IndyCar's rookie sensation and emerging star

Four races into the IndyCar season, and it looks like we all going to enjoy an ultra competitive season full of the usual twists and turns that we have come to expect from the pinnacle of American open-wheel racing. Perhaps more so this year with the new universal aerokit. But through the first three races, we have seen two drivers standout from a field full of young stars and wise old heads, that look to be the years two main title contenders; Robert Wickens and Alexander Rossi.

Wicken's has entered the series this year on the back of several years in the DTM category with Mercedes. During his six seasons there he took 6 wins, 15 podiums and 5 pole positions before the announcement that Mercedes would leave DTM after 2018 gave him the perfect oppurtunity to buddy up with friend James Hinchcliffe and form the 'Canadian Superteam' at Schmidt Peterson Motorsport. And what we have seen from the IndyCar rookie is nothing short of remarkable. He stunned us all with pole position in St Petersburg and should have walked away with the win after leading the majority of the race. He had held off Alexander Rossi for a long period, but a late race restart with two laps to go saw a lunge from Rossi go a bit wrong, which spun Wickens out and relegated Rossi to third, with Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal passing them.

Wickens didn't deserve that end to his race, and both he and Rossi himself knew that. It was just an unfortunate end to a move that Rossi had to pull, it was for the race lead with two to go after all. No one forgot about it at Phoenix, but Wickens first oval race there did help to fade the memory somewhat. He qualified a superb sixth and again found himself leading the race with just a few laps to go. 

This time, a late race restart saw a feisty Josef Newgarden on fresh tyres battle it out with the Canadian for the win. Wickens held on superbly and looked like he might pull off a remarkable oval debut win. Newgarden eventually swept past him but Wickens still came home second and took his first podium of the year. Ironically, Rossi was also on the podium in third and the pair even joked about St Pete in the press conference following the race. Clearly, there was no leftover tension.

Long Beach was a subdued afair for Wickens, he qualified tenth and was moving through the field nicely before gearbox issues scuppered his chances of a good result, eventually being caught up in a late race tangle between Bourdais and Jordan King. The rain hit Barber Motorsports Park race saw a much better result for Wickens though, as teammate Hinchcliffe took third with his best friend one spot behind in fourth. Wickens incredible run continued, he had adjusted back to open wheel racing perfectly and you'd think he was a series veteran and not a rookie in the championship. He is of course a vastly experienced race driver, but he has been nothing short of remarkable in his IndyCar career to date and surely will win a race if not more than one this year and potentially be a championship contender come Sonoma. His current series stats currently sit at one podium, and one pole. It could so easily have said one pole, two wins...

Wickens may have grabbed a lot of the headlines, but it is perhaps ironic that the man involved with him in the St Pete tangle, Alexander Rossi, is the other standout of this season. His results from the first three races are thus. Third, third, first, twelth. Of course the last result being at Barber, where he just lacked a bit of pace and then gambled on the late race rain on Monday not getting too heavy. Hey, you have to have at least one bad result a year. What makes Rossi's run this year so remarkable though is that, he could have won all three races.

The tangle with Wickens of course spoilt St Pete, but it wasn't all his own doing. Wickens move across on Rossi very late in the corner, putting Rossi onto the marbles which caused the slide into Robert in the first place. Let's not also forget that this podium finish came from 12th on the grid. He qualified in the top four at Phoenix, was running third at the start and looking like he had the pace on Simon Pagenaud and Bourdais ahead of him before a mess up coming in for his first pitstop dropped him back and earned him a drive through penalty. He then carved his way through the entire field from  being a lap down, passing cars as if they were standing still to get back onto the lead lap and finish third, the late race restart that saw Newgarden win perhaps slightly stopping his progress. His pace was such that some calculated had he not had the pit error and drive through, he could have lapped the entire field.

Rossi finally managed to put it all into place a Long Beach, dominating practice, qualifying and the race to take the pole and win and leapfrog himself into the lead of the championship. The winner of the 2016 Indy 500 and Watkins Glen 2017 had now announced himself as a championship contender. Pundits including Townsend Bell and Paul Tracy were amazed at his Long Beach performance, some said they had not seen a driver dominate a weekend like that for a long time. It certainly was impressive and those performances in the first three races you could argue make him the star of the year so far, and not Wickens. Barber was just a blip on the radar, in a race where he probably should have finished in the top six, instead he was 12th and lost the championship lead to Newgarden, but being only 13 points behind means he can quite easily retake that lead during May.

