Pagenaud To Return To Le Mans in Quest for First Win

  • Racing News
Simon Pagenaud

NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Simon Pagenaud will attempt to win two of the biggest races in the world within a span of two weeks this spring.

Pagenaud will try to earn his second Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victory May 28 in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and then fly to his native France to race June 10-11 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class with COOL Racing.

"I'm back at Le Mans,” Pagenaud said. “I’m so delighted the stars have finally aligned for this to happen. This 2023 season is going to be amazing. The 24 Hours of Daytona, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans are the number one motorsport events, and I’m going to take part in all three of them the same year. I love that.”

2019 Indy 500 winner Pagenaud can earn his first 24 Hours of Le Mans victory in the same year he was part of the Meyer Shank Racing team that earned overall victory in January in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, one of the world’s great endurance sports car races like Le Mans. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and current NTT INDYCAR SERIES Meyer Shank teammate Helio Castroneves was one of Pagenaud’s teammates at Daytona.

This will be Pagenaud’s fifth career start in the twice-around-the-clock event and his first since 2011, when he finished runner-up overall as part of the Peugeot factory LMP1 prototype team.

His teammates in the No. 47 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2 prototype will be Reshad de Gerus and Vladislav Lomko. COOL also will field a sister No. 37 car driven by Alexandre Coigny, Nicolas Lapierre and Malthe Jakobsen.

“What a great story between Nicolas Lapierre and I, given that we used to be wheel to wheel in Formula Renault when we were younger,” Pagenaud said. “I have great respect for him and his career. I’m going to bring all of the experience I’ve gained throughout the years, and I hope that both the team and my teammates will benefit from it.”

Pagenaud’s next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the PPG 375 on Sunday, April 2 at Texas Motor Speedway.