Toronto – Race: Young Newgarden Blossoms

American Josef Newgarden clinches a new victory in IndyCar on the Toronto street circuit. His teammate Luca Filippi finishes second, ahead of Helio Castroneves and Will Power.

The weather is cloudy over Toronto. The ambient temperature is 16°C and 21°C on the ground. The start is given on a wet track. Will Power is in pole position ahead of his teammates Simon Pagenaud and Juan Pablo Montoya, followed by Scott Dixon and Sébastien Bourdais.

All the drivers are on rain tires. From the start, a small train of cars forms on this bumpy track with changing surfaces and very slippery cement patches in certain corners. The track gradually dries, and once again it’s Marco Andretti who gambles on slick tires, quickly followed by Bourdais and then the rest of the field.

Power and Pagenaud quickly take the lead while Montoya makes a mistake. By the 20th lap, the two leaders have nearly a 7-second lead over the 3rd place, Sébastien Bourdais. The Manceau is very comfortable on this type of tricky surface and is gradually catching up.

The beginning of betting

On the 29th lap, James Jakes lost control of his car with cold tires and stalled on the track, causing the entry of the first safety car. Most drivers took the opportunity to stop in the pits and put on new tires. At the restart, slower drivers found themselves at the front of the race, creating a bottleneck.

Castroneves, in the lead position, takes the opportunity to pull away. Will Power, Pagenaud, and Bourdais struggle to overtake Rodolfo Gonzalez, driving a Dale Coyne Racing car, the smallest team on the grid.

On the 41st lap, Stefano Coletti causes another safety car after hitting a concrete wall. The Monegasque lost control of his car, damaged following contact with Charlie Kimball. He has to retire. Helio Castroneves has to refuel and loses all the benefit of his lead. He comes back out in 16th position.

At the green flag, Josef Newgarden and Carlos Munoz are at the front with an offset strategy. They are followed by Power, Pagenaud, and Bourdais. Pagenaud misses the first braking by trying to overtake Power on the outside. The Frenchman loses several positions. Bourdais takes advantage to pass his compatriot and overtakes Will Power in quick succession.

The top 5 at the 50th lap: Newgarden, Munoz, Bourdais, Power, and Dixon. Pagenaud is 7th.

Risk-taking that pays off

Simon Pagenaud, very fast at the start of the race, is now having trouble maintaining a steady pace. Will Power regains the upper hand over Bourdais during the latest pit stops under green flag conditions. Alternate strategies are skewing the standings. On lap 65, the unlikely Rodolfo Gonzalez is in the lead, ahead of Newgarden, Filippi, Castroneves, and Munoz. Power and Bourdais are 6th and 7th. Simon Pagenaud is 13th. On lap 70, Carlos Munoz is forced to retire due to a mechanical issue. The next lap, Gonzalez pits, leaving Newgarden, Filippi, Castroneves, and Power to battle for victory.

The positions remain unchanged despite some impressive attacks. The American Josef Newgarden wins his second race of the season, which is also the second of his career. Italian Luca Filippi, GP2 vice-champion in 2011, achieves his best performance in IndyCar with second place.

Montoya still leading the championship

Juan Pablo Montoya, only 7th, manages to keep the lead in the overall standings with 374 points. Will Power is 27 points behind the Colombian. Sébastien Bourdais moves ahead of Marco Andretti to 6th place in the championship with 274 points. Simon Pagenaud has been unlucky since the beginning of the season, he is only 10th with 232 points.