CART: Mercedes, Blundell Qualify Fifth for Molson Indy Vancouver
5 September 1999
Mercedes-Benz FedEx Championship Series Report
Race: Molson Indy Vancouver, Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date/Session: September 4, 1999 / Final Qualifying
For the second consecutive race weekend, Mark Blundell led the
Mercedes-Benz contingent with a top-five qualifying performance. Blundell
qualified his PacWest Motorola Mercedes fifth for Sunday's Molson Indy
Vancouver as rookie Juan Montoya captured his sixth pole position of the
CART season. Three other Mercedes-powered Champ Cars will start in the
first six rows.
Blundell, who started on the front row two weeks ago at the inaugural
Target Grand Prix at Chicago Motor Speedway, lapped the 1.781-mile Concord
Pacific Place temporary street circuit in 60.957 seconds (105.182 mph),
0.316 seconds behind Montoya (60.641 seconds/105.730 mph).
Hometown favorite Greg Moore took ninth position on the grid with his
Player's/Forsythe Mercedes after posting a qualifying lap of 61.467 seconds
(104.310 mph). Close behind Moore were Mauricio Gugelmin and Patrick
Carpentier with identical qualifying laps of 61.483 seconds (104.282 mph).
Gugelmin will start the PacWest Hollywood Mercedes from 10th on the grid
based on the results of Friday's provisional qualifying session. French
Canadian Carpentier earned the 11th position for his Player's/Forsythe
Mercedes by setting his quickest time on his final lap of the session.
Marlboro Team Penske driver Al Unser Jr. posted a qualifying lap of 62.822
seconds (102.060 mph) and will start from the 12th row. Hogan Racing
teammates Helio Castro-Neves and Luiz Garcia Jr. qualified 26th and 27th,
respectively.
Mercedes-Benz Driver Quotes
Mark Blundell, No. 18, PacWest Racing Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone - Fifth
"I'm happy for the guys. Qualifying went well, and the car is pretty good
overall. We're the fastest Mercedes-Benz car, and that's always nice. We
had a reasonable run on the second set of tires, but we needed one more lap
to get another tenth of a second out of the car. Unfortunately, with the
red flag, we didn't get a chance. We have a decent starting position, so
I'm confident we'll have a good race."
Greg Moore, No. 99, Player's/Forsythe Racing Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone -
Ninth
"We made some small changes because we thought we really had a good car. We
picked up a lot of time, but we seem to have reached a plateau in
qualifying. But we are just as quick as everyone else on old tires, so
we'll just have to see what develops during the race. There's a good place
to pass at the end of the back straight. I've been flat through there
fairly consistently, so if I can carry three or four mph more than someone
else through that corner, I'll be able to get by them."
Mauricio Gugelmin, No. 17, PacWest Racing Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone - 10th
"It was a bit of an unfortunate session. We lost the primary car and were
forced to use the T-car for the first time this weekend. The installation
lap was pretty good; we were P8. The T-car wasn't quite as good as my
primary one, though. It was a bit loose on the entry to the corners. After
we adjusted that and put on the second set of tires, the red flag came out
and ended the session. It's a shame because we only had a chance to use one
set of tires. It's disappointing, but I'm optimistic about the race."
Patrick Carpentier, No. 33, Player's/Forsythe Racing
Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone - 11th
"We made a lot of changes to the car for today's sessions-- springs,
shocks, everything. At the end, I was going very fast in places that I was
hesitating before. On the last corner, I went in fast, downshifted, and
turned in. I didn't know if the car was going to turn, but I had decided to
go for it. I'm very happy with the performance of the car and the Player's
team."
Final Qualifying: Molson Indy Vancouver
Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
09/04/99
Pos Driver Engine Time Speed
Juan Montoya (R) Honda 60.641 105.730
2 P.J. Jones Ford 60.877 105.321
3 Paul Tracy Honda 60.913 105.258
4 Dario Franchitti Honda 60.952 105.191
5 Mark Blundell Mercedes 60.957 105.182
6 Roberto Moreno Ford 60.976 105.150
7 Gil de Ferran Honda 60.999 105.110
8 Michael Andretti Ford 61.160 104.833
9 Greg Moore Mercedes 61.467 104.310
10 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes 61.483 104.282
11 Patrick Carpentier Mercedes 61.483 104.282
24 Al Unser Jr. Mercedes 62.822 102.060
26 Helio Castro-Neves Mercedes 63.563 100.870
27 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes 63.844 100.426
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