2010 Sao Paulo Indy 300: Will Power's Return to Victory in a Red-Flag Race

The 2010 Sao Paulo Indy 300 opened the IZOD IndyCar Series season on a temporary street circuit in Brazil on 14 March 2010. Heavy rain produced a long red flag, and a two-hour time limit meant the 190.2-mile race ended well short of its planned distance. Will Power won on his first start since being injured.

Why was the Sao Paulo event a significant first?

The last American open-wheel race in Brazil had been the Rio 200 at Jacarepagua in 2000. The city and the Indy Racing League agreed the deal in late November 2009, and race details were published on 25 January 2010.

Organisers offered every team a six-figure payment and covered its costs, which helped with the long journey. Seven Brazilian drivers were entered, and four of them had been born in Sao Paulo. Public roads on the circuit were closed just before midnight on the Friday.

The weekend followed a fixed plan. Two practice sessions were scheduled for Saturday morning, qualifying was set for Saturday afternoon, and the race would start on Sunday afternoon.

A rain-shortened race in Brazil, a red-flag restart and a comeback win for Will Power on his first start back from injury.

How did practice and qualifying go?

Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing set the quickest time in the first practice, ahead of Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan and Will Power. The surface was slippery, and drivers were soon out of shape. Defending series champion Dario Franchitti hit the Turn 8 wall with his suspension and ended the session seventeenth.

The second practice was just as eventful, as five drivers went off or touched the walls. Officials then decided to move qualifying to race morning and to add a third practice session. Power was fastest in that extra run, ahead of Kanaan and Hunter-Reay, and track crews ground the concrete overnight to improve the grip.

Hunter-Reay topped the Sunday morning warm-up by more than half a second, with Mike Conway second in a Dreyer and Reinbold car. Qualifying used the familiar road and street course system, with two groups of twelve. The fastest six from each group moved on, and the fastest six of those contested the Firestone Fast Six.

Justin Wilson topped the first group, 0.46 seconds ahead of Simona de Silvestro of HVM Racing, with Alex Tagliani third. In the top twelve, Power set the fastest time before the final round, but Franchitti saved his best lap for the last available moment. That gave him pole, his 13th in the IndyCar Series and the 24th of his American open-wheel career. Tagliani started second on his debut with the FAZZT Race Team, and Wilson started third, with Hunter-Reay, Power and Kanaan behind him.

How did the race begin in dust and rain?

Rain reports delayed the start by roughly ten minutes. Race control then decided the track was dry enough for a dry race, so no rain tyres were fitted, although they would be needed later. Franchitti and Tagliani led the field away on a dusty surface left by the previous night's repairs, and the dust blinded many runners on the start-finish straight.

The leading five made it through the first chicane cleanly, but behind them half a dozen cars were caught up in a crash at the first corner. Takuma Sato had misjudged his braking, clipped the rear of Power's car, and sent it spinning into Scott Dixon. Castroneves could not avoid Dixon's stationary car, and Mario Moraes lost control behind Ana Beatriz, hit Marco Andretti and came to rest across Andretti's cockpit.

It took several minutes to free Andretti, who was not hurt but criticised Moraes's driving. The incident brought out a seven-lap caution, and Sato, Moraes and Andretti were all out of the race. Dixon and Castroneves both returned to the pits for repairs.

How did the race unfold after the restart?

Franchitti led the restart on lap eight from Tagliani, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan and Matos, who had gained seven places by avoiding the trouble at turn one. Franchitti had already won the 2009 championship by taking the Firestone Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and he was now the first driver in series history to lead the last lap of one season and the first of the next.

Wheldon passed Matos for fifth on lap 15. Hunter-Reay took second from Tagliani at the final hairpin on lap 19, and Milka Duno brought out the second caution on lap 22 when she nudged her Dale Coyne car into the turn four wall. Every car except de Silvestro pitted, and she took the lead, becoming the first rookie since Graham Rahal in 2008 to lead a lap on debut.

Green flag running returned on lap 26, and de Silvestro kept the front for two laps before Hunter-Reay and then Franchitti passed her, and Hunter-Reay later lost control briefly when the car bottomed out on the straight. Rain then returned, heavier than before, and much of the field changed to wet tyres. Alex Lloyd aquaplaned into the wall, and a 36-minute red flag followed.

When the race restarted on lap 38 on slicks, two Ganassi cars ran first and second, Franchitti ahead of Dixon, and two Dreyer and Reinbold cars were close behind. The leaders pitted on laps 41 and 42, which put Hunter-Reay back in front. Briscoe then chased him, but overcooked the turn five entry on lap 54 and touched the barrier with his nose, bringing out the fourth and final caution.

With the time limit now close, only six laps remained at the restart. Hunter-Reay led Power, Matos, Meira and Wheldon, but Power used the slipstream to pass Hunter-Reay into the final corner and went on to take the win.

What did the final classification look like?

Fourth to eleventh were covered by only 3.49 seconds at the flag, which shows how tightly the leading pack ran after the restart.

Why did the result matter?

Power had been sidelined after a practice crash during the 2009 Sonoma race weekend, an injury that broke two vertebrae in his back. Winning on his first start back made the victory a comeback as well as a race result. Meira, who finished third, was making his first start since similar injuries at the 2009 Indianapolis 500.

Four drivers were making their IndyCar Series debuts. Takuma Sato, the former Formula One driver, joined Ana Beatriz and Mario Romancini, both Firestone Indy Lights graduates, and Simona de Silvestro, the Atlantic title contender. All four finished outside the top ten, although de Silvestro had led four laps during the race.