Three-Year Extension Confirmed For IndyCar At Barber

It has been announced that the IZOD IndyCar Series will continue to visit the wonderful Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama for the next three years, after a contract extension was reached between IndyCar CEO Jeff Belskus and ZOOM President and CEO Gene Hallman. The agreement was confirmed just several hours before the green flag last weekend.

Once again fans from all over the world attended the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama last weekend, including fans from all 50 states in the United States. These flocking petrol-heads contribute to an annual economic impact of $28 million, and have seen the event voted as the “Best Annual Event” and the “Best Sporting Event” by Birmingham Magazine in recent years. Despite being a relatively new addition to the IZOD IndyCar Series calendar, the Barber Motorsports Park has quickly become a fan favorite with the 2.38-mile circuit winding its way through picturesque green landscapes with the fans viewing the action from naturally wooded and grass-covered banks.

“We are pleased to have agreed to terms to continue the tradition of our fast and versatile racing at Barber Motorsports Park,” explained IndyCar CEO, Jeff Belskus. “Not only is Barber a terrific facility to showcase our close and exciting on-track product, it also gives IndyCar a strong presence in key southeastern markets to further help us grow our sport.”

Last weekend at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, reigning Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay ended Team Penske’s dominance at the Barber Motorsports Park with a superlative victory after a tough race which saw the Andretti Autosport driver battle alongside the likes of Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. Prior to this year’s event, Team Penske had won each of the three races with Helio Castroneves and Will Power.

Team Penske will be striving to retain their dominance of the Alabama circuit throughout the next three races at the venue, as the IZOD IndyCar Series continues to return to the Barber Motorsports Park. Throughout recent years, the once oval-only Series has gradually added more street circuits and road courses, whilst loosing ovals such as Michigan, Homestead-Miami and Chicagoland.

Picture Copyright © Bret Kelly/IndyCar

Ryan Hunter-Reay Storms To Victory At Barber

Ryan Hunter-Reay stormed to an impressive victory at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, after starting the race from pole position alongside the Team Penske of Will Power. The American’s victory has seen him break the winning streak of Team Penske, who had beforehand won every single IZOD IndyCar Series event at the track.

At the start of the race Ryan Hunter-Reay stormed into the lead for Andretti Autosport, whereas behind him Will Power dropped back through the order after running wide through the opening two corners. This allowed both Tristan Vautier and Marco Andretti to progress into 2nd and 3rd place respectively, whereas further back Oriol Servia and Graham Rahal made contact at Turn 7. This in turn forced Servia to pit for a new nose cone, and saw the one and only full course caution caused for debris on the track.

Will Power runs wide at the start, loosing positions to Vautier and Andretti.

Under safety car conditions, James Hinchcliffe stopped at Turn 3 with a puncture on his left-rear tyre. Whilst the car was being towed back to the pits, the tyre in question fell off of the car and forced the Canadian driver into retirement. On Lap 7 the race was returned to green flag conditions, allowing reigning Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay to open up a lead to rookie Tristan Vautier in 2nd position. Further behind the leading duo, Charlie Kimball managed to overtake Marco Andretti for 3rd position. By Lap 17, Hunter-Reay had managed to open up a six second lead to Vautier, a gap which continued to increase to just over ten seconds by Lap 23.

On Lap 24, Tristan Vautier became the first of the leaders to pit for new tyres and fuel. The Frenchman was followed into the pits several laps later by Andretti, de Silvestro, Bourdais and race leader Hunter-Reay. Will Power managed to assume the lead as the Andretti Autosport driver pitted, before he too elected to pit several laps later. Ryan Hunter-Reay returned into the lead as the Australian driver pitted, ahead of the Team Penske driver of Helio Castroneves. The Brazilian driver gradually began to reel in the reigning Champion, working the gap down to +2.8027 seconds from +8.6324 seconds within seven laps.

However, Helio Castroneves was forced to pit on Lap 41, several laps before race leader Ryan Hunter-Reay pitted once again. Charlie Kimball therefore assumed the lead of the race, which saw the 28-year-old driver lead his first race laps since the Indianapolis 500 last season. The American driver’s glory at the front was short-lived, as he pitted on Lap 46 and handed the lead down to Will Power. Whilst pitting on Lap 43, Takuma Sato’s pit crew reported a gearbox issue on his #14 car.

