Third at Toronto Indy
Third-place finish at Honda Indy Toronto is first time atop podium at hometown race
Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe earns best result yet on his home track
TORONTO — James Hinchcliffe had been waiting to catch a break on home soil for years. Sunday, it finally happened. The Oakville native secured his first podium appearance at the Honda Indy Toronto, finishing third — behind winner Will Power and runner-up Helio Castroneves — thanks in large part to a caution on the 81st lap.
“It’s not just that I haven’t had great luck here, it’s that I’ve had insanely bad luck here,” he said. “Today, finally, we were on the other side of that . ... We were able to make it stick on that last restart and finally get a strong result.”
Debris in Turn 5 caused a Lap 45 caution, allowing Hinchcliffe to make his second pit stop on Lap 47. Then after a Lap 59 caution, Hinchcliffe, who started sixth, found himself in third when the race returned to full course green at Lap 63. Jack Hawksworth hit the tires to cause the Lap 81 caution, which Hinchcliffe needed in order to conserve fuel and maintain his third-place position.
Sunday was Hinchcliffe’s seventh start in Toronto and 10th podium finish overall. He missed last year’s event in Toronto due to his near fatal accident on May 18, 2015 in Indianapolis.
Hinchcliffe, who picked up 35 points in the series standings, became See complete story on Indy race winner Will Power and the overall results, S6
the first Canadian to finish on the podium since Paul Tracy placed second in 2006.
“I got a little extra boost seeing the crowd stand up in Turn 11 and I knew all my family and extended family and friends were sitting on that grandstand,” he said.
“Coming around Turn 11 on that restart, I saw the whole grandstand stand up and cheer and I thought, ‘I can’t screw this up, I can’t let these guys down’ and luckily we were able to hold it off.”
It was the 29-year-old’s second podium of the season. He also finished third at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.