R H-R off the mark for 2013 |
Hunter-Reay led from pole |
On lap four, winner of the opening round two weeks ago, James Hinchcliffe stopped on track with apparent left rear damage. The Canadian reported a lack of drive. The incident briefly brought out the safety car.
Hunter-Reay continued to lead when the safety car went in on lap eight and by lap 24 the Texan had built up a lead of over ten seconds as pit stops began. Sebastian Bourdais meanwhile had climbed from a lowly 23rd place grid spot to run in the top ten by the time he pitted.
There were more woes for Franchitti |
On lap 43, four-time champion Dario Franchitti's dreadful start to the season continued as his Ganassi car suffered from engine problems in the pits. A lap later, fellow Honda engined runner Takuma Sato also faced problems in the pits as he failed to get away immediately.
Just past the half-way point, Will Power held the lead although he was yet to pit for a second time. His team mate, a charging Helio Castroneves relieved the Australian of first place on lap 51. Hunter-Reay continued to run in third whilst Castroneves began to build a lead.
With 30 laps to go, Power pitted allowing Hunter-Reay to go after Castroneves and with 15 to go Hunter-Reay re-gained the lead. Scott Dixon then began to challenge Castroneves for second place. Dixon took the position a lap later, using his Push-To-Pass to breeze past the Brazilian. Power meanwhile emerged from the pits in fourth.
Kimball put on an strong display |
Charlie Kimball took fourth place on lap 78 with a brave move up the inside of Will Power, continuing an impressive run all day which rarely saw him out of the top five and leading for the second time in his Indy Car career.
In the closing stages, the battle for the final top-ten position was a fight between two Frenchmen with four-time Champ Car champion Sebastian Bourdais battling with the impressive Tristan Vautier. Vautier prevailed and with five to go, Bourdais left the track, dropping down to 13th initially, eventually finishing in 16th.
A charging Scott Dixon couldn't do enough to take the lead from Ryan Hunter-Reay, who eventually took the victory. It wasn't easy for the defending champion who after the race said "I was driving my tail off trying to stay in front of Dixon". Helio Castroneves finished a distant third with Kimball fourth. Will Power rounded out the top five. It was Scott Dixon's fourth second place at Barber Motorsports Park in as many years whilst as well as being Ryan Hunter-Reay's first win, it was also his first top at the Alabama circuit.
Allmendinger impressed |
Castroneves leads the points standings |
Pictures - Indy Car Media
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