2001 CART - Test #1 completed.

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 14 May 2015, 22:04

Penske Sponsorship in order of preference

Marlboro
Kool
Kmart
Shell
Visteon

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 14 May 2015, 22:15

Rabbi Gordon wrote:Currently, your budget is 4 million. You can hire pretty much any remaining free agent (Tagliani, Vasser, Herta) for 2 million tops for the road courses.
But if you want Dennis Vitolo to struggle with 107%, he is up for it.

Here's what I will do: I will offer each of the three drivers you mentioned in the order that you posted them 100k if they do the road course gig. Should all of them reject that, I will ask Yuji Ide to bring at least 2 million in sponsorship money. if that doesn't work out, we will hire Vitolo if he can provide at least 2 million. If that doesn't work out ... can we skip the road events? :p

One car teams with pay drivers don't need other sponsors.

"Don't need" or "can't get"?

SeedStriker · Post by **SeedStriker** » 14 May 2015, 22:52

Sigma sponsorship in order of preference

Shell
Kmart
Valvoline
Nestlé
Armor all

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 14 May 2015, 23:42

Klon wrote:
Rabbi Gordon wrote:Currently, your budget is 4 million. You can hire pretty much any remaining free agent (Tagliani, Vasser, Herta) for 2 million tops for the road courses.
But if you want Dennis Vitolo to struggle with 107%, he is up for it.

Here's what I will do: I will offer each of the three drivers you mentioned in the order that you posted them 100k if they do the road course gig. Should all of them reject that, I will ask Yuji Ide to bring at least 2 million in sponsorship money. if that doesn't work out, we will hire Vitolo if he can provide at least 2 million. If that doesn't work out ... can we skip the road events? :p

One car teams with pay drivers don't need other sponsors.

"Don't need" or "can't get"?

Can't get.

So, of course neither of those drivers are going to accept 100k and Yuji Ide is not approved for competition.

Half-decent American, Geoff Boss is willing to drive and can get 1.5 million in sponsorship. He is ready to save the world from the dreaded Vitolo.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 14 May 2015, 23:50

After that, Dale Coyne would like to announce the following lineup for this year:

#19 - Nicolas Minassion - All Races
#21 - Luiz Garcia Jr - Road/Street Courses + Casey Mears - Ovals

Also, if possible, Dale Coyne would like to make offers to the following sponsors:

Nestle
Mi-Jack
CNN
Quaker State
Armor All

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 14 May 2015, 23:54

Rabbi Gordon wrote:Half-decent American, Geoff Boss is willing to drive and can get 1.5 million in sponsorship. He is ready to save the world from the dreaded Vitolo.

If Vitolo cannot bring more money, Boss has got the drive.

Normal32 · Post by **Normal32** » 15 May 2015, 00:11

Ganassi sponsor preferences:
Target
Marlboro
Kool
Shell
Kmart

FantometteBR · Post by **FantometteBR** » 15 May 2015, 01:07

Patrick Racing wants:

Marlboro
Miller Lite
Shell
Valvoline
Quaker State

V8fan12 · Post by **V8fan12** » 15 May 2015, 03:40

Newman-Haas sponsor preference:
Marlboro (2 cars)
Kool (2 cars)
Texaco (1 car)
Shell (1 car)
Miller Lite (1 car)

FortiFord · Post by **FortiFord** » 15 May 2015, 04:59

Mo Nunn sponsor preference:

Kool
Miller Lite
Shell
Kmart
Hollywood

Dom_Wings · Post by **Dom_Wings** » 15 May 2015, 05:12

Rahal:

Miller Lite
Shell
Texaco
Visteon
Nextel

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 15 May 2015, 17:16

I have internet in the middle of nowhere! This post is dedicated to our team building supervisor and her no electronic devices policy. Tug lyf.

Walker
Dennis Vitolo money options:
1m 1-15
1.5m 16-50
2m 51-85
2.5m 86-98
3m 99-200
19! Looks like I couldn't deter you from using Vitolo, but random.org could.
Geoff Boss it is then.

