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2001 Honda Indy 300
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December 2019
November 2011
Australia Surfer's Paradise Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.svg Map of the track 28 October 2001 Honda Indy 300 20 21 CART Surfers Paradise Street CircuitQueensland, Australia Temporary Street Circuit 2.795 4.498 65 181.675 292.370 Sunny Roberto Moreno Patrick Racing 1:30.204 BRA Jimmy Vasser Patrick Racing 1:34.113 57 USA Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing BRA Michael Andretti Team Motorola USA Alex Tagliani Forsythe Racing CAN
The 2001 Honda Indy 300 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on 28 October 2001, at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, before 110,187 people. It was the 20th and penultimate round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series, the 11th iteration of the Honda Indy 300 and the last race of 2001 to be held outside the United States. Cristiano da Matta of the Newman/Haas Racing team won the 65-lap race from third. Michael Andretti finished second for Team Motorola and Forsythe Racing's Alex Tagliani took third.
Roberto Moreno won the second pole position of his career by recording the fastest lap in qualifying but de Ferran passed him on lap one. De Ferran pulled away from the rest of the field and retained the lead until the first round of pit stops. Moreno retook first by staying on the track for a lap longer than de Ferran. He lost the lead when he retired with a gear selection problem on lap 54. Da Matta assumed the lead and remained there for the remainder of the race to achieve his second victory of the season and the third of his career. Andretti drew closer to da Matta, but he was instructed to manage his fuel usage and took second place. There were two cautions and eight lead changes among five drivers during the race.
The result won Ferran his second consecutive CART Drivers' Championship as Kenny Bräck could not match his points total this late in the season. Hélio Castroneves maintained third despite not scoring any points but was now tied with Andretti as Da Matta overtook Dario Franchitti for fifth. Honda had already won the Manufacturers' Championship at the preceding Honda Grand Prix of Monterey as Toyota passed Ford Cosworth for second. Reynard still led the Constructors' Championship but Lola lowered the advantage by two points with one race left in the season.
Background
2001 CART FedEx Championship Series#Drivers and constructors
left|thumb|The Surfers Paradise Street Circuit (pictured in 2006), where the race was held.
The Honda Indy 300 was confirmed as part of CART's 2001 schedule for the series in August 2000.https://www.espn.com/auto/cart/news/2000/0804/668490.html 2001 CART FedEx Championship schedule 3 August 2000 ESPN https://web.archive.org/web/20160528171106/http://espn.go.com/auto/cart/news/2000/0804/668490.html 28 May 2016 live 27 May 2016 It was the 11th consecutive year the race was held as part of the series,McMahon Bruce Indy mood for speed – and beer http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A79695571/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=e8914cd8 The Courier-Mail 015 26 October 2001 25 October 2018 Gale Power Search subscriptionWestthorp Tanya Look Back: The Indy 300 glory years to V8s at Gold Coast 600 https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/special-features/in-depth/look-back-the-indy-300-glory-years-to-v8s-at-gold-coast-600/news-story/44e24a9c5eb55b541e290456cef5362f Gold Coast Bulletin 20 October 2014 25 October 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170330214219/http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/special-features/in-depth/look-back-the-indy-300-glory-years-to-v8s-at-gold-coast-600/news-story/44e24a9c5eb55b541e290456cef5362f 30 March 2017 and the seventh (and last) round of 2001 to be held outside the United States.http://www.speedsport-magazine.com/motorsport/formula-level1/champcar/2001/calendar.html Race Calendar: CART Championship Series – Season 2001 Speedsport https://web.archive.org/web/20090125183430/http://speedsport-magazine.com/motorsport/formula-level1/champcar/2001/calendar.html 25 January 2009 27 May 2016 The 2001 Honda Indy 300 was the 20th and penultimate race scheduled for 2001 by CART. It was held on 28 October 2001, at the 2.795 mi km on 12-turn Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Queensland. The Australian press anticipated that 300,000 people would visit the track during the weekend. After organisers of the race voiced concerns over the possibility that it would be cancelled if the Government of the United States barred air travel to Australia had the invasion of Afghanistan deteriorated, CART executives stated that the round would proceed as scheduled but with increased security. The chairman of the race Geoff Jones stated, "CART's outlook has been business as usual, they won't be bowing to terrorism."Surfers Indy is still all go http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A79713605/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=59e40319 The Mercury 043 11 October 2001 25 October 2018 Gale Power Search subscription The Gillette Young Guns, GT Performance, Nations Cup, V8 Brutes and V8 Supercars held support races during the weekend.18 October 2001 V8 Supercars Ready to Roar at Honda Indy 300 http://www.indy.com.au/news/feature.sps?id=101007&from=home dead https://web.archive.org/web/20011124125925/http://www.indy.com.au/news/feature.sps?id=101007&from=home 24 November 2001 30 August 2025 Indy.com.au