No one could have predicted just what a start to the IndyCar season we'd have and how Rossi and Wickens could have starred. Both have shown what talent they have, Rossi really coming of age and flexing his muscles, and Wickens being one of the finds of the century. We don't know how the rest of their seasons will pan out. But from what we've seen so far, they look set to become even more spectacular. 

The great aero debate: Who's got it right?

The start of this years motor racing action has brought spectacular racing, drama and excitement. But it has also brought up a very important question. Which series has gone down the right route with its aerodynamics? I am of course talking about Formula 1 vs IndyCar, both of which have launched new cars these past two years and have gone down very different routes to provide what they hope is great racing. And what we have seen so far has been incredibly interesting...

At the start of 2017, F1's new high downforce monsters hit the track for the first time and instantly became the fastest race cars on the planet. Lap records tumbled, speeds increased and the visual spectacle of a car on a flying lap became something else entirely. These had really become the ultimate Grand Prix car. Over in America, IndyCar was gearing up to change its own chassis. The Dallara DW12 was set to lose its present, aerokit and high downforce configuration, for a lower downforce spec universal aerokit in 2018, but with a huge 60% of its downforce coming from underneath the car. Quite a change of direction for the series. And a bold step to take.

At the end of 2017, F1 had seen its overtaking figures slashed by half of what there was in 2016. The initial fears from late 2016, that the cars would diminish the racing spectacle thanks to the increased turbulent dirty air they'd produce was brought true. Some races were thrillers, like the Spanish and Azerbaijan Grand Prix. But too many races saw little wheel to wheel action in a season eventually won by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, the Germans taking their fourth consecutive constructors title. IndyCar meanwhile saw a spectacular season close with a grandstand finish that saw Josef Newgarden beat out rivals such as Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud to that year's title. For IndyCar, things were looking up. For F1, everyone hoped that things would look up.

Flash forward to the present and both series have had their opening two rounds. F1 had a fairly quiet race in Melbourne before a tense strategic thriller in Bahrain. IndyCar had an incredible season opener in St Petersburg, with a solid showing next time out in Phoenix. The first two races with the new IndyCar had shown that the series had been absolutely right in cutting down massive aerodynamic parts and focusing and improving the racing. The cars had lost none of their speed, in fact Jordan King broke the St Pete lap record in qualifying. But with most of the downforce coming from underneath the car, the racing had improved immensely at a tricky street circuit as St Petersburg. Over 300 overtakes took place in that race alone. F1 could barely manage 15 in Melbourne. So of course, the debates begun...

IndyCar has clearly got it right for its own series when it comes to aerodynamics. The reduction in dirty air has allowed cars to follow each other much more closely than in F1. So that's settled then. IndyCar has won, right? Well it's not that easy. Because IndyCar features a spec car. Everybody has the same chassis and aero. The only difference is the engine. Some teams run Honda power, some teams run Chevrolet power. It's all down to recourses and how you set up the car, and of course the drivers. F1 of course sees everyone build their own chassis, design their own aero so every car is unique and of course four engine suppliers. Honda, Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes. Most definitely not a spec racing series. So how does F1 get a slice of IndyCar's action? How does it become so competitive that more than three teams can win races and the cars can follow closely?

Taking the 'ground effect' approach that IndyCar has taken would be a good start. Its clearly working. But we have to factor in the spec series nature of IndyCar. It allows for greater competition and more variety in winners, as no one team can steal a march on car design. This is something that is not in F1's nature or DNA, and no one would allow it to become so. The series has always been about designing the best car to beat your opponents. But is that providing the best racing in the world? 

Right now, not its not. A middle ground must be found, but taking inspiration from IndyCar. Don't become a spec series if that's not what your series is about. But change how downforce is produced and what aero each car has. Minimise that top aero and allow that downforce to come from underneath the car. Exactly what IndyCar has done. Allow each team to build their own car. Yes, it may still reward the Mercedes and Red Bull's of this world. But it would make it a damn sight easier for smaller teams to win races, as there would be a lot less gains to be found. And it would cut costs too. If everyone has the majority of its downforce coming from underneath the car and it is all a fairly equal percentage across the field, then what gains can you find?

The aero debate is one that will probably rage on for a while. But what is clear is that some ways work better than others and produce spectacular racing. And right now it seems, IndyCar is ahead of the game. With regulation changes being mooted, it's now F1's turn to show us what it can do.