Post by **Miguel98** » 15 May 2015, 17:49

Arciero bids for sponsors:
Marlboro
Shell
Nextel
Pioneer
Valvoline

GerhardTalger · Post by **GerhardTalger** » 17 May 2015, 08:52

Andretti bids:

1. Miller Lite
2. Nextel
3. Motorola
(4. Valvoline
5. Pioneer)

Or do I have to go for Motorola?

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 19 May 2015, 12:36

GerhardTalger wrote:Andretti bids:

1. Miller Lite
2. Nextel
3. Motorola
(4. Valvoline
5. Pioneer)

Or do I have to go for Motorola?

Nope, it's perfectly fine. You are guaranteed to get Motorola, if your 1st two choices go to someone else though.

Miguel98 wrote:Arciero bids for sponsors:
Marlboro
Shell
Nextel
Pioneer
Valvoline

Little problems here. Marlboro sponsors a two car team.
And as you can only offer a half-season, it will be around half the money. (But I see the pattern in your choices and it's clever.)

Bleu · Post by **Bleu** » 19 May 2015, 19:14

Fernandez sponsor bids in order of preference:

51:
Tecate
Quaker State
Yahoo

52:
Visteon
Nextel
CNN
Yahoo

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 24 May 2015, 13:43

Sponsor Bids:
Valvoline
Whirlpool
Mexmil

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 26 May 2015, 14:13

Sponsors:

Target:
Ganassi gets it by default, as there were no other offers.

Marlboro:
Marlboro would like to see two marquee drivers in the cars and has an ongoing association with Penske.
Penske 1-40
Newman 41-60
Green 61-80
Newman - 81-100
9. Penske retains their long-time sponsor, despite the huge interest from other parties

Kool:
Kool has a history with Team Green, but they are more than interested in rival Forsythe. (Mo Nunn has only one car to sponsor, due to a paydriver in the #66, they are not included in the RNG)
Green 1-30
Forsythe 31-70
Newman 71-99
Redraw 100
23! So far, no difference from reality.

Kmart:
The supermarket chain, which sponsors the best driver in the world as well as a CART entry in 2001 will come with a dark blue livery.
Sigma 1-20
Mo Nunn 21-60
Forsythe 61-100
Small nubers galore, 16! Sigma lands a sponsorship deal with a big name.

Miller:
Everyone wanted Miller on their cars, even though it is cold pee basically.
Rahal placed the beverage high in the pecking order and has a contender to sponsor, thus earning a head start at the desk.
Rahal 1-30
Andretti 31-45
Nunn 46-60
Patrick 61-75
Forsythe (L) 76-85
Newman 86-100
87! Miller jumps ship to Newman, if they don't get both Shell and Texaco.

Player's:
Forsythe and Tracy seem good enough for Player's to renew their contract.

Shell:
Shell was really popular.
Rahal 1-30
Newman 31-50
Nunn 51-65
Patrick 66-80
Sigma 80-95
Arciero 96-100
64! Mo Nunn Racing has Shell on their #55.

Texaco:
Newman 1-70
Rahal 71-100
78! Rahal gets Texaco.
(Hereby I kindly ask these two teams to switch the Miller and the Texaco sponsorships, as it would make no difference in payment, but will save me time with the liveries.)

Visteon:
Rahal 1-50
Fernández 51-100
41! Visteon decides to stand behind Kenny Brack.

Nextel:
Nextel favors Michael, but won't outrule Fernández or even Arciero.
Andretti 1-50
Fernández 51-90
Arciero 91-100
89. Oriol's Fernández car is going to race with the future NASCAR title sponsor.

Andretti fails to grab a better paying sponsor, so personal backers Motorola stand up and take the deal.

Valvoline:
Patrick 1-45
PacWest 46-90
Arciero 91-100
5. Patrick finally gets a deal done from their 4th negotiation.

Pioneer:
Arciero gets radios by default, as there are no other offers!

Whirlpool:
PacWest takes Whirlpool.

Quaker State:
Quaker State are Bebo Moreno's sponsors at Patrick.

