Scott Dixon has finished sixth in the IndyCar Series opening round at Sao Paulo, Brazil this morning. Racing in the Sao Paulo Indy 300. Drivers were faced with changing conditions particularly a cool and damp track.
Team Penske’s Will Power won from Ryan Hunter Reay and Vitor Meiro followed by Raphael Matos and Dan Wheldon.
Dixon finished in front of his team mate and last season’s IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti. Franchitti led from Dixon for most of the second half of the race but both had to pit before the end allowing Hunter-Reay to take the lead which Power eventually challenged for.
Midway through the scheduled 75-lap race a thunderstorm swept through the Anhembi section of the city, causing a 36-minute red flag delay.
On Lap 54, Ryan Briscoe went into the tyre barrier in Turn 7 on the 2.6-mile course, handing the lead to Ryan Hunter-Reay. Four laps later, Will Power overtook Hunter-Reay’s No. 37 IZOD entry in the 180-degree Turn 11 for the lead going on to take the chequed flag.
Race results (Top 10)
1. Power
2. Hunter –Reay
3. Meira
4. Matos
5. Wheldon
6. Dixon
7. Franchitti
8. Conway
9. Castroneves
10. Kanaan
Three rounds of IZOD IndyCar Series qualifications were postponed to four hours before the start of the São Paulo Indy 300 on March 14 based on driver feedback relating to the slippery concrete surface of the one-third-mile Anhembi Sambodromo frontstretch.
Brian Barnhart, president of competition and racing operations for the sanctioning Indy Racing League, met with drivers and team owners/managers mid-afternoon March 13 to devise a schedule that seeks to provide a safe racing environment and a good show for spectators and the worldwide viewing audience.
The scheduled qualifications were replaced by an hour-long third practice session for all cars. Drivers had two earlier sessions totaling 150 minutes. Verizon Team Penske driver Will Power topped the time chart with a quick lap of 1 minute, 31.2980 seconds. Andretti Autosport driver Tony Kanaan was second (1:31.3403).
After a 15-minute warm-up session at 8 a.m. (local; 7 a.m. ET), qualifications will follow. VERSUS’ race coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. (ET).