Entering the race from Laguna Seca two weeks earlier, Team Penske driver Gil de Ferran led the Drivers' Championship with 179 points, 26 ahead of Kenny Bräck of Team Rahal in second. With 141 points, Hélio Castroneves in the second Penske car was third, with Team Motorola's Michael Andretti placed fourth with 125 points and Dario Franchitti of Team Green fifth with 105 points.Standings after Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300 http://www.cart.com:80/Standings.asp?EventID=19 Championship Auto Racing Teams 26 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20020224132004/http://www.cart.com/Standings.asp?EventID=19 24 February 2002 dead There were 44 points available for the final two rounds of the season, which meant de Ferran could win his second successive championship if he was 23 or more points ahead of Bräck leaving Australia.Krupka Peter De Ferran eager to break hoodoo http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A79527094/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=512ed45c The Weekend Australian 056 27 October 2001 26 October 2018 Gale Power Search subscriptionDe Ferran keen to retain title http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A79679617/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=a790489d The Advertiser 078 26 October 2001 26 October 2018 Gale Power Search subscription Honda had already won the Manufacturers' Championship at the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey as it had an unassailable lead of 316 points.https://www.crash.net/indycar/news/13932/1/honda-clinches-manufacturers-championship Honda clinches manufacturers' championship crash.net 16 October 2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20181026085013/https://www.crash.net/indycar/news/13932/1/honda-clinches-manufacturers-championship 26 October 2018 live 26 October 2018 Ford Cosworth and Toyota were equal on points with 266 apiece in second place. With 345 points, Reynard led the Constructors' Championship with an unchallenged advantage of 51 points over Lola.
De Ferran began his charge to the Drivers' Championship lead at the Grand Prix of Chicago in July. He achieved consecutive wins at the Rockingham 500 and the Grand Prix of Houston in the second half of the season to claim the points lead.Haddock Tim No Runaway, Says de Ferran http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A79570880/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=6c951fd5 Los Angeles Daily News S12 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 Gale Power Search subscription Although he had not completed a single lap of the Surfers Paradise circuit in 1999 and 2000, de Ferran said he was aware that the race would be of a significant performance to the title battle noting, "The situation is looking relatively good for Marlboro Team Penske, but it's not decided by any means. Heading into Australia last year, we were also in a good position but didn't get through the first corner. Hopefully, we'll be more successful this year."Phillips Mark Fun in the Sun http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2245 Championship Auto Racing Teams 25 October 2001 26 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20030404020438/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2245 4 April 2003 dead Bräck commented he had not conceded the championship despite having won all four of his races on oval tracks in 2001.This thing is not over 'til it's over. Sure I'd like to be leading, but I have been in enough championship races to know that we can still pull it off. Actually, we were further behind Gil last year going into Surfers Paradise than we are this year (32 points versus 26 points). So nothing is out of the question. But I would like to score a win and go to California with a strong shot at the championship."
There was one change of driver going into the round. Alex Barron, the 1997 Atlantic champion, replaced Max Wilson in the No. 25 Arciero-Blair Racing car for the final two races of the season.Gardner John Wilson Out, Barron in at Arciero-Blair http://speedvision.com:80/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011017b.html Speedvision 17 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20011115005620/http://www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011017b.html 15 November 2001 dead Team owner Larry Blair made the change based on Barron's performance in the final two rounds of the 2000 season at Surfers Paradise and Fontana and because his experience and input were required to help the team advance.Barron in for axed Wilson http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/16860 Autosport 18 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181029152428/http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/16860 29 October 2018 live Barron said in a press release that he was looking forward to competing for Arciero-Blair Racing. "Last year, I was in contention to win both events – then we had a mechanical problem. 2001 has been a long year not racing a Champ Car. But I have kept myself in shape by working out, testing the 2002 Atlantic chassis and testing for Firestone at the new tracks in Germany and England. It will be good to be back in CART competition and to race for this new team."