Tecate:
Fernández and his favorite beer are united. Hopefully they can keep it cold.

Delta Faucet:
Steps up and fills the vacant #33 at Forsythe.

Newman-Haas are left without a sponsor on their #11. Hollywood chewing gum is the only sponsor left from above tier D. Is it okay to assign them Newman-Haas?

Overview:
Penske - Marlboro, Marlboro
Rahal - Texaco(?), Visteon
Newman-Haas - Miller(?), ?
Forsythe - Player's, Delta Faucet
Patrick - Valvoline, Quaker State
Green - Kool, Kool
Mo Nunn - Shell, Guegelmin
Ganassi - Target, Target
Andretti - Motorola
PacWest - Whirlpool, Stella Artois
Fernández - Tecate, Nextel
Sigma - KMart
Bettenhausen - Herdez
Walker - Jacuzzi/Cross Pens
Arciero - Alpine/Pioneer (lel at the conflict of interest)
Coyne - PS2, Embartel

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 26 May 2015, 20:01

The second test took place at Belle Isle in Detroit.

Slowest on track was, rather unsurprisingly, Luiz Garcia, who managed to run clean at least. His 1:06:544 is slow.

26th gone to Sarah Fisher, who prefers ovals and also wrecked late in the session. Her time was 1:06:178. A disgrace in a Ganassi machine.

25th is Shinji Nakano, who can only be expected to run clean and get to the finish line in one piece.

24th is unlucky rookie Dan Wheldon, who suffered a gearbox and an engine failure, preventing him a better time.

23rd gone to total newcomer Geoff Boss who first set his foot in a ChampCar here. He didn't do bad, but it was not particularly good either.

22nd after a really poor performance is Christian Fittipaldi. Probably he ran into problems I missed.

21st was Mauricio Gugelmin, after an uninspiring drive in his #66.

20th and probably the biggest surprise of the session is Nicolas Minassian, who managed to get much needed speed and power out of the Coyne craprocket.

19th is rookie David Saelens, who wrecked on what would have been his fastest lap.

18th place goes to steady Oriol Servia who was the last car to hit the track, totally contrasting the Milwaukee test.

17th place is about what is expected from Michel Jourdain, Jr.

16th is Helio Castroneves who could only run 2 fast laps before his engine blew. (The AI kept him in the pits afterwards for some reason.)

15th goes to Buddy Lazier, who couldn't quite get the hang of the track. (At least it turned out to be a neat pic, I guess.)

14th place is another disappointment for Roberto Moreno. It can only get better for Patrick.

13th is the only owner-driver in the field, Adrian Fernández. He lost his rear wing during one of his runs.

12th place and being the last who would have scored a point if this was a race is a huge disappointment for Kenny Brack, because Rahal expects better results. Especially from a driver who topped the table last time.

11th is rookie prospect Scott Dixon. He expected better, but at least his ride looks sharp.

Top 10 coming in pt.2

Dom_Wings · Post by **Dom_Wings** » 26 May 2015, 20:16

I agree with the Miller/Texaco swap

(also given that you have a Miller Lite sponsor on the #8 car

)

Nice job with the liveries too!

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 26 May 2015, 20:30

The top 10.

10th is a good performance from Bruno Junqueira, who also is the top rookie here. (I took the liberty and made Hollywood the sponsor, hope you don't mind V8fan.)

9th is Cristiano da Matta. This was a really mediocre performance from the Rahal cars.

8th place goes to Max Papis, who was on pace to be up front when a slowing Tracy held him up.

7th is Alex Zanardi after a GREAT performance for the small Sigma team.

6th and a bit disappointing is who was the first man on track, Dario Franchiti.

Closing out the top 5 was the best performance outside Minassian, Patrick Carpentier.

The 4th and top Toyota driver is Tony Kanaan, with a successful rebound from his Milwaukee wreck.

Rounding out the podium in 3rd place is once again, Paul Tracy, who is the best placed Ford driver.

2nd place is again recurring from last test. Defending champion Gil de Ferran is just 31 thousandths off the first place.