Whilst Will Power continued to lead at the front, Helio Castroneves overtook Ryan Hunter-Reay for 2nd position at Turn 5. The Brazilian ace then proceeded to catch and overtake Will Power for the lead of the race, before opening up a considerable gap to his Australian team-mate. Will Power pitted on Lap 60, allowing Ryan Hunter-Reay to rise back into 2nd position behind Castroneves’s Team Penske machine. On Lap 67 the leading duo pitted together, however Helio Castroneves managed to win the race off of pit road.

Despite being unable to overtake Helio Castroneves in the pits, Ryan Hunter-Reay continued to hound the Brazilian driver and began to catch him as the race drew to a close. On Lap 76, Ryan Hunter-Reay stormed into the lead at Turn 5, eventually completing the move through Turn 6. Helio Castroneves’s hopes of securing his 22nd race victory were thoroughly depleted on Lap 77, as two-time Champion Scott Dixon overtook him for 2nd position. After snatching the lead away from Castroneves, Ryan Hunter-Reay managed to hold off Scott Dixon to secure his 8th IZOD IndyCar Series victory and his first since Baltimore last season. Scott Dixon once again finished 2nd, which is where the Kiwi has finished in every event at Barber.

Although Helio Castroneves’s hopes of victory were dashed on Lap 76, the Brazilian driver has now taken the lead of the Drivers’ Championship with his second consecutive podium finish of the season. The 37-year-old his nine points ahead of Scott Dixon in the Championship, with reigning Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay 3rd in the Championship. The next round of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series will take place around the legendary streets of Long Beach in two weeks time.

Results - 90 laps:

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                        Time/Gap
 1.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti Dallara-Chevy     1h52m04.5450s
 2.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi Dallara-Honda          + 0.6363s
 3.  Helio Castroneves    Penske Dallara-Chevy          + 17.6821s
 4.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi Dallara-Honda         + 20.6166s
 5.  Will Power           Penske Dallara-Chevy          + 26.6469s
 6.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt Dallara-Honda         + 27.2995s
 7.  Marco Andretti       Andretti Dallara-Chevy        + 27.7175s
 8.  Justin Wilson        Coyne Dallara-Honda           + 30.5504s
 9.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher Dallara-Honda          + 41.1029s
10.  Tristan Vautier      Schmidt Dallara-Honda         + 50.6449s
11.  Alex Tagliani        Herta Dallara-Honda           + 58.0458s
12.  EJ Viso              Andretti Dallara-Chevy      + 1m01.4334s
13.  Tony Kanaan          KV Dallara-Chevy            + 1m01.6834s
14.  Takuma Sato          Foyt Dallara-Honda          + 1m03.1151s
15.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR Dallara-Chevy   + 1m03.1495s
16.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon Dallara-Chevy        + 1m07.6880s
17.  JR Hildebrand        Panther Dallara-Chevy       + 1m09.7447s
18.  Simona de Silvestro  KV Dallara-Chevy            + 1m09.9130s
19.  AJ Allmendinger      Penske Dallara-Chevy        + 1m11.0558s
20.  Sebastian Saavedra   Dragon Dallara-Chevy        + 1m11.6523s
21.  Graham Rahal         Rahal Dallara-Honda         + 1m14.0385s
22.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter Dallara-Chevy          + 1 lap
23.  James Jakes          Rahal Dallara-Honda             + 4 laps

Retirements:

     Ana Beatriz          Coyne Dallara-Honda              65 laps
     Dario Franchitti     Ganassi Dallara-Honda            42 laps
     James Hinchcliffe    Andretti Dallara-Chevy            3 laps

Picture(s) Copyright © Shawn Gritzmacher & Chris Jones/IndyCar

Ryan Hunter-Reay Secures Pole For Honda Grand Prix Of Alabama

Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay has secured pole position for tomorrow’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, in what was a frenetic qualifying session around the Barber Motorsports Park. The American driver will start the race alongside Team Penske’s Will Power, with rookie Tristan Vautier set to start from 3rd.