Practice
There were three practice sessions preceding Sunday's race. The first practice session on Friday lasted 105 minutes, the second practice running for 90 minutes was held in the afternoon, and the final session took place on Saturday morning lasting 75 minutes.https://www.motorsport.com/au/v8supercars/news/champcar-cart-ute-gold-coast-schedule/1936852/?nrt=18 CHAMPCAR/CART: UTE: Gold Coast Schedule 25 October 2018 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20181027185958/https://www.motorsport.com/au/v8supercars/news/champcar-cart-ute-gold-coast-schedule/1936852/?nrt=18 27 October 2018 live 26 October 2018 A rain shower on Thursday night made the track slightly wet.https://www.crash.net/indycar/news/13987/1/vasser-quickest-on-the-opening-day Vasser quickest on the opening day 26 October 2001 crash.net https://web.archive.org/web/20181025191231/https://www.crash.net/indycar/news/13987/1/vasser-quickest-on-the-opening-day 25 October 2018 live 26 October 2018 Most drivers began on dry slick tyres with a few using wet-weather tyres as they optimised the set-up of their cars. Light drizzle returned to the area 41 minutes into practice, which later turned to a deluge and flooded the track.Tate Mark Honda Indy 300 – Friday Morning Press Notes http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2257 Championship Auto Racing Teams 26 October 2001 5 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20030404022421/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2257 4 April 2003 deadhttps://www.motorsport.com/ca/indycar/news/champcar-cart-gold-coast-rain-slows-friday-practice/1937478/ CHAMPCAR/CART: Gold Coast rain slows Friday practice Bradford Clayton 27 October 2001 motorsport.com https://archive.today/20181026125858/https://www.motorsport.com/ca/indycar/news/champcar-cart-gold-coast-rain-slows-friday-practice/1937478/ 26 October 2018 live 26 October 2018 Jimmy Vasser set the fastest lap of the session with a time of 1:36.911, almost one tenth of a second faster than Castroneves in second. Adrián Fernández, Roberto Moreno, Christian Fittipaldi, Cristiano da Matta, Patrick Carpentier, Bryan Herta, Memo Gidley and Michel Jourdain Jr. filled positions three to ten.Mauk Eric Vasser Leads Rain-Shortened Opening Day http://www.speedvision.com:80/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011025c.html Speedvision 26 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20011119022414/http://www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011025c.html 19 November 2001 dead Carpentier braked too late for the third corner and slid onto a run-off area but avoided striking the wall and reversed onto the track. The first red flag was waved for two minutes as Scott Dixon lost traction at the rear of his vehicle and went broadside into the turn one chicane. Dixon made minor contact with the barrier and stalled his car, requiring assistance from course officials. Carpentier spun for a second time at turn seven and briefly went airborne after driving over a kerb, breaking a front suspension wishbone. Da Matta ran deep at the turn fourteen hairpin and stalled, stopping the session for four minutes as course officials restarted his car.
The rain eased during the interval between the end of the first practice session and the start of the second session and it appeared that efforts to dry the track would commence. However, heavy rain returned to the area 15 minutes before second practice commenced and yellow flags were necessitated when it began, leading CART and track officials to try to stem the amount of running water on the track by sweeping it to the gutters and using a jet dryer to push it off the groove.Tate Mark Honda Indy 300 – Friday Afternoon Press Notes http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2265 Championship Auto Racing Teams 26 October 2001 5 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20020520090043/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2265 20 May 2002 dead The track was made drive-able as a consequence of the officials' work. The green flag was waved by series starter Jim Swintal 50 minutes after the session began to signal the start of practice at racing speeds. Five drivers elected to venture onto the track while the rest of the field stayed in the pit lane to be conservative.http://www.autosport.com:80/newsitem.cfm?id=16970&series=7 Practice 2: More rain causes early bath 26 October 2001 Autosport https://web.archive.org/web/20020328092042/http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.cfm?id=16970&series=7 28 March 2002 dead 26 October 2018 Casey Mears was fastest with a 1:57.751 lap on his fourth try, more than 20 seconds slower than Vasser's first practice session lap. Tony Kanaan checked the functionality of his gearbox and was second-quickest, and Fittipaldi completed the lap-setting drivers.
The rain continued until 02:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time (UTC+10:00) and the track was entirely dry with sunny skies before the start of the third practice session. Shinji Nakano and Kanaan went onto the run-off areas at turns eight and nine before the first red flag came for the latter when he slid entering turn two and collided heavily with the left-hand tyre barrier with his car's left-front corner and broke the suspension. A second red flag was necessitated when Tora Takagi slid through the left-hand turn four and glanced the right-hand barrier with his vehicle's right-front corner. Carpentier triggered the third stoppage after stalling in the centre of the circuit between turns four and five and his car was extricated by course officials. The final red flag was needed with 15 minutes left when Herta ran out of fuel and stalled leaving the fourth turn. Paul Tracy spun onto the turn three run-off area but avoid stalling his engine and continued without vehicle damage.Tate Mark Honda Indy 300 – Saturday Morning Press Notes http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2279 Championship Auto Racing Teams 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20021114114930/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2279 14 November 2002 dead De Ferran led the third practice session with a late lap time of 1:33.511, followed by Moreno, Franchitti, Castroneves, da Matta, Alex Tagliani, Max Papis, Oriol Servià, Vasser and Nakano.http://tora.takagi-planning.com/result/2001/Honda_Indy_300/practice3.html 2001 FedEx Championship Series: Honda Indy 300 Practice 3 ToraTakagi.com https://web.archive.org/web/20181026185317/http://tora.takagi-planning.com/result/2001/Honda_Indy_300/practice3.html 26 October 2018 live 26 October 2018
Qualifying
left|thumb|upright|Roberto Moreno (pictured in 1997) took the second pole position of his career in his 100th start in CART.
