Race No. 1
Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami
Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex — Homestead, Florida
March 19-21, 1999
Friday Quotes from Homestead:| Index of Quotes available | ||
|---|---|---|
| RAUL BOESEL | MARK BLUNDELL | PARTICK CARPENTIER |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | GIL DE FERRAN | DARIO FRANCHITTI |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | NAOKI HATTORI | P.J. JONES |
| TONY KANAAN | GREG MOORE | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Practice Position: 5th |
| GREG MOORE | |
| There was too much rubber on the track in the afternoon, so there was less tire grip and, consequently, the track wasn't as fast. In the afternoon session, the quickest guys cleaned the track for the slower ones! | |
 | PacWest Motorola Reynard Mercedes Practice Position: 6th |
| MARK BLUNDELL | |
| We had a very constructive morning session, despite the fact that we lost our second set of tires when we cut a tire after the third or fourth lap. We had a bit of trouble in the afternoon, but it involved electronics and was really out of our control. We switched to the back-up car and only put in a few laps. Despite our misfortune, we are quick and I'm confident we'll do well tomorrow. | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Practice Position: 2nd |
| DARIO FRANCHITTI | |
| The balance of the KOOL car is very good at the moment. It's been a good day in that we've been running up front. We spent most of the day adapting to the changing track conditions. We went out for this morning's practice session and the track was completely different - it was like we never ran here before. I don't know why, whether it was from the different rubber from the NASCAR trucks or what? But our setup seems to fit the track. There's a lot less grip than ever before. We're constantly trying to make the car better for both long runs and in traffic. We could have a little better balance, and that's what we'll work on tomorrow | |
 | Team Kool Green Reynard Honda Practice Position: 22nd |
| RAUL BOESEL | |
| We had a fantastic CART Spring Training in the development of the car a month ago. Now, I think the track has changed a lot and we really need to re-set our car. In this last session, we have really improved the KOOL car and we have a direction to go for tomorrow. We are about a half-second slower than the front guys, but with the changes we'll make tonight I expect to improve a lot. | |
 | McDonald'sForsythe Championship Racing Team Reynard Honda Practice Position: 12th |
| TONY KANAAN | |
| It was a reasonable day for us. We worked on putting a setup together for the conditions of the track. The temperatures are much hotter than Spring Training and with the (NASCAR) trucks putting rubber down and different lines, we had to make adjustments to our setup. We are not in bad shape. We are in the window. We had a good session this morning, and we did a long run this afternoon -- a simulation for the race -- to learn a couple of things. I think we have a top-10 car for this weekend. | |
 | Tecate Beer/Quaker State Patrick Racing Reynard Ford Practice Position: 1st |
| ADRIAN FERNANDEZ | |
| Being in the '98 Reynard make me feel like I am back with an old girlfriend. You know what works and what doesn't. During the last test it only took me six laps to be faster in the Reynard than I was in the Swift. We came out today and the car felt good and I was fast. We haven't changed anything on the '98 Reynard. It is the same car we used to win last year in Japan and Mid-Ohio and finish fourth in Fontana. There isn't really a lot of difference between the '99 and '98 Reynard. The Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing team members have been working hard trying to get both the Swift and the Reynard ready. I have a lot of confidence in the Swift, but we will have to make a decision soon on what car we are going to run in Long Beach and for the rest of the season. The decision will come down to which car is faster. If the Swift is faster then we will run it. If it isn't we will have to make a decision. The Ford engine is running strong. It is stronger than last year and there are some other differences, but I won't tell you about them now. The Firestone tires are still the best. The tires are very durable and have a lot of grip. The track conditions are constantly changing here at Homestead. You have to be very careful. We did some fine tuning in the afternoon practice session and I think we will have a good race car. You need to qualify in the top eight here to have a chance to win because the cars are very equal. | |
 | Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Walker Racing Reynard Honda Practice Position: 10th |
| GIL de FERRAN | |
| The car isn’t very consistent today. It’s okay one lap then the next lap has a push (understeer). It’s a very different car and track from Spring Training. You have the Trucks, it’s hotter, and there’s a bit of wind as well. It was a bit of a shock to the system this morning, but it’s getting better now. | |
 | Alpine Walker Racing Reynard Honda Practice Position: 20th |
| NAOKI HATTORI | |
| We need to make the car better in traffic, that is the main thing. But this will be my first race in ChampCars, and I can learn many things. That’s what I’m here for – to learn. | |
 | Forsythe Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes Practice Position: 3rd |
| PATRICK CARPENTIER | |
| I'm pretty happy with the way things went. I was faster in the morning, but we tried different things in the afternoon. In the second session, I tried to go out there in terms of the race, rather than qualifications. I've been pretty nervous the last two days, but now that it's started, I'm more relaxed and I'm more confident for the weekend ahead. I know that with the great care and attention to detail of our Player's crew, we're going to be well prepared for a good race. | |
 | Hollywood Reynard Mercedes Practice Position: 7th |
| MAURICIO GUGELMIN | |
| We had to 'relearn' the track because the trucks are making it very slippery. The trucks have had more of an effect than we thought they would. We spent the day determining our race setup with this in mind. I'm happy with the car. We were a little loose in Turn 4 but we made some changes and fixed that. We were very consistent today, and I'm confident there is more to come. | |
 | Patrick Racing Visteon Reynard Ford Practice Position: 11th |
| P.J. JONES | |
| The Visteon/Patrick Racing car is good. We worked a lot on trying to get a good race set-up for Sunday during the second session. We obviously want to qualify well, somewhere in the top ten would be good, but the most important thing is to have a good race car for Sunday. I would rather give-up a little in qualifying and have a good car for the race. At this point in the season I think we made the right move making the switch to the Reynard for the first two oval races. The car has responded very well to changes and our speeds are very competitive. I think the Visteon team has a very strong package for these first two races. The Reyard is solid, the Ford engine is very strong and the Firestone tires are dominant. | |