strong run from 22nd on the grid.
“We had a decent race, and the e.l.f. Cosmetics car was once again fast", Legge stated. "We moved up from our 22nd place on the starting grid to finish 15th, so that’s a positive."
"I think at the end of the day, once we analyze everything, there are some things we could have done differently, but all in all, it’s good to finish the race with a strong result", she concluded. "It gives the team some momentum going into Nashville for the season finale.”
This was Legge's best result in IndyCar since Fontana 2012 and her fourth top-15 finish in her IndyCar career. She gained lots of valuable experience over the weekend—a positive step forward and an encouraging sign.
IndyCar will wrap up its 2024 season at Nashville Superspeedway on September 15th.
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