Hinchcliffe Snatches Victory From Sato In Brazilian Thriller
James Hinchcliffe has secured his second IZOD IndyCar Series victory, after snatching the lead away from Takuma Sato at the final corner of the final lap in a thrilling 75-lap lap Sao Paulo Indy 300. The leading duo were followed home by Marco Andretti, who only just managed to defend his position from Josef Newgarden in the closing laps.
After storming to a sensational pole position by smashing the lap record, reigning Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay led the field into the tight Turn 1 at the start ahead of Dario Franchitti who managed to overtake E.J. Viso for 2nd position. As the opening lap progressed, the Venezuelan driver continued to fall through the order as local hero Tony Kanaan rose into 3rd position for KV Racing Technology.
Whilst one Brazilian driver battled at the front of the order, another caused the first of many full course cautions as Ana Beatriz stopped on the circuit at Turn 7 with a gearbox issue. During the yellow flag intervention, many drivers decided to pit for fresh tyres including Josef Newgarden who also elected for a new nose cone. After only two laps under caution, Ryan Hunter-Reay once again led the pack into Turn 1 as the race was resumed. A lap later saw Tony Kanaan overtake former team-mate Dario Franchitti for 2nd position, before then storming into the lead of the race after a superlative overtaking maneuver at Turn 11.
This naturally sent the many Brazilian fans into a state of euphoria as Tony Kanaan led his first laps around the streets of Sao Paulo, and his first overall since last season’s finale at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. On Lap 19, the second full course caution was caused when Will Power’s highly uncompetitive race was brought to a premature conclusion. After qualifying a lowly 22nd, the Australian driver was forced into a retirement after a fire broke out on his #12 Penske machine. This was the his first retirement on a street course since Toronto in 2011.
During the ensuring yellow flag period, the top 12 cars all elected to pit. After remaining out on track, Sebastien Bourdais and Alex Tagliani rose to the top, allowing the Frenchman to lead his first lap since Mexico City in 2007. The race was eventually resumed on Lap 24, as Bourdais led the field through the ever-tricky Turns 1 and 2. Local driver Helio Castroneves ran wide at Turn 1, as James Jakes hit the retaining tyre barrier at Turn 1. Whilst utter mayhem ensued, Ed Carpenter slammed into the wall at Turn 1 and Graham Rahal stopped on the track.
The safety car led 19 laps in what was an incident-filled race.
This naturally saw another momentary yellow flag period, before the race was resumed on Lap 27 with Sebastien Bourdais still in the lead. Josef Newgarden made minor contact with the leader through Turn 1, as Helio Castroneves was tipped into a spin at Turn 1 by Scott Dixon. Despite the numerous collisions throughout the pack, the race remained under green flag conditions as Bourdais led Newgarden. By Lap 34, the leading duo of Sebastien Bourdais and Josef Newgarden elected to pit, handing the lead down to Ryan Hunter-Reay.
However, the reigning Champion’s lead was short lived as Takuma Sato stormed around the Andretti Autosport driver at Turn 5. The Japanese ace then proceeded to open up a three second lead to Hunter-Reay, before Graham Rahal slammed into the wall at Turn 2 and caused another yellow flag delay. Under yellow flag conditions, Takuma Sato and JR Hildebrand pitted, allowing Ryan Hunter-Reay to assume the lead at the front. The race was resumed on Lap 40, only for a multi-car collision involving Sebastien Bourdais, JR Hildebrand, Helio Castroneves, Charlie Kimball and Simon Pagenaud to cause another full course caution.
The race resumed five laps later, this time with much more success as Tony Kanaan once again wowed the attending masses by storming back into the lead at Turn 11. However, the former Champion’s authority over proceedings was abruptly ended a lap later as Marco Andretti continued his rise through the order to the lead. Ryan Hunter-Reay’s hopes of victory were dashed on Lap 47, as he was forced to make an unscheduled pit-stop for a flat tyre,
After giving his local fans much to cheer about, Tony Kanaan’s race was brought to a frustratingly premature conclusion on Lap 51 as he stopped on the circuit. Due to his abrupt retirement on the start/finish straight, a full course caution was once again called upon as his car was cleared. Race leader Marco Andretti elected to pit along with many others, allowing JR Hildebrand to assume the lead. The 25-year-old Californian driver led at the restart, as behind him James Hinchcliffe and Takuma Sato battled for 2nd position.
