Grand Prix Rejects

That caution may have just given Max Chilton a legit shot at winning the Indy 500.

bathplug HONDA

AND bathplug MCLAREN.

And Alonso's engine is gone. Just like F1.

Emmm... irony?

Honda engine fails. Doesn't matter what race he's in.

East Londoner wrote:That caution may have just given Max Chilton a legit shot at winning the Indy 500.

No. Sato's having this.

CHILTON FTW!!

Sato will win.

Or he will crash.

There will be no in-between.

Max Chilton and Takuma Sato battling for the win.

This is the greatest moment of my life.

Simtek wrote:Max Chilton and Takuma Sato battling for the win.

This is the greatest moment of my life.

We need to send Palmer over there.

TAKU!!!

TAKUMA SATO INDY 500 CHAMPION

SATO YOU LEGEND!!!

Once again Alonso loses out to Takuma Sato

I love Indy 500

(Shame for Alonso and Hunter-Reay though)

Simtek wrote:Max Chilton and Takuma Sato battling for the win.

This is the greatest moment of my life.

I must admit that I wasn't expecting to hear the commentators saying "and now Sato is challenging Chilton for the lead" - that was a pretty remarkable end to the race.

Hoe long until Alonso murders the boss of Honda. They better give him like half of Japan to compensate for the last few years.

I'm utterly exhausted after that. Incredible race, and Taku winning makes up for the disappointment of 2012.

Helio looked like a broken man after the chequered flag. So so close to #4 once again.

You have to wonder if Alonso's gonna bother sticking around in F1 after today. The odds of him doing a full-time Indy programme next year just went up big time, especially as McLaren and Honda look absolutely no closer to getting their stuff sorted.

Just before Alonso's engine went Sato swept around the outside of two cars like they weren't there. Knew right then he was either going to win or utterly obliterate his DW12 trying to win.

As for Alonso, I think he'll see out the season with McLaren. I'm not sure what he'll do afterwards. I don't think he'll want to leave F1 whilst he still knows he has the ability to win in the right machinery. Problem is, he'll need a seat at Merc or Ferrari, or at least Red Bull to have that right machinery any time soon. None of those are especially likely.

Collieafc wrote:Once again Alonso loses out to Takuma Sato

It did occur to me it's almost ten years to the day of Super Aguri's greatest moment in the sun, given that the same two drivers are involved. I'd hope Aguri Suzuki will raise a glass of sake or two to his favourite driver!

Just to add fuel to the Alonso full time IndyCar seat fire, Alonso's F1 contract is up after this year.

I wouldn't put it past McLaren to keep their relationship with Andretti to field a full time entry for 2018, with Alonso driving. Or maybe that's just me having wishful thinking...

At the very least, Alonso could return to the Brickyard in lieu of Monaco again in 2018 for another attempt.

Great race. America knows how to host races, they're the best. You know it. Ask anyone, they'll tell you. Nobody beats America at sports, by the way. Indianapolis, great day, great great day. So many people, it's awesome.

...ahem, sorry about that. Anyway, might as well mark this with a new signature...

I can't see Alonso doing a full season in IndyCar, too much hassle with new tracks, etc.

Great race though, and although I wanted Alonso to win, to have Chilton and Sato at the front at the end was mega. Very enjoyable.

Pretty good race, especially the second half. Sato did a mega job recovering after a bad pitstop. Congrats to him. Alonso made the right choice. Andretti were the best team in the race and he could had fight for the victory today.

I'm going to give my ROTR to Buddy Lazier. Just retire. Lazier team is the worst team by a huge margin and when Lazier crashed, he was 3 laps down already. His only chance is to get an extra car with some team, like Dale Coyne or Schmidt. Otherwise, he will be dead last.

Ironically, the leader of the drivers standings now is... Helio Castroneves. It's 2014 again.

So disappointed I didn't get a chance to watch the race, I was with family yesterday. Sato vs Chilton for the win sounds like the stuff of dreams.

Indycar just isn't failing to disappoint. Sato's win means that 6 different men have won the 6 races but Castroneves and Dixon are 1-2 overall despite not being among that 6. Castroneves actually got his first podium of the season in the 500 and while it would have been great to see him win I don't think there's anyone who would begrudge Sato a hugely popular triumph.