Leading the pack with 1:04:673 is veteran champion Michael Andretti. A great demonstration of his speed and experience.

Next up is round one. Finally

Please do give me feedback, is it okay with one text-based and one picture-based report alternating?

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 26 May 2015, 20:31

Reject_Dom wrote:I agree with the Miller/Texaco swap
(also given that you have a Miller Lite sponsor on the #8 car )

Nice job with the liveries too!

Okay, it will happen if the other party agrees!
And I will do something less horrible for the Visteon car of yours.

And thanks

I know they are actually okay-to-mediocre, but I do the best I can with Paint.NET and with no chance seeing them ingame. (Altering the schemes in school.)

Samster · Post by **Samster** » 26 May 2015, 23:17

Hey Rabbi. This is looking like a very well run series and with very similar rules to what I had for my version which I sadly ended up not having the time to kick off properly.

Anyway I'd like to go on the waiting list please as this also seems to be the only non-canon series still active these days.

Would you consider including the Indy 500 like I had planned to? Then I could work out a history between my planned 1996 season and this one and tie them in together and I'd feel happier about not getting mine off the ground with this effectively in its place.

Finally what game are you using to simulate this?

Dom_Wings · Post by **Dom_Wings** » 27 May 2015, 05:08

Rabbi Gordon wrote:And I will do something less horrible for the Visteon car of yours.

Oh THANK GOD you can help!

Can you please make something like the Patrick Racing car used in the 2001 season?

Thanks

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 27 May 2015, 05:41

Minassian is the hero Coyne needs, but not the one it deserves.

Our goal for this year is to mainly stay out of trouble and finish races. And get enough money to afford a proper car next year

CaptainGetz12 · Post by **CaptainGetz12** » 27 May 2015, 06:13

This series is starting to pique my interest too. Can I join the waiting list as well?

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 27 May 2015, 14:02

Samster wrote:Hey Rabbi. This is looking like a very well run series and with very similar rules to what I had for my version which I sadly ended up not having the time to kick off properly.

Anyway I'd like to go on the waiting list please as this also seems to be the only non-canon series still active these days.

Would you consider including the Indy 500 like I had planned to? Then I could work out a history between my planned 1996 season and this one and tie them in together and I'd feel happier about not getting mine off the ground with this effectively in its place.

Finally what game are you using to simulate this?

Thanks for the kind words. This is the 1st series I run, so it lacks depth in some places, but I do what I can.

I did not originally plan to have the Indy 500 and will not have it in 2001, but if this goes to 2002, I'll certainly will if you do the backstory.

The game I use is F1C, which proved capable of realistic results and races. And you are on the waiting list at P2.

Reject_Dom wrote:
Rabbi Gordon wrote:And I will do something less horrible for the Visteon car of yours.

Oh THANK GOD you can help!
Can you please make something like the Patrick Racing car used in the 2001 season?
[img]le%20auto[/img]

Thanks

Yep, I will only change a few minor things on it as Patrick has a totally different color scheme now.

CaptainGetz12 wrote:This series is starting to pique my interest too. Can I join the waiting list as well?

Sure.

Dom_Wings · Post by **Dom_Wings** » 27 May 2015, 15:40

Yeah mate and FYI, the Hollywood sponsor is the cigarette brand, not the chewing gum brand, as it does look so in the number 11 entry

(most probably Brazilian, as in CART/IRL it sponsored the cars of e.g. Mauricio Gugelmin, Felipe Giaffone or Tony Kanaan.)
Its color scheme looks similar to the #55 Shell scheme you painted. As well in the #55 there are visible the Hollywood ''arrows'' on the rear wing.

Sorry if it will take you further time to paint the car again, but it is just for the sake of realism

Or you can just change the chew gum logos and put the cigarette brand logo over it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rabbi Gordon wrote:Yep, I will only change a few minor things on it as Patrick has a totally different color scheme now.

Thanks! My opinion is just to get rid of the green and replace it with black or so.

P.S. I hate myself for being such a nitpick, but can you swap Saelens and P-Carp with #17 and #18 respectively on the OP? Thanks for everything here and above Rabbi!

