It was a bumpy weekend in more ways than one for several of the IndyCar teams on Belle Isle in Detroit. With twice the usual number of points available there was opportunity to put a bite into overall championship front-runner Simon Pagenaud’s lead. Though the Frenchman finished well down the field in 13th position in Race 1, he bounced back in Race 2 and holds a significant 80-point lead over second place driver Scott Dixon.
Dixon was one of those who had troubles over the weekend. The Ganassi team driver retired early with electrical issues in the first race but did manage to nurse home a car with a broken suspension piece from wheel to wheel contact with two different Penske drivers to snag a top-five finish.
Pagenaud had his troubles in Race 1 but qualifying on pole for both races and collecting his third runner up finish to go with three victories through eight races this season certainly softened the blow.
James Hinchcliffe experienced plenty of misery over the two days. A part failure sent him into the wall Saturday, and Sunday afternoon, heading into Corner 1 on the first lap, he was shoved aside and ran out of racing room again contacting the wall and finishing his day early. He summed it up to me quite simply stating, “This place hates me.”
What we did see in Race 1 with showers threatening was a variety of pit strategies. While some did dial back the fuel mixture to save enough to get to the end, others like Conor Daly went the opposite way, going all out to lay down quick laps knowing another pit stop was coming. It was refreshing to see a team going for it rather than easing back to make it to the end of the race.
The weekend double dip also featured two first-time winners this season, Sebastien Bourdais won Saturday’s race and Will Power took Sunday’s event. For both it was an important victory. Bourdais and KVSH are down to a single car this year and the win gives them a boost. For Power to come back and get a victory after missing the first race in St. Pete due to illness and after a few missteps this year, he now appears to be back on track.
The list of issues caused by the bumpy track is almost endless and its condition gets worse with each winter that passes. It takes an enormous toll on the drivers physically and it’s also asking a lot of IndyCar crews to prepare cars for two races on this demanding course that takes place the week after the Indianapolis 500.
The schedule doesn’t slow down for another week as teams are already home preparing to switch back to oval racing for the high speeds of Texas Motor Speedway this coming Saturday.
While the bumpy course needs to be addressed the race weekend is a model for others to follow. If you asked someone to come to a race held on an island with limited parking, that’s inconvenient to get to and they’ve had rain during the weekend the last two years, most would quickly decline, but I’ll come back to the Detroit Grand Prix every time. Extremely well organized with a corps of volunteers that are more cheerful and helpful than you can imagine. Take note Toronto and other cities.