Newgarden cruises to IndyCar win in Toronto
Josef Newgarden raced to his second Toronto IndyCar title in three years on Sunday, dominating on the streets surrounding Exhibition Place.
Newgarden came out in front on lap 25 after a crash by Tony Kanaan caused a caution, and Newgarden maintained an advantage of more than two seconds for the majority of the race. The American has five career victories, including a win in Alabama in April.
Newgarden was fortunate to make his first pit stop just as Kanaan was sliding into the tire barrier in turn 1. The ensuing full-course caution allowed Newgarden to take the lead when other front-runners — including New Albany’s Graham Rahal — pitted under yellow. Newgarden went on to lead 58 of the 85 laps.
“I think that is twice I have had good calls and got into the pits at the right time,” Newgarden said. “We got it right, but it was all about managing the race after that. I thought we had a very fast car, we got a pretty good start, and stayed out of the mayhem.”
Alexander Rossi was second for his first podium finish of the year and best since winning the 2016 Indianapolis 500. James Hinchcliffe finished third in his hometown race for the second straight year.
Kanaan had his brakes lock up while leaving the pits and connected with the protective tires in turn 1. The caution caused the top-three cars of Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud and Rahal to fall back. Rahal wound up ninth.
Series leader Scott Dixon was 10th. He has a threepoint lead over Castroneves with five races left.
Formula One
Lewis Hamilton slashed Sebastian Vettel’s Formula One championship lead to one point by winning a record-tying fifth British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England, as his rival was left reeling by a late tire puncture.
Vettel was in third heading into the penultimate lap at Silverstone only to see his front left tire shred immediately after Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen’s car experienced the same fate.
Raikkonen made the podium by replacing Vettel in third, but the championship leader fell back to seventh as the 25-point lead he held over Hamilton was all but wiped out on an overcast afternoon in central England.
Electric car race
The roar of the engine was replaced by a furious whirring as the future of motorsports came to Brooklyn in a Formula E race, the second of two race days for the New York City ePrix.
The Formula One-style, open-wheel cars reach speeds of 140 mph but only about 80 decibels, compared with 130 decibels for the cars with combustion engines. And they run clean and green.
Sam Bird from the DS Virgin Racing team won Sunday’s 49-lap race over a narrow 1.2-mile, 10-turn track from the pole to sweep the weekend races for team owner Richard Branson, the billionaire adventurer.
The 3-year-old series is sanctioned by the governing body for Formula One, with the backing of major automobile brands such as Renault, Audi, Jaguar and BMW. Previous race sites include Berlin, Monaco, Paris and Mexico City. In two weeks, the series finishes in Montreal.
Twenty drivers started the race with enough battery power to make it through about 25 laps. They switch cars during the race, and the key is energy conservation. Drivers are careful not to lean too hard on the accelerator and can recharge the battery when braking.