CART: Walker Racing Portland Preview
17 June 1999
GIL DE FERRAN # 5 VALVOLINE/CUMMINS - HONDA/REYNARD/GOODYEARMEMO GIDLEY # 15 ALPINE - HONDA/REYNARD/GOODYEAR
RACE PREVIEW: PORTLAND
What: BUDWEISER/G.I. JOE'S 200 PRESENTED BY TEXACO/HAVOLINE
Round eight of the 20-races FedEx Championship Series for the PPG Cup
When: Sunday June 20th , 1999 at 1:00 PM.
Where: Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon. CART moves on to the first natural terrain road course of the season. PIR is within the city limits of the City of Portland and is located just west off from the I-5 Freeway (exit 306-B), about 6 miles west of Portland International Airport.
Distance: 192.766 miles, 98 laps. Reconfigured circuit, new length to be determined by measurement of OMEGA.
The Circuit:.
Track Length : Without "Festival Turns" - 192.766 miles and 9 turns.
Track Surface : No banked turns with only five feet of elevation
changes.
Greatest variety of corners. Long straightaway followed by as tight and as
slow a corner as you could possibly have.
Broadcast:. ESPN2 CART Qualifying 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM ET (06/19) ESPN2 CART 2Day 12:00 NOON - 12:30 PM ET (06/20) 93.3 FM CART Radio 1:00 PM - (06/20) ABC CART Race 4:00 PM ET - (06/20) EuroSport CART Race 22:00 GMT - (06/20) ESPN CART Replay 1:00 PM ET (06/22)
1998 Champion : Alex Zanardi Defending Polesitter: Bryan Herta
Track Records:
Qualifying (one lap):1998, Bryan Herta, 121.341 mph (58.358 sec)
Race:1996, Alex Zanardi, 104.742 mph
1999 Cart Point Leaders:
1. Juan Montoya - 73
2. Dario Franchitti - 71
3. Greg Moore - 69
4. Michael Andretti - 61
5. Christian Fittipaldi - 61
6. Adrian Fernandez - 53
7. Gil de Ferran - 50
Portland" Fast Facts"
The Setup:
Most difficult type of circuit to set up a car for, because there is
such a
wide speed range:
65- to 145-mph corners.
Mechanical grip: Springing, ride height and road control are extremely
important.
Driving Style :
You must be as aggressive as possible in the low-speed corners, but
change
your technique to be very smooth when you go faster. Portland is rather
unique in its layout with a strong emphasis on fast right hand turns
Fuel Consumption:
Traditionally there are very few yellows at this track, therefore,
relying on
yellows to stretch fuel is probably not an option.
Strategy must be based on the assumption that all stops will occur under green flag conditions. Under dry conditions teams will have to strive to find a balance between fuel mileage and speed. At PIR, you can use a lot of RPM range due to straights and corners, which can increase fuel consumption.
Pit Stops:
Assuming the race is run under dry conditions, it should be a two stop
race.
If the weather is uncooperative, there could be several pit stops due to
tire
changes (slicks to wets or vice versa)
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