CART/Formula One: Castro-Neves Seventh for Mercedes at Mid Ohio; Hakkinen & Coulthard finish One-Two in Hungary
16 August 1999
FedEx Championship Series Report
Race: Miller Lite 200, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
Date/Session: Sun., Aug. 15, 1999 Race Report
Hogan Racing's Helio Castro-Neves turned in a solid performance
today for Mercedes-Benz as he finished seventh at the Miller Lite 200 at
the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Juan Montoya won the
race from his starting position of eighth on the grid.
Earlier today, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard finished one-two
for the West McLaren Mercedes team in the Formula One Grand Prix of Hungary
at the Hungaroring. With the victory, defending world champion Hakkinen
(54 points) moved to within two points of Eddie Irvine, who leads the
championship with 56 points. Meanwhile, Coulthard is now tied for third
with Heinz-Harald Frentzen with 36 points. In the constructor's
championship, McLaren is now only four points behind Ferrari. Ferrari
leads with 94 points, while McLaren now has 90 points with five races
remaining in the season.
At Mid-Ohio, Player's/Forsythe Racing driver Greg Moore used
skillful driving and excellent pit-stop strategy to move all the way from
25th on the grid to an 11th-place finish at the checkered flag. He was
followed closely by PacWest Racing Motorola Mercedes driver Mark Blundell,
who moved from 26th on the grid to 13th by the finish of the race. He too
used careful pit strategy and skill behind the wheel to gain 13 positions
during the race.
Blundell's PacWest Racing teammate, Mauricio Gugelmin, experienced
mechanical problems with his Hollywood Mercedes on lap 76 of the 83-lap
race, and finished in the 20th position. Luiz Garcia Jr., in his first
race as teammate to Hogan Racing's Castro-Neves, had clutch failure which
caused his race car to spin on course. He was unable to continue and
finished 24th.
Al Unser Jr. crashed in Turn One on lap 54. He climbed unhurt from
his Marlboro Team Penske Mercedes after impacting the tire wall. He was
listed in 25th position at the end of the race.
Mercedes Quotes
Helio Castro-Neves, No. 9, Hogan Racing Mercedes/Firestone (Seventh)
"As soon as we put on the second set of tires, the steering on the car was
very heavy. I was just trying not to make any mistakes. To finish in the
top 10 was important for us. Towards the end I was comfortable-the car was
much better."
Greg Moore, No. 99, Player's/Forsythe Mercedes/Firestone (11th)
"Our strategy was good today. Each time we made a pit stop we stayed out a
lap later than most of the field and that enabled us to gain positions. We
got a couple of points, which was better than we did here last year."
Mark Blundell, No. 18, PacWest Motorola Mercedes/Firestone (13th)
"The guys gave me some great stops and we had a good car, so it's a shame
we couldn't come away with some points. It was a real workout. This
circuit is one of the most physically demanding that we race, and I knew
today would be a challenge. I have to say I'm pretty exhausted. My neck
is a lot more tired than it was after the Detroit race."
Luiz Garcia Jr., No. 21, Hogan Racing Mercedes/Firestone (24th)
"I lost the clutch. I tried left-foot braking for a while to overcome the
problem, but in the Carousel I tried to downshift and the rear wheels
locked up and I lost it."
Race Report, Miller Lite 200
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio
Aug. 15, 1999
Pos. Driver Engine Laps
1 Juan Montoya Honda 83
2 Paul Tracy Honda 83
3 Dario Franchitti Honda 83
4 Jimmy Vasser Honda 83
5 Max Papis Ford 83
6 Gil de Ferran Honda 83
7 Helio Castro-Neves Mercedes-Benz 83
8 Michael Andretti Ford 83
9 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 83
10 Robby Gordon Toyota 83
11 Greg Moore Mercedes-Benz 83
13 Mark Blundell Mercedes-Benz 83
20 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes-Benz 76
24 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes-Benz 56
25 Al Unser Jr. Mercedes-Benz 54