Dixon rates Alonso as one of his biggest rivals
TORONTO: Indianapolis 500 polesitter Scott Dixon feels twice Formula One champion Fernando Alonso, who is making his IndyCar debut on Monday, will be one of the main threats to his chances of winning The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Alonso slipped into an IndyCar for the first time three weeks ago but the accomplished driver qualified for the 33car race with the fifthfastest time and starts in the second row.
‘‘He’s done amazing and, to be honest, to win the race he’s going to be one of the guys you’re going to have to beat,’’ Dixon, a four times IndyCar Series champion, said yesterday during a promotional IndyCar stop in Toronto.
‘‘You can typically weed out a group of guys in any formula that are at the top and are slightly different than the rest and he is one of those guys.’’
Dixon, who started from pole when he won the 2008 Indy 500, said Alonso would benefit from driving for an Andretti Autosport team that put four drivers in victory lane, including Alexander Rossi, who last year became the race’s ninth rookie winner.
Alonso’s driver coach is 2003 Indy 500 winner Gil de Ferran, known for his analytical approach to racing, which Dixon feels is another element that makes the 35yearold Spaniard a threat on the sprawling 4.02km circuit.
‘‘You can tell he does everything very methodically,’’ Dixon said of Alonso.
‘‘He’s got a great group of people around him . . . helping him and guiding him. Plus, it’s one of the few places we do get a lot of practice at, which helps a lot.’’
While Alonso has barely any experience of IndyCar traffic, the New Zealander said sheer ability would prevent him from being a risk to other drivers. Dixon, who qualified fourth for his first Indy 500 in 2003, said rookie drivers may even have an edge.
‘‘My first year at Indianapolis we had a pretty competitive car, we led a lot of laps and then we had a few issues in the end but to me it was one of the easier races, because there was no pressure.
‘‘There was an expectation but it wasn’t through the roof and you didn’t know what was right or wrong, so it kind of just flowed. So there are positives to having run here before but there are positives being a rookie, too.’’