Australian wins IndyCar race with broken back

Australian Will Power capped a remarkable recovery from a broken back to win the first race of the IndyCar season in Sao Paolo.

"It was a fantastic day," Power told the official IndyCar website after the race.

"Coming back after breaking my back and to win, I was crying on the slow-down lap. We had a quick car and when they said I could run full rich, I just went for it. It was good, very good. It was probably the most mixed-up race that I have ever been in, but it created an opportunity for me to come back through the field and end up winning the race,” he said.

Power was returning to IndyCars after a horror accident seven months ago in which he broke two vertebrae in his lower back in a collision with Ryan Phillippe.

The 29-year-old Australian, from Toowoomba in Queensland, made a pass for the lead on the second last lap of the race and held on, despite badly blistered hands from the rough street circuit.

Power scored a full-time drive with the leading Penske team this year.

Unfortunately, the other Australian in the race, Ryan Briscoe, crashed out of the race while leading eight laps from the finish.

- © Fairfax NZ News