CART: Mercedes-Benz Fifth and Sixth in Practice in Chicago
29 July 2000
Kanaan and Gugelmin Fifth and Sixth
For Mercedes-Benz on First Practice Day in Chicago
Fellow Brazilians Tony Kanaan and Mauricio Gugelmin were fifth and sixth
quickest respectively today during practice for the Target Grand Prix at the
1.029-mile Chicago Motor Speedway oval in Cicero, Ill. Kenny Brack, the 1999
Indianapolis 500 champion, was quickest with a lap of 22.557 seconds (164.224
mph).
Kanaan's fastest time was 22.722 seconds (163.031 mph), while Gugelmin
was just a tick behind at 22.797 seconds (162.495 mph).
The big challenge for Kanaan was that this is only his second race back
after suffering a broken arm during qualifying for the Detroit Grand Prix in
June. Last week, Kanaan returned to the drivers seat at the Michigan 500 at
Michigan Speedway. The one-mile short oval here is more physically demanding
than the two-mile Michigan Speedway because the drivers have to exert much
greater steering effort to get around Chicago's tight turns.
"My arm is okay, but it is a bit more difficult than last week because
this is a tougher oval," said Kanaan, driver of the Hollywood/Mo Nunn
Racing/Mercedes-Benz. "I did 600 laps in three days in my go-kart in Miami
during the past week to prepare for this race. That helped a bit.
"This was a good day for us, but today doesn't count," he said. "We need
to be able to finish on Sunday. We're right where we want to be on power.
The Mercedes engine is working well here. It's been a tough month for me.
It's good to see my name in the top five."
Both Kanaan and Gugelmin made big improvements from the morning practice
to the afternoon session, as Kanaan moved up from the 13th position, and
Gugelmin made the move from 17th. Now they will both be in the fast practice
group tomorrow, rather than having to practice with the slower half of the
field.
"I wanted to get into the fast group so I would have a better gauge on
where we were for qualifying compared to the competition, and how much we
needed to improve," said Gugelmin, pilot of the Nextel/PacWest
Racing/Mercedes-Benz. "We worked hard today. This is a hard place. We'll
need better balance to improve. We are good in Turns Three and Four in
qualifying trim. But in race trim the car is good in Turns One and Two. I
think it's because of the way the wind is coming from your back out of Turn
Four. Turn Four also looks tighter than Turn Two, but maybe that is just my
Brazilian eyes."
Gugelmin's teammate, Mark Blundell, driver of the Motorola/PacWest
Racing/ Mercedes-Benz, was 18th in practice today with a time of 23.175
seconds (159.845 mph). Close behind Blundell was the Herdez/Bettenhausen
Motorsports/ Mercedes-Benz of Michel Jourdain Jr., who was 20th with a lap of
23.320 seconds (158.851 mph). Luiz Garcia Jr., driver of the
Hollywood/Arciero Project Racing/Mercedes-Benz, was 25th with a 25.275-second
lap (146.564 mph).
Practice resumes Saturday at 9:45 a.m. local time (10:45 a.m. Eastern),
and single-car qualifying will begin at 1:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m.
Eastern).
Practice, Target Grand Prix
Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero, Ill.
July 28, 2000
Pos. Driver Engine Time Speed
1 Kenny Brack Ford 22.557 164.224
2 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 22.677 163.355
3 Helio Castroneves Honda 22.691 163.254
4 Max Papis Ford 22.720 163.046
5 Tony Kanaan Mercedes-Benz 22.722 163.031
6 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes-Benz 22.797 162.495
7 Juan Montoya Toyota 22.816 162.360
8 Roberto Moreno Ford 22.846 162.147
9 Oriol Servia Toyota 22.880 161.906
10 Adrian Fernandez Ford 22.890 161.835
18 Mark Blundell Mercedes-Benz 23.175 159.845
20 Michel Jourdain Jr. Mercedes-Benz 23.320 158.851
25 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes-Benz 25.275 146.564