Kelly Steele
Windsor In Pictures
Local sports roundup: Belle Isle changes, Lancers ranked, Flyers fall
Gathered Tuesday on Belle Isle to take a tour of the new layout for the Detroit Chevrolet Belle Isle Grand Prix, Helio Castroneves couldn't resist getting in a little dig at fellow driver Will Power, who lost the 2012 IZOD IndyCar championship to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the last race of the season.
"Both of us will be driving Chevys next year, so you know they'll be reliable and fast," Power said.
"But mine will be the one that's going faster."
"But not as reliable, as we saw in the last race" countered Castroneves.
"Oh, did I just say that out loud?"
"That is so harsh," Power said. "That's as bad as you get."
"You opened the door," laughed Castroneves.
The duo were in town not only to take a run around the new layout, but also to promote the 2013 race weekend, which will feature IndyCar races on both Saturday at Sunday for the first time.
"It's going to be interesting," Castroneves said.
"Qualifying is going to be very important here, because this is a place where the driving is very technical.
"I feel that the fans are lucky because they are going to have two races in one week. And for us, we have a chance to win two races.
Slated for May 31-June 2, tickets for the race went on sale Tuesday and range in price from US $75-155.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting DetroitGP.com or by calling 1-866-464-7749.
The street circuit track was lengthened to 2.35 miles and a second straightaway was added.
"I think it's great," Power said.
"I think it's going to lead to more passing opportunities. And the resurfacing has made it so much smoother."
Resurfacing was required to repair areas where the asphalt was ripped up during last year's event, causing a delay in the race.
"We never wish to have issues," Castroneves said.
"Unfortunately, we did have an issue last year with the asphalt coming out. But that's not going to happen again."
He's also impressed by the new look to the track's layout. "I love it," Castroneves said. "The area between Turns 4 and 5, it's actually been there for years, it was just covered by grass. They took the grass off and there was the track."
CIS rankings
The Lancer women's cross-country team and the men's hockey team both moved up the national rankings Tuesday as the University of Windsor once again boasts five teams in the latest Canadian Interuniversity Sport top-10 lists.
The Lancer women's basketball team continues to hold the No. 1 ranking in Canada for a third straight week.
The defending CIS national champion Lancers sit at 4-0 after last weekend's sweep of Laurentian and York.
Windsor will host Ryerson and Toronto this weekend at the St. Denis Centre (6 p.m.)
After finishing sixth in the national championships, the cross-country team moved up two spots to finish the season sixth.
The Lancer men's hockey team (10-2-0) moved up one spot to sit sixth in the nation after sweeping York. They sit in first place in the OUA West Conference.
The Lancers play Lakehead Friday and Saturday in Thunder Bay.
The Windsor men's basketball team (3-1) slipped to sixth from fifth after splitting a pair of road games at Laurentian and York.
Windsor hosts Ryerson and Toronto at the St. Denis Centre (8 p.m.).
The men's cross-country team ran to a bronze medal at the national championships and remained third in the CIS rankings.
The Leamington Flyers let a two-goal lead slip away in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Sarnia Legionnaires Tuesday night in junior B hockey action.
Chris Scott and Alex Seguin scored first-period goals to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
The Legionnaires stormed back to tie the game and force overtime.
Matt Mancina was solid in net for the Flyers, making 36 saves in the losing cause.
The LaSalle Vipers will host the St. Marys Lincolns tonight at the Vollmer Centre at 7 p.m.
WECSSAA hockey
Ryan Alexander scored two goals as the Holy Names Knights opened the WECSSAA boys hockey season with a 6-4 victory over the L'Essor Aigles Tuesday at Tecumseh Arena.
Dylan Muzzatti, Mark Gagnon, Aaron Gillis and Kasey Basile also added goals for the Knights.
Jerome Cote-Piercy led L'Essor with two goals.
Jordan Cecile and Stephen also added goals for the Aigles, who are back in action today against the Essex Red Raiders at 3 p.m.
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