©1999 SpeedCenter Publishing
by Earl Ma
The front steps of the Hawaii State Capitol building, site of numerous marches, demonstrations, and news conferences during its 30-year existence, witnessed an unusual first on March 30 - the arrival of the first showcar in preparation for November 13's inaugural Hawaiian Super Prix.
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| The most exclusive parkng spot in downtown Honolulu |
With almost no fanfare, Team Rahal's traveling crew unloaded a Lola T-9400 repainted as Max Papis' current Miller Lite Champ Car and parked it at the feet of the famous Father Damien statue in front of the Capitol, where it remained for eight hours. The chassis is Lola HU #10, IndyCar license #73, and USAC #4004, identified as the Honda-powered entry Bobby Rahal qualified at 220.178 mph and then withdrew from Indy that May in favor of a borrowed Penske-Ilmor. Papis himself made no appearance, not even in cardboard cutout form.
The display came in conjunction with a resolution being voted on that day in State House chambers where legislators would officially decree themselves in favor of the race. According to Super Prix General Manager Phil Heard, the staff wanted to provide lawmakers a better, first-hand idea of what the race was all about, hence the full-scale visual aid amid the downtown Honolulu backdrop. Many civilian onlookers also had never seen a real-life Champ Car before, with one common remark being how small the car appeared.
Recently the race has come under fire at the local level, with members of the neighborhood board representing the Hickam AFB area launching their complaints over envisioned noise, traffic, and public safety concerns. More visibly, public and private backlash from within CART itself has come from both manufacturers and sponsors, many of whom feel they did not receive ample notification of the Super Prix being added onto CART's already-finalized 20-race 1999 schedule. Among the most vocal has been Robert Clarke of Honda, who told the media at an engine manufacturers' press conference in Homestead, "We're hoping (the race) doesn't happen."
When asked about this, Heard noted, "well, when I talked to him last week in Homestead, he told me, 'we want to win this race.'" He added a main concern is that the manufacturers will develop trick engines and such, which officials wish to discourage.
Another issue of great speculation concerns how the four wild card slots in the field would be filled. Heard indicated those invitations would not go out until after Fontana, once the series points are finalized. But would that two-week interim be enough time for those teams and drivers to prepare for it? Heard said, "if they're close (going into Fontana), we'll talk to them ahead of time.
"take Al Unser Jr. He's hurt now and will miss a couple of races, so he might not finish in the top 12. But you've gotta have the name Al Unser in there."
After several weeks of searching, officials have finally secured office space just outside of downtown Honolulu, which will become operational next week. An announcement for ticket sales for the Super Prix remains pending.
Later in the afternoon, officials moved the car to the Honolulu International Airport, where they plan on keeping it on public display until race time.
