Round 14 - Mid-Ohio, OH - Greig Cardwell
Charlie Kimball produced a race of near-strategic perfection to take the checkered flag at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course and claim his first IndyCar victory at the 45th attempt, becoming the first IndyCar driver with diabetes to take a win in the history of the series.
The Chip Ganassi driver crossed the line over five seconds ahead of second-placed Simon Pagenaud after an enthralling race in which the championship leaders and big names suffered from the wrong strategic calls. Kimball started fifth on the grid in the back-up car after a heavy crash on a damp track in practice, yet this did not deter the Anglo-American driver who took the lead on lap 30 and, after overtaking Pagenaud in turn 4 on lap 72, held on to become the fourth IndyCar driver to take his first win this year.
Championship holder Ryan Hunter-Reay had the best start to the weekend, taking the Verizon P1 Award with a pole lap that was less than five-thousandths of a second off the circuit’s lap record, and controlled the race from the green flag up until pitting on lap 30.
As it transpired, this strategy was the wrong call for the Andretti Autosport team. Hunter-Reay, Will Power and winner of the previous three races this year Scott Dixon all chose a two-stop strategy, meaning conservation of both fuel and tyres, whilst those originally on a three-stop plan were able to push more consistently.
The race started in an unusually clean manner, the field bunched up but making their way around the opening laps of the 2.4 mile track without incident. From the first dozen laps however, it was evident that the softer red tyres were the ones ideal for the opening stages. Marco Andretti started the race on the harder black tyres and soon found himself dropping down the order, with Dario Franchitti passing the #25 car on lap 4. Andretti continued to lose a further three places in the opening eight laps as he was swallowed up by drivers who started on the softer reds.
James Hinchcliffe, coming off the back of a mixed home-weekend in Toronto, was the first to blink, pitting on lap 9 in a move for fuel strategy. Meanwhile on track Oriol Servia – standing in for the injured Ryan Briscoe – lost the car coming out of turn 9, managing to hold on and keep it out of the barriers, but losing a few places in the process. Hunter-Reay, still out on the softer tyres, was surprisingly maintaining a consistent pace through the opening quarter of the race, consistently lapping around the 1 minute 08 mark.
With those on a three-stop strategy proceeding to pit for fuel and tyres, it wasn’t long before the two-stopping cars started to encounter small issues. Hunter-Reay came over the radio on lap 29 to report a small vibration on his car, pitting on the following lap at a third-distance. He was joined in pit road by the rest of the top three, with Power and Dixon also taking fuel and tyres. Both Kimball and Pagenaud, who had taken their first stops a few laps prior, moved past all three as they rejoined the track in the same order they came in.
It was the middle third of the race where the differences in strategy really came to light. The lead pair, needing to stop twice more, were able to push through the full stint, whilst those who only required one more stop had to back off to make their respective strategies work. This led to a small train developing behind Hunter-Reay, with the gap from the reigning champion in fourth to Castroneves, the current championship leader, in tenth being a matter of seconds.
By lap 40 – a mere 10 laps after the two-stoppers had pitted – Kimball’s lead was up to 12.5 seconds from Pagenaud in second, and over 29 seconds to Hunter-Reay in fourth. The following lap, after coming up to lapped traffic, Kimball dove into the pits. A superb stop by his crew got him back out in front of Hunter-Reay, with both drivers having to make one more stop.
By lap 46, both Dixon and Franchitti, in the other two Chip Ganassi cars, were evidently in fuel saving mode. With Dixon coasting around the track, Dario made the decision to jump from a two-stop strategy onto a three-stop, and came in early for tyres and fuel. Dixon soon made the same decision and pitted a couple of laps later.
Both Hunter-Reay and Power however maintained their original two-stop strategies, and pitted for the second and final time on lap 60. With Power ahead as they entered pit road, Hunter-Reay found himself tight for entry space into his box – the next one along from Power’s. In trying to avoid the Penske pit crew, Hunter-Reay pulled in too far away from the pit wall, a move that would cost him time and a place as the fuel crew struggled to engage the pump.