Saturday afternoon's 75-minute qualifying session saw cars were divided into two groups of thirteen: group one had drivers ranked 13th through 26th in the points standings and those in 1st to 12th with the fastest non-top-12 drivers from the previous road course race in group two. Both groups were allowed half an hour of on-track time with a 15-minute interval between the two groups recording their fastest lap times to determine the event's starting order.http://pdfsr.com/pdf/cart-2001-rule-book-electronic-version-1 CART FedEx Championship Series – 2001 Rule Book March 2001 Championship Auto Racing Teams 27 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160528174124/http://pdfsr.com/pdf/cart-2001-rule-book-electronic-version-1 28 May 2016 dead Vasser was the first driver to record a benchmark lap when the first of five red flags was necessitated for Takagi who slid straight across the turn eight left-hander and into the right-hand tyre wall, damaging his car's right-front corner. The second came five minutes after the session restarted when Maurício Gugelmin lost traction in his car on the run into the eighth corner and made broad contact with a retaining wall with his car's right-hand side.Tate Mark Honda Indy 300 – Saturday Afternoon Press Notes http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2289 Championship Auto Racing Teams 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20021114120613/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2289 14 November 2002 dead Gugelmin was transported to hospital for a fractured bone in his right wrist.Shaw Jeremy Jeremy Shaw's Surfers Paradise Saturday Notebook http://speedvision.com:80/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011027c.html Speedvision 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20020203194643/http://speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011027c.html 3 February 2002 dead Barron went airborne when he rode the kerbs at the turn seven chicane and over-corrected en route to hitting the right-hand barrier. His car trailed fire with a broken oil line and the third red flag was consequently waved. The fourth stoppage was caused by Vasser who lost control of his car on the turn five kerbing and slid broadside into the left-hand wall, breaking his car's left-rear suspension and gearbox. Papis caused the final stoppage when he slid into the turn eleven tyre wall, removing his car's front-left wheel.
In his 100th CART start, Moreno took his second career pole position with a time of 1:32.095 which he set on the session's final lap. He was joined on the grid's front row by de Ferran whose best time was 0.311 seconds slower and had the pole until Moreno's lap as de Ferran served an eight-minute penalty.Qualifying: Moreno pips de Ferran http://classic.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/16971 Autosport 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20020306004417/http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.cfm?id=16977&series=7 6 March 2002 deadMauk Eric Moreno Uses Last-Ditch Run To Take Aussie Pole http://www.speedvision.com:80/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011027b.html Speedvision 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20011124141914/http://www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011027b.html 24 November 2001 dead Da Matta used his best tyres early on but it left him third since the maximum amount of tyre grip was lost due to the session's disruptions. Tracy took fourth on his final timed lap while Franchitti over-drove and locked his brakes for fifth. Andretti talked to his chief engineer Eddie Jones about changing his car setup during the interval between third practice and qualifying. He was cautious because he did not want to make an error and had not set a fast enough lap en route to sixth.http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2292 Team Motorola Qualifying Report 27 October 2001 Championship Auto Racing Teams https://web.archive.org/web/20020615081212/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2292 15 June 2002 dead 27 October 2018 Tagliani was on a new set of tyres towards qualifying's end when his engine lost around 100 hp kW on due to a wedged butterfly engine valve leaving him seventh. Dixon was the highest-placed rookie in eighth and Carpentier qualified ninth.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-team-player-s-gold-coast-qualifying-report/80846/ CHAMPCAR/CART: Team Player's Gold Coast qualifying report 27 October 2001 motorsport.com https://archive.today/20181027060227/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-team-player-s-gold-coast-qualifying-report/80846/ 27 October 2018 live 27 October 2018 Vasser took tenth and Castroneves eleventh with Serviá 12th. Bräck qualified 13th after changing his car's front wheel and front-left suspension wishbone due to damage from an accident on his first lap. Behind them the rest of the field lined up as Papis, Fittipaldi, Jourdain, the Fernández Racing duo of Fernández and Nakano, Kanaan, Takagi, Bruno Junqueira, Herta, Gidley, Mears, Gugelmin and Barron.
