CART: Mercedes-Benz race report from Cleveland
3 July 2000
FedEx Championship Series Report
Race: Grand Prix of Cleveland, Burke Lakefront Airport
Date/Session: Sunday, July 2, 2000 Race Report
Moreno Wins Cleveland CART Race, Herta Ninth
Formula One Pilots Coulthard and Hakkinen Finish One-Two
For Mercedes-Benz at the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours
Brazilian Roberto Moreno got his first win in the FedEx Championship
Series today at the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland on the 2.106-mile Burke
Lakefront Airport temporary racing circuit. At 41, Moreno is now the oldest
CART driver to get his first win.
Moreno, who won from the pole position, was known as "super sub" until
the start of this season, because much of his CART career has been spent
substituting for other drivers. This is his first season of full-time
racing, driving for Patrick Racing.
Mercedes-Benz's own substitute driver, Bryan Herta, piloting the
Hollywood/Mo Nunn Racing Champ Car for the injured Brazilian Tony Kanaan,
earned a top-10 finish despite having contact with another car at the very
start of the race. Kanaan expects to return to his duties behind the wheel
at the Michigan 500 July 23, which comes the week after the Molson Indy
Toronto July 16.
Mercedes One-Two at French GP
The best news of the day for Mercedes came from France, where Formula One
drivers David Coulthard, of Scotland, and Mika Hakkinen, of Finland, finished
one-two for Mercedes-Benz at the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours to close on
German Michael Schumacher and the Ferrari team in the drivers' and
manufacturer's championship races.
Coulthard's ninth-career win (and his third this season) has brought him
within 12 points of Schumacher in the drivers' championship, and
Mercedes-Benz is now only six points behind Ferrari in the manufacturer's
championship battle.
Cleveland CART Woes
Herta's ninth-place finish at Cleveland was remarkable considering the
American had to make a pit stop right after the start of the race when 11
Champ Cars tangled in the first turn after the green flag. Leaving his pit
following replacement of the front wing, Herta committed a pit-lane speed
violation and was required to go to the back of the pack for the restart.
The race, which saw only two more full-course caution periods, took a
toll on Herta's stamina. "Not being in a car for five races, and then doing
two very difficult races (Portland and Cleveland) back-to-back was really
hard," said Herta, who finished ninth. "I've been running and working out,
but nothing can take the place of seat time to get you ready for racing.
"At the start, there was a lot going on and it was hard to see. They
modified the front straight just for the start of the race, and the result
was that instead of everybody being spread out, we were all tight
wheel-to-wheel and nose-to-tail. A couple of cars touched, and then it was a
chain reaction. Everybody was going everywhere."
Brazil's Mauricio Gugelmin, driver of the PacWest
Racing/Nextel/Mercedes-Benz, was able to avoid the first-turn problems thanks
to his third-place starting position. In fact, he passed Michael Andretti to
take second place at the start of the race. He eventually dropped back in
the field, though, and on lap 86 he was hit from behind by Gil de Ferran as
the pair entered turn three. De Ferran, suffering from braking problems, was
unable to avoid Gugelmin, who had just passed him for position.
"That was a hard hit," said Gugelmin, who recovered to finish 10th. "It
spun the car completely around, but I got it back going again. I was losing
the brakes late in the race myself."
England's Mark Blundell benefited greatly from the incident at the start
of the race, gaining five spots to move from 16th to 11th. But Blundell went
off course while trying to pass Dario Franchitti on lap 12 and impacted the
tire barrier in turn five. Though forced to stop for a new front wing as a
result, Blundell was able to continue.
"We had a little bit of an issue with ride height," said Blundell, who
finished 12th in the PacWest Racing/Motorola Mercedes-Benz. "I made an error
and locked up the brakes. We fought back and salvaged a point, but it was a
lot of work and effort for one point."
Brazil's Luiz Garcia Jr. was 20th in the Arciero Project
Racing/Hollywood/ Mercedes-Benz after a break in the connection between the
primary and secondary exhaust system caused a small fire on his Champ Car on
lap 17 and he retired from the race.
Herdez/Bettenhausen Motorsports/Mercedes-Benz driver Michel Jourdain Jr.
was one of the drivers caught up in the first-lap accident. His Champ Car
suffered enough damage that the Mexican was unable to continue. Jourdain was
listed in 22nd position in the final standings.
Race Results, Cleveland Grand Prix
Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio
July 2, 2000
Pos. Driver Engine Laps
1 Roberto Moreno Ford 100
2 Kenny Brack Ford 100
3 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 100
4 Michael Andretti Ford 100
5 Patrick Carpentier Ford 100
6 Juan Montoya Toyota 100
7 Adrian Fernandez Ford 100
8 Jimmy Vasser Toyota 100
9 Bryan Herta Mercedes-Benz 100
10 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes-Benz 100
12 Mark Blundell Mercedes-Benz 98
20 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes-Benz 17
22 Michel Jourdain Jr. Mercedes-Benz 1
Driver's Championship Manufacturer's Championship
Roberto Moreno 90 Ford 96
Michael Andretti 68 Toyota 70
Gil de Ferran 67 Honda 68
Mercedes-Benz 19