As we edge ever closer to the start of the new IndyCar season, Grand Prix Times’ Andy Young takes a look back at five of the best season openers.
1. 2013 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Mayor of Hinchtown takes maiden victory
Under overcast skies, the 2013 season got underway in frenetic style around the streets of St. Petersburg with the usual amount of incidents and wheel-to-wheel racing up and down the order.
Although Will Power stormed into a healthy lead at the start ahead of Takuma Sato, the Australian’s advantage was shattered after Dario Franchitti brought out the first full course caution.
On the restart Helio Castroneves moved into the lead, before Power’s chances of victory were dashed under a further caution period when he broke suddenly under the safety car and had J.R. Hildebrand flying over the rear of his Penske.
Meanwhile the Mayor of Hinchtown – James Hinchcliffe – had slipped into the lead on the restart, whilst further spills and thrills ensued further back.
Reigning champion Ryan Hunter-Reay spluttered to a halt with a mechanical issue on his car, whilst Ana Beatriz caused a momentary traffic jam after tipping Charlie Kimball into a spin.
Whilst Hinchcliffe masterfully came of age and defended his lead from the experienced Castroneves, while Marco Andretti robbed Simona de Silvestro of a certain third place finish on the penultimate lap.
As Andretti put distance between himself and the Swiss racer, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan saw an opportunity and applied the pressure.
Across the line Kanaan, Dixon and de Silvestro ran three-wide, kicking up dust in an unforgettable last lap showdown for fourth.
2. 2011 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Double-file restarts cause mayhem
A common saying in IndyCar is “cautions breed cautions”, so the decision to introduce double-file restarts for the 2011 season left many within the paddock baffled.
The new restart rule was needed from the very beginning in the 2011 season opener at St. Petersburg, after absolute carnage ensued at Turn 1 on the opening lap.
Whilst Power and Franchitti entered Turn 1 side-by-side, Castroneves made contact with Andretti further back. This in turn forced Andretti to make contact with Dixon, resulting in the Andretti Autosport driver rolling upside down and collecting team-mate Mike Conway in the process. Meanwhile, Ryan Briscoe and several other drivers made contact further back, as the inevitable full course caution ensued.
On the double-file restart Power lost out greatly, as both Franchitti and Kanaan stormed through into first and second place respectively.
Shortly after the restart yet another full course caution was caused as E.J. Viso spun off the track, albeit failing to make contact with the barrier in the process and sustaining no damage.
The race briefly resumed on Lap 10, before the yellow flags were required once again due to debris on the track.
The yellow flags were called to action on the restart once again, as Sebastien Saavedra spun and stalled. This meant nine of the first 15 laps were run under caution, with many fans and members of the paddock alike scratching their heads and asking whether double-file restarts was entirely necessary.
As Franchitti and Power traded the lead throughout the final round of green flag pit-stops, a terrific battle ensued for third between Kanaan and de Silvestro.
Eventually the Brazilian racer managed to hold on to secure third place for KV Racing Technology behind Franchitti and Power despite a mature and competitive drive from de Silvestro for HVM Racing.
3. 2010 Sao Paulo Indy 300 – Rain intervenes as Power wins on Indy return
For the 2010 season, IndyCar visited the streets of Sao Paulo for the season opener in what proved to be a manic, rain-struck event.
Both Power and Vitor Meira were returning to the series after sustaining injuries the year before in separate incidents at Sonoma and Indianapolis respectively.
Although the start of the race was delayed due to a brief rain shower, Franchitti soon led the field away at the start ahead of Alex Tagliani.
Further back, lots of dust was kicked up, blinding the midfield. Whilst the first five managed to negotiate the opening chicane cleanly, carnage ensued in the midfield.
Takuma Sato tipped Dixon into a spin at Turn 1 after completely missing his braking point, with Castroneves unable to avoid the stricken Chip Ganassi racer.
Behind this melee Mario Moraes suffered a similar issue to Sato and collected Andretti, mounting the Andretti Autosport machine. Miraculously Andretti was unscathed in the incident.
On the restart Franchitti resumed his lead ahead of Tagliani and Hunter-Reay, the latter wasting no time in overtaking Tagliani for second.
Milka Duno caused the second caution several laps later after making contact with the wall, forcing everyone except de Silvestro to pit. This enabled the rookie to lead her first laps on the restart, as Hunter-Reay rose ahead of Franchitti for second. Soon Hunter-Reay had caught de Silvestro had secured the lead, as heavy rain began to fall.
Soon a full course caution was brought out due to the weather after many drivers began to aquaplane including Alex Lloyd, Danica Patrick and Mario Romancini. Eventually the race was halted with a red flag delay for 36 minutes.