Qualifying classification
+ Qualifying results Pos Position No. Car number Driver Team Time Speed Speed in MPH Gap Gap to the fastest driver in seconds 1 20Roberto Moreno BRAPatrick Racing1:32.095109.257— 2 1Gil de Ferran BRATeam Penske1:32.406108.889 +0.311 3 6Cristiano da Matta BRANewman/Haas Racing1:32.552108.717 +0.447 4 26Paul Tracy CANTeam Green1:32.605108.655 +0.510 5 27Dario Franchitti GBRTeam Green1:32.760108.473 +0.665 6 39 Michael Andretti USATeam Motorola1:32.971108.227 +0.866 7 33Alex Tagliani CANForsythe Racing1:33.137108.034+1.042 8 18Scott Dixon NZL PacWest Racing1:33.209107.951 +1.114 9 32Patrick Carpentier CANForsythe Racing1:33.360107.776 +1.265 10 40Jimmy Vasser USAPatrick Racing1:33.447107.676+1.352 11 3Hélio Castroneves BRATeam Penske1:33.476107.643 +1.381 12 22Oriol Servià ESPSigma Autosport1:33.738107.342 +1.643 13 8Kenny Bräck SWETeam Rahal1:33.753107.325 +1.658 14 7Max Papis ITATeam Rahal1:33.843107.227 +1.748 15 11Christian Fittipaldi BRANewman/Haas Racing1:33.947107.103 +1.852 16 16Michel Jourdain Jr. MEXBettenhausen Racing1:33.998107.045 +1.903 17 51Adrián Fernández MEXFernández Racing1:34.035107.003 +1.940 18 52Shinji Nakano JPNFernández Racing1:34.143106.880 +2.038 19 55 Tony Kanaan BRAMo Nunn Racing1:34.319106.681 +2.224 20 5 Toranosuke Takagi JPNWalker Racing1:34.355106.640 +2.260 21 4 Bruno Junqueira BRAChip Ganassi Racing1:34.476106.503 +2.381 22 77 Bryan Herta USAForsythe Racing1:34.721106.228+2.626 23 12 Memo Gidley USAChip Ganassi Racing1:34.754106.191 +2.659 24 66 Casey Mears USAMo Nunn Racing1:35.401105.471 +3.306 25 17 Maurício Gugelmin BRAPacWest Racing1:35.567105.287 +3.471 26 25 Alex Barron racing driver USA Arciero-Blair Racing1;36.867103:874 +4.772Source:
Warm-up
The cars took to the track in dry, warm and clear weather at 10:00 local time for a half-hour warm-up session.http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2306 Honda Indy 300 – Sunday Morning Press Notes Tate Mark 28 October 2001 Championship Auto Racing Teams https://web.archive.org/web/20020414061726/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2306 14 April 2002 dead 27 October 2001 Gugelmin was cleared to partake in the event by CART director of medical affairs Steve Olvey following fitness tests. Although he glanced the turn two left-hand barrier and punctured his front-left tyre five minutes in, Jourdain lapped fastest at 1:34.934. The Brazilian pair of Castroneves and Moreno were second and third. Serviá, da Matta, Carpentier, Vasser, Dixon, Bräck and Tracy made up positions four to ten.http://www.cart.com:80/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=491 CART > Australia > Session Report > Warm-Up 28 October 2001 Championship Auto Racing Teams https://web.archive.org/web/20011215170855/http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=491 15 December 2001 dead 27 October 2018 Carpentier ended the session two minutes early when he slid onto a run-off area at the third turn and stalled his engine.
Race
The weather at the start were dry and sunny, with an ambient temperature from 76 to 78 F C and the track temperature between 114 and 128 F C.CHAMPCAR/CART: Firestone Racing Gold Coast race notes https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-firestone-racing-gold-coast-race-notes/80904/ motorsport.com 30 October 2001 27 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181027190014/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-firestone-racing-gold-coast-race-notes/80904/ 27 October 2018 live Approximately 110,187 people were in attendance.Australian Associated Press It's Paradise found for Brazil boys http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/its-paradise-found-for-brazil-boys-20100823-13hxs.html Drive 29 October 2001 20 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160820145143/http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/its-paradise-found-for-brazil-boys-20100823-13hxs.html 20 August 2016 Starter Jim Swintal waved the green flag at 13:57 local time to signal begin the race.Shaw Jeremy Jeremy Shaw's Sunday Surfers Paradise Notebook http://speedvision.com:80/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011028c.html Speedvision 28 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20011119055704/http://speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011028c.html 19 November 2001 deadhttp://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=2323 Honda Indy 300 – Sunday Afternoon Press Notes Tate Mark 28 October 2001 Championship Auto Racing Teams https://web.archive.org/web/20020414073759/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=2323 14 April 2002 dead 25 October 2018 De Ferran accelerated faster than Moreno off the line and was ahead of him into the first corner. On the lap, the first caution was displayed when Mears tried to overtake Gidley on the right but braked too late and locked his tyres to avoid striking the rear of Herta's car. He spun on the outside at the turn one chicane and damaged the right-front corner of his car in an impact with a wall.Mauk Eric Da Matta Wins Aussie Battle, de Ferran Claims CART War http://speedvision.com:80/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011028a.html Speedvision 28 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20011119054825/http://speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/03CART/011028a.html 19 November 2001 deadhttps://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-da-matta-takes-gold-coast-race-de-ferran-the-championship/80913/ CHAMPCAR/CART: da Matta takes Gold Coast race, de Ferran the Championship Bradford Clayton 28 October 2001 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20181027185924/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-da-matta-takes-gold-coast-race-de-ferran-the-championship/80913/ 27 October 2018 live 27 October 2018 Mears retired due to the damage to his car. He was transported to Allamanda Private Hospital for a precautionary x-ray and treatment to a swollen right index finger.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-mears-gold-coast-race-notes/80895/ CHAMPCAR/CART: Mears Gold Coast race notes 28 October 2001 motorsport.com https://web.archive.org/web/20181027185949/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-mears-gold-coast-race-notes/80895/ 27 October 2018 live 27 October 2018 Racing resumed at the start of the third lap as de Ferran led Moreno. On that lap, da Matta out-braked Tracy to pass on the left for fourth at turn three. De Ferran and Moreno began pulling away from the rest of the field, increasing their lead over da Matta to 3.473 seconds by the start of lap ten. Da Matta in turn drew clear from Tracy and Franchitti as Tagliani could not match the Team Green cars' pace. He was 12 seconds behind by lap 12.
thumb|upright|Cristiano da Matta (pictured in 2004) took his second victory of the season and third of his career.
