The 2017 race saw former Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso take off from the Monaco Grand Prix to take part in a one-off event, being highly competitive up front before his engine blew. The races' polesitter and 2008 winner Scott Dixon escaped a huge airborne crash largely unhurt. In spite of heavy crashes, the speedway had now gone more than 20 years without a fatality as the SAFER barriers and the enhanced IndyCars absorbed more of the violent impacts. The race was eventually won by Takuma Sato, who became the first Japanese and Asian winner of the event.