Briscoe emerges from shadows to win Indy 300

Australian Ryan Briscoe today emerged from the shadows of compatriot Will Power to secure an historic victory on home soil, becoming the Indy 300’s first local winner on the Gold Coast.

The Sydney-based driver coasted to victory in the final lap of the 300km race ahead of New Zealand’s Scott Dixon and American Ryan Hunter-Raey, while race favourite Power failed to finish.

Power, who dominated the weekend’s sessions, started from pole for the third year in a row, only to crash out in the 17th lap when he turned too early around a corner, clipping his wheel against the wall.

The crash, which Power labelled the worst mistake of his career, left Briscoe to single-handedly fly the flag for the Australians, in what could well be the last time the IndyCars head down under.

Briscoe held his composure leading the majority of the race, despite fierce attention in the final laps from reigning series champion Dixon, who threatened to steal one away for the Kiwis in a Trans-Tasman rivalry.

“We kept it clean, didn’t make any mistakes and that was the key thing today,” Briscoe said.

He said the victory - a non-championship race - was worth a “million points” to him.

Briscoe, a top-five finisher in the series rankings this season, said he felt he had found his place in the IndyCars, after a varied career, including a stint as a Formula One test driver.

He paid tribute to Power, a clear favourite to take out the $70,000 winner’s cheque after setting the standard during practice and qualifying for the 24-car field.

“The name of his team is Team Australia, there’s a lot more attention on him here and I was probably in the shadows a little bit,” Briscoe said.

“But it was as home a race to me as it is to him, that’s for sure.

“It means a lot to me to win it.”

For Power, it only extends his bad luck run at the 4.5km street circuit.

After four outings, his best result remains a 12th, having crashed out in 2005, 2007 and today.

“I had everything there to win the race, (but) I made a mistake and a very bad one,” Power said.

“Something just caught me out … I’m incredibly disappointed.”

Power wasn’t the only one having troubles on the track, with former winner Dario Franchitti, AJ Foyt, Mario Moreas and female driver Danica Patrick just some of the drivers caught out on the tricky circuit.

Patrick ended up 18th after a nightmare three days, in which she failed to finish a lap during qualifying and damaging her car in a crash with Helio Castroneves early in the race.

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