Dixon wins Honda Indy Toronto; Canada’s Wickens third
Scott Dixon won the Honda Toronto Indy on Sunday, his third title at the event, while Canadian Robert Wickens finished in third in his first race on Canadian soil in more than a decade.
Dixon of New Zealand finished the 85-lap course on the streets surrounding Exhibition Place first, with Simon Pagenaud of France finishing in second and Wickens, from Guelph, Ont., in third.
That’s the third year in a row Canadians have landed on the podium. James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, Ont., ended in fourth, after two straight years of thirdplace finishes, while Zachary Claman De Melo of Montreal was in 14th.
Josef Newgarden looked poised to defend his title and win for the third time in Toronto, leading for most of the first 32 laps on a hot and humid day. The start-time temperature was listed at 27 C but felt like more like 35 C. But on Turn 1 of lap 33, the 27-year-old American hit the wall, allowing Dixon
to take the lead and he cruised to victory from there.
Dixon entered the event 33 points ahead of Newgarden in the championship standings.
Further chaos ensued at the corner as Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal, Will Power, Max Chilton, Ed Jones, Alexander Rossi and Sebastien Bourdais were involved in a collision.
Rossi said Saturday a repave of the course would likely create more action heading into the first corner.
“I think it’ll allow Turn 1 to be a passing zone now. Before it was still bumpy on the inside,
pretty low percentage chance, so now we’re able to improve everything from practice for the race.”
The incident allowed Wickens and Hinchcliffe to surge into third and fourth.
Wickens moved up to second in lap 35 to trail Dixon, who led until he pitted on lap 55 but retook the lead shortly after.
This was the first race in Canada for Wickens, an IndyCar rookie, since competing in Toronto as part of the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic. He spent 12 seasons in Europe, including six with German’s DTM series.