©2001 SpeedCenter Publishing
da Matta Unofficially Fastest at Phoenix International Speedway
Newman/Haas Racing drivers Christian
Fittipaldi and Cristiano da Matta joined many of their fellow CART FedEx
Championship Series drivers at the Phoenix International Speedway oval for
pre-season testing. Both drivers ran on January 24-25 and were happy with
the results while preparing for the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series
season.
"The test was very good," said Texaco/Havoline driver Cristiano da Matta, who
unofficially set the fastest lap time of 20.6 over the two days. "I was very
pleased with our progress after the first day and the second day was even
better. I am learning more every time I am with my new team. They have a
good baseline oval set-up and are very methodical about testing different
things. There were a lot of cars testing and it was good to compare
ourselves with everyone. Especially since we were on the pace."
Both da Matta and Fittipaldi were able to log approx. 350 miles over the
two-day test. Kmart Toyota-Lola driver Fittipaldi was not as pleased as da
Matta was at the end of the day Wednesday but was happy by the time the test
came to an end on Thursday.
"We were struggling on Wednesday but the last hour on Thursday was really,
really good," said Fittipaldi, the most recent race winner in the CART FedEx
Series after winning the 2000 Marlboro 500 season finale. "We went the wrong
direction on the set-up of the race car on the first day but caught back up
on Thursday by the end of the day. The car was so bad on the first day that
I had three 'big moments' where I almost lost it. Thursday was much better.
We made two long runs during the final two hours of the test. The car was
very good on the first set of tires on the long run and it was even better on
the second set and we were able to run much better lap times. Overall, I am
very happy with our progress."
The team will resume testing next week at the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval
for two days between January 30-February 1 with Fittipaldi behind the wheel.
It will be Fittipaldi's final test as a single man before he flies to Sao
Paulo, Brazil where he will marry Andrea Iverson on February 3.
Marlboro Team Penske Completes First Day of Short Oval Testing
Marlboro Team Penske completed their first day of short oval testing yesterday on the one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway. After limited
running prior to the mid-day lunch break, defending CART FedEx Series Champion Gil de Ferran returned to the track for the afternoon session and
completed more than 120 miles in his #1 Marlboro Honda Reynard. He had steadily worked his way into the low 21-second range when a late day crash
ended the test.
"Being our first test on the short oval, we had a lot to learn about the new car," said de Ferran. ""we were making good progress when the car
oversteered in turn one and hit the turn two wall with the left side. We damaged the left side of the car, but luckily I was able to walk away
from the incident with only a swollen left ankle and a pair of bruised knees."
De Ferran, who remained conscious throughout the incident, was cleared on-site by CART'S Director of Safety Lon Bromley. He is scheduled to meet
with CART'S Director of Medical Affairs, Dr. Steve Olvey, in Miami today to ensure he will be ready for Marlboro Team Penske's upcoming test at
the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval next week.
"Obviously this wasn't how we wanted to end our test," said Penske Racing President Tim Cindric, "but the good news is that Gil is OK and we should
have the opportunity to have him in the car at Homestead as planned. This car will have to go back to Penske Cars to repair a few major components,
but I'm confident we will recover in good form."
Two Successful Days for Herta, at the "World's Fastest One-Mile Oval"
Bryan Herta and the Zakspeed/Forsythe Racing Team wrapped up its final day of testing Thursday at Phoenix International Raceway. Completing
over 350 miles in his 2001 Ford/Reynard, Herta felt the two-day test was a success. "We came here with several things we wanted to try. We
accomplished everything on our list, and finished the test with a new list of tasks for our next test. We definitely learned a lot, and made developments
throughout the day." This was Herta's first time back on an oval since his February test at Phoenix last year. "It felt good to be back on a true oval. I
ran at Rio last year, but that has been the closest thing to an oval I have run on since this time last year. The weather was ideal, and we were able to
complete several long runs." Herta ran in the top five throughout the two-day test, with up to ten cars on track. The Ford powered cars dominated the
test with Papis setting the fastest lap at 20.72. Herta and Brack were also in the 20-second range. "We were right in there in terms of speed. We
made several changes yet remained quick. Overall, I am really pleased with the test, and I look forward to testing in Homestead next week." The
Zakspeed/Forsythe Racing Team will continue testing throughout February with Herta, and series newcomer Marcel Tiemann.
PacWest tests at Phoenix
PacWest Racing concluded their two-day test on the short oval of Phoenix International Raceway
on Thursday, and walked away quite pleased with their progress.
Completing almost 200 miles in the #17 car of Mauricio Gugelmin, Dixon clocked a quick time of 21.5 seconds on
the one-mile oval and maintained times in the mid 21- second range for most of the day. Dixon will become the
first New Zealander to compete in the CART series, and is looking forward to the challenge.
Gugelmin, driver of the #17 Nextel PacWest Toyota ran approximately 125 laps on the one-mile oval in Phoenix and
posted a quick time of 21.48 seconds. PacWest spent the majority of the day running different set-ups on the
Reynard chassis and still managed to put up impressive times comparable to a few of the other teams competing in
the desert.
“I think my test went relatively well,” said Dixon. “I’m still learning a lot every time I strap myself into a
Champ Car, and running on this oval for the first time ever provided me with an opportunity to learn a new track
– which I enjoy. We worked on a lot of different set-ups Thursday and tested various components on the car
during the day. I was battling some oversteer in turn two, but other than that, we were okay. My learning
curve is right where I expected it would be, and the entire PacWest crew has been terrific to work with.
They’re really helping me get comfortable in the car, and their preparation has enabled us to run from the time
the green flag falls until the end of each day. I couldn’t be happier to be working with this team, and we’re
definitely looking forward to this season.”
