Gil Report: P1 AND P2!!!

[Liz]

Wednesday's times:


1 2 Gil de Ferran Honda/RI/F 66.568 0.000 0.000 122.113 196.479 n/a
2 2X Gil de Ferran Honda/RI/F 67.220 -0.652 -0.652 120.928 194.574 n/a
3 6 Michael Andretti Ford/LT/F 67.336 -0.768 -0.116 120.720 194.238 100.66%
4 7 Max Papis Ford/RI/F 67.412 -0.844 -0.076 120.584 194.019 100.78%
5 27 Dario Franchitti Honda/RI/F 67.588 -1.020 -0.176 120.270 193.514 101.04%
6 11 Christian Fittipaldi Ford/LT/F 67.674 -1.106 -0.086 120.117 193.268 101.17%
7 18 Mark Blundell Mercedes/RI/F 67.932 -1.364 -0.258 119.661 192.534 101.55%
8 8 Kenny Bräck Ford/RI/F 67.940 -1.372 -0.008 119.647 192.512 101.57%
9 55 Tony Kanaan Mercedes/RI/F 68.068 -1.500 -0.128 119.422 192.150 101.76%
10 97 Cristiano da Matta Toyota/RI/F 68.132 -1.564 -0.064 119.310 191.969 101.85%
11 3 Helio Castroneves Honda/RI/F 68.250 -1.682 -0.118 119.103 191.637 102.03%
12 17 Mauricio Gugelmin Mercedes/RI/F 68.572 -2.004 -0.322 118.544 190.737 102.51%
13 32 Patrick Carpentier Ford/RI/F 68.638 -2.070 -0.066 118.430 190.554 102.61%
14 33 Alex Tagliani Ford/RI/F 68.694 -2.126 -0.056 118.333 190.399 102.69%
15 1 Juan Montoya Toyota/LT/F 68.711 -2.143 -0.017 118.304 190.351 102.72%
16 26 Paul Tracy Honda/RI/F 68.952 -2.384 -0.241 117.891 189.686 103.08%
17 16 Michel Jourdain Jr. Mercedes/LT/F 69.636 -3.068 -0.684 116.733 187.823 104.10%
18 10 Memo Gidley Toyota/RI/F 70.071 -3.503 -0.435 116.008 186.657 104.75%
19 12 Jimmy Vasser Toyota/LT/F 70.124 -3.556 -0.053 115.920 186.516 104.83%
20 25 Luiz Garcia Jr. Mercedes/RI/F 70.368 -3.800 -0.244 115.518 185.869 105.20%
21 34 Tarso Marques Ford/RI/F 70.405 -3.837 -0.037 115.458 185.771 105.25%
22 96 Oriol Servia Toyota/RI/F 71.215 -4.647 -0.810 114.144 183.658 106.46%



You can't do better than My Gil - fastest in his race car, fastest in his T-car - heck, get him out there and he could RUN faster than Mikey!

FORZA GIL!





[Edited by Liz on 9th June 2000]

[AndrettiRULES]

If you haven't already found out, de Ferran was quickest overall today at a 65.4xx. I think he was only .063 from the track record, or somewhere around that. To be honest I was a bit surprised that he was quicker than Helio, because Helio looked so much smoother on exit in the keyhole to me. Since the exit is so critical to get down the long backstretch. But I wasn't at the track when de ferran's fast time was taken though (I came down with a terrible cold/headache ultimately missing the last 90 min. of the test session)....so they may have worked on the car further.

I'd also like to note that on the first day of testing, de ferran spun his car coming off the keyhole...just a wee bit too much throttle I guess. Brack, Kanaan, and Andretti were all consistently pitching the cars sideways as they accelerated off down the backstretch. On the first day of testing da matta came in hot a couple of times locking his right front and slid off into the 'kitty litter' on one occasion but was lucky enough to catch the slide the other time.

