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Danica Patrick wins Indy Japan 300 at twin ring Motegi PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 20 April 2008
patrickdanicathumb.jpgDanica Patrick has become the first female anywhere to win a major auto racing event after taking victory in today’s Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. Since exploding into the consciousness of an international audience at the 2005 Indianapolis 500, Patrick has faced questions of when she would win a race in the series of which Australia’s own Gold Coast Indy 300 is a part. She answered with a flurry of a finish at Twin Ring Motegi – the 50th IndyCar Series start for the fast femme who turned 26 three weeks ago.

Helio Castroneves, making his 100th IndyCar Series start, finished 5.8594 seconds behind and Brisbane-born Kiwi Scott Dixon was third after starting second and leading 102 of the 200 laps around the 1.5 mile oval.

Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dan Wheldon, finished fourth and Tony Kanaan was fifth.

With six laps remaining, Dixon had a 3.6-second lead over Wheldon, however he had to pit for a splash of fuel on Lap 195, with Wheldon and Kanaan following suit on Lap 196, leaving the door open for Patrick and Castroneves, whose last pit stop came on Lap 148.

Sydney’s Ryan Briscoe put in a strong effort for ninth after starting 15th. While the Team Penske racer was seventh-quickest in practice (27.4638 seconds; 199.244 mph), the rain-affected qualifying sessions saw him classified 19th and 23rd, relegating him to the eighth row on the starting grid.

This weekend’s IndyCar Series action is split across two hemispheres with the Indy Japan 300 and the Long Beach Grand Prix in Long Beach, California. The Long Beach race will act as the finale to the Champ Car World Series and the Panoz P01 chassis.

Drivers from both events will earn points towards the IndyCar Series championship and Australian fans can catch a re-air of the Twin Ring Motegi race on ESPN2 at 1.00am on Monday the 21st of April, AEST, while the Long Beach Grand Prix will be televised same day on Monday April 21 at 7.30am AEST.

Following the split third round the unified series continues on a schedule that is the most diverse in world motorsports.

The 2008 schedule will take the teams and drivers to short ovals, superspeedways, and road and street courses including the Gold Coast Indy 300 which is regarded as a ‘crown jewel’ in international motorsport.

The future of the Gold Coast Indy 300 was recently secured for at least another six years with a deal being reached with the new-look IndyCar Series and V8 Supercars Australia.

Now regarded as one of the world’s iconic motorsport events, the Gold Coast Indy 300 will now continue until and including 2013 with major plans already underway for a massive 20th anniversary celebration in 2010.

With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Coast comes alive to the sound of the IndyCars burning up the track and Australia’s own V8 Supercars scorching around one of the most famous beach-side cities in the world, the event is the hottest ticket in town.

Tickets are now on sale for the Gold Coast Indy 300 with ticket options to suit everyone's needs. Four day Grandstand passes are available for those who prefer to watch the racing from the comfort of their own reserved seat or for those who prefer to wander around and soak up the atmosphere then a four day, weekend or single day General Admission pass might be more their style. For more information on ticket options go to www.indy.com.au. For information on Corporate Hospitality packages please call our Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY…
Danica Patrick - #7 Motorola Honda/Dallara/Firestone
"Finally," Patrick said in victory lane.

"This is a long time coming. It was a fuel strategy race, but my team called it perfectly for me. I know I was on the same strategy as Helio (Castroneves) and when I passed him for the lead, I couldn't believe it. This is fabulous." danicaactionpitsthumb.jpg

Scott Dixon - #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone
"It's just one of those races where anything you tried, you didn't know exactly what to do," said Dixon.

"You had people in the back who were pitting and taking fuel under yellows. If we had had a yellow, we would have been stuck back there. But it worked out perfectly for the guys who made it a fuel race. It was really frustrating because we had the car to beat, but I guess that's the way it goes."

