| [ News Index ][ SpeedCenter Homepage ][ Copyright Info ][ SpeedCenter Galleries ] |
©1998 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Tony Kanaan became the 20th recipient of CART's prestigious Jim TruemanRookie of the Year award at the inaugural Texaco Grand Prix of Houston onOctober 4. Kanaan's third-place finish — his second consecutive podium — clinched the title with two races remaining. "At the beginning of the year, we said we were going to try to win theRookie of the Year," said Kanaan, "and a couple of podiums would be good aswell. We've done both before season's end. Now I've set another goal sinceHouston and that is to finish in the top 10 in the championship." Kanaan has scored PPG Cup points in 10 of 17 starts, and has moved intoninth-place in the driver standings. He is only the second Brazilian driverto capture Rookie of the Year honors since the inaugural award in 1979.(Gil de Ferran claimed the title in 1995.) "Now that I have the Rookie award, I probably will be a little bit more, Iwould say, comfortable," Kanaan remarked. "We have two races to go and I amgoing to try to win one of them. I'm not going to talk about that too much,but Fontana would be nice because of the prize money! I'm kidding. Let'ssee what we can do." A-Okay After clinching the Rookie of the Year Award and wrapping up its fourth IndyLights Championship title at Vancouver, Tasman Motorsports is having one ofits best seasons-to-date. The 86 points accumulated in the Champ Carstandings thus far represent an all-time high for the team. "I think the key is that we work together very well," said Kanaan, "and wetreat each other like a family all the time. I think that's very important.It takes a lot of pressure off myself because I know I am at home. If Imake a mistake, I am going to have a lot of support. "We need to just keep working hard as a team, and we need to find a bit moremoney to do more testing for next year. With a little bit more experienceand more confidence, I am going to do everything I can to be at the top ofthe podium all of the time next year. Then we can start thinking aboutwinning championships." TrackTalk When the Champ Car teams converge on Surfers Paradise in Queensland,Australia for Round 18 of the FedEx Championship Series, it will be sixmonths later than the normal March/April race date of years past. "That might actually have different demands on the setup depending on basictemperature and also whether or not there is any rain," explained engineerDiane Holl. "For us, this is the first time we will have been to Surfers with a Reynardchassis. Obviously, a different chassis means different things in terms ofsetup. The track has a number of chicanes and long straights, so you haveto set up the car to be able to go through the chicanes very quickly. Youhave to have a very nimble car, and traction is very important here. We aregoing with a package that we've run which is comparable to Vancouver orHouston because the tracks are not dissimilar. "The gearbox is very vulnerable here because there are so many gear changes.This is one of the highest braking tracks because you go from a high speedto a very low speed through the very, very tight corners and/or chicanes.Braking is of paramount importance and we will be running most probably thelargest brake ducts that Reynard supply to get as much cooling as we caninto the brakes." No Worries, Mate Tony Kanaan has been practicing his Aussie lingo. While he won't be outhaving a night on the turps (night on the town) or cracking a tinnie (havinga beer), he is planning to don his cozzy (swimsuit) and enjoy the beautifulbeaches of Surfers Paradise while hoping for a bonzer (great) weekend at thetrack. "This will be my first time in Australia, my first time at the race track,"said Kanaan. "I'm looking forward to going there. It looks like my type oftrack. I love street courses. This is the last road course (race) of theyear. It's going to be my last chance to try to win a race on the roadcourse. I'm going to try. I already won the rookie award, so I don't haveto worry about which place I have to finish to clinch the title." Source: Tasman Team PR | ||
| |||