All concentration on 2023 for Katherine Legge at Indianapolis. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
SPEEDWAY, Ind. – It has been 10 years since Katherine Legge competed in the Indianapolis 500. On that occasion, she finished 26th for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.
Should she qualify for next Sunday’s 107th Indianapolis 500, it will be the British racer’s third 500 race and her first outright INDYCAR start since that year.
Although she has been away from the sport, she certainly has not been away from racing altogether. Whether it is driving the Mazda DeltaWing at Daytona or an NASCAR Xfinity Series machine at Richmond Raceway, Legge has kept the racing spirit alive all these years.
In fact, it still fuels her lifestyle as she hopes the No. 44 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda makes the 33-car field.
“I think just my general passion for this sport. I love driving. I love being around it and it’s all I’ve ever known and it’s all I really want to do with my life. I don’t do it for any other reason, but I just love it and I love the competition of it,” Legge told The Podium Finish. “I love the challenge that it is for yourself. I love the technical aspect of it. Just everything.
“Every year I get motivated for the program that I’m doing and when I don’t, I’ll stop. But I think you just always wanna win and you always chasing the next goal and the next dream. It’s what I live for.”
Legge is one of nine female drivers who have qualified for the 500-mile classic and remains the latest to join the group when she made her first 500 in 2012. A lot has changed in INDYCAR, which required some getting used to for Legge when she tested the RLL prepared Honda at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year. Comfortability was key then and it is now this month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been out of it that it feels like a different sport to me to come back in,” said Legge. “So it was key in my like “re-acclimatization,” I guess. I don’t even know if that’s a word, but just to feel comfortable, know where I want to be in the car, feel comfortable with the belts and the weight jacker, and the wheel and all the things. Just to get used to going that fast again is a shock to the system at first.”
Co-owner Bobby Rahal explained Friday how impressed he has been with Legge’s progress, including how she fared in Thursday’s test session where she was not far off of Team Penske’s no-tow speed. It is as if she never left INDYCAR and it is attributed to her experience in various cars over the past decade.
“She’s been driving for many years and in various equipment over those years. DTM cars for Audi a tough series. Then with Acura, doing a good job for them in IMSA, so she brings different perspectives,” Rahal told The Podium Finish. “She brings different experience, and she got in the car again.
“It was 10 years she got in the car in Texas. We did the refresher course, and it was like she’d never gotten out of it. She’s done a super job. Then she said though, the more she’s in there, the more comfortable she feels which I totally understand. The more experience, the better.”
Legge entering turn three at IMS. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
RLL proved that progress is being made in the organization with their full-time entries qualifying strong in the top-eight. While Legge did not compete in last week’s GMR Grand Prix, she is satisfied with the team’s growth and hopes she can contribute into their momentum.
“It was really neat. Christian (Lundgard) had a shot at winning the race here at the weekend and he did obviously an awesome job at getting pole,” said Legge. “So the team are all buoyed by the performance and I think they’re a bit more confident going in. Obviously it doesn’t translate to oval speed from a road course, but I think the fact that we’re seeing constant improvement makes us all feel good about coming to the speedway.”
As years have gone by, Legge has come to recognize the importance of making a lasting impact for future generations. Should she make the 500, perhaps more folks appreciate her efforts that even if she’s been away from INDYCAR, hard work does pay off, no matter what type of discipline she has been racing and continually impressing others along the way.
“I think you never, you never set out to do anything for the next generation,” said Legge. “You kind of do it for you at the time, and then there comes a realization that you impact the younger generations. And I think with that comes a responsibility that you have to try and be the best that you can be and do everything right so that you’re a positive role model and you’re leading by example.”
