TORONTO – James Hinchcliffe, a six-time winner on the IndyCar circuit, leads the 2023 class of the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Recovering from a near-fatal accident at the 2015 Indianapolis 500, the 36-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, achieved a total of 18 podium finishes in his 11-year IndyCar career.
Hinchcliffe won his first IndyCar race in 2013 at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. This season he picked up two more victories in Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Newton (Iowa).
His 2015 season started strong with a win in New Orleans, but ended at the Indy 500 when he was involved in a serious accident during qualifying and his left leg was impaled by part of his car’s suspension.
He was released from the hospital nine days later. Hinchcliffe believed the quick response of medical staff may have saved his life.
Hinchcliffe recovered and rode a full season in 2016, achieving three podium finishes that year, including third place at the Toronto Indy.
He returned to the top of the podium with a win in Long Beach, California in 2017 and won his second race in Newton in 2018.
He last raced on the track in 2021, earning a podium with a third place finish in Nashville.
Claude Aubin of Bois-des-Fillions, Que., Jeremy Dale of TorontoMark Dilley of Barrie, Ontario, Ernie Jakubowski of Oakville, Norman Jennings of TorontoBrad Moran from TorontoPatrick Richard of Squamish, B.C., Didier Schraenen of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., Frank and Dan Sprongl of Georgetown, Ont., William (Bill) Vallis of Welland, Ont., John Waldie of Stratford, Ont., and Kuno Wittmer of Brossard , Que., are the other new additions.
John Massingberd of Burlington, Ont., and J. Wally Nesbitt of Port Perry, Ont., are honored in the media category.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 2, 2023.
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