2012 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
| Racing data | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2nd of 15 races of the IndyCar Series 2012 | ||
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| Surname: | Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama | |
| Date: | April 1, 2012 | |
| Place: |
 Birmingham , Alabama , United States
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| Course: | Barber Motorsports Park | |
| Length: | 333.134 km in 90 laps of 3.701 km
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| Weather: | slightly cloudy | |
| Spectator: | ~ 52,879 | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver: |
 Helio Castroneves
|
 Team Penske
|
| Time: | 1: 10.4196 min | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver: |
 Will power
|
Team Penske
|
| Time: | 1: 12.3912 min (lap 79) | |
| Podium | ||
| First: |
Will power
|
Team Penske
|
| Second: |
 Scott Dixon
|
Target Chip Ganassi Racing
|
| Third: |
Helio Castroneves
|
Team Penske
|
The 2012 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama took place on April 1st at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham , Alabama , United States and was the second race of the 2012 IndyCar Series season .
Reports
background
After the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg , Hélio Castroneves led the drivers' standings with 8 points ahead of Scott Dixon and 15 points on Ryan Hunter-Reay . Among the engine manufacturers, Chevrolet led with 3 points ahead of Honda and with 5 points ahead of Lotus .
With Castroneves and Will Power (once each), all previous winners competed in this Grand Prix.
training
In the first practice session, Power set the fastest time ahead of his teammates Castroneves and Takuma Satō . The second training took place under rainy conditions. Satō achieved the fastest time right at the beginning of the training. Sébastien Bourdais was second ahead of Dixon. On the first day of training, the engine at Oriol Servià was changed due to damage. In the starting grid he was moved ten positions back.
The third training session, which took place on Saturday morning, was overshadowed by fog, which is why the drivers only drove one installation lap.
Qualifying
The first part of the time training was held in two groups. The six fastest drivers in each group came into the second segment. The remaining starting positions were determined from the result of the first qualifying segment, with the drivers in the first group being assigned the odd positions from 13 and the drivers in the second group the even positions from 14. In the first group Mike Conway drove the fastest lap, in the second group Power was the fastest driver. All Lotus pilots were eliminated in this segment. Power and Dixon were the few pilots who drove a time under 1:10 minutes.
In the second segment of the qualification, the six fastest drivers qualified for the final section. The section was canceled with the red flag after Hunter-Reay had an accident. At this point in time, not all drivers had completed their fastest lap. Power and Dixons set their fastest times in that moment. However, this was canceled by the race management. Power fell out of the top 6. The section did not restart. Castroneves was the fastest pilot. Alongside him, James Hinchcliffe , JR Hildebrand , Conway, Tony Kanaan and Dixon made it into the last section. In the so-called Firestone Fast Six there were two Honda and four Chevrolet pilots.
Castroneves eventually achieved pole position ahead of Hinchcliffe and Dixon.
After qualifying, Alex Tagliani was diagnosed with engine damage, which is why the engine was changed. Tagliani was then moved ten positions back on the grid.
Final training
In the final training, Simon Pagenaud drove the fastest lap ahead of Power and Satō. The warm-up was interrupted with the red flag after Hunter-Reay and Bourdais had ridden.
run
At the start, Castroneves kept the lead. For Tagliani, the race was already over on the first lap after it rolled out on the track. When the vehicle was recovered, there was an immediate yellow phase.
Power, who started the race from ninth place, started on the harder tire compound, the "Blacks". All other pilots in the front field started on the softer mix, the "Reds". During the first pit stop phase, which took place at racing speed, he switched to Reds. It was a quick stop and he moved up to sixth place. A little later he overtook Kanaan on the track in the fifth corner, which is considered the classic overtaking point on the race track. Castroneves, who had started the race on the Reds, lost the lead to Dixon at the first stops. Power's second stop below race pace, which took place before half time, put him in second place after his opponents were also in the pits. In the 53rd round Satō fell out. He parked his vehicle on the side of the road. Since there was no danger to the other pilots, no yellow phase was triggered.
His third pit stop put Power in the lead. He benefited from a problematic pit stop by Dixon, who lost a few seconds because the wheel nut on the right rear wheel had fallen off the mechanic's impact wrench. Hinchcliffe took third place in the meantime. The second caution occurred on lap 67 after Katherine Legge spun on the track. This brought the field closer together.
