Honda scored it's first pole of 2012 with Scott Dixon beating Will Power by 0.0044 seconds. A few surprises to the Firestone Fast Six this weekend. Alex Tagliani ended up third followed by the Honda of Simon Pagenaud. EJ Viso cracked the top five, just ahead of Ryan Hunter-Reay. Graham Rahal qualified 7th put will drop back ten spots after his engine failure during practice at Indianapolis. In his first road course race with Chevrolet, Sebastien Bourdais will start from 9th on the grid. Row seven will be occupied by James Hinchcliffe and our most recent winner Dario Franchitti. One now has to wonder, who will be first to 32 career wins between Bourdais and Franchitti. Bourdais has not won since the final ChampCar race of the 2007 season in Mexico City. However he not race at any IndyCar races between 2008 and 2010 due to Formula One and sport car commitments. Other notables deep on the grid will be the aforementioned Rahal in 17th, Tony Kanaan 18th, JR Hildebrand in 19th, Rubens Barrichello in 20th and Marco Andretti in 23rd. Simona de Silvestro will start 25th after an engine change as well.
With five great races to start 2012, Belle Isle very well could be the first snoozer of the season. Passing has always been difficult here but we said passing would be difficult at Barber and Long Beach and almost everyone was wrong about that. One thing that could factor in this weekend is rain. After not missing a second of practice at Indianapolis, rain played a key role Friday and today the forecast calls for a few showers during race time. The chance of rain is listed at only 30% but all we need is one steady shower for thirty minutes to make things interesting.
Some fun facts: Last two winner at Belle Isle (Tony Kanaan in 2007 and Justin Wilson in 2008) started fourth. The previous two Belle Isle races did not go the scheduled 90 lap distance. In 2007, 89 laps and in 2008, 87 laps were completed. The last American winner at Belle Isle was Michael Andretti in 1996. He started 9th that day. Today, the highest starting American is Ryan Hunter-Reay in 6th place. The pole sitter has only won at Belle Isle twice, Robby Gordon in 1995 and Helio Castroneves in 2001 and the second place driver has won twice as well, Bobby Rahal in 1992 and Alex Zanardi in 1998. Danny Sullivan won in 1993 from 10th place, the furthest back a winner has come from the grid.
The IndyCar morning warm-up is at 10:45am. Coverage of the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix begins at 3:30pm on ABC and green flag will be around 3:45pm.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
