Race No. 15

Molson Indy
Vancouver — Canada
August 29 — August 31, 1997

	Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda
Photo: Scott Hughes JIMMY VASSER
"We had a number of problems today. I actually tapped the wall when I was behind Al Jr., which bent my suspension. And I had gearbox problems for 45 or 50 laps. I'm happy for the weekend overall, but we could have won. Maybe this is the start of something good for Laguna or Fontana."

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	Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz
GREG MOORE
"I touched the wall a little with the left front coming out of the second chicane. We had a car good enough to finish in the top three. It's very disappointing that this should happen here in my hometown in front of the best fans in the world. Next time around will be the right one!"

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	Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda
ALEX ZANARDI
" I don't know why, but we had a problem with the brakes. Sometimes, the pedal would just go down completely. We will have to take them apart to understand why. Obviously, it was difficult to drive the car like that. I had to pump the pedal at times. It's incredible to me that we came back from the problems we had today to finish in fourth place. It's a shame, because we had the speed to win the race, but I'm pretty glad. I would say, today, I drove one of the most aggressive races of my life on a day that maybe I should have driven conservatively. However, you had to adapt your driving to the situation you find yourself in, and I was trying to get my lap back [referencing the incident with Herta for which Steward Dallenbach fined Zanardi $25,000 and placed him on probation for the remainder of the season]."

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	Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford
GIL de FERRAN
"I knew my situation in the championship, and obviously, right from the start, the team was keeping me abreast of what was happening. I was very aware of Alex's progress, as well as that of Michael and Greg Moore. [Zanardi] is trying to lose this championship, and if he's not careful, he's going to. We're happy to finish ahead of Zanardi, which was our main objective today. I would obviously like to be where Mo is, but I'm very happy."

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	Hollywood Reynard Mercedes
MAURICIO GUGELMIN
" It's hard to describe. It's something we have been working for for such a long time, and when you come so close so many times, you wonder what's on top of you. This place is just so tough on equipment. At the beginning of the race, I was very conservative on fuel, and that allowed us to extend our window a little longer than Jimmy. With about seven laps to go, I said 'I think I can win this,' but those seven laps felt like a month and a half. We just announced that both our drivers have been signed for another two years, so the timing is just great."