Fittipaldi spun towards the end of the PM session on the first day in the middle of the keyhole. His car was sideways for 1/2 of the turn...eventually spinning it around and gassing it to turn the car back in the right direction. It was a wonderful job of driving IMO. He even kept the engine running!! Unlike de ferran's red flag situation

I didn't really see much else, although there was a Toyota technician taking speed on the short stretch leading to the keyhole. He was very cool about his business and had a 30 minute chat with me about numerous things. He used to work at Newman/Haas up until the end of '97. I'd like to note that the Ford powerplants were all achieving the higher speeds with Andretti on top with a 178..of course he smoked the tires and came in a little hot. Carpentier's speed of 177 was the quickest without locking up any tires.

This guy also noted that Michael is basically an ******* and a jerk off the track. He has known Andretti since he was a teenager and he stated that he's full of himself...but on the racetrack he is one of the best there's ever been. It's well known (I think) that Andretti isn't very fan friendly, but I still applaud his driving abilities. I could care less about his personal life..although some respect should be given towards the fans.

Well, that's about all I can think of typing right now...if anyone has some questions about certain drivers (every team was there except Kurosawa's) I can try to comment on them as much to my knowledge from the 2-day test.

AR

[Liz]

What was Patrick Racing doing?

Glad to hear the Gil News - I think it's compensating for the tires that's making Gil occasionally a bit erratic - he's used to the Goodyears and you know when you have to react quickly you tend to react with the instincts you have built up over years, not just the new ones. Anyway that's what I think.

I hope Helio wins a race soon. He is a doll.

[AndrettiRULES]

If you didn't know, Patrick Racing was not at the test Wednesday, but they did show up later that evening around 4:00 approx...on Thursday it appeared to me that Fernandez was going out and working on a race setup because he was consistently running A LOT more laps consecutively than were other drivers. I honestly can't comment on Moreno that much, his speed, or lack there of surprised me a bit because he looked quick through the sections I was watching him. I do know that he had a small 'off' towards the end of the AM session that resulted in a damaged wing I think.

Hope this helps...I think cart.com has a special team report by patrick racing up, that'll prolly tell you a lot more than just an eager fan on the sidelines

AR

[Liz]

Fan reports are more interesting though, because regular people see things that reporters don't. Thanks for the observations!

[Dan]

What about Montoya?

[AndrettiRULES]

It should be noted, and you may laugh your rear end off at me, but Mid-Ohio is a technically challenging race course, and Montoya is not well known for his technical skills. You must remember that he barely qualifed in the top 10 here last year, although he did win the race quite easily.

On Wednesday I was talking with the Toyota technician above mentioned and he said that Montoya wouldn't be getting much seat time because both of his cars were used up in Milwaukee leaving very little time for a turn around on his cars. That being said, I thought Montoya actually ran more times than did Vasser....but on Thursday Montoya was mainly seen racing the #12 car of Vasser's, although the #1 was on the side of the car, the yellow roll-over hoop was clearly visible as Juan drove around the circuit.

I guess all I can say is that Montoya's very aggressive driving style just doesn't suit going really quick at Mid-Ohio?? I don't know if they were working on a race setup because he was only seen running a couple of laps per attempt...maybe Target/Ganassi and Montoyar are good enough to where they don't need to run laps, nor do they show their cards before the true race weekend? I think it can be said that he will surely be quick come race weekend in August though.

Another reason why Montoya may have not been at the top of the timing charts (because it was obvious he was pushing the car) may be the lack of drivability the Toyota has? I honestly don't know how the drivability on the Toyota is, but this could possibly be another answer to Montoya being around the 8th spot for the two-day test. Hope this helps.

AR

[bella]

the boy's a position hogger.
interesting to see penske finally getting it all together.

i don't believe it. finally, someone else has praised my christian. it took long enough, but andrettirules, thank you for making my day.

hurrah for gil, and i'll second liz's motion of a helio win.

[Dan]

Thanks for the info.