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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Gold Coast 600 Turning Into An Indy All-Star Race
At present, Team Penske is set to send all three of its drivers to Surfers, along with members from Ganassi, Andretti, Coyne, Schmidt-Hamilton and others.
Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe, (L), and Helio Castroneves, (R), are just two of many IndyCar drivers destined to compete at the Gold Coast 600 in October. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Thanks to a scheduling conflict that will have most of IndyCar’s best headed Down Under this October, fans of open-wheel racing and the V8 Supercars will get to experience a motorsports mash-up that should rock.
Held the weekend of October 19-21 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, the third annual Gold Coast 600 will see the 28 V8 regulars partnered with international drivers to compete in a pair of 300km endurance races in thundering Ford and Holden [Chevy] tin-top machinery.
This year’s event happens to fall on a weekend where the ALMS, DTM, NASCAR, WRC and WTCC have events scheduled elsewhere, and as a result, nearly half of the IZOD IndyCar Series grid could fill the void.
At present, Team Penske is set to send all three of its drivers to Surfers, with long-time Holden (GM) man and native Australian Ryan Briscoe expected to represent the factory Holden Racing Team’s program once again. Helio Castroneves will make his second start at the GC600, albeit with a different team, and Toowoomba’s Will Power could be headed back to Ford Performance Racing, the team he drove for in 2010.
Power was scheduled to drive for FPR last year, but suffered back injuries at the Las Vegas season finale that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon, and was forced to skip the event which is held just two hours from where he was raised.
At least one representative from the Ganassi Racing camp will make the trek, and it’s possible a second could join him. Graham Rahal expressed great interest in competing at the first two GC600s, and his perseverance appears to have paid off.
Reigning IndyCar series and Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti partook in the inaugural event, but sat out last year’s race with a scheduling conflict of his own. Nothing is confirmed, but it’s believed the Scot is in the frame for a possible return.
Franchitti’s teammate, New Zealander Scott Dixon, was announced as the co-driver for fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen in 2011, but was also forced to withdraw just prior to the event. Dixon told SPEED.com at Toronto that he’s unlikely to drive this year.
Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti will drive one of Kelly Racing’s Holdens, and he could be joined by teammate and Go Daddy dude, James Hinchcliffe.
Andretti’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won his first Indy car race at Surfers Paradise in 2003 and would be a perfect fit for a Gold Coast seat, but the IndyCar points leader previously committed to race for the new factory Dodge Viper team at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans ALMS finale.
Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports’ Simon Pagenaud was one of the breakout starts of the GC600 last year driving for Garry Rogers Motorsports, and the Frenchman will make his second consecutive start, albeit with a different team.
The most effective of all the guest drivers last year was Dragon Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais. Driving for the V8 equivalent of Ganassi or Penske, the Frenchman helped Triple 8 Racing’s Jamie Whincup to win Race 1 and place second in Race 2.
For his performance, Bourdais won the inaugural Dan Wheldon Trophy for the best combined result from an international driver, and will return to drive for T8 in October.
Texas 550 winner Justin Wilson is said to be the eighth confirmed IndyCar driver for the GC600, and at least five other drivers stand a chance of packing their bags to pilot the 600hp sedans.
Held the weekend of October 19-21 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, the third annual Gold Coast 600 will see the 28 V8 regulars partnered with international drivers to compete in a pair of 300km endurance races in thundering Ford and Holden [Chevy] tin-top machinery.
This year’s event happens to fall on a weekend where the ALMS, DTM, NASCAR, WRC and WTCC have events scheduled elsewhere, and as a result, nearly half of the IZOD IndyCar Series grid could fill the void.
At present, Team Penske is set to send all three of its drivers to Surfers, with long-time Holden (GM) man and native Australian Ryan Briscoe expected to represent the factory Holden Racing Team’s program once again. Helio Castroneves will make his second start at the GC600, albeit with a different team, and Toowoomba’s Will Power could be headed back to Ford Performance Racing, the team he drove for in 2010.
Power was scheduled to drive for FPR last year, but suffered back injuries at the Las Vegas season finale that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon, and was forced to skip the event which is held just two hours from where he was raised.
At least one representative from the Ganassi Racing camp will make the trek, and it’s possible a second could join him. Graham Rahal expressed great interest in competing at the first two GC600s, and his perseverance appears to have paid off.
Reigning IndyCar series and Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti partook in the inaugural event, but sat out last year’s race with a scheduling conflict of his own. Nothing is confirmed, but it’s believed the Scot is in the frame for a possible return.
Franchitti’s teammate, New Zealander Scott Dixon, was announced as the co-driver for fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen in 2011, but was also forced to withdraw just prior to the event. Dixon told SPEED.com at Toronto that he’s unlikely to drive this year.
Andretti Autosport’s Marco Andretti will drive one of Kelly Racing’s Holdens, and he could be joined by teammate and Go Daddy dude, James Hinchcliffe.
Andretti’s Ryan Hunter-Reay won his first Indy car race at Surfers Paradise in 2003 and would be a perfect fit for a Gold Coast seat, but the IndyCar points leader previously committed to race for the new factory Dodge Viper team at the 10-hour Petit Le Mans ALMS finale.
Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports’ Simon Pagenaud was one of the breakout starts of the GC600 last year driving for Garry Rogers Motorsports, and the Frenchman will make his second consecutive start, albeit with a different team.
The most effective of all the guest drivers last year was Dragon Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais. Driving for the V8 equivalent of Ganassi or Penske, the Frenchman helped Triple 8 Racing’s Jamie Whincup to win Race 1 and place second in Race 2.
For his performance, Bourdais won the inaugural Dan Wheldon Trophy for the best combined result from an international driver, and will return to drive for T8 in October.
Texas 550 winner Justin Wilson is said to be the eighth confirmed IndyCar driver for the GC600, and at least five other drivers stand a chance of packing their bags to pilot the 600hp sedans.
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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