Motorsport News International
INDYCAR: Portland quotes
tomh@motorsport.com (Tom Haapanen)
MNI - Motorsport News International
Mon Jun 24 08:41:56 EDT 1996
Courtesy of SpeedCenter, reproduced by permission
http://www.speedcenter.com/
Sunday Quotes from Drivers and Managers at Portland International
Raceway:
#4 ALEX ZANARDI, Target Reynard Honda: "The car was running like a
violin. Everything was perfect. I just had to drive from beginning to
end. I felt a vibration near the end. I thought something was going to
fall off. It feels like a dream ... tastes great. I want to get used to
the taste.
"I saw 10 to go and they were the 10 longest laps of my life. Rain was
the only thing that could have stopped us."
#12 JIMMY VASSER, Target Reynard Honda (finished 13th and out of the
points for the first time this season): "It was a tough day. I guess I
should have been a little more careful. The rain started up Turn Three
and just worked its way down the racetrack. When I spun, I was just
going into the chicane, rolling off the throttle, and it swapped ends on
me. Other than that, the only problem I had was in the last corner. The
car was loose coming off there all race long.
"I want to congratulate Alex on his win today. It's great for the team,
and great for Alex. It was a long time coming for him, and I couldn't be
happier for him."
#8 GIL de FERRAN, Pennzoil Reynard Honda: "We've had some
disappointments this year, but I'm just happy today to finish in good
position. It puts me in a good position in the points, with seven races
to go. Hopefully, we can win one before the season is over.
"We gambled by not changing to wets (tires). Unfortunately, they were
not scrubbed and I spun off, but managed to get back on the track."
#11 CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI, Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford: "I got on the radio
and said I wanted to stay on slicks. Slicks, slicks, slicks! I could see
the rain go by and was sure it was one of those afternoon showers like
we have in Rio (de Janeiro). So, we took a gamble. The track was wet at
first, so we had to drive slowly so we wouldn't go off. After it dried
off, we were able to go fast again. It's good to stay in the points with
a second consecutive podium (finish). My team did a great on my stops
and everything. It's good to be on the podium for Budweiser at their
race."
#6 MICHAEL ANDRETTI, Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford: "I think we
could have won, or at least been right up there, if we didn't have
that trouble at the start. There was something loose in the back end,
electrical, I think. I lost almost two laps.
"I ran real good in the intermediate conditions. If we had more rain, I
could have made up a lot of time. We outguessed ourselves on that last
pit stop. We thought Zanardi was going to pit, so we stayed out hoping
to unlap ourselves. He didn't pit, and I had to come in on the green.
"I got a couple of points, but I'm disappointed, because we had a
competitive car. I guess we are still in third place, and Jimmy Vasser
didn't get any points, so ..."
#28 BRYAN HERTA, Shell Oil Reynard Mercedes: "My luck really hit the
skids. We had a good car, and (Andre) Ribeiro slid me into the marbles
at the Festival Turn at the start. But the car felt good, and the next
thing I know, I get the black flag. The officials said I was smoking,
and I couldn't tell if anything was wrong. I guess the car was smoking.
So I pitted, and we had oil leaking out of the engine. It was just too
short of a day for us."
#3 PAUL TRACY, Marlboro Penske Mercedes: "It's a big disappointment for
the whole Marlboro team. Basically, I just drove straight off the track,
and once I got on the grass, I couldn't stop and I couldn't turn, so
we just went into the tire barrier and broke the rear suspension. It's
really too bad, because the car was working really well and we had a
good start. I was just pacing myself and trying to get some points. Now
we just have to look ahead to Cleveland."
#20 SCOTT PRUETT, Firestone Patrick Racing Lola Ford: "We had an
incident this morning during practice. I hit the railing. The Patrick
guys did a great job of getting the car back together. But there was
something major wrong with the left rear corner. When I was under
braking, and turning right, the left rear would break loose. Something
major was amiss."
#9 EMERSON FITTIPALDI, Marlboro Hogan Penske Mercedes: "My Hogan Penske
team did a beautiful job to prepare the car for the race today, and they
dealt with the changing weather conditions in giving me three very quick
pit stops. We had worked our way up to sixth place and were battling
with Junior (Al Unser, Jr.) for fifth place when the gearbox gave up.
It's a shame, because we were competitive and had the chance to bring
home a good finish and get some points.
"We look forward to next week's race in Cleveland. We will be very
strong there."
#10 EDDIE LAWSON, Delco Electronics High Tech Team Galles Lola Mercedes:
"The car was good at the end of the race, and the team did a great job,
as usual. I think I made a bad call when it started raining. I came in
early and probably stayed out one lap too long. That's why I went a lap
down. It's just one of those things, I'll learn from."
#2 AL UNSER, JR., Marlboro Penske Mercedes: "I think we had really
competitive wet and dry setups today. Obviously, our wet setup was a
little bit better. My Marlboro crew did a great job, and we hung in
there to gain some more points. My number one goal today was to win this
race and to gain some points, so at least we accomplished part of our
goal. All in all, we're happy with the way things went.
"I want to congratulate Alex (Zanardi) on his first win. Portland
International Raceway will always be special to me since this is where I
got my first win. So, I know how Alex feels today."
#5 ROBBY GORDON, Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Special Reynard Ford: "I
definitely started 14th, because Adrian (Fernandez) wouldn't let me in
going around the last corner. Going into Turn 1, I passed him and two
other cars. It was a typical start.
"We were hoping for rain. We got our rain, but it didn't last long
enough. We needed it to rain the rest of the race. We would have been in
good shape. The car pushed a lot today. There was a lot of understeer.
