Louis Foster has reflected on taking an unexpected maiden IndyCar pole position at Road America.
Showing pace in the early stages of qualifying, Foster easily advanced to the Fast Six. Although appearing to lack the pace to challenge for pole position.
This changed dramatically in the closing stages of Fast Six qualifying, when Foster’s second lap saw him jump to the top of the timesheets. Rivals attempted to beat the Briton, but Louis Foster secured a shock pole position for RLL at Road America.
Speaking in the press conference after the race, Foster summarised his emotions, joking that shaving his moustache may have aided his session.
“It’s crazy. I don’t know. I don’t really know what to say. Obviously massive thank you to the team. They’ve done an amazing job.
“Yes, I guess it’s the moustache. I don’t know, man.
A dramatic change in fortune in qualifying at Road America for Louis Foster
Louis Foster explained his approach to securing pole position, revealing he struggled for pace in the build-up to qualifying at Road America
“If I’m honest, we kind of struggled a little bit throughout the three practices. When we got through to the Fast 12, I was surprised because I messed up my lap. We were sitting there before the group stage, the Fast 12 stage.
“I said to the guys, I don’t think I have the car to make it through the Fast Six. Do you want throw some used tires on and maybe get a sport or two and see how it goes. They were confident in the ability of the car and myself to be able to push into the Fast Six, which obviously was the right call in the end.
“When we did the last run, again, we were just conserving reds. We were in the Fast Six. Top six starting spot for us is awesome alone. We just ran out, did out-lap and push on the used reds. By the time I went through turn one, I was about 2/10ths up, then maintained that throughout the lap.
“Gained about a 10th or so in a couple corners. The reds held on really, really well clearly. Yeah, still a
little bit in shock.
Foster also praised his pit crew for their work during Road America qualifying and remarked on his strong qualifying performances to date in 2025.
“The boys have been working their asses off, I’ll be honest. We had the crash in Detroit with the suspension failure. Then last weekend at St. Louis.
“Massive props to the 45 boys. They needed this to kind of push themselves through the summer stretch. All credit to them because, yeah, they worked endlessly these last two weeks. They’ve rebuilt the car twice.”
“We’ve had very, very good qualifying results so far this year. Obviously this is the best. I’m super happy. But we need to do well in the race tomorrow at the end of the day.
“I think that’s right now my target, is to focus and be with the team and make sure that we’ve got the race car to be able to battle up front and try to retain our position as long as possible up front. We’ll go for a win if we can. We have a fast car.”
“Full focus on the race. We have to bring in some solid points. Will probably sink in after this weekend, for sure.
