The 2016 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the 4th round of the 2016 IndyCar Series. The race was contested over 90 laps at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the 7th time that the IndyCar Series had raced on the circuit. In qualifying, Simon Pagenaud took pole position with a time of 1:06.7762, beating out his teammate Will Power. Sébastien Bourdais set a new track record during the second round of qualifications with a time of 1:06.6001, but was unable to match that pace in the third round of qualifying, relegating him to a fifth place start. Championship contender Juan Pablo Montoya struggled heavily in qualifying, placing 21st and last.
The race opened with an incident before it even started. As the field came off the final turn to prepare to take the green flag, Carlos Muñoz tipped Mikhail Aleshin into a spin, sending Aleshin and Jack Hawksworth off into the outside grass. All involved escaped major damage, while the rest of the field ran an extra lap under yellow before the start. It would be the only caution flag of the day. Simon Pagenaud held the lead when the race started, with Power slotting in behind him. Further back in the field, Sébastien Bourdais and Scott Dixon made contact in turn five, sending Dixon into a spin and causing front wing damage to Bourdais' car. Both would continue, but their races were both greatly hampered due to the incident.
Pagenaud dominated the majority of the race. However, in the closing laps, Pagenaud was held up in lap traffic, allowing Graham Rahal to catch up and set a thrilling duel for the lead. On lap 82, Rahal and Pagenaud made contact entering turn seven, sending Pagenaud off course and handing Rahal the lead. The lead would be short lived, as four laps later, Pagenaud caught back up and attempted to make a pass at the exit of turn six. In the middle of the move, Rahal made contact with back-marker Jack Hawksworth, damaging Rahal's front wing and ending any chance of holding off Pagenaud. Pagenaud would extend his lead and take victory by 13.7 seconds. It was Pagenaud second consecutive victory of the season. Despite his damaged wing, Rahal managed to hang on and finish second. Josef Newgarden finished third. Despite his terrible starting position, Juan Pablo Montoya was able to charge through the field and finish in a respectable fifth place. The highest finishing rookie was Alexander Rossi, who came across the line in 15th, the last car on the lead lap.
For the second year in a row, there were no DNFs.
Report Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner
Qualifying Pos No. Name Grp. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3122 Simon Pagenaud21:06.76301:06.86651:06.7262212 Will Power W21:06.72741:06.77421:06.9421321 Josef Newgarden W21:06.76681:06.99001:07.028349 Scott Dixon11:06.88101:06.65221:07.2083511 Sébastien Bourdais11:06.94271:06.60011:07.2965615 Graham Rahal11:07.16351:06.81661:07.638873 Hélio Castroneves W11:07.01251:07.012985 James Hinchcliffe21:07.20481:07.0955910 Tony Kanaan21:07.19721:07.17151083 Charlie Kimball11:07.19541:07.3020118 Max Chilton R11:07.24081:08.07281219 Luca Filippi21:07.22431:08.3655137 Mikhail Aleshin11:07.24171441 Jack Hawksworth21:07.23601526 Carlos Muñoz11:07.24351614 Takuma Sato21:07.23851718 Conor Daly R11:07.29741828 Ryan Hunter-Reay W21:07.44491927 Marco Andretti11:07.65702098 Alexander Rossi R21:07.5612212 Juan Pablo Montoya21:07.5627OFFICIAL BOX SCORE
Source for individual rounds:
Race results Driver Team Engine Laps Time/Retired Pit Stops Grid Laps Led 122 Simon PagenaudTeam PenskeChevrolet901:48:42.3334318454215 Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda90 +13.747636641321 Josef Newgarden WEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet90 +15.80393335412 Will Power WTeam PenskeChevrolet90 +16.7315323252 Juan Pablo MontoyaTeam PenskeChevrolet90 +21.11603213065 James HinchcliffeSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda90 +23.6222382873 Hélio Castroneves WTeam PenskeChevrolet90 +25.53913726810 Tony KanaanChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet90 +27.90073924983 Charlie KimballChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet90 +31.872631022109 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet90 +39.060334201128 Ryan Hunter-Reay WAndretti AutosportHonda90 +40.7485318191227 Marco AndrettiAndretti AutosportHonda90 +53.3648319181314 Takuma SatoA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda90 +55.2122316171426 Carlos MuñozAndretti AutosportHonda90 +1:03.5214315161598 Alexander Rossi RAndretti Herta AutosportHonda90 +1:04.8861320151611 Sébastien BourdaisKVSH RacingChevrolet89 +1 Lap5514177 Mikhail AleshinSchmidt Peterson MotorsportsHonda89 +1 Lap313131819 Luca FilippiDale Coyne RacingHonda89 +1 Lap312121941 Jack HawksworthA. J. Foyt EnterprisesHonda89 +1 Lap314112018 Conor Daly RDale Coyne RacingHonda89 +1 Lap31710218 Max Chilton RChip Ganassi RacingChevrolet89 +1 Lap3119OFFICIAL BOX SCORE
Notes Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.
Source for time gaps:
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Simon Pagenaud 188 2 Scott Dixon 140 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 136 4 Hélio Castroneves 118 5 Tony Kanaan 106
Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
External links Official Pit Stop Data Official Race Broadcast