Race No. 15
Molson Indy Vancouver
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
August 30 - September 1, 1996
Friday Quotes from drivers and managers at Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, Canada: |
#12 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
JIMMY VASSER | |
| "We had a vibration the whole session. It felt like it was in the front end. We changed tires, so we know it wasn't that. We'll have to take the car back and try to find the problem." | |
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#99 Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes-Benz |
GREG MOORE | |
| "We didn't do so well
today. It seems to be a good [track] for the Goodyear drivers, though! "We definitely started the session with the wrong set up. This will be corrected and we should do much better. "I'm really happy this first day is over. The pressure is slowly going down and we'll be able to concentrate on driving." | |
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#3 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
PAUL TRACY | |
| "The Marlboro car was really coming up to speed and we were sitting in second position. Unfortunately, halfway through the qualifying session, the rub strip on the front wing came loose and we had to remove it, which cost us some downforce. Obviously, the brakes locked up under these low downforce conditions and we weren't able to improve on our time." | |
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#3 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
JAN MAGNUSSEN | |
| [Regarding his contact with the
tire wall] "Frankly, we're not sure of what happened. It felt like something
broke at the rear of the car in the middle of Turn 2. It's very bumpy there
and you pretty much come in, if not flat, then close, lift, brake and come
out on the power. It's a heavy downforce, 190 mile-per-hour turn, and when I
hit the bumps there, it threw the rear end off. The Hogan Penske team will
tear the car down later today and find out how badly it's hurt. "We ran the X car at Laguna Seca earlier this week. It's a good car, and we'll make it better tomorrow. I hadn't run that car here this morning, so we're a bit behind the rest. We're about a second too slow right now, I'd say." " | |
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#6 Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford Cosworth XD |
MICHAEL ANDRETTI | |
| [after morning practice]: "I feel okay. It's a
big relief. After my accident on Tuesday, I wasn't sure how I would feel by
the weekend. This is such an important weekend for the championship and we
can't afford any problems. We only did four timed laps [13 total] but we
initially planned to do just an installation run. I felt okay so we
continued. Based on my limited time in the car, I think we have a good start
in qualifying. We're really looking for a good race set-up rather than pole
position, but it would obviously be great. I went to see the IndyCar doctors
this morning and I might go back before qualifying just as a precaution." [after qualifying]: "I like this place. It seems to suit my style. Unfortunately, it also suits Al's style. You need to start up front here because it's tough to pass. Hopefully we'll make the Kmart/Texaco car better for tomorrow because I know everyone else will improve too. The trick is going to be staying up front. I'm very worried about Al. For him to be this tough today in qualifying just confirms that he's going to be the one to beat!" | |
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#2 Marlboro Penske Mercedes |
AL UNSER, Jr. | |
| "The track is in pretty good
shape. It seems to be smoother than a year ago. My deal is that the Marlboro
car came off the trailer well and I think this is the first time it has
happened at a street course this season. You start with a good setup and it
continues on. The Goodyear tires definitely makes setting up the car easier
to obtain. "I'm thinking championship and first win. I've pretty much said all season that the champion is going to have to win some races and it definitely looks like that now. Mathematically we have a shot, but I realize if Jimmy keeps his nose clean and runs in the top 10 that I can win both and not do it. "There's not that much urgency [to get that first win]. We've been very competitive in several events and had a shot at winning in a couple but it was not in the cards. We lost races in the last few laps, there was Milwaukee and Michael and then [engine failure] at Elkhart Lake. We've been competitive and strong. If Roger [Penske] and Team Penske go without a win, it demonstrates how competitive this series is." | |
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#21 PacWest Reynard Ford Cosworth |
MARK BLUNDELL | |
| "We had a reasonable session this afternoon. We changed the rear dampers, which caused me to come off twice, into the runoff area. We reverted to the original set up, but got a little bit held up in traffic on the second set of tires. I have to make a decision now, because I went to the optional set of tires, because I went to the optional set of tires, because my first set were tending to go away on the rears. So, I've got some things to think about overnight." | |
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#11 Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford Newman/Haas Racing |
CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI | |
| [after morning practice]: "I had a lot of wheel
spin in the session so we're concentrating on getting the power down. It was
fun driving on the wet track. I like street courses. Michael and I had a
great race in Detroit $#0151; until he passed me! I hope this race can be as good
for me here." [after qualifying]: "I brushed the wall in turn seven and my tire went flat. It also broke my entire rear suspension. I misjudged the corner a little. You have to take chances to run up front with the level of competition here. It's unbelievable. The car was running pretty good up until that that point. I'm pretty sure I could have qualified in the top three and possibly had a shot at the pole. We'll work on it for tomorrow. | |