The only retirement of the race came on lap 65, as Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan pulled off the track on the back straight with a loose right-rear wheel. Kanaan parked his KV Racing Technology car far enough away from the track to prevent a caution flag. Race leader Kimball meanwhile struggled with lapped traffic, spending a few laps stuck behind EJ Viso, whilst Pagenaud took advantage and started to eat into the lead.
Once again, Kimball took to pit road, passing first place onto the Frenchman. Pagenaud would pit a couple of laps later, and exited pit road still in first place. However, Kimball on warmer tyres took full advantage. Using a Push-To-Pass on the run up to turn 4, the #83 car pulled alongside the #77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver, taking the inside line into the corner and regaining the lead.
Dixon, the winner of the last three races at Mid-Ohio, admitted to his team over the radio that a two-stop strategy was the wrong call, having to defend from Britain’s Justin Wilson into turn four. The New Zealander, who at the start of the race found himself second in the championship, pushed hard and closed on Castroneves. Using his red tyres to his advantage, against Helio’s blacks, Dixon tried – albeit in vain – to pass the championship leader.
At the front, Kimball was not to be denied. He held on, and extended his lead slightly, taking the victory at the end of lap 90, 5.5 seconds ahead of second-placed Pagenaud. Dario Franchitti was the highest-placed Brit and completed the podium and gave Honda a clean sweep of the top 3, with Power fourth and Hunter-Reay fifth. Castroneves took sixth after starting fourteenth, ahead of Scott Dixon in seventh, expanding the Brazilian’s lead at the top of the championship to 31 points. An over-excited Chip Ganassi celebrated his team’s fourth win in a row by unceremoniously falling from the pit wall, before being the first to reach into the cockpit and congratulate his driver in Victory Lane.
The remaining pair of British drivers had a relatively strong afternoon, with Justin Wilson finishing 8th and James Jakes 13h. However, with Kimball becoming the ninth different driver to stand on the top step this year, this win will be seen as a popular victory not just in the IndyCar paddock, but around the series as a whole.
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The Chip Ganassi driver crossed the line over five seconds ahead of second-placed Simon Pagenaud after an enthralling race in which the championship leaders and big names suffered from the wrong strategic calls. Kimball started fifth on the grid in the back-up car after a heavy crash on a damp track in practice, yet this did not deter the Anglo-American driver who took the lead on lap 30 and, after overtaking Pagenaud in turn 4 on lap 72, held on to become the fourth IndyCar driver to take his first win this year.
Championship holder Ryan Hunter-Reay had the best start to the weekend, taking the Verizon P1 Award with a pole lap that was less than five-thousandths of a second off the circuit’s lap record, and controlled the race from the green flag up until pitting on lap 30.
As it transpired, this strategy was the wrong call for the Andretti Autosport team. Hunter-Reay, Will Power and winner of the previous three races this year Scott Dixon all chose a two-stop strategy, meaning conservation of both fuel and tyres, whilst those originally on a three-stop plan were able to push more consistently.
The race started in an unusually clean manner, the field bunched up but making their way around the opening laps of the 2.4 mile track without incident. From the first dozen laps however, it was evident that the softer red tyres were the ones ideal for the opening stages. Marco Andretti started the race on the harder black tyres and soon found himself dropping down the order, with Dario Franchitti passing the #25 car on lap 4. Andretti continued to lose a further three places in the opening eight laps as he was swallowed up by drivers who started on the softer reds.
James Hinchcliffe, coming off the back of a mixed home-weekend in Toronto, was the first to blink, pitting on lap 9 in a move for fuel strategy. Meanwhile on track Oriol Servia – standing in for the injured Ryan Briscoe – lost the car coming out of turn 9, managing to hold on and keep it out of the barriers, but losing a few places in the process. Hunter-Reay, still out on the softer tyres, was surprisingly maintaining a consistent pace through the opening quarter of the race, consistently lapping around the 1 minute 08 mark.
