![]() ![]() Castroneves and Ricky Taylor scored the team’s first victory at Mid-Ohio and were second at Detroit’s Belle Isle as they finished seventh overall. The Brazilian switched to the IMSA sports car series in 2018 as part of Penske’s Acura line-up. IMSA Sports cars and part-time Indycar driver However, he finished fifth at Sears Point and championship victory continues to elude Hélio Castroneves. He dominated the Iowa Corn 300 and entered the final round with a mathematical chance of the title. He was passed by Takuma Satō with five laps to go but that second place finish briefly gave him the championship lead. Runner-up for the next two seasons and third in 2016, he came within 0.2011 seconds of becoming the fourth four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 so far in 2017. He rebounded from that winless campaign to take two victories in 2012 as he finished fourth in the championship once more. That included knocking team-mates Ryan Briscoe and Will Power out of the races at St Petersburg and Long Beach respectively. He also qualified on pole at Indy in 20.įourth in the championship that year and the next, he slumped to 11th in 2011 in his worst season since joining Penske. It was a stunning comeback – qualifying on pole position for the 2009 Indy 500 and winning the race for a third time. Castroneves missed the opening round but returned to the series at Long Beach after being acquitted. Runner-up again in 2008 behind Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, the start of the following campaign was compromised when accused of tax evasion by the American authorities. Castroneves finished third in that season’s standings and was remarkably consistent for the rest of the decade – always a race winner, never lower than sixth in the points but still unable to win the title. On pole position for the 2003 Indy 500, he just failed to win the classic for a third year in a row when narrowly beaten by de Ferran. He finished the year as championship runner-up behind Panther Racing’s Sam Hornish Jr. Castroneves was declared as the winner two days later after Tracy protested. Paul Tracy passed him on the penultimate lap just as the yellow light flashed for another accident. The Brazilian became the first driver to win at Indy on his first two appearances (and the first back-to-back winner for 31 years) with his controversial 2002 victory. Despite his success so far, the American media kept calling him Neves so he changed his surname from Castro-Neves to Castroneves. Penske defected to the IRL in 2002 as America’s open-wheel civil war edged towards a conclusion. Better was to come in 2001 when he narrowly beat team-mate Gil de Ferran to win the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, a race sanctioned by the rival Indy Racing League. Castroneves was drafted in as his replacement and did not let the chance go to waste – winning three times for the revitalised team. 1999 was spent with Hogan Racing (qualifying on pole position at Milwaukee) but his breakthrough opportunity came in the most tragic of circumstances.Ĭanadian Greg Moore had signed for Penske Racing for the following season but was killed in the final round of 1999. He graduated to Champ Cars in 1998 with Tony Bettenhausen’s Reynard 98I-Mercedes and finished second at Milwaukee. Rather than remain in Europe in 1996, the Brazilian moved to America to race in Indy Lights with Tasman Motorsport – runner-up in his second season with the team when narrowly beaten by compatriot Tony Kanaan. Third in the Zandvoort Masters, he also finished in that position in the final championship behind Oliver Gavin and Ralph Firman. He joined Paul Stewart Racing for the 1995 British F3 Championship and won at Donington Park. Yet to win a professional championship, Castroneves finished as runner-up in Formula Vauxhall, Sud-Am and Brazilian Formula 3 in successive seasons from 1992 to 1994 while racing in South America. He hardly set Europe alight during his one season in British Formula 3 but his career in American open-wheel racing yielded fame and fortune. A four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, star of television’s Dancing with the Stars and exonerated of tax evasion charges in 2009, Hélio Castroneves has many claims to fame. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |