Simon Pagenaud guided his PPG Automotive Refinish sponsored race car to glory Sunday in the Toyota Gran Prix of Long Beach. The win was not without a bit of controversy as Pagenaud entered the track from pit row one meter early to grab the lead from hard-charging Scott Dixon. IndyCar judges ruled the mishap was worth only a warning and Pagenaud held off Dixon by .303 seconds to claim his fifth IndyCar victory of his career.
“That line I know you can take risks; get on the limit,” Pagenaud said. “That is racing. Another inch to the right and it changes the outcome of the race. I really honestly know it was that close; we’re talking that much more,” holding his fingers about a half an inch apart.
“The rules clearly state two wheels are on the other side of the line or you get a penalty,” Dixon said. “There are no warnings left. It is what it is. Personally we should have won the race.“I was pretty mad once I got out of the car. But it is not his fault.”
The race’s pole sitter, Helio Castroneves, completely dominated the first half of the event. Castroneves led early and often in front of the bulging 175,000 race fans that lined the Southern Californian streets. The Auto Club of Southern California sponsored hot-rod came into pit on lap 52 and relinquished the lead to Scott Dixon who had been trailing him for the entire race. Castroneves finished as lap leader with 47 circuits turned out of 80, but finished in third.
Scott Dixon, last weeks race winner, started in the second position and shadowed Castroneves until the second round of stops around the lap 50 mark. Dixon grabbed the lead over Castroneves for two trips and was out in front heading into Turn 1 when the controversy occurred.
Simon Pagenaud was exiting onto the track from his final stop and appeared to cut onto the track to soon forcing Dixon to check up and allow the Roger Penske owned hot-rod to take the lead. Dixon would not be able to run down Pagenaud and finished runner-up. Dixon was not happy and voiced his concerns in a post race interview.
“You could not put more than two wheels over the line, that was my understanding,” Dixon said. “I thought we were done with warnings and all that wish-wash and I thought we would stick to hard rules. This was the problem of the off-season. People were getting warnings all the time. People are using that advantage like a last pit stop sequence. That’s why we discussed this so deeply in the of-fseason.”
IndyCar Rule 7.10.1.1, regarding lane usage says: “Failing to follow designated procedures entering or exiting the pit area, including the proper use of the acceleration and deceleration lanes.” The IndyCar authorities issued a warning to the race winner. If he had been disciplined, he would have received a maximum of a pit drive-through forfeiture. IndyCar officials have the option on how to penalize him.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth in his Roger Penske owned Verizon Chevrolet. Montoya clearly displayed plenty of speed throughout the contest but never led a lap. Montoya’s fourth place finish put three Roger Penske Racing Indy Cars in the top five, including race victor Simon Pagenaud.
Takuma Sato racing for IndyCar legend A.J. Foyt rounded out the top five. The ABC Supply Co./ Panasonic sponsored car had enough quickness through the turns to keep vital positioning towards the conclusion of the race. A top five was a welcome performance, considering the Japanese born driver has collected only one win and five podium appearances going into his seventh full IndyCar Racing Series season.
The 2016 Toyota Gran Prix of Long Beach took one hour and half hours to complete. The average speed of the competing field was a little over 100 miles per hour. The contest was ran completely caution free which kept the race pace moving along fluently throughout the contest. The 1.968 mile street course was packed with over 170,00 spectators. Simon Pagenaud moved ahead of Scott Dixon by 14 points for the IndyCar Series points lead.
Final Results for the Toyota Gran Prix of Long Beach:
1. Simon Pagenaud
2. Scott Dixon
3. Helio Castroneves
4. Juan Pablo Montoya
5. Takuma Sato
6. Tony Kanaan
7. Will Power
8. James Hinchcliffe
9. Sebastien Bourdais
10. Josef Newgarden
11. Charlie Kimball
12. Carlos Munoz
13. Conor Daly
14. Max Chilton
15. Graham Rahal
16. Mikhail Aleshin
17. Luca Filippi
18. Ryan Hunter-Reay
19. Marco Andretti
20. Alexander Rossi
21. Jack Hawksworth
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