Race No. 8
ITT Grand Prix of Detroit
Detroit — Michigan
June 6 — June 8, 1997
Friday Quotes from drivers and managers at Detroit: |
Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
| Photo: Scott Hughes JIMMY VASSER | |
| "I'm not happy with the setup of the race car. We'll have to look at some different ideas for tomorrow. I'm sure we'll look at Alex's setup and then make some decisions." | |
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Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| PAUL TRACY | |
| "Today's qualifying session was very disappointing for us especially because we were the quickest in the morning practice. We were on our fast lap when the red flag came out (for the #17 car) just before we crossed the line so the time didn't count. We know we had a 70.2-second lap which would've put us third on the grid so it was frustrating to know we had the time but just weren't able to post it. But that's just the way things go in racing. We've got some work to do on the car tonight to improve the car. We're still struggling a bit with wheel spin and the tire life is questionable with the softer tire. So we'll make some changes tonight and see if we can find something more for tomorrow." | |
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Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Swift Ford Cosworth XD |
| MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| "We were the top two Goodyear cars out there. Those other guys are fast. I had to go out in my back-up car and will now have to race it since I set the time in it. The oil pressure dropped and the engine started to tighten up. I brought it in just in time. The red flag actually worked in our favor for once. We were able to pull our back-up car out without losing much time because of the red. We set the fast lap after only four total laps. I'm pretty happy with the time considering that. I hope the time sticks tomorrow because it's important to start up front here. The only reason I was able to win from ninth place last year is because of the rain." | |
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Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
| AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| "We definitely helped my Marlboro car from this morning, but it's still a little loose. The race track is the best I have ever seen at Belle Isle. The places that I thought were going to be rough are as smooth as glass. Bud Stanner and his team have done a super job and it's a real pleasure to drive around this circuit!" | |
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PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| "We had a little bit of a gearbox problem which was holding us back a bit. It wasn't downshifting very cleanly. That doesn't build confidence on a track where there is so much gear shifting. We had actually just done our best lap but then got held up by another car, so we lost the best from the tires. I'm a little disappointed because I feel we could have run a bit stronger, but that's racing. I'm pleased with the way the weekend has kicked off, and we'll get after them tomorrow." | |
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Kmart/Budweiser Swift Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
| ROBERTO MORENO | |
| "We went in the right direction today. The car feels good. We haven't decided what tires we'll use tomorrow. That will be a very important decision. IMG did a great job smoothing out the track. We were able to gain some speeds in some of the corners. I hope we maintain our provisional starting position. It's very important to start up front here." | |
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MCI Arciero Wells Reynard Toyota |
| MAX PAPIS | |
| "Today was as what we expected. We have an engine delay which makes the car impossible to drive. It's like Long Beach, there is no race for us because we have an engine delay when you go on the throttle. We can't work on the car because the car changes its behavior every time we go on the throttle. We can not run properly so we can't really get a good feeling out of the car." | |
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Pennzoil Special Reynard Ford Davis/Craig Racing |
| GUALTER SALLES | |
| "We're still trying to find the balance on the car, but we found a lot of time
in the last few minutes of the session. The track is less bumpy this year and
it's a lot faster on the backside, so it's a lot better this year. I'm still finding
my way around, trying different lines through the sections, but we're coming along nicely.
My leg is OK from last week's accident. I've been exercising every day this week
and getting rubdowns, so the bruise won't be a factor this weekend." "We improved our time from this morning, but it wasn't that good of a session for the INDUSVAL-Marlboro Reynard-Ford Cosworth. We made some changes to the setup to improve the balance that didn't work. When we went back to our original settings and on new tires, I pushed a bit too hard, too soon and I spun on the cold tires. Because there were only a couple of minutes remaining in the session, I couldn't get a push to continue. Still, we know which way to go for tomorrow." | |
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Shell Reynard Ford Team Rahal |
| BRYAN HERTA | |
| "The track is smoother this year, but the grooves made in the concrete are really eating up the tires. That will be a big factor in the race. The tires just don't have the grip after just a few laps. We'll have to adjust for the race because we will be sliding all over the place early on if the tires go off. You may want to run the softer compound (tire) in qualifying but that won't last in the race. I think you'll see a lot of teams run a harder compound to make the tires last." | |
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Team Kool Green Reynard Honda |
| PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "Grip. Grip is the problem. The handling is pretty good, there's just no grip. It's not and understeer or oversteer problem, it's total grip, all the way through the spectrum -- low speed, average speed, high speed. I keep attacking on the track, but I have to do it in a measured way so I don't lose so much time sliding the car. The problem is that when you try to rein in, you end up losing time as well." | |
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Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
| ALEX ZANARDI | |
| [On qualifying accident] --"It's very unfortunate. I put my foot on the brake pedal and it slipped slightly and I went into the tire barrier. There is a little series of bumps right where I hit, but I wouldn't say that was the cause of my accident." | |
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LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
| ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| "There's still a lot of oversteer. Now the front of the car finally feels good, but we need to work on the back end of the car. Still it is an improvement from this morning!" | |
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Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| "The front half and the back half of the car simply are not talking to each other. There is just no balance and I can't come close to matching Andre's times." | |
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Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
| GIL de FERRAN | |
| "[On the morning practice] This was overall a good session for us. There was a lot of
traffic, but that will alleviate itself this afternoon with the two separate groups going out.
We struggled a bit in the beginning of the practice with a slight braking problem,
but we got that fixed and made some good progress. This is a really tough track! I guess with
all of the ovals the past few weeks, I'd forgotten how demanding this place is,
especially how much you seesaw on a circuit like this one." [On Friday qualifying] "I'm reasonably satisfied with this session. In order to move forward tomorrow we will have to get the car balanced a bit better. There was a little too much understeer today. Because of the layout and the traffic, it's difficult to get a good fast lap here. You often only have one chance to get a clean, fast lap. If you don't set your time on that attempt, then you're going to be fighting your way through the field. I’m confident about tomorrow. We'll have to see what the weather does. If it's cooler tomorrow, then we'll see some faster times. This is going to be a very difficult race." | |
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Miller Lite Reynard Ford Team Rahal |
| BOBBY RAHAL | |
| "Bad timing got us again. I was on my quick lap each time the red flag came in that (qualifying) session. The Gugelmin crash really got us. We had just put on a new set of tires and had run one lap. Then, the red flag. I don't think the tires were the same after that. Even though it is hard to pass, the track is fun. It's challenging and you can't make a mistake. You saw what happens when guys just miss their line. The walls are much tougher than our cars." | |
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Hollywood Reynard Mercedes |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| "That's the first time I've ever put a tire into a lake! I was pushing hard like you need to all the time out here and I just pushed a bit over the limit. I got one clean lap in and was on another when I went wide in turn 7. I just stood on the throttle and the wall never stepped back. Then the wheel almost hit me in the head and flew into the lake. The car is not badly damaged, so hopefully our time will hold up for a decent grid position. Overall, a pretty good day. The track surface is a bit slicker, but they've done a good job smoothing a lot of the bumps. You don't have such a headache when you get out of the car." | |
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Castrol/Jockey
AAR Racing Reynard Toyota |
| JUAN MANUEL FANGIO II | |
| "Once again the chassis is pretty good. We had a problem with the first set of tires in the morning practice and lost about 20 minutes. We recovered pretty good during qualifying. We are still working on the development of the Toyota engine, so I don't think we'll get much better." | |