New Zealand driver Scott Dixon has become the first victim of IndyCar's new hybrid engine system.
Being used for the first time this season at the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio, Dixon's No 9 Chip Ganassi Honda experienced issues before the race even started, losing power during the parade laps.
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After earlier posting the best time during warm-up laps and set to start in 13th on Sunday (Monday NZ Time), Dixon was towed back to the paddock as the race got underway without him, leaving his crew and Honda technicians to find the cause of the problem.
“Kind of weird. There was no alarm," said Dixon. "But when I looked down, because the team said, ‘You’ve got to go into recharge', something started discharging the capacitor immediately, like at an excessive rate.
"So some kind of failure there with the power side of the hybrid, which is definitely not a great way to start it for the first time.”
Dixon joined the race after 22 laps and turned 40 laps before withdrawing with a mechanical issue, finishing 27th. Entering the race 32 points down on teammate Alex Palou, Dixon dropped to fourth in the drivers standings, now 71 points behind.
Fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin recorded his third podium finish for Team Penske at Mid-Ohio on Sunday (Monday NZT).
McLaughlin, who started sixth, led a total of three laps in two stints - on lap 29 and 56 - eventually finishing third, behind Pato O'Ward and Palou. McLaughlin remained eighth in the standings but is now just 34 points behind Dixon.
Meanwhile, the third Kiwi on the grid, Marcus Armstrong, reached the Fast Six in qualifying but was bumped back to 11th due to a five-place penalty for an unauthorised engine change. He was not a factor in the race, finishing 17th.
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