# Indy Lights 1997

De 1997 CART PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Kampioenschap was het twaalfde kampioenschap van de Indy Lights.

## Teams en Rijders

Alle teams reden met een Lola T97/20-chassis en met een 3.5 L Buick V6-motor.
| Team | Nr | Rijder | Sponsor(s) | Opmerkingen |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 2 | Airton Dare | Banestado / STP | |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 3 | Cristiano da Matta | Brazil Medley Ind. Farmac / Medley Ind. Farmaceuticals | |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 34 | Jaques Lazier | Arthrite-X / STP | Reed in Long Beach, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Madison, Milwaukee en Detroit |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 34 | Frederic Gosparini | Viewsonic / STP | Reed in Toronto en daarna alle races |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 63 | Brian Cunningham | STP | Reed alleen de eerste race |
| FRE Racing | 4 | Sergio Paese | PetroBras / Shopping Construcao Marin | Reed niet in Pennsylvania en Fontana |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 5 | Chris Bingham | Park Place Ltd. / Compac | Reed de eerste drie races en in Portland |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 5 | Brian Cunningham | VTR Capital / Exide Elec. | Reed alleen in Toronto |
| Tasman Motorsports | 7 | Tony Kanaan | Marlboro / Davene / Brahma / MTV | |
| Tasman Motorsports | 8 | Helio Castroneves | Marlboro / Davene / Kibon / Brahma / MTV | |
| Team Mears | 10 | Casey Mears | Penske Auto Centers / Mobil | |
| Team Mears | 11 | Clint Mears | Penske Auto Centers / Mobil | |
| Team Medlin | 12 | Geoff Boss | Cross Pens / Omniglow Corp. | Reed alleen niet in Fontana |
| Project Indy | 15 | Phillipp Sager | Marcelo / Hawaiian Tropic | Reed alleen de eerste race |
| Lucas Edge Motorsports | 16 | Shigeaki Hattori | Epson / Ibarakai Toyopet | Reed alleen de eerste race niet |
| Lucas Edge Motorsports | 24 | Dave DeSilva | DeSilva Gates Construction | Reed niet in Georgia en Fontana |
| PacWest Lights | 18 | Robby Unser | Motorola / ADT Automotive | |
| Conquest Racing | 21 | Christophe Tinseau | E.S.I. / Mi-Jack / Rose / City Bird | |
| Eclipse Racing | 20 | John Jones | Sega Cinescape | Reed in Miami, Long Beach, Pennsylvania, Savannah, Detroit en Portland |
| Eclipse Racing | 20 | Claude Bourbonnais | Sega Cinescape | Reed in Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Vancouver, Laguna Seca |
| Team Green | 25 | Naoki Hattori | Kool | |
| Team Green | 26 | Chris Simmons | Kool | |
| Team Green | 27 | Mark Hotchkis | Kool | |
| Indy Regency Racing | 28 | Hideki Noda | Tenoras / Greddy | Reed alleen de laatste race niet |
| Indy Regency Racing | 77 | Rodolfo Lavin | Corona / America Batteries | |
| Dorricott Racing | 31 | Luiz Garcia jr. | PetroBras | |
| Dorricott Racing | 32 | Bob Dorricott jr. | Sunnyvale Valve / Heritage Bank of Commerce | Reed niet in Pennsylvania |
| Forsythe Racing | 33 | Dave Empringham | Canada Player's / Indeck / Player's | |
| Forsythe Racing | 99 | Lee Bentham | Player's / Indeck | |
| Johansson Motorsports | 36 | Fredrik Larsson | | Reed de eerste negen races |
| Johansson Motorsports | 70 | Jeff Ward | NTS Computer / Dream Writer | Reed de laatste drie races |
| Bordin Racing | 56 | Andrew Bordin | Player's | Reed niet in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Madison en Fontana |
| Autosport Racing | 5 | Eric Jensen | Autosport / Tri-Star Pictures | Reed alleen in Toronto |
| Autosport Racing | 57 | Didier André | Autosport / PlayStation | Reed alleen de laatste race niet |
| Autosport Racing | ? | Jean-Phillippe Belloc | | Reed alleen in Laguna Seca |
| Genoa Racing | 97 | Oswaldo Negri jr. | Banco Sofisa | Reed in Long Beach, Savannah, Portland, Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Vancouver en Laguna Seca |

