From start to finish, through track problems and Mother Nature, the fans still came in droves to Sao Paulo’s Anhembi Park for the IZOD IndyCar Series’ season-opening weekend. We knew that the Sao Paulo Indy 300 would be a big deal in race-crazy Brazil, but it was still awesome to see and hear the enthusiastic cheering from the masses as drivers navigated through the 2.6-mile temporary street circuit.
On Sunday, they went home happy as one of their own, Brasilia native Vitor Meira, hit the podium with a third-place finish in the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing entry. You could say that it was a reward for their patience. Yesterday’s race featured a short but violent thunderstorm that forced the race under the red flag for over a half hour. But as heavy rain soaked the track, the fans in the grandstands along the Sambadromo straight simply donned their ponchos, stayed put, and like the drivers and teams, waited things out.
When racing resumed, they got a barnburner. As Will Power stalked and eventually passed Ryan Hunter-Reay for the victory, their countryman Meira was battling a fellow Brazilian in Belo Horizonte native Raphael Matos. With the clock ticking away, Meira passed Matos on the inside of the final hairpin and eventually came home in P3. When Power, Hunter-Reay and Meira parked their cars to prepare for the podium ceremony, the crowd roared their approval once again. They got their money’s worth.
Note this passage from SI.com/Versus.com writer Bruce Martin, who went to the Anhembi circuit early on race day and found this sight:
“At 7 a.m., there were blocks and blocks of spectators outside of the gates waiting to get in. There were more fans lining up to get into this race six hours before the green flag than there were in attendance at last season’s IndyCar finale at Homestead Miami Speedway — for the entire weekend. Think about the last time a massive crowd has lined up early for an IndyCar race other than the Indianapolis 500 and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. It just doesn’t happen that often in the U.S. There were only 40,000 grandstand seats constructed for this race, but an overflow crowd of 46,000 were in attendance, including an impressive array of 25 VIP suites filled with sponsor guests.”
For folks used to watching IndyCar play second fiddle to NASCAR here in America, that’s pretty damn awesome. It’s safe to say that Brazil has embraced the IndyCar product. Maybe it was a good thing that the season started there after all.
Kudos to the Brazilian fans that stuck with the action, no matter what fate threw at them this weekend.