RESULTS: INDY JAPAN 300 AT TWIN RING MOTEGI, JAPAN
Results for the Indy Japan 300 IndyCar Series event at the 1.52-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (6) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (1) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (2) Scott Dixon, 200, Running
4. (5) Dan Wheldon, 200, Running
5. (3) Tony Kanaan, 200, Running
6. (7) Ed Carpenter, 200, Running
7. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, 200, Running
8. (12) Darren Manning, 199, Running
9. (15) Ryan Briscoe, 199, Running
10. (16) Townsend Bell, 199, Running
11. (9) Hideki Mutoh, 199, Running
12. (11) Buddy Rice, 198, Running
13. (14) Jay Howard, 192, Running
14. (18) Roger Yasukawa, 134, Running
15. (8) AJ Foyt IV, 103, Contact
16. (13) Vitor Meira, 92, Contact
17. (17) Marty Roth, 44, Contact
18. (4) Marco Andretti, 0, Contact

INDY JAPAN 300 POST-RACE NOTES:
- This is Danica Patrick's first IndyCar Series vic! tory. Her previous best finish was second at Detroit in September 2007.
- Patrick is the first female driver to win an Indy Racing League event. She previously shared the record with Sarah Fisher, who finished second at Miami in 2001.
- Helio Castroneves finished second, his third-consecutive top-five finish and second-straight runner-up finish.
- Scott Dixon finished third, his second podium finish of the season.
- Dan Wheldon finished fourth, the first time he finished outside the top-two at Motegi since 2003.
- Ed Carpenter finished sixth, his best finish at Motegi in five starts.

ENTRY LIST – LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX AT LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA – CHAMP CAR FINALE
Car - Driver - Entrant
02 - Graham Rahal - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
3 - Paul Tracy - Forsythe/Pettit Racing
4 - Nelson Phillipe - Minardi Team USA/HVM Racing
5 - Oriol Servia - KV Racing Technology
06 - Justin Wilson - Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
7 - Franck Montagny - Forsythe/Pettit Racing
8 - Will Power - KV Racing Technology
9 - Antonio Pizzonia - Rocketsports Racing
10 - Juho Annala - Rocketsports Racing
12 - Jimmy Vasser - KV Racing Technology
14 - Roberto Moreno - Minardi Team USA/HVM Racing
15 - Alex Tagliani - Walker Racing
18 - Bruno Junqueira - Dale Coyne Racing
19 - Mario Moraes (R ) - Dale Coyne Racing
29 - Alex Figge - Pacific Coast Motorsports
33 - Ernesto Viso - PDVSA/HVM Racing
34 - Franck Perera – Conquest Racing
36 - Enrique Bernoldi - Conquest Racing
37 - David Martinez (R ) - Forsythe/Pettit! Racing
96 - Mario Dominguez - Pacific Coast Motorsports
(R) denotes Rookie status; all cars use Cosworth engines, DPO1 chassis and Bridgestone tyres

VIDEO NEWS FEED INFORMATION
The Indy Racing League will provide a Video News Feed recapping both the IndyCar Series race at Twin Ring Motegi and the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Champ Car World Series finale.

The post-race VNF will include:

- Sound and b-roll from IndyCar Series drivers who competed in the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi on April 19.

- Sound and b-roll from IndyCar Series drivers who competed in the 34th annual Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 20.

The date, time and coordinates for the VNF are:
Monday April 21 AEST (Sunday April 20 US EDT)
Time: 10.00am - 10.30am AEST (8.00pm-8.30pm US EDT)
Coordinates: AMC 16 K23
Downlink Frequency: 12160 MHz Vertical
Position: 85 Degrees West
Audio: 6.2/6.8
Uplink phone: (562) 432-5169

For further information please call:
Amanda Cobb - BAM Media: +61 421 378 789
Media Manager - Gold Coast Indy 300
Brett Murray - BAM Media: +1 704 315 0080
Communications Manager - Gold Coast Indy 300
 
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