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#8 Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda Hall Racing |
GIL de FERRAN | |
| "I'm reasonably satisfied with what we did today. I believe we can improve the car a little here and there. The circuit is bumpy and dirty, fairly typical of street circuits, and everybody has traction problems. If we can improve a little tomorrow, maybe we can go for the front row, and if we don't we'll be lucky to get in the top 10. On this type of circuit it's impossible to get the car perfect." | |
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#28 Shell Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BRYAN HERTA | |
| [On his recent hot streak]: "I don't think it is any single thing. Certainly the first half we struggled more than we wanted to. We were somewhat competitive, but we weren't always finishing. Of late we're finishing the races and more importantly we're qualifying up front. We've been working on maximizing our setup." | |
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#49 Motorola Reynard Honda Brix Comptech Racing |
PARKER JOHNSTONE | |
| "The turn-in was very good, almost too quick. So, we've got pretty good grip, but the bumps here are different from the bumps at Detroit. So, with the [Detroit] setup we ran today, I had a problem finding traction out of the corners. I keep having to wait for the car to quit bucking and bouncing around before I can pick up the throttle. But, we've never qualified worse than eighth on a street course this year, so I'm confident Ed [Nathman] and the guys can turn it around." | |
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#4 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda |
ALEX ZANARDI | |
| "I just missed the brake pedal over a bump and went straight into the wall like a salami." | |
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#31 LCI International Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ANDRE RIBEIRO | |
| "We had a problem with
the fuel pump so we couldn't get many laps in this [practice] session." [after qualifying]: "We had a tough start to the day with a problem when the track started to dry. In the afternoon, we had a similar situation but the opposite. The track was dry and then it started to rain. The car seemed to be very well balanced and we were able to put two very good laps together. I think for tomorrow, considering the small difference there is to the fastest times, we can improve." | |
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#32 Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda Tasman Motorsports Group |
ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| "The car is
consistent. We didn't get many laps in at the beginning of the session
because of the wet conditions, but the car feels good. We are fighting a bit
of looseness in the rear but I think we can improve on our time from this
morning in qualifying." [after qualifying]: "With the car this morning, we got caught by the rain and we didn't want to run when the conditions were getting dry. Basically the car was fairly good. We did make considerable changes for qualifying. We are in the right direction. Hopefully we will be able to find that gap in time tomorrow." | |
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#5 Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford |
ROBBY GORDON | |
| "The rain just killed us on our second set of tires. We only got through one lap on them and they weren't even up to temp [temperature] yet. That was my best lap of the session. Sitting in the pits for 10 minutes of the session because of the rain just ruined our chance." | |
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#18 Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes-Benz Team Rahal |
BOBBY RAHAL | |
| "I'm mad at myself [for spinning out in morning practice]. I was
on a good lap and I just touched a little wet patch coming out of the tunnel
[by B.C. Place]. That made the car clip the inside wall and I slid into the
outside wall pretty hard. I'm okay physically, but the car isn't. That's a
shame, because that car felt very good." [later after qualifying]: "I needed that [qualifying] lap after the incident this morning [Rahal crashed his primary car in Friday morning practice]. We had to go to the backup car and the guys did a great job getting the car ready for the qualifying session. Just look at the qualifying list and see how close it is. That shows how competitive this series is right now. I'm happy for Bryan [Herta, provisionally second], too. It's good to see him come back on the street circuits. It was just two years ago when he crashed so badly at Toronto. I think Bryan's showing everyone that he's a real talent. I know David [Letterman] and I are very proud the way this team has come back this year. Our guys have stuck together and made this team a force right now." | |
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#17 Hollywood Reynard Ford |
MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| "Balance-wise, the car is pretty good. I don't really like the way the car is set up at the moment. I'm spending too much time jumping up and down everywhere, and due to this, losing traction. I didn't have any big problems, but we're going to change the setup quite a bit for tomorrow to see if we can spend more time with the wheels on the road, rather than in the air." | |
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#15 Valvoline DuraBlend Special Reynard Ford |
SCOTT GOODYEAR | |
| ""We didn't go quick enough. I'm disappointed because we've always run strong here. We would like to be in the low teens right now. Hopefully, we can get there tomorrow. The car is difficult to drive right now. Then, the rain came and took off the last half of the session which is unfortunate. I wish we would have tightened up the two sessions instead of waiting the 10 or 12 minutes that we did between sessions. That way, we could have gotten through clear. Most of us didn't get to put on our second set of tires and try out the changes that we wanted to try." | |