Brits on Pole

Helio Castroneves can still win the IndyCar Series championship tonight - but he’s going to have to do it the hard way.

The tantalising prospect of an all-British line-up at the IRL’s Panther Racing team was floated by Dan Wheldon and team boss John Barnes at the pair’s first interview since the announcement of the Englishman’s move there.

Reigning IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti is to return to the series next year, driving for former rival Target Chip Ganassi Racing at the expense of Dan Wheldon who moves to Panther Racing.

An intriguing snippet of driver news reaches us from the US, where Panther Racing is hoping to expand and run a second car in the IRL next season.

You wouldn’t guess from this slapstick interview that Dan Wheldon recently survived a scare that might have seen him dropped by his team, Target Chip Ganassi, and has just slipped to fourth in the championship.

The similarities are striking - two Brazilian drivers trying to continue a recent run of good form and eat into world championship leads, both apparently on their way to commanding race victories, both committing apparent rules breaches.

Justin Wilson won the Detroit Indy Grand Prix at Belle Isle to score his first IRL victory - but only after Helio Castroneves was ordered to surrender the lead for blocking the Englishman’s overtaking attempts.

After seven second places, a season full of frustrations and a trailer fire that destroyed his first-choice car, Helio Castroneves finally managed to take the chequered flag first and win an IndyCar Series race.

Dillon Battistini has stopped talking about winning the Indy Lights championship and is concentrating on regaining third following a tough weekend at the Infineon Raceway that saw him drop to fifth in the title hunt.

Not even the destruction of their first-choice race cars in a fire could stop Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe from seizing the front row in qualifying for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County.