In the meantime, 11th-placed Serviá informed his race engineer Phil Howard of a mechanical failure and stopped his car between turns five and six with a gearbox failure on lap eleven.Final Race Report – Surfers Paradise 28 October 2001 Sigma Autosport http://sigmaautosport.com:80/news/index4.cfm?Message_ID=207 27 October 2018 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20011225205012/http://sigmaautosport.com/news/index4.cfm?Message_ID=207 25 December 2001 Five laps later, Castroneves tried to pass Carpentier at turn five but locked his tyres and narrowly avoided hitting the rear of his car. He braked hard to pull back in line to protect eleventh from Bräck. Green flag pit stops began on lap 20 when Junqeuira entered the pit lane. Franchitti did the same on the next lap when a fuel pressure problem caused his engine to misfire forcing him to make his first stop three laps early.Cristiano da Matta wins battle, de Ferran war http://www.autoracing1.com:80/htmfiles/2001/CART/1027SurfersRace.htm AutoRacing1 27 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20011123003902/http://www.autoracing1.com/htmfiles/2001/CART/1027SurfersRace.htm 23 November 2001 dead He glanced the turn eight barrier on lap 22 but continued without sustaining major car damage. De Ferran made his pit stop from first on the lap and gave the lead back to Moreno. He led lap 23 before entering the pit lane and relinquishing the lead to Dixon. The extra lap Moreno spent on the circuit put him ahead of de Ferran. On lap 24, the second caution was shown for an incident at turn four. Franchitti sought to recover lost ground when he glanced the turn four left wall and spun under heavy acceleration leaving the corner. He could not reverse out of the area and his car overheated. Franchitti's car was extricated by course officials to allow him to continue driving.
CART chief steward Chris Kneifel barred entry to the pit lane to all racers until the pace car picked up the race leader. Third-placed Carpentier was caught out by this and was sent to the rear of the pack. Takagi did the same but avoided a penalty because he drove through pit road. Moreno retook first place when Dixon made his pit stop for fuel and tyres on the 25th lap. Two laps later, the pace car was withdrawn and Moreno retained the lead with de Ferran second and da Matta third. Moreno began pulling away from the rest of the field. A frustrated Bräck attempted to pass Castroneves on the right but was forced onto the inside of the first chicane. This manoeuvre did not lose or gain any time for Bräck who overtook Castroneves soon after. Franchitti became the third retirement with an engine failure on lap 36. He pulled off onto the turn three run-off area so he could leave his car. On the 40th lap, Castroneves was in seventh when he spun onto the turn eight outside run-off area after brake locking. CART safety officials moved Castroneves' vehicle behind the wall, so his engine could be restarted. He fell to 22nd and a lap behind Moreno. De Ferran lowered Moreno's lead to 4.6 seconds by lap 46. Moreno slowed greatly on the backstraight leaving turn four after losing the use of second gear after feeling a vibration.
thumb|upright|left|Gil de Ferran (pictured in 2005) won his second consecutive CART Drivers' Championship by finishing fourth.
The second round of green flag pit stops began on the same lap when de Ferran and Tracy entered the pit lane. On lap 47, Moreno lost the lead to da Matta who overtook him on the left of turn five. Andretti and Tagliani made their pit stops from fourth and fifth on lap 48, exiting in sixth and eighth respectively. Da Matta and Moreno entered the pit lane the lap after and returned to the track in fourth and sixth respectively. Vasser led the next two laps until he made his pit stop and Dixon took over the position for one lap. After the pit stops ended on the 52nd lap, da Matta regained the lead by 6.3 seconds over Andretti. On lap 53, Moreno began to slow because his gearbox lost oil pressure and he was instructed to retire for safety reasons on the next lap. Tagliani overtook de Ferran for second leaving turn four on lap 54 as the Penske experienced brake fade. Tracy passed de Ferran for fifth on the 55th lap. Team Penske owner Roger Penske suggested that de Ferran fall behind Bräck; de Ferran was hesitant to do so as he felt he was faster than Bräck despite his braking problems. Two laps later, Junqueira struck the right-hand barrier going into turn three and, onto a nearby run-off area and retired due to car damage. He was unhurt. By this point, Andretti reduced da Matta's lead to 4.6 seconds, but his team radioed Andretti that he needed to conserve fuel to finish.