Another full course caution was caused on Lap 56 as British driver Justin Wilson made heavy contact with the tyres at Turn 5. JR Hildebrand pitted under caution, allowing Takuma Sao to return to the lead. The former Formula 1 driver led at the restart, as Newgarden overtook Hinchcliffe for 2nd at Turn 1. As the race drew to a thrilling conclusion, the lead between Takuma Sato and Josef Newgarden ebbed and flowed, before the 22-year-old American lunged for the lead on Lap 71. Takuma Sato expertly defended his lead, as James Hinchcliffe overtook Newgarden for 2nd. The “Mayor of Hinchtown” gradually began to reel in Takuma Sato, as the white flag was flown to indicate the final lap of the race.
As Marco Andretti jostled for 3rd position with Josef Newgarden, James Hinchcliffe waited until the final corner before pouncing upon Takuma Sato for the lead. In a nail-biting finish, James Hinchcliffe managed to make his move stick and secure his second win of the season only +0.3463 seconds ahead of Takuma Sato. Marco Andretti held on to 3rd ahead of Josef Newgarden, in one of the most enthralling conclusions to an IZOD IndyCar event.
Despite winning the race, James Hinchcliffe is only 4th in the Championship with 112 points scored whereas Takuma Sao rises to the top of the Championship on 136 points ahead of Marco Andretti. The month of May is a special time in the IZOD IndyCar Series, and has begun with an utterly awe-inspiring race around the streets of Sao Paulo. Expect further fireworks when the sport reconvenes later this month, for the legendary Indianapolis 500.
Results - 95 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 2h09m34.7383s
2. Takuma Sato Foyt Dallara-Honda + 0.3463s
3. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 1.1376s
4. Oriol Servia Panther DRR Dallara-Chevy + 1.1745s
5. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda + 1.6516s
6. EJ Viso Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 2.8119s
7. Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 3.5961s
8. Simona de Silvestro KV Dallara-Chevy + 4.7772s
9. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 7.6331s
10. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 9.0265s
11. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 9.5135s
12. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda + 10.4393s
13. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy + 11.1234s
14. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 13.6406s
15. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy + 13.7377s
16. Tristan Vautier Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 14.3517s
17. James Jakes Rahal Dallara-Honda + 19.8585s
18. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 29.4261s
19. Sebastian Saavedra Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 54.7223s
20. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda + 2 laps
21. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy + 3 laps
22. Graham Rahal Rahal Dallara-Honda + 4 laps
23. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy + 4 laps
Retirements:
Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy 17 laps
Ana Beatriz Coyne Dallara-Honda 6 laps
Picture(s) Copyright © IndyCar
Takuma Sato Makes IndyCar History With Victory At Long Beach
Takuma Sato has made IndyCar history after taking his and Japan’s maiden IZOD IndyCar Series victory around the Streets of Long Beach, after an incident-filled race ran in scorching weather conditions. The 36-year-old took the victory ahead of Graham Rahal, with Justin Wilson 3rd for Dale Coyne Racing,
After securing pole position, four-time Champion Dario Franchitti led at the start as the field jostled for position through the opening corners. At Turn 6, rookie Tristan Vautier collided with Scott Dixon, an incident which forced the Kiwi to pit with a puncture and saw Vautier struck with a drive-thru penalty for causing an avoidable incident. Further collisions ensued throughout the opening lap, as Sebastian Saavedra slammed into the wall at Turn 9. This saw the first of many full course cautions, as Marco Andretti pitted to replace a damaged front nose cone.
