CART: Blundell Hospitalized after Gateway Test Crash
6 May 1999
MADISON, Ill. -- Literally minutes before the end of a long day of testing, PacWest Racing Group driver Mark Blundell of England crashed into the Turn 3 wall at Gateway International Raceway, as he prepared for the Motorola 300 CART FedEx Championship Series race here on May 29.Blundell, driving the Motorola/PacWest/Mercedes/Reynard, lost control of the car as he entered the turn, and it slid backward into the wall, then went along the wall for several hundred feet.
He was taken to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Granite City, Ill. Team members and Gateway Safety Director Rick Hill said the veteran driver had suffered a concussion, and doctors were taking further x-rays Tuesday night to make sure there were no other serious injuries. He was kept overnight for observation.
Blundell was the last driver on the course for the day. He was one of 11 FedEx Championship Series drivers participating in the all-day session, which fought gusty winds but managed to avoid rains forecast for early in the day.
The top reported times during the test on the 1.27-mile oval were laps of 25.3 seconds (180.71 mph) turned in by Jimmy Vasser (Target Honda Reynard), the 1996 FedEx Championship Series champion, and Adrian Fernandez (Tecate/Quaker State/Patrick Racing Ford Reynard) of Patrick Racing. Right behind at 25.4 seconds was Canadian Paul Tracy (KOOL Honda Reynard), who won the Inaugural Motorola 300 in 1997.
Testing will continue through Wednesday, starting at 8 a.m., before the drivers turn their attention to the Rio 200, set for May 15 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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