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Dialuna 24 Mei 2021

Power saves Penske from Indy 500 qualifying embarrassment

led Paretta Autosport. The three will of Roger Penske's diversity push, and
start in the last row in the field of 33 the struggles of the Penske cars ap-
next Sunday. plied also to de Silvestro. The Swiss
It will be the third consecutive year driver is back at Indy for the first time
Karam starts 31st. since 2015 and theoretically in the
best car of her career.
Charlie Kimball was bumped from
the race, bringing an end to 10 con- Yet she and Power both sat still in
secutive starts in "The Greatest Spec- their cockpits under a hot Indiana sun
tacle in Racing." R.C. Enerson, a as they waited to see if Kimball and
rookie with new team Top Gun Rac- Enerson would knock them from the
ing, failed to qualify for his first Indy race. Only when the clock hit zero on
500 after a week of struggles for the the 75-minute session did Power and
late entrant. de Silvestro climb from their cars and
"So what do you want to do next briefly hug in celebration.
weekend?" Kimball asked his wife as Beth Paretta and de Silvestro will be
he climbed from the A.J. Foyt Racing the first female team owner and fe-
entry. male driver in the Indy 500, and the
team has a strong crew of women that
Power, with 62 career poles in Indy- could be used on pit stops next Sun-
Car, trails only Mario Andretti's 67 day.
poles for most in series history. He's
(AP) — Will Power was wide have been on the bubble, and yet on been the best of his generation at Many drivers already locked into the
open around Indianapolis Motor Sunday, Power desperately tried to qualifying a car, but the Team Penske race watched the bumping process
Speedway, unwilling to let off the avoid becoming the first Roger Pen- entries have struggled since Friday from pit lane with empathy for their
gas, even when he brushed his car ske driver sent home from the Indy when engines were given a horse- fellow competitors.
against the wall. 500 since 1995. power boost.
The issue doesn't seem to be with the "People will never understand the
His spot in the Indianapolis 500 was "This really gives you respect," Pow- Chevrolet power plants because Ed intensity that these five drivers and
at stake and Power, one of the greatest er said. "Definitely lose a little bit of Carpenter and Rinus VeeKay put a teams are feeling," Graham Rahal
qualifiers in IndyCar history, was not sleep over that one, just knowing you pair of Chevys in the Fast Nine qual- said. "This is the most intense mo-
going to miss the show. have to execute." ifying group. The Penske issue ap- ment of your life, all magnified on
pears to be in the mechanical setup, national TV, pressured by sponsor
The 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner Sage Karam was fastest in the shoot- and none of its four cars dazzled in implications, and worsened by terri-
was one of five drivers fighting for a out, followed by Power and Simona qualifying. ble track conditions. Indy 500 quali-
spot in the final row of the May 30 de Silvestro, who was driving a Pen- New IndyCar team owner Paretta has fying at its worst."
race. A Team Penske car never should ske car in an alliance for the women- a heavy alliance with Penske as part

Liverpool grabs Champions League spot to cap season recovery

(AP) — No trophy to celebrate by securing a return to the Champi- Even though top-four rivals Chelsea pool's final goal of a season of mixed
this year but clinching Champi- ons League. and Leicester would go on to lose, fortunes and no trophy.
ons League qualification proved "Fighting through and finishing third Liverpool made sure its top-four fate
a welcome consolation prize for it is one of the best lessons to learn for remained fully in its own hands. Still, there was a chance at least for
Liverpool. life," Klopp said. "From nowhere to a lap of honor with fans — the type
the Champions League in five weeks After Andros Townsend missed scor- they were denied when the trophy
Fans were allowed back into Anfield — that's a massive achievement." ing chances for Crystal Palace — led was handed out in front of empty
for the first time in 2021 in time to It was only a month ago that Liver- by former Liverpool manager Roy seats last July.
see Sadio Mane's double clinch a fi- pool wanted out of the Champions Hodgson in his final game in charge "To have the opportunity to have this
nal-day 2-0 victory over Crystal Pal- League with the ill-fated bid to split at age 73 — Mane slid in to score af- game in front of 10,000 people means
ace on Sunday. to join a European Super League. ter Andrew Robertson's corner in the really the world for us," Klopp said.
36th minute. And Mane's shot was "The 10,000 did a really good job to-
After winning the Premier League "I'm really happy for the Champions deflected in by Palace defender Gary day. When we came out it sounded
trophy last season — to end a 30-year League they don't have to play with- Cahill in the 74th minute for Liver- like sold out."
English title drought — celebrating out us," Klopp said.
third place might seem underwhelm- It's not just about prestige, but fi-
ing. Especially when the team was top nances with over $100 million in po-
the last time fans were allowed briefly tential earnings from UEFA, let alone
back onto the Kop in December. the matchday revenue.

Three months ago, Jürgen Klopp's And if coronavirus restrictions con-
side wasn't even in the top four. tinue to be eased up, the stadium
"It was absolutely out of reach," the should be full by the time the group
manager said. stage begins in September.

Liverpool was in a downward spiral, Not since Liverpool played Atletico
dropping to eighth place 77 days ago Madrid in March 2020 — on the day
after being beaten at an empty An- the pandemic was declared — has
field by a Fulham side that would go Anfield been at capacity. Only briefly
on to be relegated. in December were 2,000 fans briefly
allowed back before the second wave
Even with key players still injured — of coronavirus infections shut the
notably center back Virgil van Dijk — turnstiles again.
Klopp used the final 10 league games So Sunday's crowd of 10,000 was the
to mastermind an unbeaten recovery largest in 14 months and it was a jit-
to ensure the comedown from the tery spring afternoon that felt more
title last year wasn't quite as crushing like winter in the chill.