2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

The 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the second round of the 2017 IndyCar Series and the 43rd annual running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race was contested over 85 laps on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California on April 9, 2017. Hélio Castroneves won the pole,[1] while James Hinchcliffe won the race.[2]

2017 Long Beach
Race details
2nd round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season
DateApril 9, 2017
Official nameToyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
LocationStreets of Long Beach
CourseTemporary street circuit
1.968 mi / 3.167 km
Distance85 laps
167.28 mi / 269.21 km
Pole position
DriverHélio Castroneves (Team Penske)
Time1:06.2254
Fastest lap
DriverHélio Castroneves (Team Penske)
Time1:07.7696 (on lap 59 of 85)
Podium
FirstJames Hinchcliffe (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports)
SecondSébastien Bourdais (Dale Coyne Racing)
ThirdJosef Newgarden (Team Penske)

Report

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 8, 2017. For the third consecutive year, Hélio Castroneves qualified on pole for the event, setting a new track record in the process with a lap of 1:06.2254, at an average speed of 106.98 mph (172.17 km/h). Scott Dixon qualified in second, while Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified third. Finishing the Fast Six were James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi, and Graham Rahal. Defending race winner Simon Pagenaud was penalized for interfering with one of his teammate Castroneves' laps and was stripped of his two fastest laps in the session, relegating him to last place on the grid.[3][4]

Race

The race was held on Sunday, April 9. At the start of the race, pole sitter Hélio Castroneves timed the start poorly and immediately dropped five positions.[5] Scott Dixon led the race into turn one, with James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay behind. As the field worked the first turns of the race, Charlie Kimball and Will Power came together in turn four, sending both cars into the wall and bringing out the race's first caution period. Kimball was forced to retire from the race from the damage, while Power was able to continue on after a front wing change.[5]

When racing resumed, Dixon continued to hold the lead, while Hunter-Reay managed to slip past Hinchcliffe for second position. By lap 10, pit stops began to occur amongst drivers further back, including Mikhail Aleshin, Tony Kanaan, and the Andretti Autosport teammates Takuma Sato and Marco Andretti. Shortly after the stops, however, Andretti began to slow and eventually pulled off course and retired from the race. Race leader Dixon would make his pit stop shortly after this on lap 16, handing the lead to Hunter-Reay. The remaining front runners, committed to a two-stop strategy, remained on course longer, with Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi being the first to peel off on lap 28. By the time the pit sequence ended on lap 31, Dixon regained the lead, with Hunter-Reay following in second.[5]

Dixon, on his three-stop strategy, pitted again on lap 41, once again handing the lead to Hunter-Reay. Dixon was able to make significant ground on the leaders on his new tires and, as they came into the pits around lap 55, he resumed the lead with ease. After the cycle, Hinchcliffe managed to get ahead of Hunter-Reay. However, up front, a battle for the lead began brewing as Josef Newgarden managed to move into second place and put pressure on Dixon. On lap 60, however, he and his teammate Castroneves pitted, with Dixon following them in a lap latter, elevating Hinchcliffe to the race lead. During the sequence, Newgarden managed to get around Dixon. On lap 64, the complexion of the race suddenly changed, as Rossi suddenly ground to a halt on course, bringing out the race's second caution period with 21 laps remaining.[5]

At the restart, the running order was Hinchcliffe, Hunter-Reay, Sébastien Bourdais, Newgarden, and Dixon. Hinchcliffe was able to manage to pull out a lead on Hunter-Reay, but shortly thereafter, Hunter-Reay began to pull him back. Further back, a clash between Mikhail Aleshin and Tony Kanaan resulted in a puncture for Kanaan, dropping him down the order. Also in this time frame, Takuma Sato suddenly slowed on course and brought his car to a halt on an access lane.[5]

With five laps to go, second place Hunter-Reay suddenly slowed and stopped on course, bringing out the race's third and final caution period. Hunter-Reay's retirement meant that all four Andretti Autosport cars would fail to reach the end due to mechanical or electrical issues.[6] Sébastien Bourdais, running a quiet but steady race, suddenly moved into second, while Newgarden was boosted into third. On the restart Hinchcliffe was able to pull out a sizable lead on the front straight, securing his position for the short run to the end, and crossed the line 1.5 seconds ahead of Bourdais to take his first victory since the 2015 season and his first since his near fatal crash during practice for the 2015 Indianapolis 500.[7] Third place went to Newgarden, fourth to Dixon, and fifth Simon Pagenaud, who quietly moved his way up from the rear of the field to take a respectable finish. Rookie Ed Jones finished in sixth. As a result of the finish, Bourdais was able to extend his points lead in the championship, while Hinchcliffe moved into second place.[5][8][9]

Following a last lap incident with Mikhail Aleshin, J. R. Hildebrand was found to have broken a bone in his left hand.[10] He was not cleared to resume driving for the following race at Barber Motorsports Park.[11][12]

