Felix Rosenqvist is hoping to emulate last year’s podium performance at The Thermal Club as the private California venue prepares for its first points-paying NTT INDYCAR SERIES event this weekend.
Rosenqvist enjoyed a promising start to the 2025 season three weeks ago at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, qualifying third and finishing seventh – an untimely caution period causing him to drift out of early podium contention.
The field now goes west for the second round of the campaign, returning to The Thermal Club outside Palm Springs, California, for a second year – and this time, it’s for real.
While last year’s $1 Million Challenge exhibition event at the venue didn’t count toward the official championship, it did leave Rosenqvist with plenty of reasons to smile, the Swede pocketing $250 000 after qualifying on pole, winning the first feature race and finishing third in the all-deciding 20-lap finale.
The effort marked Rosenqvist’s first podium as a Meyer Shank Racing driver.
Now officially part of the main NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule, this year’s race will feature all the added complications of strategy decisions, pit stops and championship points on the line, bringing plenty of new variables to the inaugural The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix.
“It’s exciting being back west for the first time of the year,” says Felix Rosenqvist. ”We have good memories from Thermal and got to spray some champagne there last year. It will be fun to take on the challenge of a full race with pit stops and fans this time around.”
The Thermal Club’s 3.067-mile, 17-turn road course presents a vastly different challenge to the tight St. Pete street circuit that opened the campaign, offering fast and sweeping corners that are likely to put a premium on tyre management in Sunday’s 65-lap race.
“This is the first road course race of the season and it’s a bit of uncharted territory still,” Felix Rosenqvist concludes. “We only had two road course events last year following the introduction of the hybrid system, so we still have a lot to learn at this kind of track. We were off to a fast start in St. Pete, however, and the target this weekend is to build on that and keep challenging at the front.”
The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix gets underway with opening practice on Friday, followed by qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
TIME TABLE
All times local (U.S. Pacific)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 2
The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix
The Thermal Club (USA)
Friday March 21
Practice 1: 3:35-4:55 pm
Saturday March 22
Practice 2: 10:00-11:00 am
Qualifying: 2:05-3:30 pm
Sunday March 23
Warm-up: 08:00-08:30 am
Race (65 laps): 12:15 pm
TIMING: INDYCAR App / indycar.com
TRACK DATA: view here
HOW TO WATCH: view here
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: view here