The race was restarted on Lap 7, as Dario Franchitti fought for the lead of the race with reigning Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay. This was the first lap the Scotsman had led since the season finale at Fontana last year, in what has so far been a tough new season. Dario Franchitti proceeded to open up a gap to Ryan Hunter-Reay throughout the opening few laps, before Takuma Sato managed to overtake the Andretti Autosport driver for 2nd on Lap 22. The Japanese ace then began to catch Franchitti for the lead, before electing to pit on Lap 28 along with Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Dario Franchitti pitted from the lead a lap later and suffered a frustratingly slow stop, which ultimately led to the 39-year-old loosing the lead to Will Power. A second full course caution was caused on Lap 30 when Charlie Kimball and Alex Tagliani collided at Turn 8. Will Power, who has so far led during each of the three opening races, pitted under caution and handed the lead down to Takuma Sato.
The race was resumed on Lap 35, only for a third full course caution to be caused moments later when James Hinchcliffe and Tony Kanaan collected E.J. Viso at Turn 1. The Venezuelan driver continued to circulate, and eventually pitted for repairs along with Ryan Hunter-Reay, unlike Tony Kanaan who managed to survive the incident relatively unscathed. The race was quickly resumed, as Takuma Sato continued to lead at the front despite Graham Rahal’s attempts to reel in the A.J. Foyt Racing driver.
Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay’s disastrous race was ended on Lap 50, when the American driver struck the tyre barrier at Turn 8. This caused the fourth full course caution of the race, and allowed the leaders to pit under caution. Takuma Sato won the race off of pit road, whereas further back Will Power was struck by Tristan Vautier who was exiting his pit box. This caused slight damage to Power’s Penske, and saw Vautier issued with his second penalty of the day. During the melee in the pit-lane, A.J. Allmendinger was forced into retirement with a mechanical issue.
Once again the race was resumed on Lap 56, as Takuma Sato remained in the lead ahead of Graham Rahal. Charlie Kimball’s race was brought to a premature conclusion when the 28-year-old struck the barrier at Turn 1. However, this did not result in a full course caution, as the gap at the front ebbed and flowed between Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal. As Takuma Sato started his final lap of the race, there was contact between Tony Kanaan and Oriol Servia, which saw the race end under caution conditions as Takuma Sato stormed to an historic victory around the Streets of Long Beach.
The Japanese ace was followed home by Graham Rahal in 2nd and Justin Wilson in 3rd, after 80 incident-filled laps. Takuma Sato’s victory was the first for A.J. Foyt Racing since Kansas in 2002, and the first on a street or road course since Silverstone way back in 1978. With three different winners in the first three races, the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series has enjoyed an exciting and unpredictable start. Helio Castroneves remains atop the Drivers’ Championship with 99 points, however Takuma Sato is only six points adrift in 2nd position. The Series will reconvene in several weeks time around the Streets of Sao Paulo for the Sao Paulo Indy 300.
Results - 80 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Takuma Sato Foyt Dallara-Honda 1h50m08.7155s
2. Graham Rahal Rahal Dallara-Honda + 5.3612s
3. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda + 8.2386s
4. Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 12.3573s
5. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy + 28.2402s
6. Oriol Servia Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy + 29.4683s
7. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 30.2703s
8. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 31.8674s
9. Simona de Silvestro KV Dallara-Chevy + 33.1224s
10. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy + 33.4118s
11. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 33.6278s
12. James Jakes Rahal Dallara-Honda + 35.0645s
13. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda + 35.8945s
14. Ana Beatriz Coyne Dallara-Honda + 36.3442s
15. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon Dallara-Chevy + 36.5936s
16. Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy + 43.0022s
17. Tristan Vautier Schmidt Dallara-Honda + 51.7961s
18. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy + 56.4533s
19. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda + 1 laps
20. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy + 2 laps
21. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda + 2 laps
22. EJ Viso Andretti Dallara-Chevy + 27 laps
Retirements:
AJ Allmendinger Penske Dallara-Chevy 51 laps
Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy 49 laps
Mike Conway Rahal Dallara-Honda 38 laps
James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 34 laps
Sebastian Saavedra Dragon Dallara-Chevy 1 lap
Picture Copyright © Chris Jones/IndyCar
Conor Daly Q&A
Although the 2013 motorsport season is only several months old, American 21-year-old Conor Daly has already enjoyed a tremendously busy year both in Europe and America. The son of the former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Derek Daly has tested in the GP3 Series, competed in the GP2 Series and has been confirmed for the Indianapolis 500.