Results

Key Meaning
R Rookie
W Past winner

Qualifying

Pos No. Name Grp. Round 1 Round 2 Firestone Fast 6
1 3 Hélio Castroneves W 2 1:07.1407 1:06.4792 1:06.2254
2 9 Scott Dixon W 2 1:06.8297 1:06.2285 1:06.4123
3 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay W 1 1:07.0176 1:06.5320 1:06.4401
4 5 James Hinchcliffe 1 1:07.3209 1:06.4297 1:06.5291
5 98 Alexander Rossi 1 1:07.0961 1:06.2288 1:06.5595
6 15 Graham Rahal 1 1:07.2517 1:06.4109 1:06.7562
7 83 Charlie Kimball 1 1:07.4149 1:06.5404
8 2 Josef Newgarden 1 1:07.0619 1:06.6074
9 12 Will Power W 2 1:06.7340 1:06.6145
10 27 Marco Andretti 2 1:07.3054 1:06.6222
11 10 Tony Kanaan 2 1:07.0470 1:06.6262
12 18 Sébastien Bourdais W 2 1:07.0569 1:06.7853
13 19 Ed Jones R 1 1:07.5832
14 14 Carlos Muñoz 2 1:07.3738
15 21 J. R. Hildebrand 1 1:07.6931
16 7 Mikhail Aleshin 2 1:07.3893
17 4 Conor Daly 1 1:07.7977
18 26 Takuma Sato W 2 1:07.4699
19 20 Spencer Pigot 1 1:07.8442
20 8 Max Chilton 2 1:07.5333
21 1 Simon Pagenaud W 2 1:08.0439
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Source for individual rounds:[13]

Race

Pos No. Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit Stops Grid Laps Led Pts.1
1 5 James Hinchcliffe Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 85 1:50:28.9818 2 4 25 51
2 18 Sébastien Bourdais W Dale Coyne Racing Honda 85 +1.4940 3 12 40
3 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +2.3160 3 8 35
4 9 Scott Dixon W Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 85 +2.7832 3 2 32 35
5 1 Simon Pagenaud W Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +3.3934 3 21 30
6 19 Ed Jones R Dale Coyne Racing Honda 85 +5.7951 3 13 28
7 14 Carlos Muñoz A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 85 +6.9393 3 14 26
8 20 Spencer Pigot Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 85 +9.0570 3 19 24
9 3 Hélio Castroneves W Team Penske Chevrolet 85 +9.3403 4 1 23
10 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 85 +17.8632 3 6 20
11 21 J. R. Hildebrand Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 84 Contact 3 15 19
12 7 Mikhail Aleshin Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 84 +1 Lap 3 16 18
13 12 Will Power W Team Penske Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 5 9 17
14 8 Max Chilton Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 84 +1 Lap 4 20 16
15 10 Tony Kanaan Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 84 +1 Lap 6 11 15
16 4 Conor Daly A. J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet 84 +1 Lap 6 17 14
17 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay W Andretti Autosport Honda 79 Off Course 2 3 28 14
18 26 Takuma Sato W Andretti Autosport Honda 78 Off Course 4 18 12
19 98 Alexander Rossi Andretti Herta Autosport Honda 62 Mechanical 2 5 11
20 27 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 14 Off Course 1 10 10
21 83 Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1 Contact 1 7 9
OFFICIAL BOX SCORE

Notes: 1 Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.

Source for time gaps:[14]

Championship standings after the race

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

  1. Malsher, David (April 8, 2017). "Long Beach IndyCar: Castroneves grabs pole, other Penskes falter". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 9, 2017.
  2. Malsher, David (April 10, 2017). "Hinchcliffe says 2017 results underline IndyCar competitiveness". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  3. Glendenning, Mark (April 8, 2017). "Castroneves on third straight Long Beach pole". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  4. Robinson, Mitch (April 8, 2017). "CASTRONEVES SPEEDS TO TRACK RECORD, 3RD STRAIGHT LONG BEACH POLE". IndyCar.com. Long Beach, California: Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  5. Malsher, David (April 9, 2017). "Long Beach Indycar: Hinchcliffe wins, Andretti and Penske fade". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  6. Pruett, Marshall (April 9, 2017). "All 4 Andretti cars forced to retire at Long Beach". Racer.com. Long Beach, California: Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on 2017-04-11. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  7. Fryer, Jenna (April 9, 2017). "Hinchcliffe grabs 1st victory since near-fatal 2015 accident". Associated Press. Long Beach, California: AP Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  8. Glendenning, Mark (April 9, 2017). "Hinchcliffe ends drought with Long Beach win". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on 2017-04-10. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  9. Robinson, Mitch (April 9, 2017). "Hinchcliffe races to rewarding victory at Long Beach". IndyCar.com. Long Beach, California: Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  10. Ayello, Jim (April 9, 2017). "Long Beach notebook: JR Hildebrand breaks hand". The Indianapolis Star. Long Beach, California: Gannett Company. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
  11. Glendenning, Mark (April 9, 2017). "Hildebrand suffers hand injury at Long Beach". Racer.com. Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on 2017-04-11. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  12. Malsher, David (April 10, 2017). "Hildebrand breaks bone, not yet cleared to drive". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  13. "Race Report: 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach". theapexracing.co. TheApex.racing LLC. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  14. "Indycar 2017 Long Beach". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
Previous race:
2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
IndyCar Series
2017 season
Next race:
2017 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
Previous race:
2016 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Next race:
2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
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