Friday , 4 October 2024

2016 Grand Prix of Alabama Preview

Three races down and in true IndyCar fashion, we have three different race winners, controversy and uncertainty heading forward as the series heads to Alabama – the final race before the famous Month of May, and the first road course of the season. Last year saw a brand new winner in Josef Newgarden, who charged his way through the field from fifth on the grid. Newgarden, like a few other drivers, would like to use the 2016 Grand Prix of Alabama as a stepping stone to a strong run of results as the series heads into the two Indianapolis races.

Previous winners Newgarden, Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay will enter the event as some of the drivers to beat. However strong runs from the Ganassis of Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan last time out at Long Beach as well as surprising package of the season so far Takuma Sato may also feature towards the front. The likes of Power and Graham Rahal (who finished second here last year) will be looking to get a strong result as they feature towards the middle of the points as things stand. Towards the rear of the points, surprising names such as Alexander Rossi and Marco Andretti will be needing to get their years going, having not finished in the top 10 at all so far this year for one reason or another.

The fast-flowing circuit is popular amongst drivers, and can produce some spectacular side-by-side action. Will Power was able to breach the 67-second barrier last year in qualifying, and it would not be surprising if speeds were slightly quicker this year with the convergence of the aero kits. Here is an onboard from the start of the damp 2014 race with James Hinchcliffe and a number of other drivers:

About Craig Woollard

Motorsport historian and journalist Craig Woollard has had an unusual path to a career in motorsport. After graduating from the University of Essex with a degree in mathematics in 2013, he changed his career path immediately after discovering a talent for writing. After occasional freelance work in 2015 and 2016, he joined the Autosport Academy for 2017. In the same year, he became an archive digitiser at Motorsport Images - which is his full-time job to this date.

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