Conor Daly began his open-wheel single-seater career back in 2008 in the Formula 2000 Series, and has since competed in the Star Mazda Championship, Firestone Indy Lights Series, GP3 Series, MRF Challenge and the GP2 Series. The American star has also partaken in a test for the IZOD IndyCar Series, where he managed to impress team owner A.J. Foyt and land himself a drive at the legendary Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing.
Despite competing in the opening round of the GP2 Series season at Malaysia several weeks ago, Conor Daly has dismissed plans to run in the category full-time this season. As the 2013 season of motorsport steps up a gear in the coming weeks, I caught up Conor Daly as we discussed his forthcoming debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series and his debut in the GP2 Series for Hilmer Motorsport.
Q: First of all Conor, many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s been a busy start to the season for you, with competing in the GP2 Series in Malaysia, testing for the GP3 Series and the confirmation that you’ll compete at the Indianapolis 500 in May with A.J. Foyt Racing. What does it mean to you to be preparing to compete in such a legendary event?
Conor Daly testing at Sebring in December for A.J. Foyt Racing.
Conor Daly: It has definitely been a busy start to the year! I can’t really believe how much has gone on and it’s only April. The Indy 500 deal being announced was definitely an amazing feeling. I’ve been to that race every year of my life except for last year when I was racing in Monaco. The event means so much to me because it’s really my home town race. I grew up and still live only 30 minutes from the track and was always there as often as I could be. People don’t really understand how massive of an event it is until they experience it themselves. It is without a doubt the greatest race in the world. I am really excited to get to work and do the best job I can.
Q: Although you have competed in both the Star Mazda Championship and the Firestone Indy Lights Series in America, you have only competed on a handful of ovals in your single-seater career. Do you feel nervous with the prospect of competing in the 200-lap race, or are you confident ahead of your Indianapolis 500 debut?
CD: It will be a big challenge for sure because Indianapolis is a very unique oval. I’ve known the Indy deal could happen for the last couple of months and I have been reaching out to many people I know to get some advice or different bits of information on the track or car that might be helpful. I’m confident I’ll be able to get up to speed because the Foyt team does a great job in car preparation and A.J. [Foyt] knows how perfect everything has to be to win at Indy.
Q: As you will be regarded as a rookie at the Indianapolis 500, you will participate in the Rookie Orientation Program on April 11th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway alongside fellow rookies A.J. Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier and Carlos Munoz. For those who do not fully understand this program, could you please explain what it entails.
CD: You basically go out and do 10 laps at 200-205mph average speed and progress to faster speeds until you get to do 10 laps at 210 or 215mph+. It is a big track to get to grips with and extremely high speeds so they give the rookies a day to learn before the month of May begins.
Q: Meanwhile, you have also been competing in the GP2 and GP3 Series. Last month in Malaysia you made your debut in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport, finishing 13th and 7th respectively. How do you feel you performed during your debut in the category?
Conor Daly finished 13th and 7th respectively during his debut race weekend in GP2.
CD: I think I did pretty well considering how much time I had in the car before that weekend. I only had an afternoon in the dry at the Barcelona test to get to grips with the car. It was also a new track for me so to have the second fastest lap of the race in race two and to score points I was extremely happy. The team did a great job and they’ve got some really good engineers which was a massive help.
Q: Last season in GP3 you took your first victory in the category around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, and throughout the remainder of the season finished on the podium a further four times. However, at Monaco you were involved in a huge airborne incident with Dmitry Suranovich which saw your car launched into the catch-fencing at the exit of the tunnel. What went through your mind as you struck the rear of Suranovich?
CD: That incident should never have happened. The way he was driving was absolutely unsafe and was deemed “acceptable”. I don’t really care to talk about it anymore because it really ruined my season but what’s done is done and I learned from it and had a lot of strong races throughout the rest of the season.
