Edmonton Will Not Feature On 2013 IndyCar Schedule

The IZOD IndyCar Series will unfortunately not return to Edmonton next season, after the venue’s 2013 promoters pulled out. Next season’s race was scheduled to be the last of the current deal, however Canada will now only feature one IndyCar race in 2013 around the streets of Toronto.

The Edmonton race was first held as a ChampCar event back in 2005, however when ChampCar merged with IndyCar in 2008 the race continued to feature on the IndyCar schedule alongside Toronto. This year’s winner was Helio Castroneves for Penske, in what will be remembered as the final IndyCar race at Edmonton.

However, Randy Bernard does not think the loss Edmonton will prevent IndyCar from meeting the minimum requirement of 19 races scheduled for next season. If this amount is met, next season’s IZOD IndyCar Series would be the longest in the history of the Series since its inauguration in 1996.

“When we finalized our schedule for the upcoming 2013 season, it unfortunately did not include Edmonton,” explained IndyCar’s CEO, Randy Bernard. “We thank the city of Edmonton and all the fans for their support of the event over the last eight years. More importantly this has not affected our plans for a minimum of 19 races next season, and we remain optimistic that we will return to having two races in Canada as early as 2014. We anticipate announcing our full 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule [in] the first week of October.”

Whether a second IndyCar race in Canada will be around Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, or a return of the Vancouver Indy, next season will see Toronto as the only Canadian IndyCar race. The new schedule for next season will include the return of the Grand Prix of Houston, as well as rumored races at Michigan, Pocono and Portland amongst others.

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Helio Castroneves Fends Of Takuma Sato To Take Victory At Edmonton

Helio Castroneves held his nerve throughout the closing stages of the Edmonton Indy to take his second race victory of the season, ahead of the charging Takuma Sato. Will Power came home a distant 3rd, whilst reigning Series Champion Dario Franchitti finished further back in 6th position.

At the green flag, the pack amazingly negotiated the opening few corners relatively incident free, as local hero Alex Tagliani stormed into the lead around initial pole man Dario Franchitti. The cheers from Tagliani’s adoring home fans were audible over the noise of the cars, as the Canadian driver proceeded to open up a gap to Franchitti in 2nd.

The traditional battles ensued further down the order, with the push-to-push device assisting drivers in completing overtakes. By lap 11, the first pit stops of the race had begun as Tony Kanaan peeled off into the pit lane. Whilst other drivers opted to pit, James Hinchcliffe ran too deep into the final corner and dropped from 11th to 13th as Will Power brushed the wall.

All three leaders elected to pit together on lap 26, as Ryan Briscoe assumed the lead. Alex Tagliani only just exited the pit lane ahead of Dario Franchitti, as Ryan Briscoe took to pit road a lap later. This momentarily handed the lead down to Will Power, however he too decided to pit thus handing the lead back down to Tagliani.

Upon exiting the pit lane, Championship leader Ryan Hunter-Reay came exceedingly close to overtaking the Australian driver. However, Power defended his position well upon rejoining the track, even though Hunter-Reay was heard complaining on his team radio that Power had “chopped” across in front of him. However, the race officials decided to take no further action on Power as the Australian driver continued to surge through the field.

Whilst Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay were battling for position, further up the order Dario Franchitti lunged up the inside of Alex Tagliani for the lead. The Scot failed to make the move stick, running too deep into the corner. This allowed Tagliani to retake the lead, and also enabled Helio Castroneves to sneak around Franchitti for 2nd place.

Several laps later and Takuma Sato found a way around Dario Franchitti for 3rd as the pair negotiated turn 1, with Dario Franchitti’s dominance in the Series visibly a thing of the past. By lap 50, the second round of pit stops had begun, with local star James Hinchcliffe pitting. Oriol Servia endured a torrid pit stop on lap 51, as the Spanish driver stalled his car.

With Castroneves catching Alex Tagliani in the lead, it came as a surprise when the Brazilian driver pitted first on lap 52. By lap 53, Tagliani and the other leaders finally pitted as Will Power once again assumed the lead. The early pit stop for Castroneves worked superlatively in his favor, as Tagliani and Sato exited the pit lane behind the Penske driver.

Will Power was the next driver to pit, eventually returning to the track only just behind Takuma Sato. After starting the race from 17th, the Australian driver had risen to the sharp end of the pack in tremendously competitive fashion. Alex Tagliani then began to slip further down the order, as firstly Takuma Sato then Will Power overtook the local hero.

As the race entered its closing stages, Takuma Sato began to reel in race leader Castroneves. The gap between the leading duo was under a second for the remaining few laps, however with tactful use of the push-to-pass device Helio Castroneves was uncatchable and crossed the line to take an important race victory for himself and Penske.

There is now a two week gap before the next round of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, around the daunting Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Helio Castroneves has won this race twice before, in 2000 and 2001 when the race was part of the ChampCar calendar.

The Brazilian driver will undoubtedly be looking for his third race victory at Mid-Ohio in two weeks time, as the likable 37-year-old aims to reel in Championship leader Ryan Hunter-Reay.

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