IndyCar gears up for 2018 with Sebring tests

Teams from the Verizon IndyCar series have been gearing up for the coming season with tests at the Sebring circuit in Florida, as the grid gets to grips with the new universal aerokit that the series has introduced for 2018. Testing for the teams has been going on for the past month or so with Penske being one of the key players after initially taking part in the manufacturer tests on behalf of Chevrolet. Now Andretti, Ganassi and Dale Coyne Racing have got their first chunk of testing under their belts.  A.J. Foyt Racing, SPM and Ed Carpenter Racing have also got their first miles with the new car.

The tests have been a chance for fans to see some of the teams liveries on the new look machines for the very first time, and they do look absolutely stunning, particularly the #28 DHL car of Ryan Hunter-Reay and the #27 NAPA car of Alexander Rossi. The shimmering blue on the Ganassi of Ed Jones also stood out. On track, the cars were a joy to watch as the drivers wrestled with their new steeds. This new aerokit has really made them 'driver cars' again and there has been high praise up and down the grid on the new cars and how the management at IndyCar has got this spot on. Mario Andretti has commented on the car, saying  "This thing is beautiful as it is. It's just going back to what the pure open-wheel, single-seater should be." 

Ed Jones, #10 Ganassi

2017 champion Josef Newgarden also said “The new car is bolder, it's more daring and really, we believe it has improved aerodynamics that are going to help the racing product tremendously, so I'm looking forward to that probably the most. We believe it's going to be faster, we believe it's going to be safer, it's going to provide better racing like we've talked about."

Tony Kanaan, #14 A.J. Foyt Racing

 The promise of better racing has excited fans and teams alike, after 2017 saw one of the most competitive years, if not the most competitive year, that the series has ever seen. It has been enough to entice Carlin and Harding Racing to run full time from this year, with Juncos and Michael Shank Racing running part time programs with the scope for full time operations from 2019 onwards. More testing takes place this week again at Sebring, which will see Takuma Sato make his highly anticipated test debut for the RLL team alongside Graham Rahal, with further testing throughout the next month before the first race of the year in St.Petersburg, Flordia.

IndyCar 2016 – The Final Act

The 2016 IndyCar season is rapidly drawing to a close, and it could reach a thrilling conclusion. What looked like a walk in the park for Simon Pagenaud all year long has now turned into an inter-Penske duel between himself and his teammate Will Power. Both drivers have four wins apiece, with Power fighting after missing the first race of the year. Heading into the penultimate round of the championship, the gap between them is twenty eight points. Before Pocono, it was over fifty. But a hefty crash for Pagenaud and a stunning victory for Power greatly reduced that gap. Pagenaud clawed back eight points in the Texas 600, but it is all to play for as the season draws to a close.

Both drivers have been incredibly impressive all season. Pagenaud dominated the early part of the season, taking three victories in a row and bouncing back perfectly from a disappointing 2015. And whenever he didn’t win a race, he was more often than not scoring a big haul of points. This was while his rivals like Scott Dixon and Juan Pablo Montoya were having rather difficult seasons, despite the latter winning the season opener. Pagenaud’s cause was also helped with Power missing the first race of the year due to suffering the ill effects of a practice crash.

But as the season has gone on, Power has fought back magnificently. He won the second race in Detorit and then made it back to back victories, winning the next race at Road America. Another win followed in Toronto, and then another at Pocono.  It was there where Pagenuad suffered his first DNF of the season, allowing Power to close right in on him in the standings.  It came on a rare day of inconsistency for Pagenaud, who was never in contention before his accident.

It has also been a season of Penske dominance. They have won eight of the seasons sixteen races, and have taken all bar three of the 14 pole positions so far. It is an incredible achievement in what is a very close and competitive series.

Heading into Watkins Glen this weekend, Power is twenty eight points behind his title rival. It is a decent gap for Pagenaud, but Power is unlikely to give up, and the championship is surely going to go down to the wire at Sonoma. What complicates it further, is that the race there, is worth double points…

Stay tuned…this battle is far from over!

IndyCar 2015- Newgarden wins again

Newgarden took his second IndyCar career victory in Toronto

After taking his first career win in IndyCar at Barber Motorsport's Park, Josef Newgarden claimed his second win in Toronto with a fine win, capitalizing by pitting just before a full course yellow and moving to the front of the field, before engaging in a great battle with his team-mate Luca Fillipi and holding him off for the win.

Power lead the early part of the race

Newgarden had a disappointing qualifying but had slowly worked his way through the field, and a full course yellow later in the race, just after Newgarden pitted allowed him to climb to the front. The race up to that point had been lead by Will Power, from the other Penske's of Simon Pagenaud and Juan Pablo Montoya. Some frenetic action through the field followed, including Scott Dixon and Montoya dicing, causing Montoya to lose a few places and then of course the caution period that allowed Newgarden to reach the front, caused by James Jakes clouting the wall.

