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
Hunter-Reay Storms To Sao Paulo Pole With Record-Breaking Lap
Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay has stormed to pole position for the Sao Paulo Indy 300, after setting a sensational lap time which broke the lap record previously held by Will Power. The Andretti Autosport driver will start the 75-lap race alongside team-mate E.J. Viso, who recorded his personal best qualifying performance.
The all-important qualifying session got underway around the streets of Sao Paulo in glorious weather conditions, with Firestone engineers recording a track temperature of 106 degrees. The opening group of the first segment consisted of rookie Tristan Vautier, who was the only driver heading into the weekend without previous knowledge of the tricky street circuit. Despite the Frenchman’s wonderful start to his IZOD IndyCar career, his lack of track knowledge saw him crash heavily during the opening segment.
Although Tristan Vautier was unscathed after his incident on the exit of Turn 2, his car suffered high damage which eventually saw him qualify 21st for the race. However, the 23-year-old managed to out-qualify the Penske of Will Power, who qualified 22nd despite dominating practice earlier in the day. During the second group in segment one, British driver James Jakes suffered a mechanical issue and caused a momentary red flag which frustratingly saw him qualify 25th and last.
The Firestone Fast Six pole position shootout consisted of Tony Kanaan, James Hinchcliffe, E.J. Viso, Dario Franchitti, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Scott Dixon. After an incident-free session, the reigning Champion rose to the top after setting a lap record consisting of a 01:20.4312. E.J. Viso slotted into 2nd position to make it an all-Andretti Autosport front row, after momentarily holding the lap record after the opening segment with a 01:20.7911.
“I gave it everything I had and it’s great to get the DHL Chevrolet up front again and on pole,” explained Ryan Hunter-Reay, who recorded pole position at Barber earlier in the year. “That’s three of the four races this year that we’ve been on the front row and twice on pole. I’m so happy for the guys and everything they’ve done for me. Starting on pole here is a challenge because you are a sitting duck out front on the long straights.”
The opening two corners of the circuit were altered slightly ahead of the race weekend, with the kerbing at Turns 1 and 2 moved. This made Turn 2 roughly ten feet wider, which is expected to allow more overtaking throughout the race and prevent the sort of pile-ups witnessed during the previous races. However, cautions are expected to be a recurring factor during the 75-lap race, with the tight and twisty confines of the street circuit always proving a tough ordeal for the drivers.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Dallara-Chevy 1m20.4312s 2. EJ Viso Andretti Dallara-Chevy 1m20.7380s + 0.3068s 3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi Dallara-Honda 1m20.8922s + 0.4610s 4. Tony Kanaan KV Dallara-Chevy 1m20.9812s + 0.5500s 5. James Hinchcliffe Andretti Dallara-Chevy 1m20.9893s + 0.5581s 6. Scott Dixon Ganassi Dallara-Honda 1m21.1183s + 0.6871s 7. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon Dallara-Chevy 1m20.8210s Round 2 8. Simona de Silvestro KV Dallara-Chevy 1m20.9390s Round 2 9. Justin Wilson Coyne Dallara-Honda 1m21.0570s Round 2 10. Marco Andretti Andretti Dallara-Chevy 1m21.1716s Round 2 11. JR Hildebrand Panther Dallara-Chevy 1m21.2961s Round 2 12. Takuma Sato Foyt Dallara-Honda 1m21.3618s Round 2 13. Oriol Servia Panther DRR Dallara-Chevy 1m21.7963s Group 1 14. Ed Carpenter Carpenter Dallara-Chevy 1m24.0203s Group 2 15. Alex Tagliani Herta Dallara-Honda 1m21.8636s Group 1 16. Ana Beatriz Coyne Dallara-Honda 1m24.8864s Group 2 17. Charlie Kimball Ganassi Dallara-Honda 1m22.2482s Group 1 18. Helio Castroneves Penske Dallara-Chevy 1m25.1734s Group 2 19. Graham Rahal Rahal Dallara-Honda 1m22.2998s Group 1 20. Sebastian Saavedra Dragon Dallara-Chevy Group 2 21. Tristan Vautier Schmidt Dallara-Honda Group 1 22. Will Power Penske Dallara-Chevy Group 2 23. Josef Newgarden Fisher Dallara-Honda Group 1 24. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Dallara-Honda Group 2 25. James Jakes Rahal Dallara-Honda Group 2
Picture Copyright © IndyCar
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