Will be the last noob thing I ask before we get started.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 27 May 2015, 16:48

Reject_Dom wrote:Yeah mate and FYI, the Hollywood sponsor is the cigarette brand, not the chewing gum brand, as it does look so in the number 11 entry
(most probably Brazilian, as in CART/IRL it sponsored the cars of e.g. Mauricio Gugelmin, Felipe Giaffone or Tony Kanaan.)
Its color scheme looks similar to the #55 Shell scheme you painted. As well in the #55 there are visible the Hollywood ''arrows'' on the rear wing.

Sorry if it will take you further time to paint the car again, but it is just for the sake of realism
Or you can just change the chew gum logos and put the cigarette brand logo over it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Gordon wrote:Yep, I will only change a few minor things on it as Patrick has a totally different color scheme now.

Thanks! My opinion is just to get rid of the green and replace it with black or so.

P.S. I hate myself for being such a nitpick, but can you swap Saelens and P-Carp with #17 and #18 respectively on the OP? Thanks for everything here and above Rabbi! Will be the last noob thing I ask before we get started.

Oh, I totally thought it's the chewing gum for some reason, probably because it used to be available here. Funny, because I was the one on another forum, who pointed out that Kanaan couldn't have ran Hollywood logos in the Lausitzring race that year, because of the tobacco ban in Germany.
Anyway, thanks for the observations, will do your scheme, change the #11's logos and position the Quaker State logo properly on the #40.
Actually, the #11, just like every other car is not my creation, I just modified them for the series. It actually is Fittipaldi's 2002 scheme with the wrong Hollywood logo

.

Dom_Wings · Post by **Dom_Wings** » 27 May 2015, 18:12

Thanks mate, cannot wait for the new liveries. Sorry again...

I hope that the #8 will be less barftastic and hopefully without that green which makes it look like a vomit.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 27 May 2015, 18:36

Rabbi Gordon wrote:Please do give me feedback, is it okay with one text-based and one picture-based report alternating?

In future, please upload to an imgur gallery and use the [album] tags! Stops the pages from being infinite in length. Titles and descriptions you add to images uploaded into the imgur gallery will show on the page (like in this post). Or you can skip that part by writing captions directly onto the image itself and uploading them to the gallery without adding titles and descriptions after.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 28 May 2015, 03:10

Rabbi Gordon wrote:
The game I use is F1C, which proved capable of realistic results and races.

Is this the Champ Car Challenge mod by any chance?

Also, if anyone wants a 2000 Swift, Dale's got one for sale

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 28 May 2015, 12:29

Thanks Biscione, I will try that for the pic-based reports.

Wizzie wrote:
Rabbi Gordon wrote:
The game I use is F1C, which proved capable of realistic results and races.

Is this the Champ Car Challenge mod by any chance?

Yep, iDT mods are god. (intended to write good, but this checks out too)

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 28 May 2015, 13:23

Rabbi Gordon wrote:Thanks Biscione, I will try that for the pic-based reports.

Wizzie wrote:
Rabbi Gordon wrote:
The game I use is F1C, which proved capable of realistic results and races.

Is this the Champ Car Challenge mod by any chance?

Yep, iDT mods are god. (intended to write good, but this checks out too)

Ah, yes. Tis a very good mod indeed

Has a rather annoying habit of not working on Windows 8 though

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 02 Jun 2015, 19:35

So, I have quite a lot of stuff do to, the race is done, but the earliest I can write the report is Thursday or Friday.

But as I need a break, so qualifying results:
Round one, Mexico

Qualifying:
Pretty much no events during the hunt for seconds, besides a spin from Boss, nothing noteworthy happened.

Rear Se7en: The 7 cars bringing up the rear were all expected to qualify towards the rear, among them are the two Coyne cars, who could not do anything with the piss-poor Ilmor engines. Sarah Fisher, although she ran a bit better than in the test last time, still can't really get the hang of road racing. Nakano driving for Arciero is there for the money and he can't really hide it. Geoff Boss is the same, but with less experience. Jourdain and Gugelmin also ended up here, but they were on pace.

