19 Mar 2010: Who’s flying the flag for the Brits in IndyCar this year?
As American fans bemoan the lack of home-grown racers in the IndyCar Series this year, British fans will have an embarrassment of riches when deciding who to cheer on.
As American fans bemoan the lack of home-grown racers in the IndyCar Series this year, British fans will have an embarrassment of riches when deciding who to cheer on.
Dario Franchitti will start the three-way battle for the 2009 IndyCar title from pole position after outpacing his closest rivals Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe in qualifying on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami oval.
A quiet weekend in European racing allows attention to switch to the other side of the Atlantic – where no fewer than four open-wheel series all have their final races.
Jay Howard made the most of a last-minute call-up for the Indy Lights Firestone Freedom 100 to take a careful fourth place in a race of wheel-to-wheel action and high attrition.
A combination of a fast oval, a field full of rookies and the aftermath of a nearby tornado strike meant the Indy Lights Kansas Lottery 100 turned into an endless round of high-speed crashes.
Pippa Mann threw off the woes of a poor start to the season to recapture her testing form and qualify fifth for the Indy Lights Kansas Lottery 100.
JR Hildebrand took a comfortable win over the 45 laps of the Long Beach street circuit in California as the Indy Lights series served up a procession with very little overtaking.
Junior Strous won both races of the Firestone Indy Lights season-opening double header on the Streets of St Petersburg, while the five-strong crop of British rookies suffered a torrid introduction to American open-wheel racing.
There will be a strong British presence when the Firestone Indy Lights championship launches on the streets of St Petersburg this weekend, with no fewer than six drivers – including former champion Jay Howard – competing in the feeder series of the Indy Racing League.
Big-name British drivers on both sides of the Atlantic are facing a season on the sidelines as the global economic downturn sends teams out of business and forces the survivors to hire ride-buyers.