INDYCAR: Michigan report

• tomh@motorsport.com (Tom Haapanen)
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Tue Jul 30 10:51:46 EDT 1996

Ribeiro Storms Back From Early Penalty To Win The Marlboro 500

BROOKLYN, Mich. (July 28, 1996) -- Andre Ribeiro found himself screaming
in frustration at the outset of the Marlboro 500, but by the conclusion
of Sunday's race those screams changed into those of jubilation.

Ribeiro overcame the early sting of a blend violation penalty with a
dramatic run from the rear of the pack in the LCI International Lola
Honda to capture the Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway.
Ribeiro, who averaged 152.627 miles per hour, earned a 1.378-second
win over runner-up Bryan Herta (Shell Reynard Mercedes) for his second
victory of the PPG Indy Car World Series season.

Ribeiro, who started eighth, watched his positioning completely
disappear after 15 laps following an unscheduled pit stop for
flat-spotted tires caused by locking up his brakes to avoid an accident
on the first lap. He was penalized for incorrectly blending into the
field when he exited the pits, sending him to the rear of the pack in
24th place. The setback upset the second-year Brazilian driver, but it
did not unnerve him as he stormed back among the top five within 31 laps
of the penalty and then sat in position to strike when the contenders
encountered misfortune.

With challengers such as rookie Alex Zanardi (Target Reynard Honda) and
defending Marlboro 500 champion Scott Pruett (Firestone Patrick Racing
Lola Ford) having impressive runs end prematurely, Ribeiro took complete
control with 15 laps remaining in the 250-lap event and secured the
second consecutive victory for Tasman Motorsports. Ribeiro followed
the lead of Adrian Fernandez, who won the previous PPG Indy Car World
Series event at Toronto, and helped Tasman become only the second team
-- Penske Racing was the other -- since last season to have teammates
win back-to-back races.

"I was screaming inside the car because I had to go to the end of the
line. I didn't like it," said Ribeiro, whose previous victory this
season came at the Rio 400 in March. "I had a fantastic race. The car
was strong and fast for 500 miles. It was a very good and very reliable
car."

The excitement of Ribeiro's triumph back in his homeland was tempered
by the opening-lap accident involving the country's legendary driver,
Emerson Fittipaldi (Marlboro Hogan Penske Mercedes). Fittipaldi and
rookie Greg Moore (Player's/Indeck Reynard Mercedes) had contact in Turn
2, causing an accident that sent Fittipaldi into the wall. Fittipaldi
sustained a fracture to a cervical vertebra and his left shoulder blade
as well as a partially collapsed and bruised left lung. He is in serious
but stable condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Ann Arbor. He is
scheduled for surgery for the vertebra injury later this week.

Jimmy Vasser (Target Reynard Honda), who won the Marlboro Pole Award
with a track record speed of
234.665 miles per hour, held the lead through the caution period and one lap thereafter before his
Target/Chip Ganassi rookie teammate Alex Zanardi seized the lead on
Lap 16. Zanardi exchanged the lead with Moore and Michael Andretti
(Kmart/Texaco/Havoline Lola Ford) through the next 56 laps before taking
control.

Zanardi, chasing his second victory, stayed in front for 56 laps, but
he made contact with the wall in Turn 4 on Lap 128 and was forced to
retire after leading 74 laps. The accident also had a major effect
on Gil de Ferran (Pennzoil Special Reynard Honda), who was running
third at the time of the incident. An airborne tire off Zanardi's car
clipped de Ferran's rear wing and broke a side plate, robbing him of the
aerodynamics to stay up front. He later retired with suspension damage.

Ribeiro moved into the lead, but found Fernandez (Tecate Beer/Quaker
State Lola Honda) in his rear-view mirrors. The Tasman duo was running
in the top two slots, but the shootout between teammates never
materialized after the leaders went in for a routine pit on Lap 169.
Fernandez incurred a clutch problem during the stop and never returned.
That left Ribeiro to deal with Pruett, who engaged in some thrilling
wheel-to-wheel racing with the leader in the late stages. Pruett
overtook Ribeiro for the lead with a high pass in Turn 2 with 20 laps
left, but Ribeiro returned the favor five laps later and regained the
lead with a strong pass heading into Turn 3.