These remaining 11 races are set to be truly incredible

Dj_bereta wrote:I'm going to give my ROTR to Buddy Lazier. Just retire. Lazier team is the worst team by a huge margin and when Lazier crashed, he was 3 laps down already. His only chance is to get an extra car with some team, like Dale Coyne or Schmidt. Otherwise, he will be dead last.

This seems more than a touch cruel. Buddy's had a great month of May given his team are the most underfunded outfit in the field. You have to remember he's doing this for fun (while making sure they get 33 entries each year), and up until his accident he was keeping out of trouble

Jay Howard on the other hand looked so far out of his depth that it was only a matter of time before he did something stupid. Clear-cut ROTR material.

Mind you, this xenophobic moron has made a late bid for ROTR...

East Londoner wrote:Mind you, this xenophobic moron has made a late bid for ROTR...

ROTR is meant to be an honour. He doesn't deserve ROTR either. He's just a loser. My grandfather trained in the RAF during WWII. I don't feel bitter towards the Germans or Italians.

East Londoner wrote:

Dj_bereta wrote:I'm going to give my ROTR to Buddy Lazier. Just retire. Lazier team is the worst team by a huge margin and when Lazier crashed, he was 3 laps down already. His only chance is to get an extra car with some team, like Dale Coyne or Schmidt. Otherwise, he will be dead last.

This seems more than a touch cruel. Buddy's had a great month of May given his team are the most underfunded outfit in the field. You have to remember he's doing this for fun (while making sure they get 33 entries each year), and up until his accident he was keeping out of trouble.

Got to agree. It's not all about winning (though I'm sure Buddy would love a second win given the opportunity) and it's wonderful to see someone doing the 500 purely out of love for the event. I hope to see him at least make a qualifying attempt again next year and any following years until he decides on his own terms he's had enough.

Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:Indycar just isn't failing to disappoint.

So you're saying it's been a disappointing season so far? All the other stuff you wrote indicates the opposite.

EDIT: Forgot why I came here (haven't we all?). Sato's win... with Japanese commentary!

What a twat.



He's been fired from the Denver Post because of it.

The thought occurred to me when I saw that in the immediate aftermath:

My grandad was in active service with the Navy during WWII. His boat was stationed in the Med, it was torpedoed, he survived, he went on to make my mum in 1950 (well, 1949, technically, she was a January birthday) which in turn meant I existed. He lived from 1919-1991, and some would say 72 years wasn't a long enough life by today's standards (or even those of 1991). But he had a fulfilling life, and actually got to retire unlike a fair few of his Navy colleagues. We are now almost at the point where his entire life would fit in the gap between VJ Day and today - and it certainly will by this time next year.

And yet, there are some who think the Axis Powers are still the same today as they were in 1945... I think I read that Terry Frei jumped before he was pushed, but either way he deserves to be out of a job.

Terry has of course been fired, and rightfully so. The ironic part is that he is of German descent. One Axis is a-ok, but the other?

Esteban Gutierrez is in the 18 for Dale Coyne Racing this weekend at Detroit.

At least Gutierrez is going to finish the race.

At least 11th is a points finish in Indycar, so Gutierrez is a solid choice...

This Could Be You wrote:At least 11th is a points finish in Indycar, so Gutierrez is a solid choice...

33rd in the Indy 500 (a.k.a first DNF) is also a points -paying position...

Wait- so Gutierrez would have to DNQ by one place to achieve his signature move of finishing one place outside the points- that will require a truly 'stunning' performance...

This Could Be You wrote:Wait- so Gutierrez would have to DNQ by one place to achieve his signature move of finishing one place outside the points- that will require a truly 'stunning' performance...

Or DSQ, which seems a lot more plausible.

https://drivetribe.com/p/E7ySiOS8TJ-uKy ... ByXKQw9hmg

TK burns Hammy and gives me my new sig.

Penske nicely lock up ROTR for the first Detroit race with insane strategy calls for Castroneves, Pagenaud and Power. Power ended up being lapped and barely able to keep Gutierrez behind him by the chequered flag.

Meanwhile, no-one had an answer to Graham Rahal today. Probably the best race he's ever driven.

Penske pretty much ruined their day by putting all four drivers on three-stops. Newgarden only made it work because he took his second stop during the caution period; Power and Pagenaud came in afterwards and ended up stuffed down the order.

Also, how Hinch managed to benefit from his own caution was brilliant; that's taking lemons and squeezing out a juicy third-place finish. [/partridge]