Race No. 3

Surfers Paradise, Australia
March 31, 1996

	#11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI
"This was a whole lot better than yesterday when I had engine problems in the morning and only three laps in the afternoon. I'm pretty happy with sixth. We have a long race in front of us, but I have a lot of confidence for the race. When you are up in the first three or four rows (you) can race, but when you get further back, it's hard to come from behind."

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	#8 Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda Hall Racing
GIL de FERRAN
"Unfortunately, the throttle cable broke, and that is something that takes awhile to fix. We didn't really get a good run, and I think we had a chance to qualify in the top six. Now, we just have to work hard on our race setup for tomorrow."

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	#28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal
BRYAN HERTA
"The track seemed to be very slippery for us this afternoon. We made a number of changes to the chassis to adjust to the track conditions and the car never really responded. I did pick up a second from my Friday qualifying time, but so did most of the other drivers. The back end of the car didn't sit down and get grip out of the corners. That was our problem today."

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	#49 Motorola Reynard Honda Brix Comptech Racing
PARKER JOHNSTONE
"All things considered, we're very happy. It's our best road course qualifying effort to date, and at a track that's new for both me and the team. The car really wasn't that much different than yesterday, it's more a question of 'strapping it on' and going for a time. We'll be making more changes for the race tomorrow."

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	#99 Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz
GREG MOORE
"I'm happy with the result (qualifying eighth). We have a very good race car and I'm sure that we will move up tomorrow. It's important to start in the top 10, and that's where we are now. We solved the braking problem of this morning and my Player's car was handling a lot better. This afternoon, I did not have the car to run a quick lap, so we concentrated on the race set-ups. I am now comfortable with the track. Tomorrow, I will start behind Michael Andretti and maybe I will learn something to go faster."

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	#31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group
ANDRE RIBEIRO
"Unfortunately, we did not get the best out of the car this session. I lost my best runs to red flags. After that, my tires were past their best. The car is reasonable and it's consistent, so we will be okay for the race."

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	#32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ
(of his collision with the wall in Turn 2): "Under braking, I just lost it. I came in too hard. I wanted to see how the car was and came in too hot at the second chicane. We will be okay for tomorrow."

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	#5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford
ROBBY GORDON
(out of session early with a broken exhaust pipe): "It's very frustrating. It's not good to start this far back on a street circuit like this. It looks like it's going to be a race where pit stops are going to play a major role. My guys have been practicing their stops, so hopefully, it'll pay off tomorrow."

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	#25 Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard Toyota
JEFF KROSNOFF
"We were quicker in for qualifying and I was starting to pick it up and then we were done (because of oil pressure problems, the team missed the last half of qualifying). I had tremendous wheelspin all weekend, and the changes we made to the differential seemed to help that. The crew really thrashed to get that changed between practice and qualifying. We still need to get it better and the only way to do that is to run more laps."

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	#18 Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal
BOBBY RAHAL
"The (13th qualifying spot) is not where we wanted to be on the grid. The car was working much better, but I lost two good laps when the red flag came for stalled cars. Passing at this place isn't easy, and you really want to start in the first few rows. I can say, though, that I did start 13th last year and finished second here. So coming from far back to the front is possible."

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