With those on a three-stop strategy proceeding to pit for fuel and tyres, it wasn’t long before the two-stopping cars started to encounter small issues. Hunter-Reay came over the radio on lap 29 to report a small vibration on his car, pitting on the following lap at a third-distance. He was joined in pit road by the rest of the top three, with Power and Dixon also taking fuel and tyres. Both Kimball and Pagenaud, who had taken their first stops a few laps prior, moved past all three as they rejoined the track in the same order they came in.
It was the middle third of the race where the differences in strategy really came to light. The lead pair, needing to stop twice more, were able to push through the full stint, whilst those who only required one more stop had to back off to make their respective strategies work. This led to a small train developing behind Hunter-Reay, with the gap from the reigning champion in fourth to Castroneves, the current championship leader, in tenth being a matter of seconds.
By lap 40 – a mere 10 laps after the two-stoppers had pitted – Kimball’s lead was up to 12.5 seconds from Pagenaud in second, and over 29 seconds to Hunter-Reay in fourth. The following lap, after coming up to lapped traffic, Kimball dove into the pits. A superb stop by his crew got him back out in front of Hunter-Reay, with both drivers having to make one more stop.
By lap 46, both Dixon and Franchitti, in the other two Chip Ganassi cars, were evidently in fuel saving mode. With Dixon coasting around the track, Dario made the decision to jump from a two-stop strategy onto a three-stop, and came in early for tyres and fuel. Dixon soon made the same decision and pitted a couple of laps later.
Both Hunter-Reay and Power however maintained their original two-stop strategies, and pitted for the second and final time on lap 60. With Power ahead as they entered pit road, Hunter-Reay found himself tight for entry space into his box – the next one along from Power’s. In trying to avoid the Penske pit crew, Hunter-Reay pulled in too far away from the pit wall, a move that would cost him time and a place as the fuel crew struggled to engage the pump.
The only retirement of the race came on lap 65, as Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan pulled off the track on the back straight with a loose right-rear wheel. Kanaan parked his KV Racing Technology car far enough away from the track to prevent a caution flag. Race leader Kimball meanwhile struggled with lapped traffic, spending a few laps stuck behind EJ Viso, whilst Pagenaud took advantage and started to eat into the lead.
Once again, Kimball took to pit road, passing first place onto the Frenchman. Pagenaud would pit a couple of laps later, and exited pit road still in first place. However, Kimball on warmer tyres took full advantage. Using a Push-To-Pass on the run up to turn 4, the #83 car pulled alongside the #77 Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver, taking the inside line into the corner and regaining the lead.
Dixon, the winner of the last three races at Mid-Ohio, admitted to his team over the radio that a two-stop strategy was the wrong call, having to defend from Britain’s Justin Wilson into turn four. The New Zealander, who at the start of the race found himself second in the championship, pushed hard and closed on Castroneves. Using his red tyres to his advantage, against Helio’s blacks, Dixon tried – albeit in vain – to pass the championship leader.
At the front, Kimball was not to be denied. He held on, and extended his lead slightly, taking the victory at the end of lap 90, 5.5 seconds ahead of second-placed Pagenaud. Dario Franchitti was the highest-placed Brit and completed the podium and gave Honda a clean sweep of the top 3, with Power fourth and Hunter-Reay fifth. Castroneves took sixth after starting fourteenth, ahead of Scott Dixon in seventh, expanding the Brazilian’s lead at the top of the championship to 31 points. An over-excited Chip Ganassi celebrated his team’s fourth win in a row by unceremoniously falling from the pit wall, before being the first to reach into the cockpit and congratulate his driver in Victory Lane.
The remaining pair of British drivers had a relatively strong afternoon, with Justin Wilson finishing 8th and James Jakes 13h. However, with Kimball becoming the ninth different driver to stand on the top step this year, this win will be seen as a popular victory not just in the IndyCar paddock, but around the series as a whole.
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