Franchitti takes the reins

Dario Franchitti, starting from pole position, knew that he had not done the hard part. The Scot therefore set about making a clean start in order to maintain the lead at the first corner. Behind, Will Power and Graham Rahal do not have the same success and are hanging on. But the surprise comes from a driver who started in fifth position, Alex Tagliani. The Canadian, who has not been seen since the June 7 race on the Texas oval, carries the colors of Conquest Racing even higher than he did at the Indianapolis 500 ( see AUTOhebdo n°1702). Taking advantage of the clash between Power and Rahal, Tagliani moved into second position, following the train set by Franchitti. The latter stopped on the 25th lap to refuel and left the controls to Tagliani, who continued for eight laps.

The Canadian, however, had to deal with the return of his compatriot Paul Tracy, who, after starting from fifteenth place, grabbed lap after lap. With the number of pit stops increasing, the race lead changed steering (Moraes, Scheckter) before Tagliani took back command. But Franchitti benefits from excellent timing, although unexpected, by refueling just at the moment of a neutralization. Seeing all his opponents do the same in his wake, the Scot moved back into second position, before overtaking Castroneves and regain leadership. The Brazilian saw his race stop several laps later, when he made a mistake, along with Tracy.

Franchitti is no longer threatened and can celebrate his second victory in Toronto, his third of the season, scoring 53 points which allow him to regain control of the championship. In front of his home crowd, Tagliani did not manage to do better than ninth place, however a good result for his team. L?Indycar takes a break next weekend before returning to Canada, in Edmonton, on July 26.