At the restart, Dixon tried to pass Power, but this claimed the inside for itself, pushed Dixon slightly away and kept the lead. Among other things, Hinchcliffe lost some positions and fell back to sixth place. Rubens Barrichello made up three positions at the restart and drove good lap times in the final phase and passed a few opponents. Bourdais, who was the only Lotus driver in the top 10, also showed good performances in the final phase.
Power finally won the race after a strong drive with the right strategy. Dixon finished second with the most leading laps, ahead of Castroneves. Graham Rahal and Pagenaud completed the top 5. It was the first top 5 result for Pagenaud. Hinchcliffe, Conway, Barrichello, Bourdais and Dario Franchitti , who had passed Marco Andretti shortly before the end of the race, completed the top 10 . It was Barrichello's first top 10 finish. With Bourdais, a Lotus driver crossed the finish line within the top ten for the first time.
Castroneves kept the lead in the drivers' standings from Dixon. Power moved up to third place. The positions in the manufacturers' championship remained unchanged.
Registration list
All teams and drivers used the chassis Dallara DW12 with an aero kit from Dallara and tires from Firestone .
Source:
Classifications
Qualifying
- Remarks
- ↑ Alex Tagliani was moved ten positions back due to an early engine change.
- ↑ Oriol Servià was moved ten positions back due to an early engine change.
Swell:
run
Swell:
Guide sections
| section | Round | driver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-24 |
Helio Castroneves
|
| 2 | 25th |
 James Hinchcliffe
|
| 3 | 26th |
Graham Rahal
|
| 4th | 27-47 |
Scott Dixon
|
| 5 | 48-49 |
Helio Castroneves
|
| 6th | 50-65 |
Scott Dixon
|
| 7th | 66-67 |
Helio Castroneves
|
| 8th | 68-73 |
Will power
|
| 9 | 74 |
Scott Dixon
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| 10 | 75-90 |
Will power
|
Swell:
Yellow phases
| No. | Duration | Round | Reason for yellow phase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1-3 | 3 | Standstill: Alex Tagliani (# 98) in turn 4 |
| 2 | 67-73 | 7th | Spin: Katherine Legge (# 6) in turn 9 |
Swell:
Score after the race
Driver ranking
The allocation of points is explained here .
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Manufacturer rating
| Item | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Chevrolet
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18th |
| 2. |
 Honda
|
12 |
| 3. |
 lotus
|
8th |
Individual evidence
- ^ "Birmingham - Race" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 1, 2012)
- ↑ “Inside the box score: Barber numbers to note” ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (indycar.com on April 2, 2012)
- ^ "Birmingham: Penske duo in front at the beginning" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 30, 2012)
- ^ "Second training: Sato and Bourdais ahead in the rain" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 30, 2012)
- ↑ "Engine change: Servia has to move backwards" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 31, 2012)
- ↑ "Fog prevents barber training" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 31, 2012)
- ↑ "Castroneves brings chaotic barber pole" (Motorsport-Total.com on March 31, 2012)
- ↑ "After changing the engine: Tagliani starts from the very back ??" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 1, 2012)
- ^ "Warmup: Pagenaud before Power - Two Red Flags" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 1, 2012)
- ↑ "Barrichello after eighth place: 'I had my fun'" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 2, 2012)
- ↑ "From 9 to 1: Power-Play in the Barber Park" (Motorsport-Total.com on April 1, 2012)
- ↑ "IndyCar - Power wins in Barber" (Motorsport-Magazin.com on April 2, 2012)
- ↑ IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama April 1, 2012 at Barber Motorsports Park. (PDF) IZOD IndyCar Series, March 27, 2012, archived from the original on April 12, 2016 ; accessed on March 31, 2012 .
- ↑ “Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park - QUALIFYING RESULTS” (indycar.com on March 31, 2012; PDF; 82 kB)
- ↑ a b c “OFFICIAL BOX SCORE - Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama” (indycar.com on April 1, 2012; PDF; 49 kB)
- ^ "Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama" (champcarstats.com; accessed April 4, 2012)
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