Defending Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr. has won the inaugural Yamaha 400 at California Speedway.

Hornish had an epic 20-lap battle with Jaques Lazier and claimed victory by less than a car-length.

The 200-lap event an IRL record 39 lead changes among eight drivers.

Hornish said: "With five laps to go, it didn't matter who was going to win it,"

"It was going to be a great race. It was just fun."

Hornish has won two races in three starts this season and is the current points leader.

Second-placed Lazier said: "Obviously, there was a lot of side-by-side racing.

"Sometimes, it was three-abreast in the corners. That was nerve-racking sometimes, especially when the cars ahead of you start to slide up.

"What an incredible race. It was just amazing from my perspective."

Rookie Laurent Redon, a Frenchman making only his third IRL start, finished third, beating Penske Racing drivers Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves.

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Results

1. Sam Hornish Jr, D/C/F, 200 laps in 2hr 13min 49sec
(Avg speed: 179.345mph, 288.619 km/h)
2. Jaques Lazier, D/C/F, at .0281sec
3. Laurent Redon (Fra), D/I/F, 200 laps completed, running
4. Gil de Ferran (Bra), D/C/F, 200, running
5. Helio Castroneves (Bra), D/C/F, 200, running
6. Felipe Giaffone (Bra), G/C/F, 200, running
7. Buddy Lazier, D/C/F, 200, running
8. Scott Sharp, D/C/F, 200, running
9. Jimmy Vasser, D/C/F, 200, running
10. Jeff Ward (Gbr), G/C/F, 200, running
11. Al Unser jnr, D/C/F, 199, running
12. Alex Barron, D/C/F, 199, running
13. Airton Dare (Bra), D/C/F, 199, running
14. Richie Hearn, D/C/F, 198, running
15. Eliseo Salazar (Chi), D/C/F, 197, running
16. R-George Mack, G/C/F, 197, running
17. Robby McGehee, D/C/F, 197, running
18. Billy Boat, D/C/F, 196, running
19. Jon Herb, G/C/F, 195, running
20. Eddie Cheever jnr, D/I/F, 190, running
21. Memo Gidley, D/I/F, 184, running
22. Rick Treadway, G/C/F, 179, running
23. R-John de Vries, D/C/F, 178, running
24. Tomas Scheckter (Rsa), D/I/F, 163, accident
25. Hideki Noda (Jpn), G/C/F, 158, accident
26. Shigeaki Hattori (Jpn), D/I/F, 146, engine
27. Jeret Schroeder (18), D/C/F, 15, engine