(Photo by: Brent Lee)
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Simon Pagenaud continues his dominance of the 2016 IndyCar Season with his taking of the checkered flag at today’s Grand Prix of Indianapolis
Rounding out the podium were Helio Castroneves in 2nd and James Hinchcliffe in 3rd. On coming in second to his teammate, Castroneves said, “Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.” He credited Lady Luck with getting him to second place, a finish he wasn’t sure his car had in it when starting the race.
This was the 3rd Annual Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The course is a 2.439 miles, 14-turn road course. A total of 82 laps were run, equating to 200 miles. There were only two cautions issued, the first being at the start leading into Turn 1, which continues to prove to be treacherous, and dare we say, “cursed?” That crash not only took veteran driver, Tony Kanaan, out of the race, but also damaged the #11 car of Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais’ team was able to get his car back onto the track some time later. His car was then the cause of the 2nd caution later in the race, when it stalled — ending Bourdais’ race.
The race saw Simon Pagenaud, Charlie Kimball, Graham Rahal, Helio Castroneves, Rookie Connor Daly, and Juan Pablo Montoya as race leaders. Pagenaud led the race from the start, until pitting on Lap 22. He regained the lead on lap 26, and again on lap 62, never relinquishing it.
On heading into gearing up for the 100th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, Pagenaud said, “I think going into the biggest race of the year… having the knowledge that we have the confidence is a huge advantage, and maybe an unfair one.”