“We had a pretty decent day on Wednesday,” said Gugelmin. “We really spent a lot of time trying different
things on the car, so our overall plan for the test was successful. We ran a 21.48 second lap, which put us in
the middle of the pack of the nine to ten cars that were out there. A lot of time was spent on the set-up pad,
and we worked diligently on testing springs, shocks, ride height, etc…We had just returned to the track with new
tires when Gil de Ferran crashed towards the end of the day to bring out a red flag and ultimately end the
session. The Toyota engine performed beautifully, and it was really nice returning to an oval after all of the
road course testing we have been doing. Overall, we still need to work on finding more balance in the car, but
we’re learning a lot and definitely making progress. I’m confident PacWest will be on pace this year.”
Team Rahal Concludes Busy Testing Week
Team Rahal completed a busy week of pre-season testing
in Arizona with two days working on the team's oval package at Phoenix
International Raceway (PIR). Both Miller Lite driver Max Papis and Shell
driver Kenny Brack logged three test days apiece this week running Monday at
Firebird Raceway and Wednesday and Thursday at PIR.
The team continues to work to familiarize itself with the Lola B1/00
Champ Car chassis and the Ford-Cosworth XF engine. Team Rahal is making the
switch to Lola for 2001 after having run a Reynard chassis since 1996.
"The results of the test at Phoenix were extraordinary considering
this was our first test with the Lola chassis on an oval," said Mark
Johnson, Team Rahal Director of Operations. "One of the reasons we made the
switch to Lola was that we felt over the course of last season the Lola had
an advantage on the ovals over the competition. Our belief in the Lola was
reconfirmed at the Phoenix test. I was also impressed by the strides
Ford-Cosworth has made with the XF engine over the winter. It is apparent
that Cosworth isn't content with having just won the manufacturer's
championship last season, they are working hard to make sure the XF engine
is even better in 2001."
Both Team Rahal cars logged significant miles at Firebird Raceway on
Monday. Brack posted the fastest lap of the two Team Rahal cars notching a
lap of 47.9-seconds.
Brack paced the 11-car test at PIR on Wednesday with a fast lap
timed at 20.9-seconds. Papis paced the field on Thursday with a fast lap of
20.6-seconds while Brack posted the third fastest lap at 20.8-seconds.
"Every time we test we learn quite a bit more about the Lola cars,"
said Larry Ellert, Team Rahal's Race Team Manager. "The biggest challenge
for our team is getting to a comfort level with the Lola chassis after
having run Reynard the last five years."
"The limit on the test days certainly has made our job tougher,"
said Johnson. "What is encouraging is the confidence that our drivers and
engineers have with the package. Due to that confidence in our oval package
we will most likely spend the rest of our testing days preparing for the
road courses that open the 2001 season."
Team KOOL Green Finishes Two Days Of Oval Testing At Phoenix
Team KOOL Green and driver Paul Tracy wrapped up two very productive days of testing on Thursday at the one-mile oval of Phoenix International Raceway.
Under sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70's, Tracy and Team KOOL Green completed 273 miles over the two-day test. Tracy posted a fast lap of
21.0 seconds, one of the quickest times posted by the many CART teams testing with Team KOOL Green. The engineers opened the test Wednesday with
aerodynamic testing and wind tunnel comparisons before moving to mechanical changes and full fuel runs on Thursday.
"We had two really good days of testing at Phoenix with Paul and Team KOOL Green," said team manager Kyle Moyer. "I am proud of the guys who worked
so hard on the car. We learned a lot and finished four days of testing without a single mechanical failure. We've tested hard on both the road course
and oval this week and the reliability and consistency of the Honda Reynard has allowed us to get a lot accomplished."
"I'm really excited about the new Honda Reynard we have," said Paul Tracy, driver of the No. 26 KOOL Honda Reynard. "One of our goals this year is to
improve our consistency, and with the way the car has been running we are well on our way to meeting that goal. The engineers and the guys back at
the shop are really working hard and it is showing in these tests."
Tora Impressive During Tests At Two Kinds Of Desert Tracks
Walker Racing wrapped up a busy week of testing
at two Arizona tracks yesterday and rookie driver Tora (Tiger) Takagi was
among the fastest at both.
Tora's active week began at Firebird East's 1.25-mile permanent road course
on Jan. 20– 21 and he posted the fastest unofficial lap (47.1 seconds) of all
CART drivers who participated during the two-day test.
The reigning Formula Nippon champion's test is particularly impressive
since it is just his second in a Champ Car (the first was at Sebring on Jan.
9 – 11) and he logged a total of 267 laps and 335 miles during his two days
at Firebird. Tora had three on-track spins and one off during his time on
track, but is continuing to make excellent progress in learning how the CART
cars work.
The Walker Racing team spent Monday and Tuesday converting the car to an oval
track set-up in preparation for Tora's first oval test ever, which took place
on Wednesday (Jan. 24) at the one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway.
Veteran CART owner Derrick Walker was impressed with his rookies performance.
"It was Tora's first time on an oval, but that wasn't a big deal for
him at the end of the day," said Derrick. "Hess already come a long way in a
very short time and my first impression is Hess going to do just fine."
Tora ran a total of 142 incident-free laps on Wednesday with a best
time of 22.0 sec. Engineers Al Bodey and Yoshi Iwashita worked with Team
Manager Rob Edwards to help dial out understeer in the car and increase
Tora's comfort level in the car.
On Tora's second oval track day (Jan. 25) it was clear that the
Japanese rookie was adapting quickly. He ran 50 total laps (again without
incident) and his best time of the day was 21.4 sec., only eight-tenths
slower than the fastest car at the test.
"I'm very impressed by his rapid progress given that he had never
driven on an oval until yesterday," said Walker. "The team did a good job
and prepared a reliable car and it was a very productive test."
Photo: Newman/Haas