Upon resumption of the race some drivers gambled on slick tyres, including race leader Franchitti. This soon backfired and the top five were forced to pit, allowing Hunter-Reay to resume his lead.
Hunter-Reay was soon caught in a battle for the lead with a charging Briscoe, however the Australian soon made an error and struck the wall, gifting the lead back to Hunter-Reay.
During the final laps Meira rose up to third, whilst Power overtook Hunter-Reay for the lead with only a handful of laps remaining.
Power soon stormed across the line to secure victory in his first race back after sustaining two broken vertebrae in a shunt at Sonoma the year before.
Further back, Raphael Matos in fourth and Justin Wilson in 11th were separated by only 3.69 seconds, such was the competitiveness of the season opener.
4. 2007 Vegas Grand Prix – Fresh start for ChampCar as Power makes history
The 2007 ChampCar season was billed as a fresh start for the series, with a new car by Panoz, new rules and regulations, new teams and also a brand new season opener on a brand new street course.
The streets of Las Vegas kick started what would ultimately be the final ChampCar season before unification with the Indy Racing League a year later, with Power securing pole position ahead of veteran Paul Tracy.
After an aborted start, Power lost the lead to Tracy once the race began into Turn 1. Meanwhile further back rookie Graham Rahal slammed into the outside wall and brought his debut race to an abrupt conclusion.
With Matt Halliday also coming to a stop on the opening lap, the field was put under a full course caution as both stricken machines were cleared.
The race only momentarily went green before a spin from Alex Figge in the new Pacific Coast Motorsports outfit brought out yet another full course caution.
The American driver managed to continue circulating, as the race was soon resumed with Tracy leading Power and Bruno Junqueira at the front.
On Lap 11 Tracy’s lead was brought to an abrupt end as Power stormed past the Canadian veteran despite a strong defence from the 2003 champion.
Several laps later Dan Clarke became the third retirement of the race, causing the third caution period. Although there were to be no more full course cautions thereafter, many more drivers entered retirement in what became a race of attrition around the Las Vegas street course.
Wilson retired on Lap 20 with mechanical issues striking his car, before reigning champion Sebastien Bourdais was also forced into retirement.
Despite losing the lead during the green flag pit stops, Power managed to maintain a dominant lead at the front of the order. A fuel issue materialised on Tracy’s car, preventing him from challenging Power for victory and ultimately costing him second place to Minardi Team USA’s Robert Doornbos.
Out in front Power crossed the line to make ChampCar history by becoming the first Australian to win in the series – although it would be a whole seven years before he would be crowned champion.
5. 1993 Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix
After finally becoming Formula 1 world champion in 1992, Nigel Mansell entered the 1993 IndyCar season with an air of intrigue around him, signing for Newman-Haas Racing alongside Mario Andretti.
The British racer stunned the IndyCar paddock by securing pole position at the season opener in Surfers Paradise, starting the race alongside fellow ex-F1 ace and 1989 IndyCar champion Emerson Fittipaldi.
Despite securing pole, Mansell plummeted down to fourth throughout the first lap as Fittipaldi, Tracy and Robby Gordon all managed to enjoy a much better opening lap.
Whilst Fittipaldi began to stretch his legs at the front, Tracy’s chances of success were dashed after a suspension issue materialised on his car shortly after being overtaken by Gordon. Despite returning to the pits for repairs, Tracy soon retired with an engine-related issue striking his Penske machine.
On Lap 8 Mansell managed to catch and overtake Gordon for second, before setting his sights firmly on catching Fittipaldi for the lead of the race. The Briton soon found himself in a position to overtake Fittipaldi several laps later, however unbeknownst to Mansell he had secured the lead with an overtake under yellow flags.
This therefore led to Mansell being struck with a stop-go-penalty, but with the arrival of the first round of pit stops, Mansell had a get out of jail free card.
On lap 19 Mansell pitted and was able to acquire four fresh tyres and more fuel, as well as serve his penalty without incurring any further delays.
Although Mansell rejoined in fourth, he soon found himself leading after the top three all had completed their first pit stops under green flag conditions.
However on Lap 30 Mansell was forced back into the pits for an unscheduled stop, after the handling of his car deteriorated, apparently due to a slow puncture. As it transpired there was no puncture on his car, as Mansell rejoined the action once again down in fourth position.
On lap 39 Mansell overtook team-mate Andretti for third, before retaking the lead as Fittipaldi and Gordon both pitted for the second time.
From then on Mansell never looked back, producing a new lap record in the process as Fittipaldi was forced by his team to conserve fuel and Gordon suffered a recurring clutch issue.
This allowed Mansell to cross the line and secure one of his most famous victories, before spluttering to a halt moments later after running out of fuel. Talk about cutting it fine