The midfield 8: Places 13-20 were filled by midfielders, who were quite close to eachother, besides the presence of Franchitti here, no other surprises. Junqueira ended up worse than expected, but he looks to improve in the race.

The oudsiders: Places 6 to 12 were occupied by those who are expected to run well, but a bit short of the top tier or had some traffic during their flying laps. A good effort by Fittiipaldi, almost taking his car into the top 5 and Zanardi continues his great off-season form by putting the Sigma car in 11th. Top rookie starter is... well, not too surprising, Dixon in 10th.

The promised five: Top 4 drivers were really close to eachother, but the 5th place Kenny Brack was also within 3 tenths. Papis placed his machine in row two with a great time that stood on top of the table for most of the 30 minute session, yet got beaten by 3 others. 3 Brazilians to be precise. de Ferran, Castroneves and da Matta, but wile this order is the likelier, it is actually the reverse. So, taking the pole is Cristiano da Matta with a blistering time.

The grid:
1. Cristiano da Matta
2. Helio Castroneves
3. Gil de Ferran.
4. Max Papis
5. Kenny Brack
6. Christian Fittipaldi
7. Tony Kanaan
8. Paul Tracy
9. Michael Andretti
10. Scott Dixon
11. Alex Zanardi
12. Roberto Moreno
13. Adrian Fernandez
14. Buddy Lazier
15. Dario Franchitti
16. Patrick Carpentier
17. David Saelens
18. Bruno Junqueira
19. Dan Wheldon
20. Oriol Servia
21. Michel Jourdain, Jr.
22. Mauricio Gugelmin
23. Geoff Boss
24. Sarah Fisher
25. Shinji Nakano
26. Nicolas Minassian
27. Luiz Garcia, Jr.

Dom_Wings · Post by **Dom_Wings** » 03 Jun 2015, 05:32

Ohhhh, not bad! 8-)

FantometteBR · Post by **FantometteBR** » 03 Jun 2015, 19:28

Better than I predicted!

Let's hope to get both cars at the Top 10 for a start

V8fan12 · Post by **V8fan12** » 04 Jun 2015, 21:53

Yup its ok with the hollywood sponsorship sorry I haven't replied earlier.

Rabbi Gordon · Post by **Rabbi Gordon** » 08 Jun 2015, 16:03

Finally. All the 84 laps.

Castroneves got a great start and overtook da Matta into turn one and with a bit of a cut chicane, Fernandez passed the first turn in the top 5. The Mexican, cheered on by thousands of his countrymen, charged through the field and managed to outbrake Tracy into the 2nd chicane.
A bit behind, the first laps of the season were seriously chaotic, courtesy of an engine failure from Brack, basically right off the line and an unassisted spin from Papis just a few turns later.
Problem is that the cars held up by Brack who could not react fast enough plowed right into the recovering Ganassi car. This eliminated both PacWest drivers and Gugelmin as well as Papis. One last casualty of the first lap carnage was Minassian, who ducked into the pits missing a front wing and promptly retired due to a stuck gearbox.
Top 5 after lap 1:
1 - Castroneves
2 - da Matta
3 - de Ferran
4 - Fernandez
5 - Tracy

The next laps weren't without incident, as the quite slow Nakano was running 13th and held up everybody behind, some of them really fast cars with the bad luck of being behind Brack at the start. Eventually, Kanaan had enough and turned the Japanese right into the barriers, taking out Franchitti in the doing, but also damaging his car and Zanardi's.

