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		Talk from Down Under ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Thirteen drivers on Australia — the race and the place #1 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda JIMMY VASSER On last year's victory at Surfers: "Paradise: "The car was nearly perfect the whole race. Scott Pruettgot close to me a few times, but I was always able to pull out a bitof a cushion. It was a hard-fought race." #4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda ALEX ZANARDI On his quest for the PPG CARTWorld Series record of six consecutive pole positions: "The thing is,I've never considered myself to be a very good qualifier. It's notthat I think I'm bad, I just never though about it until this recordbecame possible. For sure, I'm very pleased about it, and I hope wecan qualify on the pole in Australia. It would be great to have thatrecord. However, I must say, what really is important is the onepoint you get for pole (toward the PPG Cup championship.)" #6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Cosworth XD MICHAEL ANDRETTI On the tracklayout at Surfers Paradise: "The race track in Australia is veryunique for a street circuit. For one, one lap is over three mileslong. It's a track that has very long straight-aways and horsepoweris obviously important. Also, the curbs are very unique in Australia.You can actually use them to go fast. It makes for some great photoopportunities as well, to have the cars on two wheels over the curbs.That's actually my favorite part of the track. It's where I make up alot of time." #27 Team Kool Green Reynard Honda PARKER JOHNSTONE On the Australian circuit'sunique curbing: "The Australia course is very fast and requires avery technical approach. It doesn't allow any mistakes; there's nomargin for error there. The curbs, in particular, make the courseextremely challenging. Negotiating them is difficult, and they take areal physical toll on you as a driver. Street and road courses arealways more exhausting in that sense. But we have practiced dealingwith curbs in testing because they're a real factor in Australia.They definitely put a premium on hitting the mark with a solidchassis setup, because the car really takes a pounding." #2 Marlboro Penske Mercedes AL UNSER, Jr. On his fondest Australiamemory: "My favorite memory about racing in Australia was when I saton the pole in 1992. It was the first time a new chassis constructor(Galmer) sat on the pole in its' first race (in the CART era.) One ofmy favorite things to do in Australia is to play "Two Up" at ConradJupiter's Casino. If Lady Luck shines on me on the table, hopefully,she'll come along with the Marlboro Team Penske on race day, too!" #3 Marlboro Penske Mercedes PAUL TRACY On the season to date and theSunbelt IndyCarnival Australia: "We knew from all of our preseasontesting that Homestead would be the toughest track to get set up for,so to come out of there with 16 points had everyone really excited.Now we're moving on to the street courses and short ovals where weknow we can be strong, so things are looking good. I'm personallylooking forward to getting down to Australia and running the streetcourse. I like the track, it suits my driving style and I've wonthere before (in 1995.) We had a great test in Memphis a couple ofweeks ago that Al (Unser, Jr.) ran and came up with some goodresults, so we're all anticipating a good show 'Down Under.' My goalis to remain as focused on my driving as possible. This is the firsttime in my career that I've had this many points at the start of theseason, so it's important for me to continue to score points andslowly work toward my main goal - the PPG Cup." #32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group ADRIAN FERNANDEZ On the personalsignificance of Surfers Paradise: "Surfers Paradise is a very specialplace for me. I proposed to my fiance, Tania Leigh, there last yearduring the race weekend. It seemed like the most appropriate placebecause I met her at Surfers in 1994 when I was doing an autographsession. The track is very unique - driving next to the beachalongside all the high-rise buildings. I had a problem with my carone time and ended up walking on the beach back to the pits. There'snot many circuits where you can do that!" #31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group ANDRE RIBEIRO On the local culture atSurfers Paradise: "I really enjoy the atmosphere at Surfers Paradise- it is a beautiful city and the people are so friendly. Iparticipated in the drivers' volleyball game last year which wasgreat fun and very relaxing. One thing I haven't done is sampled thelocal specialty - Morton Bay Bugs - but that is definitely on myagenda for this year." #16 Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz PATRICK CARPENTIER On his first trip toAustralia: "I've never been to Australia before so I'm excited aboutgoing there. But what I really want to find out is how close thetrack is to the Papyrus video game I've been playing. They've had metry to learn the track by using the Papyrus IndyCar II game with theSurfers Paradise track. It's been fun, and I'm wondering what it willlook like in real life." #25 MCI Arciero Wells Reynard Toyota MAX PAPIS On his return to Australia: "Goingback is very nice for me since I have not been there since I was 16years old, when I went for a go-cart race in Sydney. I have manyspecial memories from that trip, including finishing second in whatwas a very important race. I remember Australia to be a beautifulplace and I am really looking forward to visiting a different part ofthe country, the Gold Coast. The race track is going to suit us quitewell because it is a street course. I like street circuits becauseyou can always push the car a little bit more, which is not alwayspossible to do on an oval because the ovals are not as forgiving." #20 Brahma Sports Team Reynard Ford SCOTT PRUETT On his past experiences inAustralia: "First and foremost, I was third in '95 and second in '96.if it had not been for our own arrogance, we should have had the polelast year. The circuit is demanding from so many aspects: Braking,power down, turn in and overall grip. It is also one that is verytough on the gearbox because you have to shift so many times, 45 to50, per lap. This is a track where qualifying and the speed andprecision of the pit stops are critical because it is so difficult topass." #40 Brahma Sports Team Reynard Ford Cosworth RAUL BOESEL On what it takes to win at SurfersParadise: "To be fast on the Australia street circuit, the car needsgood traction, good brakes, good turn-in and it must cope very wellwith the curbs. The first thing we do is disconnect the sway bars sothe right side, front and rear, is working independently of the left.This is very important. If the bars are connected when you go overthe curbs, the curb launches the car to the outside of the corner. Toget better traction, I run the most front and rear wing angle I can,otherwise the car will understeer and nothing can be worse on astreet circuit. The driver spends most of the available practice timejust finding out how large the air scoops should be. Too large andyou loose speed, not large enough and the brakes don't last." #64 J.A.G./Marcelo/Hawaiian Tropic Project Indy Lola Ford Cosworth ARND MEIER On making hisPPG CART World Series debut at Surfers Paradise: I am very muchlooking forward to participating in the CART championship andcompeting against the worlds' best drivers. It is a big step to comefrom the German Formula 3 championship with 180 horsepower and intoIndy-car with almost 800 horsepower. We've had limited testing, but Ifeel confident and prepared for this step. I'm currently spending agreat deal of time on my fitness program, which will, in my opinion,prepare me for the 90 minutes of intense racing ahead of me."