Christian Fittipaldi and Roberto Moreno

JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing
Christian Fittipaldi and Roberto Moreno
©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc.
What is the fate of Roberto after Christian's return?
C. Fittipaldi Pict R. Moreno Pict In earlier news this week, it was suggested that the recovery ofChristian Fittipaldi (Newman/Haas Racing, Swift-Ford Cosworth) after his spectacular accident earlier this yearin Australia is progressing well. The 26-year old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil sustained multiple fractures of hisright tibia when he crashed on the second lap after contact with Gil de Ferran. Christian is expected to race againat the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 in Portland on June 22, and he is scheduled to participate in the Mid-Ohio Trials(Lexington, Ohio) next week. Many fans will no doubt welcome the return of this personable Brazilian to the CARTseries after six races without a Fittipaldi on the starting grid.
So what becomes of Roberto Moreno, also a Brazilian, who was recruited by Newman/Haas to fill in for Christianwhile he was on the mend? There is little doubt that, given a competitive chassis and engine package, Robertois quick. While he has collected only 3 PPG Cup Championship points for Newman/Haas in these past six races, he hasbeen fast in most practice and qualifying sessions. For example, he has qualified higher on the grid than histeammate Michael Andretti in three of the last four races, and managed a 2nd and 3rd starting spot in Rio and Detroit,respectively. Not bad for a temporary replacement for the injured Christian Fittipaldi.
I clearly recall wandering through the racing pits at his first race this year in Long Beach, and noticing the concernedlook on Paul Newman's face in the first practice session as Roberto familiarized himself with the handlingcharacteristics of the Swift chassis. I returned to the Newman/Haas pit on Saturday afternoon during qualifying,and the expression on Mr. Newman's face was anything but concerned as he watched Roberto place the Swift in 6th placeon the grid next to Michael.
Where does Roberto go from here? He has clearly demonstrated his talent but the top teams have signed contractsin place with their drivers and most already are fielding two cars. From the author's perspective, it would makeno sense for Roberto to join a team that has been struggling for one reason or another all season. From a financialperspective, I also can't see any of top 2-car teams (Marlboro Team Penske, Newman/Haas Racing, Target/Ganassi Racing andBrahma Sports Team) even remotely considering picking up Roberto and running a 3-car team for the remainder of the1997 season.
There are some other single-car teams, however, that could benefit greatly from bringing Roberto on board for theremainder of the season. I must admit that I have absolutely no knowledge of discussions that "Pupo" might behaving at this time with other teams in the series. Anything that I offer here is 100% speculation, and perhapsmore wishful thinking given the demonstrated expertise of Roberto.
Two teams immediately come to mind as potential candidates. First there is Player's Forsythe Racing. Jerry Forsythehas the highly-motivated and competitive Greg Moore as his only driver for the 1997 season. While I would expectForsythe to pursue another Canadian (such as Patrick Carpentier) as a teammate for Greg on 1998 (assuming that theCanadian government doesn't continue to make it a poor business decision for tobacco companies to sponsor CARTteams), Moreno would probably add significantly to the strength of this team. Another candidate is Team KOOL Green.Barry Green is achieving some success with Parker Johnstone at the wheel of his Reynard-Honda entry, but anothercompetitive driver might well further the long-term goals and PPG Championship points of this team.
Hopefully Pupo will find a new home after Christian returns to the series later this month. He mostcertainly deserves the opportunity.
Source: Wayne Duval, SpeedCenter and IndyPhoto


		JUST RELEASED! — The Official Directory for CART Racing

		Christian Fittipaldi and Roberto Moreno ©1997 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. What is the fate of Roberto after Christian's return? In earlier news this week, it was suggested that the recovery ofChristian Fittipaldi (Newman/Haas Racing, Swift-Ford Cosworth) after his spectacular accident earlier this yearin Australia is progressing well. The 26-year old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil sustained multiple fractures of hisright tibia when he crashed on the second lap after contact with Gil de Ferran. Christian is expected to race againat the Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 in Portland on June 22, and he is scheduled to participate in the Mid-Ohio Trials(Lexington, Ohio) next week. Many fans will no doubt welcome the return of this personable Brazilian to the CARTseries after six races without a Fittipaldi on the starting grid. So what becomes of Roberto Moreno, also a Brazilian, who was recruited by Newman/Haas to fill in for Christianwhile he was on the mend? There is little doubt that, given a competitive chassis and engine package, Robertois quick. While he has collected only 3 PPG Cup Championship points for Newman/Haas in these past six races, he hasbeen fast in most practice and qualifying sessions. For example, he has qualified higher on the grid than histeammate Michael Andretti in three of the last four races, and managed a 2nd and 3rd starting spot in Rio and Detroit,respectively. Not bad for a temporary replacement for the injured Christian Fittipaldi. I clearly recall wandering through the racing pits at his first race this year in Long Beach, and noticing the concernedlook on Paul Newman's face in the first practice session as Roberto familiarized himself with the handlingcharacteristics of the Swift chassis. I returned to the Newman/Haas pit on Saturday afternoon during qualifying,and the expression on Mr. Newman's face was anything but concerned as he watched Roberto place the Swift in 6th placeon the grid next to Michael. Where does Roberto go from here? He has clearly demonstrated his talent but the top teams have signed contractsin place with their drivers and most already are fielding two cars. From the author's perspective, it would makeno sense for Roberto to join a team that has been struggling for one reason or another all season. From a financialperspective, I also can't see any of top 2-car teams (Marlboro Team Penske, Newman/Haas Racing, Target/Ganassi Racing andBrahma Sports Team) even remotely considering picking up Roberto and running a 3-car team for the remainder of the1997 season. There are some other single-car teams, however, that could benefit greatly from bringing Roberto on board for theremainder of the season. I must admit that I have absolutely no knowledge of discussions that "Pupo" might behaving at this time with other teams in the series. Anything that I offer here is 100% speculation, and perhapsmore wishful thinking given the demonstrated expertise of Roberto. Two teams immediately come to mind as potential candidates. First there is Player's Forsythe Racing. Jerry Forsythehas the highly-motivated and competitive Greg Moore as his only driver for the 1997 season. While I would expectForsythe to pursue another Canadian (such as Patrick Carpentier) as a teammate for Greg on 1998 (assuming that theCanadian government doesn't continue to make it a poor business decision for tobacco companies to sponsor CARTteams), Moreno would probably add significantly to the strength of this team. Another candidate is Team KOOL Green.Barry Green is achieving some success with Parker Johnstone at the wheel of his Reynard-Honda entry, but anothercompetitive driver might well further the long-term goals and PPG Championship points of this team. Hopefully Pupo will find a new home after Christian returns to the series later this month. He mostcertainly deserves the opportunity. Source: Wayne Duval, SpeedCenter and IndyPhoto