Race No. 11
Molson Indy Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
July 12, 1996
Friday Quotes from drivers and managers at Toronto: | #12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
JIMMY VASSER | |
| "We need to get moreoverall grip. We've been working on the front of the car and we need toget the rear working better." | |
 | #3 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
PAUL TRACY | |
| "Midway through thesession, we were running in fifth [the fastest Goodyear tire entry], andwe were looking for some more speed to lower our time. I locked up my reartire on entry [Turn 5] and tried to drive it through the corner, insteadof backing it in, but we ran out of track and hit the rear end prettygood. My Marlboro Penske crew is hard at work to repair the car since wewant to continue running it because we feel it's got a good set-up and I'mconfident that we can improve our qualifying time tomorrow." | |
 | #6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford Cosworth XD |
MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| "I think thechanges to the track were good. I miss the last turn but I think it willbe good for the race. It opened up the passing zone so it should add someextra excitement. We've got to work on finding a new favorite spot. Istill like the last turn [even though it was changed]. It's a good corner.It's sort of fun. I'm going to work on it tomorrow and hopefully it willstill be my favorite corner on a street course. "The last two times I've won here we were in sixth place. We dropped downafter the second group went. I'm not sure if I should try to qualify onthe pole or stick with my lucky sixth-place starting position. We justcan't drop any lower than sixth tomorrow." | |
 | #2 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| "I wasn't able to get agood, clean lap on my first set of tires. On the second set, I went for itthe first chance I got and that's the reason I was able to make a jumpfrom 17th to seventh position. I really like the change in the track. Itcreates a much better braking area going into Turn 1. I'm still gettingused to it, but I think it's going to add to the show on Sunday." | |
 | #20 Firestone Lola Ford Patrick Racing |
SCOTT PRUETT | |
| "It was verydifficult to put a good lap together because of the traffic. Finally, atthe end, Alex and I were able to get a couple of open laps in. But it'shard to get the car to perform to its potential with all thetraffic." | |
 | #11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| "Today we juststruggled with overall grip. The Goodyear Tires were good but I think thecompetitors have a slight edge on us right now. Goodyear has always beenup to a challenge. That's why they have such a strong record in racing.They'll come back strong. The track repaving is great. It's really nice torace on such a smooth surface. After having such a good race on the laststreet course [finished second after leading 64/72 laps], we're hoping tohave the same kind of race here. I just hope it's eight laps shorter thanDetroit [lost the lead to teammate Andretti seven laps from theend]." | |
 | #8 Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda Hall Racing |
GIL de FERRAN | |
| "We didn't havea very good session because of what happened this morning [when de Ferranmade contact with the wall in Turn 5 in his primary car, damaging the leftrear suspension. He drove backup #8X car in qualifying]. We didn't havethe chance to get the car right, but we'll fix it tomorrow." | |
 | #28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BRYAN HERTA | |
| "The new track design isbetter than I first thought. The last corner was very unique to Toronto'srace, and, with my past [an accident at that turn in 1994 broke Herta'sright leg and pelvis], I thought about that turn many times. I, likeBobby, liked that turn, despite my crash. It was fast. But the new layoutbrings in another passing area, and I like that, too. In today'squalifying, the car wanted to slide around a little too much. We couldn'tget the grip we needed." | |
 | #49 Motorola Reynard Honda Brix Comptech Racing |
PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "There's not ahalf-second left in this setup, maybe a tenth or two, but that's notenough to catch Andre [Ribeiro]. My hat's off to him; Andre did one heckof a job to set that time. Now, Ed [Nathman, team engineer] and I need togo back and put our heads together and try to find the difference." | |
 | #31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| "We had a very goodqualifying session and I am pleased with the great teamwork. We exchangeda lot of information and made several improvements throughout the session.This is a set-up track. Of course, if you don't have a good engine, youcan't go as fast. Obviously, we are very pleased to be with Hondapower. "On the lap after the fastest lap, I brushed the wall at the exit of Turn1. You go until you find the limit. The limit, unfortunately, is the wall.I was motivated because I was angry when I found out we had lost the poleposition at that point. I am glad we got it back." | |
 | #32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| "Thetrack is getting better. We made improvements to the front to make it moreconsistent. We are moving in the right direction and will start fromanother stage tomorrow. We keep improving and that is positive." | |
 | #5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
ROBBY GORDON | |
| "We played around with shocks and springs and sway bars. We came up withour best package and that's the best lap that we've done so far. We're notcompletely out to lunch. But, it's going to take a lot of work. We have tomassage. It's such a tight field. This is truly the most competitive I'veseen IndyCar in a long time." | |
 | #16 Bettenhaused Racing Alumax Aluminium Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
STEFAN JOHANSSON | |
| "The carwas working reasonably well in the morning practice session and we endedup only slightly more than a second off the quick time in a car we usedfor only about half the session. Unfortunately, during provisionalqualifying, the engine lost power and that was pretty much it for us forthe day. Hopefully, it won't rain tomorrow, because we obviously want tobe in a better grid position." | |
 | #18 Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BOBBY RAHAL | |
| "I was slipping andsliding around out there. The transition from the asphalt to the concreteon the track makes the car slide. The new design of the track is verynice. It's unfortunate [that] we lost the high-speed final turn, becauseit really separated the men from the boys. But the new set-up has addedanother passing zone. Needless to say, on a street circuit, more passingareas are better for the drivers and the spectators." | |
 | #15 Valvoline DuraBlend Special Reynard Ford |
SCOTT GOODYEAR | |
| "Wethink we've learned a lot today as a team. We're 18th and 23rd right nowas a team and we're not happy about that. We need to obviously change somethings and improve from there. But, it was nice to sit in the car againand go through all of the motions of working with the team and theengineer and have a thinking cap on about what you want to change ion thecar to get it to work better." | |
 | #4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
ALEX ZANARDI | |
| "Today, traffic was bad. Itwas difficult to get a clear lap, but finally, I had the possibility ofputting one or two together. Hopefully, tomorrow, I can move my friendAndre from the inside front row to the outside front row. I need anotherkey for the Mercedes." [a key goes to each IndyCar pole winner as part ofthe Marlboro Pole Award program, one of which will start a Mercedes at theseason's final event at Laguna Seca, Calif.] | |