A caution flag came out on Lap 235 for a single-car accident involving
Parker Johnstone (Motorola Reynard Honda), who sustained bruised knees
from the incident and spent the evening at Foote Hospital in Jackson.
Pruett had the advantage of the field being bunched and reducing
Ribeiro's lead with a restart, but he had engine problems during the
caution period and retired with nine laps remaining. The race went green
on the ensuing lap and Ribeiro had Mauricio Gugelmin (Hollywood/PacWest
Reynard Ford), Herta and Al Unser Jr. (Marlboro Penske Mercedes),
respectively, in pursuit.

Herta overtook Gugelmin with seven laps left, but did not have enough
to reel in Ribeiro. The second-place finish for Herta, however, equaled
his career-best performance which came at Cleveland last season. It also
gave him his third consecutive showing among the top six.

"The draft is so important here. I got in Mo's [Gugelmin's] draft and
I zigged the right way and moved into second place," Herta said. "At
the end of the race, we took out a lot of drag, which we had put in the
middle, when we put in the Gurney flap. It was Andre Ribeiro's day to
win. I'm happy."

Gugelmin finished third on the 2-mile oval, which quickly may become his
favorite venue on the circuit. He previously matched his career-best
performance of second during The Inaugural U.S. 500 in May, making this
the site of his only podium appearances of the season.

"I probably had one of the best cars I've ever had in terms of balance,"
Gugelmin said. "It was a decent day. I was pressing the throttle so hard
today that my right leg fell asleep, and I had to switch to my left foot
sometimes because I kept so much pressure on my right foot. But I think
we got about as much out of this package as we're going to get."

Unser Jr. used a fourth-place to edge the closest he has been this
season to Vasser, the PPG Cup points leader. Unser Jr. trails Vasser,
who finished ninth, by a point, 112-111, in the PPG Cup championship. It
was Unser Jr.'s seventh top-four showing of the season and third time in
the past four events he has finished in that exact position.

Stefan Johansson (Alumax Aluminum Reynard Mercedes) registered a
season-best fifth-place showing. It was Johansson's best performance on
an oval since taking third at Nazareth last season. Rookie Mark Blundell
(VISA/PacWest Reynard Ford) continued to enjoy success in the state of
Michigan. Blundell, who finished a season-best fifth at the U.S. 500
and a strong sixth at Detroit, added another sixth-place showing in the
state.

Raul Boesel (Brahma Sports Team Reynard Ford), who had finished
ninth or better in four of his last five Marlboro 500 appearances,
matched his season-best outing by taking seventh. It was his best
effort since finishing in the same slot at Rio in March. Robby Gordon
(Valvoline/Cummins/Craftsman Reynard Ford) continued to bounce back
from a disappointing first half. Gordon finished eighth for his second
consecutive top-nine showing and a performance second only to his third
at the season opener in Miami.

Vasser was able to maintain the PPG Cup points lead by virtue of
a ninth-place finish that earned him four points. The showing
was his third consecutive among the top 10. Christian Fittipaldi
(Kmart/Budweiser Lola Ford) increased a impressive streak of consecutive
top-10 finishes. With a 10th-place finish, Fittipaldi earned his sixth
in a row and 10th in 12 races.

Eliseo Salazar (Cristal/Copec/Mobil 1 Lola Ford) made a strong return
after bypassing the past two events with a season-best 11th-place
finish. Davy Jones (Delco Electronics Lola Mercedes), making his PPG
Indy Car World Series season debut in place of rookie Eddie Lawson, took
the final points position with a
12th-place showing.

The Michigan 500 will be re-aired by ESPN on Monday, July 29, beginning
at 1 p.m. ET. The PPG Indy Car World Series will return to the road
course circuits next when it travels to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
for the Miller 200 on Aug. 11.