Honda Racing Report
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Honda Grand Prix of Monterey
Race Report
Circuit:
Laguna Seca Raceway (2.24-mile road course) Monterey, CA
2000 Winner: Helio Castroneves (Honda) 109.949 mph
Weather:
Clear, warm, 88-degrees F
Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver
Team
1. 25. Max Papis
Team Rahal
2. 23. Memo Gidley
Target Chip Ganassi
3. 1. Gil de Ferran
Team Penske
4. 3. Scott Dixon
PacWest Racing
5. 11. Jimmy Vasser
Pat Patrick Racing
6. 2. Helio Castroneves Marlboro Team Penske
7.12. Bruno Junqueira
Target Chip Ganassi
8. 6. Tony Kanaan
Mo Nunn Racing
9. 19. Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing
10. 17. Adrian Fernandez Fernandez Racing
11. 18. Casey Mears
Mo Nunn Racing
12. 26. Bryan Herta
Forsythe Champ Racing
14. 6. Michael Andretti Team Motorola
18. 5. Paul Tracy
Team KOOL Green
19. 22. Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green
21. 20. Shinji Nakano
Fernandez Racing
Manufacturer
Ford Cosworth
Toyota
Honda
Toyota
Toyota
Honda
Toyota
Honda
Toyota
Honda
Honda
Ford Cosworth
Honda
Honda
Honda
Honda
Laps
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
76
75
60
59
41
Average Speed/Notes
84.919 mph
-0.794 seconds
-1.438 seconds
-1.801 seconds
-2.469 seconds
-4.433 seconds
-5.627 seconds
-6.092 seconds
-6.593 seconds
-7.134 seconds
-8.215 seconds
-8.842 seconds
Running
Not running-off course
Not running-mechanical
Not running-mechanical
Honda Clinches Manufacturer’s Championship
A third place finish for defending series champion Gil de Ferran was more than enough today for Honda to clinch
the 2001 CART Manufacturer’s Championship. It is the company’s fourth manufacturer’s title since entering
Champ Car competition at the start of the 1994 season, and the third in the last four years.
Today’s Honda Grand Prix of Monterey turned into a battle of pit strategy as a large number of on-track incidents
resulted in a race record eight caution periods. The Marlboro Team Penske duo of de Ferran and Helio
Castroneves dominated the speed charts all weekend, but during the last third of the race de Ferran elected not
to challenge for the lead, instead protecting his points advantage as he seeks to repeat his driver’s championship.
Castroneves was delayed by pit lane contact with Paul Tracy and the resulting damaged front suspension.
Tracy’s day also ended due to damage from the contact with Castroneves, and KOOL Green teammate Dario
Franchitti ended up out of the race after contact with Christian Fittipaldi. Tony Kanaan ran in the lead pack all day
to finish 8th, while new teammate Casey Mears earned his first championship points for Mo Nunn Racing with an
11th place run.
Electrical failure ended Shinji Nakano’s run after just 41 laps, while Adrian Fernandez rounded out the top 10
finishers today as one of those benefiting from good pit calls today. Finally, Michael Andretti ended up just
outside of the points after a first lap spin. He finished 14th and was eliminated from title contention as a result.
Racing Report – 2
Driver’s Championship (after 19 of 21 races)
1. Gil de Ferran
179 points
2. Kenny Brack
153
3. Helio Castroneves 141
4. Michael Andretti
125
5. Dario Franchitti
105
6. Cristiano da Matta
100
7. Scott Dixon
98
8. Max Papis
86
9. Patrick Carpentier
86
10. Tony Kanaan
83
11. Paul Tracy
76
12. Roberto Moreno
74
18. Adrian Fernandez
45
23. Alex Zanardi
24
26. Shinji Nakano
10
28. Casey Mears
2
Manufacturer’s Championship
1. Honda
316 points
2. Ford Cosworth
266
3. Toyota
266
Rookie of the Year
1. Scott Dixon
2. Bruno Junqueira
3. Tora Takagi
4. Max Wilson
5. Nicolas Minassian
6. Casey Mears
7. Townsend Bell
98 points
50
29
12
7
2
1
Gil de Ferran (#1 Marlboro Team Penske Honda) Started 1st, finished 3rd: "The car was handling very well
today, and I was definitely driving for the win at the beginning of the race. I've been saying all weekend that there
will come a time when I have to drive for the Championship and the last few laps of the race proved to be that
time. The thought of going for the win didn't even go through my mind because I needed the points. I knew
Kenny (Brack) and Michael (Andretti) were out of contention, so at that point I was just trying as hard as I could to
do my job and bring it home third. We had a good result today and it will be interesting to see where we stand
after Australia."
Helio Castroneves (#3 Marlboro Team Penske Honda) Started 2nd, finished 6th: "We had a good start. We
decided to pit on lap 18 when it went yellow given multiple cars were involved in the incident and there was a lot
of debris so we thought it would take longer to go green; and we thought that more cars would follow us in. When
the leaders made their first stop, we took the lead. We had a good second stop, but the exit to the pits isn't level
and when I got side-by-side with (Paul) Tracy, my car swerved to the right causing me to bang wheels with him. It
was a shame because I hurt my hand when the steering wheel snapped back, and it bent the right front upper
wishbone. Luckily we were able to keep going. Then CART decided to close the pits on lap 51 which really hurt
our strategy. We would have been in great shape if that hadn't happened. We need to move forward and think
positively."
Tony Kanaan (#55 Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Honda) Started 6th, finished 8th: "It was another tough result for
a driver and team that did everything that was asked of it. Next time I think I should try something different: I'll
start dead last, pit seven times and win the race! It's all about strategy. Strategy, strategy, strategy. I don't mean
to take anything away from Max (Papis). I'm really happy for Max, because he deserves another chance to make
people notice and appreciate what he does out there. Actually, we did what we could. We had pretty good pit
stops. The car ran great. It wasn't a race-winning car today, but it should have been at least in the top four.
Sometimes, it just doesn't matter that you don't have the best car out there, and the cleanest pit stops. It's all
about strategy. It's that competitive out there. Hey, I also want to say that I'm happy for my new teammate,
Casey. He ran a smart race for the second time in a row and scored some points for us. That's just great for him
and the Pioneer-WorldCom team."