## Races

| Race | Datum | Circuit | Locatie |
| 1 | 2 Maart | Homestead-Miami Speedway | Homestead, FL |
| 2 | 13 April | Long Beach street circuit | Long Beach, CA |
| 3 | 27 April | Nazareth Speedway | Nazareth, PE |
| 4 | 18 Mei | Hutchinson Island Road Race Course | Savannah, GE |
| 5 | 24 Mei | Gateway International Raceway | Madison, IL |
| 6 | 1 Juni | Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, WI |
| 7 | 8 Juni | Belle Isle Raceway | Detroit, MI |
| 8 | 22 Juni | Portland International Raceway | Portland, OR |
| 9 | 20 Juli | Exhibition Place | Toronto, ON |
| 10 | 3 Augustus | Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, QU |
| 11 | 31 Augustus | Molson Indy Vancouver | Vancouver, BC |
| 12 | 7 September | Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, CA |
| 13 | 27 September | California Speedway | Fontana, CA |

## Race resultaten

| Race | Race naam | Pole positie | Snelste ronde | Meeste ronden aan de leiding | Winnende rijder | Winnende team |
| 1 | Homestead | Helio Castroneves | Mark Hotchkis | Mark Hotchkis | Dave Empringham | Forsythe Racing |
| 2 | Long Beach | Helio Castroneves | Cristiano da Matta | Helio Castroneves | Helio Castroneves | Tasman Motorsports |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | Chris Simmons | Dave DeSilva | Chris Simmons | Cristiano da Matta | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 4 | Savannah | Helio Castroneves | | Helio Castroneves | Helio Castroneves | Tasman Motorsports |
| 5 | Gateway | Chris Simmons | Cristiano da Matta | Lee Bentham | Lee Bentham | Forsythe Racing |
| 6 | Milwaukee | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Team Mears |
| 7 | Belle Isle | Tony Kanaan | Helio Castroneves | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tasman Motorsports |
| 8 | Portland | Helio Castroneves | Oswaldo Negri jr. | Helio Castroneves | Hideki Noda | Indy Regency Racing |
| 9 | Toronto | Tony Kanaan | Christophe Tinseau | Helio Castroneves | Helio Castroneves | Tasman Motorsports |
| 10 | Trois-Rivières | Mark Hotchkis | Mark Hotchkis | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tasman Motorsports |
| 11 | Vancouver | Cristiano da Matta | Hideki Noda | Cristiano da Matta | Cristiano da Matta | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 12 | Monterey | Tony Kanaan | Cristiano da Matta | Clint Mears | Cristiano da Matta | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 13 | Californië | Clint Mears | Cristiano da Matta | Helio Castroneves | Clint Mears | Team Mears |

