Herta dodges chaos to win GMR GP at Indy

©IndyCar

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©IndyCar

Colton Herta survived a crazy wet-dry-wet race on Indy's road course on Saturday to snatch his first victory of the 2022 IndyCar season.

The Andretti Autosport charger, who has started the race a lowly P14, relied on a couple of tyre gambles amid the changing conditions and his remarkable skills to beat Meyer Shank Racing's Simon Pagenaud by a little over three seconds.

The eventful, chaos ridden race reached its two-hour limit ten laps short of its scheduled length, with ten lead changes taking place among six drivers.

But treacherous wouldn't even begin to describe the epic track conditions in which Herta scored his seventh career win in the NTT IndyCar Series.

©IndyCar

The 22-year-old credited the versatility of his car for helping him navigate and ultimately defeat the mixed conditions.

"This is the hardest race I think I’ve ever done," Herta said. "Wet to dry, dry back to wet…

"The most interesting thing is you never have a car that works in the wet and the dry – it's just not possible, but it happened today.

"It was very interesting. Felt comfortable in all conditions."

IndyCar's team will remain at the Indianapolis Motor Speed this week to begin their preparations for the big one, the 106^th running of the Indy 500 on May 29.

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.