The opening segment of qualifying saw several high profile drivers get eliminated from proceedings, including four-time Champion Dario Franchitti and former Champion Tony Kanaan. This qualifying performance was Dario Franchitti’s worst since last year’s Grand Prix of Alabama, where the Target Chip Ganassi driver qualified a dismal 18th. The second segment of qualifying also claimed further race favorites for the weekend, including Simona de Silvestro who set the fastest time in the morning practice session, and Championship leader James Hinchcliffe.

Tristan Vautier qualified an impressive 3rd, after reaping the rewards of Takuma Sato’s penalty.

Initially rookie Tristan Vautier failed to progress to the all-important Firestone Fast Six pole position shootout, with the impressive Frenchman only managing 7th after the second segment. However, Takuma Sato, who had progressed to the Firestone Fast Six, was penalized after being deemed to have interfered with the qualifications of the opening two segments. Therefore the Japanese driver’s time was deleted in accordance with Rule 8.3.6.1. This saw Tristan Vautier progress to the Firestone Fast Six, and once again impress many by qualifying 3rd on the grid.

The 23-year-old Frenchman will start tomorrow’s 90-lap race alongside two-time IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon, who obliterated the track record around the Barber Motorsports Park with a scintillating 01:06.7250 during the opening segment of qualifying. Unfortunately for Target Chip Ganassi, the Kiwi was unable to replicate such speed during the all-important Firestone Fast Six pole position shootout, and only managed to qualify 4th for the race. Charlie Kimball qualified 5th for Chip Ganassi Racing, and will start alongside the Team Penske of Helio Castroneves.

Although Ryan Hunter-Reay set the provisional pole position time towards the end of the Firestone Fast Six pole position shootout, the American’s rival of Will Power managed to complete one lap further with only minutes remaining in the session. Unfortunately for the Australian driver, his final time was several tenths slower than that of Ryan Hunter-Reay, which enabled the reigning Champion to secure his first pole of the new season and his first since Edmonton last season.

“This team has done so well this weekend, we just kept progressing and we knew where we needed to work on it.” Explained Ryan Hunter-Reay, “I really went to work on my driving as well, and we all did it together here. It’s a great position to start from and now we need to go make it work in warm up and for the race, making these Firestones hang in there for an entire race. That’ll be the challenging part.”

If Ryan Hunter-Reay manages to translate his pole position into victory during tomorrow’s 90-lap race, he will break Team Penske’s record of winning every Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Helio Castroneves won the inaugural event in 2010, whereas Will Power has won the last two races.

Picture(s) Copyright © Bret Kelley/IndyCar

Ana Beatriz To Remain With Dale Coyne Racing Until Indianapolis 500

It has been announced that Brazilian female driver Ana Beatriz will remain with Dale Coyne Racing until the Indianapolis 500 next month, as the 25-year-old prepares for her 25th start this weekend at the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama around the Barber Motorsports Park. She will continue to compete in the Honda-powered No. 18 machine alongside British driver Justin Wilson.

Ana Beatriz marked her return to the Series last time out around the streets of St. Petersburg, after competing in only two races during the 2012 season. Despite suffering a frustrating mechanical issue on Lap 55, the Brazilian driver will continue with Dale Coyne Racing for the next few races in the IZOD IndyCar Series. This weekend will be Ana Beatriz’s first race around the Barber Motorsports Park, despite contesting in a full season the Series back in 2011 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. The Brazilian driver was forced to skip the race at Barber that season after sustaining a wrist injury at the opening race of the year at St. Petersburg.

“I am very excited to be back and race at Barber and Long Beach,” explained Ana Beatriz. “I didn’t think I would be back in a car until Brazil, but I want to thank Ipiranga and Dale [Coyne] for making it possible for me to drive full time through Indianapolis. We didn’t have the finish we would have liked to in St. Petersburg, but I am confident that we can get a better finish for the No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda at Barber this weekend.”

After this weekend’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, Ana Beatriz will compete in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, her home event around the streets of Sao Paulo in Brazil and the legendary Indianapolis 500. Her best result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was 21st in both 2010 and 2011, a result she will undoubtedly be striving to emulate this year in the No. 18 machine.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images