Castroneves didn't think he'd finish on the podium

At this point, Helio Castroneves was in the lead, having gone off strategy, and was wondering if he would even get anything out of the weekend. He stormed off at the front, knowing that he wouldn't be able to win the race but hoping to get in-front of as many cars as possible before pitting. It would eventually pay off for 3rd place, something he wasn't expecting at all!

Coletti hit Kimball and then the wall, retiring from the race

Another caution period followed, this time thanks to Stefano Coletti, after making contact with Charlie Kimball and giving him a puncture, Kimball continuing but Coletti retiring front he race, clouting the wall and destroying his right rear suspension a few corners later. Up front, Tony Kanaan had taken the lead, going longer than the others on that stint before pitting and coming out just in front of Sebastian Bourdais, the Frenchman passing him, after almost collecting the Brazilian.

Newgarden had to fight off team-mate Filippi to win

Newgarden though did not have it all his own way though once he cycled back into the lead after the final pitstops. His team mate, Luca Filippi were now engaged in a fantastic scrap at the front, Filippi trying to go around the outside of Newgarden at turn three, the American just holding of the Italian, before slowly edging away to take the second victory of his IndyCar career. 

Montoya didn't have the best of races

Whilst it had been a great day for Newgarden, it hadn't been a great day for Montoya. His earlier altercation with Dixon dropped him down the order, and he only managed to recover to 7th place. He still maintains the championship lead, but with Castroneves finishing 3rd and Power finishing in 4th, the lead has come down. Full race results and championship standings below;

Six races to go, can Montoya maintain the championship lead? All he needs to do now is finish well in the points, consistentley, something he has done very well this year. Can he do it? Until next time folks. Ciao.

The top three celebrate on the podium, Castroneves spraying Newgarden in the face as Filippi has a drink

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IndyCar 2015 - Surprises in Detroit and Domination in Texas

Munoz took victory in a wet Detroit race 1

IndyCar does sometimes have a habit of throwing up a few surprises. Just think back to Houston last year where Carlos Huertas took victory in the first race of that weekend, and Toronto last year to, where Sebastian Bourdais dominated the first race of the weekend. In Detroit this year, we got another two surprise winners, in the form of Carlos Munoz and Bourdais. But both won in two very different races.

Detroit-Race 1

Power leads the first race away in Detroit

The first race in Detroit started out in wet conditions, with Will Power and Helio Castroneves leading the field away. The race had barely begun however before its first caution appeared, thanks to Rodolfo Gonzalez stopping on lap three. During this time, Takuma Sato had moved up from 4th to 1st, taking the lead from Power. 

The green flag was soon waved again, but within seconds there was another caution, caued by a pile up between Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal,Stefanao Coletti and James Jakes. After the debris was cleared up, off they went again, but during this time Marco Andretti took the opportunity to pit for slicks. Another caution for Charlie Kimball appeared (as well as one for Sato after he damaged his front wing), and when everyone else had pitted, Andretti emerged as the race leader.

Andretti capitalized on a different strategy

The rain returned later on, and Andretti, Simon Pagenaud and Carlos Munoz were the last three driver's out on slicks,with everyone else behind pitting for wets. Andretti and Pagenaud pitted, but Munoz stayed out. This was what gave him the win, as slicks were still 20s a lap quicker than the wets. He pitted, stayed in the lead, and then he pulled out a lead of over 30s over Andretti, before lighting brought the race to a halt. With the conditions getting worse and the light fading, the race was stopped after 48 laps, and Munoz took his first career win in IndyCar.

Munoz built up a 30s lead after his last pitstop

Munoz decision to stay out had been inspired. What had looked set to be a win for Marco Andretti, his first since 2011, suddenly all changed and became a race win for his Andretti Autosport team-mate Munoz. It had taken a while, but after his stunning IndyCar debut in 2013, finishing 2nd, Carlos Munoz had finally paid back Michael Andretti for signing him. Full race results are below;

Detroit-Race 2

Bourdais took a surprise win in the second Detroit race

Race 2 was a very different affair. Qualifying had been rained off so the grid was set out according to entrants points. This meant Juan Pablo Montoya started on pole position, with Power alongside him. Once again, the track was wet, but expected to dry later on. 

