Motorsport

Having cruelly lost the title to Sam Hornish Jr on a tie breaker in 2006, the Englishman is determined not to miss out – and he dominated the opening round of this year’s series, staged on Saturday at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Wheldon stamped his authority on the 300-mile event by taking pole position and then – pitstops aside – led throughout to take his third con­secutive win at the venue and, more importantly, maximum points.

Ganassi Racing team-mate Scott Dixon finished second, with Penske star Hornish well beaten in a distant third. “It’s a great way for the team to open up the season with a one-two result,” said Wheldon. “Hope­fully, this bodes well for the rest of the year.”

History is certainly on his side: four times in the past six years the driver winning the opener has eventually claimed the overall title.
However, fellow Brits Dario Fran­chitti and Darren Manning didn’t fare so well. The Scot shone early on, but faded to finish seventh – a lap down on Wheldon – while Man­ning’s IndyCar return ended in retirement. Both will be hoping for better fortune this weekend when battle resumes on the streets of St Petersburg, Florida.