INDYCAR STARS IMPRESSED BY THE MOUNTAIN

Indycar Stars impressed by Mountain – Photo: InSyde Media

IndyCar race winners Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe were both very happy they made the trip to Australia to debut in the Bathurst 1000 and would like to return to race at Bathurst in the future.

Both drivers had never previously visited Mount Panorama and were in awe of the track and the event.

“It is a great event, it is everything people said and more, and it is by far one of the most challenging tracks that
we can come to,” Rossi told Auto Action.

Hinchcliffe agreed, saying that the track was more of a challenge than he expected it to be.

“Learning just how difficult this racetrack is was the eye-opening experience. We heard a lot about it and we were ready for that, and it was all of that for sure,” Hinchcliffe said.

Throughout the weekend both drivers kept the car clean, the only noticeable rub of the wall being when Hinchcliffe clipped the outside of The Cutting and knocked the rear wing loose during practice.

In the race the pair ran smoothly, consistently and were able to keep with the Supercar field. The only race hiccup was when Rossi got himself bunkered in the Murrays Corner gravel trap on lap 135, but no damage was caused and they finished the race in 19th position, two laps down.

When asked by AA whether they were satisfied with the result, Hinchcliffe said: “The winner is the only happy guy in the field, but I think we did a respectable job and we can be proud of what we did.

“We set a couple of goals before the day started and I think we checked most of them off,” the Canadian said.

“The team did a great job of getting us prepared as best they could, but ultimately laps is what you need and we finished 99 per cent of them, so I think we can say we did a good job today and hopefully apply that knowledge again.”

Asked if they would like to return, Hinchcliffe was quick to reply.

“We’d come back next week if you’d have us.”

2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Rossi would also like to do it again in the future.

“We’ll see what comes obviously. This was a one-off event, but I’ve been driving for Andretti Autosport back in the States for a long time, so we will see what comes of it.”

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