One of the two very different pit strategies saw a lot of cars pit in laps 8-11. It proved to be a horrible mistake, as while coming back they got into the train led by none other than Luiz Garcia. In the train it was Kanaan again who crashed this time taking himself and Franchitti out of the race. Meanwhile, Junqueira spun and he had retire from 10th place.
Top 5 after 15 laps:
1 - Castroneves
2 - de Ferran
3 - da Matta
4 - Fernandez
5 - Tracy

In lap 16, heartbreak for Adrian Fernandez, who collapsed his suspension and stopped just short of the pit entrance while running 4th ,well clear of Tracy, even closing on da Matta.
Otherwise, this part of the race was fairly uneventful, Wheldon grenaded an engine running last and those who got stuck behind Garcia and Fisher lost enormous amounts of time compared to the top 8. Yes, Garcia was running 9th.
Top 8 after 37 laps:
1 - Castroneves
2 - de Ferran
3 - da Matta
4 - Tracy
5 - Andretti
6 - Fittipaldi
7 - Dixon
8 - Servia

The Garcia-Fisher train started to break up a bit when the leaders arrived to lap it. First Moreno got through both Fisher and Garcia, then Castroneves and de Ferran arrived in behind the Coyne Lola. In the defining moment of the race, Castroneves slid wide and back into Garcia, who had been ignoring blue flags for a while, binning his car in the process and knocking Garcia's rear wing off. The lead would have passed on to de Ferran, but he had to slow and let da Matta slide by him for the lead.

Laps 39-70 were a painfully boring experience, as the track (or rather, the AIW file) did not allow much passing in places other than turn 3. Those who were behind Garcia before got lapped and the top, now 5 again, got in front convincingly. Only notable things were a spin from Fisher, damaging Boss's car too and an overtake for P4.
Top 5 after 70 laps:
1 - da Matta
2 - de Ferran
3 - Tracy
4 - Fittipaldi
5 - Andretti

The last 14 laps were filled with excitement though, as the top drivers stopped for fuel and new tires for a short dash.
First, Andretti came in and had a fast stop in hopes of overhauling the gap between them and beating Fittipaldi. Next in were da Matta and Tracy, their stops were well done.
Staying out late were Fittipaldi and de Ferran, who pitted with just 7 to go. However, Fittipaldi came by Gil just as he was being released and had to brake for his stall, holding de Ferran up in the process and denying him second place.
Towards the back Jourdain coasted to a stop in his stall, after running out of fuel during pit in. Luckily for him and the Mexican fans, he was able to continue, after a rather lengthy stop.

At the end there was no stopping da Matta, who came home with 2.5 seconds in hand after a great, wreck-filled race.

1. Cristiano da Matta Rahal 1:42:16.615
2. Paul Tracy Forsythe +2.594
3. Gil de Ferran Green +3.878
4. Cristian Fittipaldi Patrick +6.714
5. Michael Andretti Andretti +8.130
6. Scott Dixon Mo Nunn +13.933
7. Oriol Servia Fernandez +17.072
8. Roberto Moreno Patrick +1:06.565
9. Buddy Lazier Forsythe +1 Lap
10. Michel Jourdain, Jr. Bettenhausen +1 Lap
11. Alex Zanardi Sigma +2 Laps
12. Geoff Boss Walker +4 Laps
13. Sarah Fisher Ganassi +6 Laps/Gearbox
Retired
14. Helio Catroneves Penske Crash (Fastest lap)
15. Luiz Garcia, Jr. Coyne Crash
16. Dan Wheldon Green Engine
17. Adrian Fernandez Fernandez Suspension
18. Bruno Junquiera Newman-Haas Crash
19. Tony Kanaan Newman-Haas Crash
20. Dario Franchitti Penske Crash
21. Shinji Nakano Arciero Electronics
22. Nicolas Minassian Coyne Gearbox
23. Max Papis Ganassi Crash
24. Patrick Carpentier PacWest Crash
25. David Saelens PacWest Crash
26. Mauricio Gugelmin Mo Nunn Crash
27. Kenny Brack Rahal Engine

Best performer: Cristiano da Matta - Pole and win, capitalized on others mistakes, was fast in pits.
Worst performer(s): Roberto Moreno - Even though he came home 8th, he ruined many races with not being able to pass an Ilmor powered car.
Tony Kanaan - He managed to wreck half the field.

Pictures and bills(!) will follow.

FantometteBR · Post by **FantometteBR** » 09 Jun 2015, 04:34

It was at least a somehow good debut for Patrick