Toronto, Canada (February 09, 2011) – James Hinchcliffe probably knows as much about racing at the Edmonton Airport City Centre Circuit as anyone, so the winner of last season’s Firestone Indy Lights race there was excited to view the revised 3.61-km track layout for the first time on Tuesday.
With two recent IndyCar tests with Newman/Haas Racing under his belt, the 24-year-old from Toronto is hoping that when the ‘Edmonton Indy’ rolls around in July he’ll be on the starting grid alongside the likes of reigning champion Dario Franchitti as well as former champion and 2010 Edmonton race winner Scott Dixon.
Having collected several podiums competing in Edmonton, with starts there in both the Atlantic Championship and the Firestone Indy Lights Series, where he finished series runner-up in 2010, ‘Hinch’ was upbeat about Tony Cotman’s re-working of the temporary road-course design.
“I was just so relieved that Edmonton was back on the schedule that I almost forgot they were changing the layout,” stated Hinchcliffe. “The new one looks really cool, with some great passing opportunities which the last configuration lacked a bit. Edmonton was always known for being the most physical race, and I enjoyed that, but these new straights will take away a little bit of the challenge and give us more of a break over the lap. All the drivers necks collectively thank the design team!
“I just really hope that I can solidify my place on the IndyCar grid this year and get to run there! Edmonton is such a cool city with incredible fans and I got my first win on home soil there last year so it really holds a special place in my career.”
James was also excited by the recent announcement that the IZOD IndyCar Series will be broadcast in HD on Sky Sports TV in the United Kingdom.
“It was great to hear about the Sky Sports deal for the UK,” he enthused. “I’ve worked with Sky through the A1GP Series and it was a terrific experience. Furthermore, half my family lives over in England because my father, better known as Papa Hinch, was born there! They’ve always struggled to keep track of my racing as most of it was never on TV in Europe. They’re all really excited that if I’m racing in IndyCar this season they’ll be able to follow along thanks to the new deal!
”James Hinchcliffe is a recipient of both the ‘Gilles Villeneuve Award’ and the ‘Greg Moore Legacy Award’ winning races in Formula BMW USA, the Star Mazda Series, the Atlantic Championship and in Firestone Indy Lights en route to the IndyCar Series.
The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series kicks off on Sunday 27th March in St. Petersburg and later includes two stops in Canada with the ‘Honda Indy Toronto’, Sunday 10th July, and the ‘Edmonton Indy’, Sunday 24th July – www.indycar.com
ENDS – www.hinchtown.com