Power jumped Montoya at the start

Montoya was caught napping at the start by team-mate Power, but a three laps later he regained the lead, and edged away from Power, who in turn was edging away from Dixon in 3rd. The Penske cars had a lead of over 11s. All of a sudden Power slowed, pitting for a new steering wheel. Some moisture had found its way into the original, shorting some of the circuits but he was soon on his way again, all be it way down the order. Montoya built up a massive lead, but then Gonzalez again binned it, bringing out the first caution.

Connor Daly put in a very impressive performance for Schmidt Peterson Racing

This when a bit of craziness ensued. Montoya lead the majority of the field into the pits and switched to the slick tyres, but some front wing adjustments meant he lost out to Bourdais and Dixon. Dixon however had put on a fresh set of wets, which didn't work out for him, but they all found themselves behind an off strategy group lead by the impressive Connor Daly. Dixon, Bourdais and Montoya eventually took the lead, but Dixon was passed by both Bourdais and Montoya fairly quickly, the wet tyre gamble backfiring massively. 

Scott Dixon didn't reach the checkered flag

Sage Karam brought out another caution by tipping Jack Hawksworth into Stefano Coletti, and then came a mad restart. Graham Rahal, who was then 2nd, blocked Takuma Sato very aggressively, then being instructed to hand the place back to Sato. Then, Charlie Kimball wiped out Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon. Even more bizarrely, after that caution, two Penske cars came together! Power was tipped into a spin by Trisan Vautier, and as he spun he collected Helio Castroneves, putting both out.

Bourdais was in fine form as the race went on

Montoya, out of fuel on the last lap, dropped to 10th, allowing Bourdais to cruise to his 33rd IndyCar victory. It had been a classy performance from the Frenchmen, his first win since that Race 1 Toronto victory last year, and he and KV Racing had beaten the Ganaasi and Penske superteams. Full race results are below;

Texas

Scott Dixon dominated under the Texan sunset

Detroit had been a disappointing weekend for Ganaasi and Penske, however Texas was much better for the latter, and even better than that for the former. Scott Dixon dominated the race in Texas after it had looked likely to be a Penske victory for Simon Pagenaud or Will Power. However come the end off the race, Pagenaud and Power had dropped to 11th and 13th, with team mates Helio Castroneves and Jaun Pablo Montoya finishing in a much better 3rd and 4th places. Neither had an answer though for Scott Dixon.

Ryan Briscoe impressed for Schmidt Peterson

Dixon wasn't the only impressive performance out there. Ryan Briscoe, taking over from Connor Daly for the weekend, who was of course racing in place of James Hinchcliffe in Detroit, put in a great drive for the Schmidt Peterson team, and was in the top 5 for most of the race. He finished 8th in the end, a lap down on Dixon, but nonetheless it had been a brilliant performance from the Australian.

Kanaan couldn't quite beat his team-mate Dixon

Throughout the second half of the race, it looked like Tony Kanaan could take the fight to Dixon. Indeed the pair ran side by side for a lot of the race, but in the latter stages Kanaan dropped back nearly eight seconds from Dixon, effecitvely sealing the win for his Ganassi team-mate. Kanaan though still managed to hold of Castroneves for 2nd place.

Dixon celebrates the win in Texas in style

So after the disappointment of Detroit for Ganassi and Penske, it got better for both teams in Texas, and despite only finishing in 4th place, Montoya extended his championship lead. Full race results and championships standings are below;

Next up on the IndyCar calendar is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Toronto on the 14th June. Will Juan Pablo Montoya further extend his championship lead? Lets wait and see. Until next time folks. Ciao.

Montoya extended his championship lead with 4th place in Texas

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IndyCar 2015 - Penske vs Ganassi at the Indianapolis 500

Dixon leads the field away at the start of the Indy 500

Last weekends Indianapolis 500 saw a titanic battle between IndyCar superteam's Penske and Ganassi. Throughout the early parts of the race it looked like either Will Power, Scott Dixon or Simon Pagenaud would take the spoils, but a charging drive from Juan Pablo Montoya gave him his second win at Indianapolis, fifteen years after he last won the race back in 2000. That victory was "easy" he said, but this year, it was anything but easy for the Colombian.

Dixon and Pagenaud fight it out early on

As the green flag waved, Dixon lead the field away, and was trading places almost immediately with Power and Pagenaud, Tony Kanaan also in the mix, however the action was halted almost immediately after a collision with Takuma Sato and Saga Karam. Once the debris was cleared, the field got ready to go racing again, however the restart was waved off, after a coming together between Simona De Silvestro and Montoya.