Q: And finally, retuning to the topic of the IZOD IndyCar Series, can we expect to see you back in the No. 41 machine after the Indianapolis 500, or will you continue to compete in the GP2 Series in Europe and Asia?
CD: I don’t know if I will do any other IndyCar races or not. If I have the opportunity and no schedule conflicts I’d love to do a road course race in the IndyCar, but of course there also has to be a budget in place to do that. At the moment a lot of my racing plans are up in the air and they most likely will not include GP2. Many people think I am racing in GP2 full-time which is not actually the case. I had a great opportunity provided for me to do the first race and I took advantage of it. If I was racing GP2 full-time, I wouldn’t be doing all of the GP3 pre-season testing… I can’t say much about what else is going on but I will be racing something full-time for sure.
Many thanks to Conor Daly for the communication and time taken to complete this interview.
Picture(s) Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service, John Hendrick/IndyCar & Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service
Conor Daly Confirmed For 2013 Indianapolis 500
It has been confirmed that 21-year-old American driver Conor Daly will compete in this year’s Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing, alongside the team’s full-time driver Takuma Sato. Conor Daly, who is the son of former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Derek Daly, is currently competing in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport.
This announcement comes after Conor Daly tested for A.J. Foyt Racing in mid-December at the Sebring International Raceway, in doing so getting his first taste of the Dallara-spec IZOD IndyCar Series machine. In 2011, Conor Daly competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, the support category for the IZOD IndyCar Series. During his time in the feeder category, Daly took one race victory and two further podium finishes whilst also competing in the GP3 Series in Europe for Carlin. Last year the American ace continued in the GP3 Series for Lotus GP, securing his maiden victory at Barcelona whilst also storming to Championship success in the MRF Challenge.
Conor Daly took his maiden GP3 victory at Barcelona in 2012.
For 2013 Conor Daly has graduated from GP3 to GP2 with Hilmer Motorsport, a new team in the support category. The American driver made his debut in the Series several weeks ago in Malaysia, in support of the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix. Conor Daly managed to finish 13th and 7th respectively in the feature and sprint race, and will make his second appearance in the Series in several weeks in Bahrain. The 21-year-old, from Noblesville, Indiana, is understandably thrilled to be preparing to compete in the Indianapolis 500, undoubtedly one of the most prestigious races of the year.
“I almost can’t describe what it means to have the opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500,” explained Conor Daly. “I am so thankful that A.J. and [team director] Larry [Foyt] have given me my first shot at the greatest race in the world. I know this will sound cheesy but I’ve never been happier in my life; this race means so much to me.”
Conor Daly greatly impressed A.J. Foyt during his test with the outfit at Sebring in December, a test which featured many of IndyCar’s top drivers including Scott Dixon and Will Power. Even the Penske driver was impressed with both Conor Daly and Tristan Vautier’s performance during their first laps in an IZOD IndyCar Series machine, hence A.J. Foyt’s optimism ahead of the 97th Indianapolis 500. Last season A.J. Foyt racing endured a dismal Indianapolis 500, with both Mike Conway and Wade Cunningham retiring by Lap 78.
“He ran well at Sebring when we needed someone to do some testing in the offseason,” said A.J. Foyt, who became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. “He was fast, smooth, and didn’t get in trouble. When we made a change on the car he felt it. I found him to be very savvy on the chassis setups. In fact, when we made a minor change which was really nothing, he thought about it and said it felt no different. I told him that was the right answer because we didn’t do anything he’d be able to feel, so that impressed me, too. I’ve run a lot of rookies at Indy and I think Conor will do a good job for us.”
Conor Daly will complete his first laps around the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 11th, when the American driver is joined by fellow rookies A.J. Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier and Carlos Munoz in completing the Rookie Orientation Program. The opening day of the Indianapolis 500 is a month later on May 11th, with pole day on May 18th and the all-important 200-lap race on May 26th.
Picture(s) Copyright © Glenn Dunbar & Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Series Media Service
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