## Uitslagen

| Pos | Rijder | MIA | LBH | NAZ | SAV | STL | MIL | DET | POR | TOR | TRO | VAN | LS | FON | Punten |
| 1 | Tony Kanaan | 6 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 10 | 3 | 1* | 3 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 9 | 156 |
| 2 | Helio Castroneves | 14 | 1* | 4 | 1* | 3 | 12 | 2 | 2* | 1* | 20 | 19 | 3 | 5* | 152 |
| 3 | Cristiano da Matta | 21 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 26 | 5 | 18 | 4 | 1* | 1 | 4 | 141 |
| 4 | Dave Empringham | 1 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 26 | 13 | 107 |
| 5 | Lee Bentham | 5 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 1* | 9 | 22 | 8 | 27 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 88 |
| 5 | Chris Simmons | 3 | 4 | 2* | 16 | 5 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 28 | 2 | 88 |
| 7 | Mark Hotchkis | 4* | 3 | 23 | 17 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 74 |
| 8 | Clint Mears | 12 | 18 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 1* | 18 | DNS | 13 | 12 | 14 | DNS* | 1 | 53 |
| 9 | Hideki Noda | 18 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 12 | | 51 |
| 9 | Airton Dare | 11 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 51 |
| 11 | Christophe Tinseau | 25 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 49 |
| 12 | Frederik Larsson | 2 | 22 | 3 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 25 | 22 | 28 | | | | | 43 |
| 13 | Luiz Garcia jr. | 16 | 15 | 24 | 4 | 17 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 25 | 23 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 38 |
| 14 | Didier André | 22 | 8 | 25 | 9 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 25 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 8 | | 35 |
| 14 | Robby Unser | 8 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 16 | 35 |
| 16 | Naoki Hattori | 13 | DNQ | 15 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 24 | 6 | 24 | 15 | 20 | 6 | 32 |
| 17 | Geoff Boss | 10 | 24 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 9 | | 30 |
| 18 | Sergio Paese | DNS | 20 | | 2 | 18 | 24 | 5 | 12 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 13 | | 27 |
| 19 | Dave DeSilva | 17 | 12 | 6 | | 8 | 25 | 10 | 26 | 24 | 26 | 17 | 17 | | 17 |
| 20 | Oswaldo Negri jr. | | 27 | | 7 | | | | 9 | 8 | 21 | 20 | 27 | | 15 |
| 21 | Brian Cunningham | 7 | | | | | | | | | | 25 | 7 | 14 | 12 |
| 21 | Jaques Lazier | | 11 | 12 | 24 | 9 | 8 | 23 | | | | | | | 12 |
| 23 | Casey Mears | 9 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 9 |
| 24 | Jeff Ward | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | 15 | 7 | 6 |
| 25 | Shigeaki Hattori | | 9 | 20 | 15 | 23 | 16 | 24 | 23 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 5 |
| 26 | Frederic Gosparini | | | | | | | | | 12 | 10 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 4 |
| 26 | Bob Dorricott jr. | 24 | 21 | | 11 | 19 | 23 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 20 | 4 |
| 28 | Andrew Bordin | 23 | 23 | | | | 15 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 16 | | 3 |
| 29 | Chris Bingham | 15 | 13 | 11 | | | | | 21 | | | | | | 2 |
| 30 | Jean-Phillippe Belloc | | | | | | | | | | | | | 24 | 0 |
| 30 | Claude Bourbonnais | | | | | | | | | 19 | 18 | 28 | 18 | | 0 |
| 30 | Eric Jensen | | | | | | | | | 16 | | | | | 0 |
| 30 | John Jones | 19 | 25 | 19 | 19 | | | 20 | 18 | | | | | | 0 |
| 30 | Rodolfo Lavin | 20 | 16 | 21 | 25 | 15 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 25 | 17 | 0 |
| Pos | Rijder | MIA | LBH | NAZ | SAV | STL | MIL | DET | POR | TOR | TRO | VAN | LS | FON | Punten |
| Kleur | Resultaat |
| Goud | Winnaar |
| Zilver | 2de plaats |
| Brons | 3de plaats |
| Groen | 4de en 5de plaats |
| Lichtblauw | 6de–10de plaats |
| Donkerblauw | Gefinisht (buiten de Top 10) |
| Paars | Niet gefinisht |
| Rood | Niet gekwalificeerd (DNQ) |
| Bruin | Teruggetrokken (Wth) |
| Zwart | Gediskwalificeerd (DSQ) |
| Wit | Niet Gestart (DNS) |
| Blank | Nam geen deel aan de race (DNP) |
| Blank | Niet geracet |
Toegevoegde info :
| vet | Pole positie (1 punt) |
| cursief | Snelste ronde |
| * | Meeste ronden aan de leiding (2 punten) |
| $^1$ | Kwalificatie geannuleerd geen bonuspunten uitgedeeld |
| Rookie van het Jaar ||
| Rookie ||
| Positie | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Punten | 20 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
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