This weekend marks – finally – the first weekend of racing for the 2016 IndyCar Series, a season that will include the 100th edition of the Indianapolis 500.
After a long but eventful off-season, we’re set to open a new campaign on the streets of St Petersburg in Florida.
Before the first session of the weekend, I’ve run my rule over the class of 2016. We’ll first take a look at the championship contenders, then the dark horses in Part 2 and the best of the rest in Part 3.
Scott Dixon (Chevrolet – Chip Ganassi Racing)
The Iceman, who will sport a 1990s-era Target paint scheme this year, is the defending series champion, capping a remarkable late-season resurgence to steal the 2015 title away from hot favourite Juan Pablo Montoya.
Dixon clinched it on the last race of the year, in one of the best season finales – not to mention examples of grand larceny – I’ve ever seen.
Queensland-born and New Zealand-raised, Dixon doesn’t always win a heap of races, but there’s no better driver in the IndyCar Series at notching top five and top ten finishes week in, week out. That record and the first-class Ganassi organisation allows him to be a perennial contender. 2016 should be no different.
Juan Pablo Montoya (Team Penske – Chevrolet)
Admit it, you thought Montoya was well and truly cooked coming back from an uncompetitive few years in NASCAR. Well, not so much, and Montoya – the only man to win the Indianapolis 500, CART/IndyCar World Series championship, the Italian Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Daytona on his first go at each – figures to be strong again, spurred on by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory at the season finale in Sonoma.
Remember, Montoya had led the championship all year long, only to fall to Dixon at the end. And there’ll be plenty out there who’ll claim that he’s too old to continue to be competitive in open wheel racing. If that isn’t enough of a double-shot of motivation for the Colombian, what is? Plus, Montoya has the benefit of running Penske equipment. Keep an eye on him this year.
Will Power (Team Penske – Chevrolet)
2015 wasn’t quite what Queensland’s Will Power would have wanted coming in as defending series champion. He was pipped by inches at Indianapolis by teammate Montoya, and although he was theoretically in the championship race right down to the end, it wasn’t the same dominating driver as we saw a year earlier.
Most of the paddock will tell you that Power is still the gold standard when it comes to road racing in IndyCar, and we’ve seen consistent improvement on ovals, too. Watch out for him at Indianapolis – last year’s close defeat would have hurt, and he’ll be out for revenge in the 100th edition of the great race. His run there last May really stamped his legitimacy as an oval racer.
Helio Castroneves (Team Penske – Chevrolet)
Castroneves, as famous for emerging victorious on Dancing with the Stars as he is for his three Indianapolis 500 wins, is the sport’s most recognisable face because of his dance moves, which certainly says something about IndyCar’s national popularity.
Nothing ever seems to stop Castroneves from smiling when the cameras are on, but under that persona lurks a serious racer. He’s as hungry as they come, even after so much success, and age certainly hasn’t wearied the Brazilian. Add to that his Penske-prepared cars, and it’s hard to count Castroneves out.
Sebastien Bourdais (KVSH Racing – Chevrolet)
The Frenchman has been asking Jimmy Vasser’s squad not to dilute its limited resources by running two cars each year, and in 2016, Bourdais has had his wish granted. The team has parted ways with crash-prone rookie Stefano Coletti after a costly season of wrecked machines.
While it’s not good news for the series’ overall car count, the consolidation of the team owned by 1996 IndyCar champion Vasser, which regularly punches above its weight class, might be a blessing in disguise for Bourdais, who has a great nucleus of people around him. Sea Bass is fast everywhere (particularly on road and street circuits) and, with a little luck, should be right among the championship contenders.
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