IndyCar – Hinchcliffe snatches victory from Sato

Takuma Sato (AJ Foyt Racing) had a superb race, starting from 12th place on the starting grid in Sao Paulo as he held the lead of the race. The Japanese was on the verge of creating a real feat after having distinguished himself during the previous event at Long Beach where he achieved his first success in the discipline. But the Japanese driver did not win the race since he was threatened by a very compact peloton. After a superb comeback in the final laps, James Hinchcliffe (Andretti Autosport) snatched victory by overtaking the #12 DW14 in the final corner of the final lap. “There is no better way to win than to win in the last corner of the last lap,” commented the winner.

The Canadian won his second victory of the season after having signed his first success in the discipline this year in St Petersburg and put an end to his bad patch where he remained on two consecutive retirements. If the driver of the No. 27 is ahead of his Japanese rival by only three tenths, Takuma Sato will be able to console himself with his new place as leader of the Championship. Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) took third place and became the former driver's closest rival. F1 13 points behind. Oriol Servia (Panther DRR) placed fourth ahead of Josef Newgarden (Sarah Fisher Racing) who lost no less than three places over the last five laps. Nevertheless, the American put in a superb performance since he started from the back of the grid following an engine change. Note that the first five drivers crossed the finish line by being grouped together in less than two seconds.

EJ Viso (Andretti Autosport) finished sixth ahead of Dario Franchitti (Ganassi Racing) and Simona de Silvestro (KV Racing). simon pagenaud (Schmidt Motorsports) ranks ninth and first Frenchman in the Sao Paulo event after a race strewn with pitfalls. His teammate Tristan Vautier must be content with 16th place while Sébastien Bourdais (Dragon Racing) crosses the line in 14th place. Pole sitter Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) was on the pace of the best, but his team preferred to play on a consumption strategy which penalized the reigning champion during the final laps. The number 1 driver was only able to save an 11th place. Will Power (Penske Racing) suffers another hard blow. The Australian had to retire following a mechanical problem. Disappointment is also in order for Tony Kanaan (KV Racing) who celebrated at home his 200th consecutive IndyCar start. The Brazilian led the race twice but a fuel shortage relegated him to 21st position.

The video summary of the race can be found on this link.

THEIndyCar will remain in the spotlight since the next meeting is none other than the 500 Miles of Indianapolis contested on May 26.