Montoya was hit early on by Simonna De Silvestro

Under yellow, De Silvestro hit the rear of Montoya's car, taking off the rear right bumper. He pitted to get the rear of the car changed but it inevitably dropped him to 30th and last plast, De Silvestro one place ahead herself after pitting, and so began an incredible charge from Montoya that would result in him very soon being in contention for the win. 

Montoya was soon back in the mix, taking the fight to Penske team-mate Will Power

Montoya lost five seconds after running over his airlines during the pits but he was back on the same strategy as the leaders and was back in contention, the earlier pitstop almost being a blessing in disguise for him. He was soon fighting with Power, Dixon, and Pagenaud and Kanaan. Things though were about to go wrong for Kanaan and Pagenaud.

Tony Kanaan was right in the mix for much of the race, until a crash ended his way

Kanaan had been right in the mix along with his Ganassi team-mate Dixon, but as the race entered its final stages, Kanaan lost control of his Ganassi machine at spun into the wall. He had just made a pitstop and changed the setup of the car, but the sudden change in feel caught him by surprise. "We made a change at the last stop and it was apparently the wrong way to go" he remarked after his retirement. "I'm glad I'm OK. It's a very unfortunate thing to happen to me, but if I have to prove that we don't flip cars anymore, here it is for the critics. 

Marshall's clean up the mess from the Saavedra. Coletti and Hawksworth accident

It was a good point made by TK. After the accidents that had threatened to overshadow the event pre-race, none of the retirements/accidents in the race involved an airborne car. Stefano Coletti only got airborne after slamming into Sebastian Saavedra, who had already tangled with Jack Hawksworth, just over 15 laps from the end of the race.  "I have an ankle sprain and some bruising, but I'm putting everything behind me and trying to recover as quick as possible" said a disappointing Saavedra after the coming together. "Unfortunately,I have no idea what happened. I was the victim of a rookie."

Pagenaud lost his chance of victory after tagging the back of Dixon

Just before that three car pile up, things had gone wrong for Pagenaud. At the previous restart, with just 30 laps to go, he tapped the back of Dixon as he made a pass, damaging his front wing. He finished the race in 10th after recovering superbly from the unscheduled pitstop, but team owner Roger Penske was certain that Pagenaud had the best car of any of his guy's up to that point. "Early on, I think Simon had the best car of all of them" he said. "I think it would have been something if he'd been up there at the end, because he had the car to run up with Will, and he certainly had the car to run with Juan."

Power and Montoya exit pit-road as the race entered its final stages

With just 15 laps to go, it came down to a fight between Power, Montoya, Dixon and the other remaining Ganassi car of Charlie Kimball. Dixon faded as the laps ticked away and eventually fell back behind Kimball to 4th after initially holding the high ground, and getting very close to Montoya. Montoya and power duked it out and with three laps left, Montoya took the lead, and never looked back, Power lifting for a fleeting moment in turn e on the last lap. "Honestly, as soon as I lifted in turn 3, I knew it was over" Power admitted. "There's no way you're going to get him, no way."

Montoya took his second win at Indianpolis

Montoya spotted the lift immediately, and from that moment he knew he had the win in the bag. "By turn 4 he wasn't close enough. I was going 'Haha! I got this!'" said Montoya after he sealed the victory. "I was screaming, I was so happy!" It had been one hell of a race. He had been as far back as 30th, but came through it all to take an incredible victory. He was already in a very select group of Indy 500 and Monaco Grand Prix winners, something he shared with Graham Hill. After taking his second Indy 500 win, 15 years after his last one (a new record between Indy 500 victories), he enters his own unique club. Will we ever see a Monaco Grand Prix and two time Indy 500 winner? I doubt it.

Montoya celebrates the win with his team in victory lane

After the horrific accidents before the race (one which put James Hinchcliffe in hospital), IndyCar answered the critics with a thrilling contest, with drivers from two of its top teams, a battle we may not see again for a long time. Full race results are below;

The result also leaves Montoya with a very healthy 25 lead in the drivers standings;

This weekend see's the double header 'Dual in Detroit', where Montoya will try to extend his championship lead, and where Power, Dixon and Pagenaud will try to eat into that 25 point lead. Helio Castroneves, after a disappointing Indy 500 will be right in the as well, and keep and eye out for Graham Rahal! Until next time folks. Ciao.

The tower lights up green for the start of the race

Oh and one last thing...get well soon Hinch! Hope to see you back in a racing car soon.

James Hinchcliffe during practice. Get well soon Hinch!

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