Looking around at the weather, you would've thought that a rain setup
would be pretty good. We made a mistake in that area."
#21 MARK BLUNDELL, VISA/PacWest Lola Ford: "I'm reasonably happy with
the race. When you move from 21st to eighth, that's not too bad to get a
few points for myself and the team, especially after the last couple of
days, when I thought a finish like this would not be possible. We picked
up a lot of positions when we switched over to rain tires (on lap 32),
and had some good pit stop strategy, which helped keep us on the lead
lap.
"The last half of the race, we were very competitive with the rest of
the field, although we did have an oil leak which caused the cockpit to
fill smoke, which was particularly bad when I was running down the front
straight."
#17 MAURICIO GUGELMIN, Hollywood PacWest Reynard Ford: "We had a waste
gate line go loose on the right side of the car, which, after it
happened, gave us the wrong information and caused us to lose power.
After we came in, (on Lap 26, running seventh), it was reconnected with
no problem, but the time it took us to repair the line cost us two laps,
and that was the race right there. Other than that, the car was O.K.,
and we made a good decision by staying out on slick tires during the
rain because I knew that, even though it was difficult to keep the car
on-track for three or four laps, the rain would pass and we'd have to go
back to slicks again anyway."
#31 ANDRE RIBEIRO, LCI International Lola Honda: "We had a good start
and the car was very strong. We developed a shift problem and engaging
into fourth gear felt strange so I missed the gear a couple of times.
The rest was okay. We lost quite a lot of time after the first stop
because we were on slicks and it took awhile to warm up the tires. It
was good to bring some points home."
#32 ADRIAN FERNANDEZ, Tecate Beer/Quaker State Lola Honda: "It was a
tough race. We were fighting oversteer right from the beginning. We ran
out of fuel at the end and coasted across the start/finish line, which
cost us a position. It has been one of those weekends."
#49 PARKER JOHNSTONE, Motorola Reynard Honda: "We had an uneventful
race. We did a few laps -- did a few pit stops, nothing spectacular.
Not! We changed the whole car overnight, and made even more changes
between practice this morning and the race. The car worked great and
we learned from the race. My team made a great call on the full course
yellow to get me back on the lead lap. All in all, a good day."
#18 BOBBY RAHAL, Miller Racing Reynard Mercedes: "We made a good charge
in the rain, just like in '93 (when he came from 12th to fourth). We
stayed out on slicks, instead of changing to rain tires. And we were as
quick as anyone in the wet. The Goodyear tires were great in the damp.
But at the end of the race, I felt like I was driving on ball bearings.
The car just slid all over. That's how Al (Unser) and Parker (Johnstone)
got by me. I guess with a lot of heat in the tires, they don't have as
much grip. I know we're working on a new (tire) compound for next week
in Cleveland. That should help."
AL SPEYER, Bridgestone/Firestone Motorsports Manager: "This is a very
special win for us. We struggled in this event last year, and knew
afterward we had room for a lot of improvement. We come back this
season, and capture the pole position, and have five Firestone-equipped
cars in the first eight spots. Then, with Alex's powerful showing,
taking the checkered (flag) completed the rebound.
"You really have to be impressed with Alex's driving in the wet during
the middle of the race. His handling left him in position when the track
dried to pull away."
RICK CAMPBELL, Chief Compounder, Goodyear Tires: "Based on lap times
and finishing positions, we were competitive with every team out there
except one. Our prime tire recommendation, which all our teams elected
to run here, proved very good, but ultimately, too conservative."
#25 JEFF KROSNOFF, MCI Reynard Toyota: "It was a tricky race because of
the conditions, so I'm happy that we were able to bring it home to the
finish. We had to run our own race because of our fuel concerns, and
we were definitely off the pace of where we wanted to be. We had to be
patient in order to finish the race. That's really all we were after
today."
#36 JUAN MANUEL FANGIO II, All American Racers Eagle Toyota: "It was
really a good race for us. The Eagle Toyota was working very good.
I tried to do as much as I could to hold off Jimmy Vasser (for 13th
place). The engine coughed near the end and that was it, he went by.
Anyway, I'm very happy with the result. Things are starting to pay off.
I'm very happy."
#98 P.J. JONES, All American Racers Eagle Toyota: (On the incident which
removed him from the race) "I was too nice a guy going into the back
straightaway. I saw Emerson (Fittipaldi) underneath me, and I didn't
know if he was going to pull back or not, and I just left myself out in
the wet a little bit. I got my right side up into some wet, the tires
ended up on the curb, and it just turned around on me. There was nothing
I could do by then.
"We weren't very good during the dry, just trying to hold our own
position. It's too bad we didn't do a little bit better in the dry. When
we were trying to decide whether or not to change to wet tires, we were
indecisive, and I just said, 'let's go one more lap.' It turned out
great."
#16 STEFAN JOHANSSON, Alumax Aluminum Reynard Mercedes: "The car was a
real handful in the end. The brake pedal was going right to the floor.
I was right on the limit in the closing laps, but I had to be, because
I had Robby Gordon right behind, and he was on the limit, too. It was
probably a bit of a gamble going to rain tires, since it didn't rain
that long, but I think it was a good gamble. We had some very good pit
stops and I think we went about as far as we could have taken it today."
#19 HIRO MATSUSHITA, Panasonic/DUSKIN Lola Ford Cosworth: "Just prior
to my last stop, I started to smell something burning. During our stop
(for the yellow), my crew couldn't find any problems. However, the left
rear lug nut went on slightly crooked when the car dropped too soon, so
I had to make an additional stop. During the next lap, just before the
backstraight, the motor died without any warning."
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