CART, INDYLIGHTS: Moore Leads Mercedes at Home
6 September 1998
Race: Molson Indy Vancouver, Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaDate/Session: Sept. 4, 1998 Provisional Qualifying
Moore Leads Mercedes-Benz Drivers Before Home Crowd
IC108E Powers Four of Top 10
British Columbia native and hometown favorite Greg Moore led the Mercedes-Benz CART contingent during first day of the Molson Indy Vancouver. Moore, who consulted on the design of the newly reconfigured 1.802-mile street circuit at Concord Pacific Place, posted the fifth-fastest time of the afternoons provisional qualifying session, lapping just over a half-second slower than provisional pole winner Alex Zanardi.
Greg Moore
After posting the fourth-quickest lap time of the morning practice session, rookie Helio Castro-Neves slipped to 15th when setup changes failed to improve the performance of his Alumax Reynard/Mercedes during the afternoon.
Marlboro Team Penske drivers Andre Ribeiro and Al Unser Jr. struggled with handling problems, finishing the session ranked 18th and 23rd. The anti-roll bar adjustment mechanism failed on Patrick Carpentiers Players/Indeck Reynard/Mercedes, leaving the young Canadian 21st.
Final qualifying is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Sundays 90-lap, 162.18-mile race will start at 1 p.m. local time and will be televised on ESPN starting at 5 p.m. EDT.
Mercedes Quotes
Greg Moore, No. 99, Players/Indeck Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone: Fifth -
65.434 sec.
"It wasnt a bad session. We made some improvements, and I
think
its going to get better for tomorrow. We made some changes to the car, and
we went the right way, but we didnt go far enough. But thats why we have
practice tomorrow. The new tracks really good. I enjoy it. You can pass
going into turn one and at the end of the back straight. And its getting
better and better as we lay down more and more rubber."
Mark Blundell, No. 18 Motorola Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone: Seventh -
65.637
sec.
"It was a very good session for us. Everything--the chassis,
the
engine, the tires--all performed very well, and the team did a great job.
We made some good improvements, but I got held up on my last lap. I think
we wouldve been in the top six if it hadnt been for that. The balance of
the car was much better than it was this morning. Weve still got a little
bit of a push, but hopefully, well continue improving tomorrow."
Mauricio Gugelmin, No. 17 Hollywood Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone: Eighth -
65.680 sec.
"We made good progress on the handling. This morning we
couldnt
get the tires to come up to temperature, so we made some changes to the
suspension geometry, and it was much better. I just still have some push
in
the car. Well see if we can fix that for tomorrow. At least well be in
the fast group in qualifying tomorrow, so well be able to run quick and
hopefully avoid being slowed up by traffic."
JJ Lehto, No. 9 Hogan Racing Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone: Ninth - 65.686
sec.
"Today was reasonably good, but I had trouble getting a clear
lap.
We made some changes for the second set of tires and went the wrong way. I
had a lot of push and couldnt get the most out of the car. But at least we
know the right way to go for tomorrow, and everything seems to be running
well. I think well find some more time tomorrow."
Helio Castro-Neves, No. 16 Alumax Reynard/Mercedes/Goodyear: 15th - 66.068
sec.
"It was very strange. We ran so well this morning that I
expected
to do much better this afternoon. I think we made a couple of changes that
didnt work. That slowed us up. But we know we have a good car. We just
have to see where the speed went."
Andre Ribeiro, No. 3, Marlboro Penske/Mercedes/Goodyear: 18th - 66.239
sec.
"We made a good improvement, but were still fighting with
problems
with the cars balance. It was a definite improvement and a good step from
this morning to this afternoon. The circuit is very challenging because it
is very bumpy in some places, so car control is very important here. Also
the grip level is very different from one place to another because of the
different surfaces: old asphalt, new asphalt and so on."
Patrick Carpentier, No. 33, Players/Indeck Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone:
21st - 66.616 sec.
"The front sway bar adjuster broke and the bar went to full
stiff,
which meant I had a big push. There was nothing I could do."
Editors Note: The images displayed in this article (plus many more) can be viewed in The Racing Image Galleries and the Visions of Speed Art Gallery.