Race No. 5

Rio 400
Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway
at Nelson Piquet International Raceway Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
May 8-10, 1998

1996 Pole Winner: Alex Zanardi
1997 Pole Winner: Mauricio Gugelmin

1996 Race Winner: Andre Ribeiro
1997 Race Winner: Paul Tracy

1996 SpeedCenter Report
1997 SpeedCenter Report

Oval Racing the South American Way

In round five of the 1998 FedEx Championship Series, the teams of CART make their third appearance atEmerson Fittipaldi Speedway in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil.

Last year's race was a demonstration run byReynard Ford driver Bobby Rahal, leading over 75% of the race, just to ran short on fuel with only two laps remaining, handing the victory in dramatic fashion toPaul Tracy.

The track features two unique features that have made it one of thefavorites of drivers and fans alike: it is a flat oval with really tight corners betweenlong and bumpy straightaway. Drivers have to use their brakes similar to a road course.

The second feature, one that has yet to be adopted by other venues, are shock-absorbing,membrane-belted tire walls at the exit of each of the tight corners. The belted stacksof tires absorb higher speed impacts without swallowing cars in a pile of loose tires.The belts also keep cars from tearing the walls apart, which reduces the time it takes to repairthe barriers after an impact.

Who are the favorites at Rio? The list of podium contenders is long as usual:The Target Chip Ganassi team has to be considered a favorite withalready two victories this year. The team just comes off a one-two finish at Nazareth,indicating that they have found setups and a strategy for venues they traditionally havenot been among the front runners, such as Rio.

Rahal ran strong here last year and has shown very competitive speed at Motegi and Long Beachthis year. It is his last season, and he really wants to retirewith another win on his record.Tracy, who was handed the win when Rahal ran out of fuel in '97,has had some difficulty finding the set-up of theHonda powered Reynard of Team Green, but stands a good chance if he canavoid trouble on the track. You have to count in Michael Andretti,who won the opening race of the season and performed very wellat all other races before dropping back with problems. And don't forget points leader Greg Moore, the consistent Gil de Ferran,Christian Fittipaldi, who was sidelined from his home race by injury last year, Nazareth pole sitter Carpentier, and half a dozen other potential race winners...

The race in Brazil also marks the last race of Hiro Matsuhita's career. Hiro announcedearlier this season that he would retire following this event.

The race will be aired on ABC at 3:30pm Eastern Daylight Time.