LONG BEACH: James Hinchcliffe roared home on the Long Beach street circuit Sunday to win the second IndyCar race of the season and capture his first victory since a near fatal crash in 2015. The 30-year-old from Toronto became the second Canadian to win at Long Beach as he held on through two late restarts to beat runner-up Sebastien Bourdais of France. “The greatest of the greats have won here,” Schmidt Peterson Motorsport driver Hinchcliffe said. “We had to fight. It didn’t come easy.” Hinchcliffe nearly bled to death two years ago at the Indianapolis 500 after crashing his car into a wall during a practice lap. The crash came one month after he won in New Orleans. Dale Coyne Racing’s Bourdais made it a 1-2 podium finish for Honda-powered cars as he followed his season-opening win at St. Petersburg, Florida with a second-place. Josef Newgarden, of the United States, finished third in his Team Penske Chevrolet. Kiwi Scott Dixon placed fourth and defending race winner Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top five.
Hinchcliffe earned his fifth career win and joins Paul Tracy as the only Canadians to win at Long Beach. Tracy did it five times in 1990, 1993, 2000, 2003 and 2004. Hinchcliffe looked to extend his lead on the first late restart and appeared to be cruising to victory as the laps ticked by. But with seven laps left, Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car died on the track and he was forced to retire with electrical problems. Restarting with three laps to go, Hinchcliffe then raced to victory. “This race track has been so good to me over the years,” he said. “I have always wanted to be on top here. It finally happened. “Huge credit to the crew to get us fast enough.” agencies