With two laps to go, Dixon slowed with a gearbox problem exiting turn three and fell from eighth to fifteenth. On the final lap, Tracy's car had a sudden rear bay fire in turn eight and he stopped on the start/finish straight. Tracy exited his vehicle, and CART safety officials quickly extinguished the fire.De Ferran décroche le titre; Tag monte le podium https://www.rds.ca/courses/de-ferran-decroche-le-titre-tag-monte-le-podium-1.248985 Réseau des sports French 28 October 2001 25 October 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20181025114033/https://www.rds.ca/courses/de-ferran-decroche-le-titre-tag-monte-le-podium-1.248985 25 October 2018 Unchallenged in the final five laps, da Matta crossed the start/finish line after 65 laps to claim his second victory of the season and the third of his career. Andretti followed 5.786 seconds later in second with Tagliani third.De Ferran celebrates second title http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/us_sport/1624281.stm BBC Sport 28 October 2001 25 October 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20021001201253/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/us_sport/1624281.stm 1 October 2002 live De Ferran finished fourth to win the CART Drivers' Champion for the second successive year as Bräck could not catch his points total with one race remaining. Bräck, Vasser, Jourdain, Fittipaldi, Papis and Gidley rounded out the top ten. Carpentier, Nakano, Barron and Tracy filled positions eleven to fourteen.https://www.racing-reference.info/race/2001_Honda_Indy_300/R 2001 Honda Indy 300 Racing-Reference https://archive.today/20181025181258/https://www.racing-reference.info/race/2001_Honda_Indy_300/R 25 October 2018 live 25 October 2018 Although Dixon came 15th and scored no points, he won the Rookie of the Year award. The final finishers were Takagi, Kanaan, Herta, Fernández and Castroneves. There were eight lead changes among five different drivers. Moreno led the most laps of any other driver, with 24. Da Matta led twice for a total of 16 laps.
Post-race
"It's a dream come true. It really means a lot to me. I guess I still think of myself as this 14-year-old kid that was racing in go-karts and trying to break through. So for me to be sitting here as a two-time champion of a series that I have a very high opinion of is really unbelievable because I look at it from the view of that 14-year-old boy. Gil de Ferran on winning his second consecutive CART Drivers' Championship. right 40%
Da Matta earned $100,000 for winning the race. He said, "I think my performance is related to the number of people at the races. There were a lot of people in Mexico as well as here today. I think I'm the kind of guy that likes to show off. It's awesome to win in front of a bunch of people. You can feel the excitement. I'm still looking for my big win of the season in the United States though. I'll go back to Fontana for my last chance to do it this season. The team really needed the win and we hope to carry the momentum to the end of the year." Andretti congratulated de Ferran on his championship victory but had mixed feelings over finishing second, "It was a pretty good day. It was a pretty quiet day, but we got pretty lucky before that first yellow. A lot of guys got caught when they closed the pits, but that helped us a little bit." Third-placed Tagliani spoke of his satisfaction with his performance, "I worked real hard for this one, and my crew did its usual outstanding job. Over the last eight qualifying sessions, I’ve been able to be in the fast group and that has enabled me to start closer to the front. Plus, we’ve had a very competitive car for practically every race. If we start next season the way we’re ending this year, we should be in for a great season."
After finishing the race, de Ferran began celebrating his second consecutive CART Drivers' Championship, earning him $1 million. During the celebration, team owner Roger Penske commended de Ferran's perseverance, "Gil did a super job. He came from behind in the points and was fast and consistent when he needed to be. Gil had a lot of pressure on him. It's nice that the championship didn't go down to the wire."Passa Dennis De Ferran not satisfied with just two titles https://lasvegassun.com/news/2001/nov/01/de-ferran-not-satisfied-with-just-two-titles/ Las Vegas Sun 1 November 2001 25 October 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20181025113758/https://lasvegassun.com/news/2001/nov/01/de-ferran-not-satisfied-with-just-two-titles/ 25 October 2018 De Ferran stated he was "living in a dream" and saw his CART success as comparable to winning the Formula One World Championship, "Certainly, my career was all geared toward going F1, but I can't complain because any driver wants to drive for an operation such as Penske or (F1 front-runners) Williams, Ferrari and McLaren. In a way, I see the Penske organization in a similar light. Penske has not operated in F1 since 1976, but it's a great racing group."http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/motor/cart/2001-10-28-deferran.htm De Ferran 'living in a dream' after second crown Fogarty Mark 28 October 2001 USA Today 29 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160529134510/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/motor/cart/2001-10-28-deferran.htm 29 May 2016 Bräck said he was disappointed to lose the championship and put it down to his lack of road course success.Lindberg Thomas Bittert, Bräck https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/A2Lpg3/bittert-brack Aftonbladet Swedish 29 October 2001 25 October 2018 live https://web.archive.org/web/20181025113924/https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/A2Lpg3/bittert-brack 25 October 2018 Nevertheless, he praised de Ferran and vowed to return to contention in the 2002 season, "We came up short and that's not good, but there are still have a lot of good things from this season that will carry through for me. We'll have to try to win it next year.
The result of the race won de Ferran the Drivers' Championship with 191 points. Bräck was second with 28 less points; Castroneves maintained third position, but Andretti's second-place finish tied him with Castroneves on points. Da Matta overtook Franchitti for fifth with 120 points.FedEx Championship standings – (After round 20.) http://www.crash.net/indycar/news/14000/1/fedex-championship-standings-after-round-20.html#qQBEI5jvKMIyEHjQ.99 crash.net 29 May 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160529100445/http://www.crash.net/indycar/news/14000/1/fedex-championship-standings-after-round-20.html 29 May 2016 In the Manufacturers' Championship, Toyota passed Ford Cosworth for second as leaders Honda led by 34 points. Reynard still led the Manufacturers' Championship with an unchallenged lead of 49 points over Lola with one race remaining in the season.
Race classification
+ Race results Pos Position No. Car number Driver Team Laps Laps completed Time/retired Grid Final grid position Points 1 6 Cristiano da Matta BRA Newman/Haas Racing 65 01 1:51:47.260 3 20 2 39 Michael Andretti USA Team Motorola 65 02 +5.786 6 16 3 33 Alex Tagliani CAN Forsythe Racing 65 03 +7.526 7 14 4 1 Gil de Ferran BRA Team Penske 65 04 +20.936 2 12 5 8 Kenny Bräck SWE Team Rahal 65 05 +22.574 13 10 6 40 Jimmy Vasser USA Patrick Racing 65 06 +24.706 10 8 7 16 Michel Jourdain Jr. MEX Bettenhausen Racing 65 07 +39.492 16 6 8 11 Christian Fittipaldi BRA Newman/Haas Racing 65 08 +40.467 15 5 9 7 Max Papis ITA Team Rahal 65 09 +42.565 14 4 10 12 Memo Gidley USA Chip Ganassi Racing 65 10 +42.888 23 3 11 32 Patrick Carpentier CAN Forsythe Racing 65 11 +46.650 9 2 12 52 Shinji Nakano JPN Fernández Racing 65 12 +46.871 18 1 13 25 Alex Barron racing driver USA Arciero-Blair Racing 65 13 +59.654 26 — 14 26 Paul Tracy CAN Team Green 65 14 +1:02.611 4 — 15 18 Scott Dixon NZL PacWest Racing 65 15 +1:11.993 8 — 16 5 Toranosuke Takagi JPN Walker Racing 65 16 +1:21.847 20 — 17 55 Tony Kanaan BRA Mo Nunn Racing 65 17 +1:22.013 3 — 18 77 Bryan Herta USA Forsythe Racing 65 18 +1:22.370 22 — 19 51 Adrián Fernández MEX Fernández Racing 65 19 +1:40.263 17 — 20 3 Hélio Castroneves BRA Team Penske 64 20 + 1 lap 11 — 21 4 Bruno Junqueira BRA Chip Ganassi Racing 56 21 Contact 21 — 22 20 Roberto Moreno BRA Patrick Racing 54 22 Gearbox 1 21 12 2 23 27 Dario Franchitti GBR Team Green 35 23 Engine 5 — 24 17 Maurício Gugelmin BRA PacWest Racing 34 24 Gearbox 25 — 25 22 Oriol Servià ESP Sigma Autosport 10 25 Gearbox 12 — 26 66 Casey Mears USA Mo Nunn Racing 0 26 Accident 24 —Source:
1 1—Includes one bonus point for leading the most laps.
2 2—Includes one bonus point for being the fastest qualifier.
Standings after the race
+ Drivers' Championship standings Rank +/– Driver Points 1 10px Gil de Ferran BRA 191 2 10px Kenny Bräck SWE 163 (−28) 3 10px Hélio Castroneves BRA 141 (−50) 4 10px Michael Andretti USA 141 (−50) 5 10px 1 Cristiano da Matta BRA 120 (−71)Source:
+ Constructors' standings Rank +/– Constructor Points 1 10px Reynard GBR 363 2 10px Lola GBR 314 (−49)Source:
+ Manufacturers' standings Rank +/– Manufacturer Points 1 10px Honda JPN 316 2 10px 1 Toyota JPN 288 (−44) 3 10px 1 Ford Cosworth GBR 280 (−52)Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the drivers' standings.
References
30em
2001 Honda Indy 300 2001 2001 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey 2001 Marlboro 500 2000 Honda Indy 300 2002 Honda Indy 300
Australia Sports Queensland
27 59 17.9 S 153 25 42.1 E type:event_region:AU-QLD title
Honda Indy 300
Honda Indy 300
Category:Gold Coast Indy 300
Category:October 2001 sports events in Australia