1999 CART Grand Prix of Rio (Round 5)

For CART's fourth (and what would become penultimate) visit to Rio, Brazilian driver Christian Fittipaldi scored his first ever American Open Wheel pole ahead of Scotsman, Dario Franchitti with Juan-Pablo Montoya just behind on row 2.
This race also represented a shift in the Penske camp as team boss Roger Penske fielded a second car to give ex-Formula 1 driver Tarso Marques a run. Marques filled in for the veteran Al Unser Jr for the Motegi and Long Beach rounds, as the US driver was injured following an accident at the season opener. It marked the first chink in a failing relationship between Penske and Unser Jr - a relationship that would finally crack later on during the season.
Up until this point Unser Jr was struggling and things were no better at Rio; Marques qualified in 8th place, while Unser Jr was down in 19th - at 37 years old, the two-time CART champion was beginning to feel the pressure.

Coming into the fifth race of the season, there was also change at the PacWest team, as British driver Mark Blundell suffered a massive accident while testing at Gateway the previous week. He was replaced by motoracing's super-sub, Roberto Moreno - himself a veteran of stepping for either injured pilots or those that have run out of cash. Gualter Salles returned to the series to temporarily take Shigeaki Hattori's seat at Bettenhausen Racing, with the accident prone Hattori being "rested" from the race weekend to get more experience behind the wheel.
Constant delays through subtle showers and further threats of rain have meant that the 1999 Rio 200 is now only 108 laps long rather that 133 of previous seasons.

As the cars came out of turn 4, an overeager Fittipaldi jumps too far ahead of Franchitti causing the start to be aborted; it is a mistake that the Newman-Haas driver does not make the next time around as the field get away cleanly. There is bad new though for Fittipaldi as he is passed by a surging Montoya, while Christian is busy defending against Franchitti; although he was two places back, you could tell that the Colombian ace had to take it - an amazing start, but then it stalled somewhat.
After 10 laps, the gaps was still only 1.5 seconds ahead, although the top three continue to swap fastest laps with every passing tour. Up ahead though, traffic begins to come into view as the leaders approach the hapless Luiz Garcia Jr and soon enough Montoya and Fittipaldi are through; however Franchitti struggles amidst the slower machinery

Problems too on lap 22 for the former-CART champion, Jimmy Vasser as he pits from 6th place with issues at the back of the car. His machine receives the once over from the mechanics and he is sent back out only to return two laps later - this time though, Vasser's day is over and he climbs forlornly out of his car. This would be a rare failure for Ganassi Racing; a team known for its incredible reliability record - from the end of 1995 to midway through 1997, Vasser finished twenty-five consecutive races. Alex Barron joins Vasser in the pits on lap 25 with car troubles of his own and it would seem their machines share similar engine overheating issues.

Just as the race was about to wind towards scheduled fuel stops, the first full course caution of the day comes out, as Michael Andretti's engine let go, laying a slick of oil all through the exit of turn 4 - cue pitstops throughout the field. Montoya gets out ahead, but Franchitti jumps the Newman-Haas of Fittipaldi and moves up into 2nd place; something that is matched by PJ Jones, who jumps three places to 6th. On the other hand, there is much consternation in the Walker Racing pit as De Ferran falls from a solid 4th to 14th, thereby making much greater demands of his day.
As all the cars emerge, a distinct whiff of smoke escapes from the rear of Helio Castroneves' car and it too grinds to a halt - catching fire in the process. The race is only 30 laps old and there are already four engine related incidents, although Barron meekly carries on in the hope of scrambling something from the race.

The green flag came back out on lap 35 and is met with dismay from Paul Tracy who has a drive through penalty for a pitlane infringement sending him a lap down on the leaders.
Out on track, however, Tony Kanaan is chasing Franchitti for 3rd place - an opportunity afforded to him by the yellow flag; the young Brazilian applying the pressure in a way that would do him in good stead in later years.
Further back though, the Penske duo have been running solidly with Marques sitting in 8th place as his determined veteran teammate, Unser Jr., has made his way from 19th position right into the top 10 - Little Al looking very racey indeed.
Unfortunately for the lead Marlboro car, a struggling Scott Pruett succumbs to an engine failure to once again bring out a full course yellow and halt the surge of the red and white machine. In a tactical switch, Unser Jr uses this caution to pit; however with 59 laps still to run, this will not get him to the end of the race - he emerges in 16th position, behind Moreno.

It is seven laps before the race gets going again and it is a restart the does not bode well for Alex Barron and Mauricio Gugelmin; both of who retire shortly after the green flag with overheating issues - it is becoming apparent that the Brazilian climate may be taking their tole on the machinery. It doesn't stop there though as Christiano Da Matta is beginning to struggle with a dieing engine as plumes of smoke belch out of the rear of the machine by the 68th tour.
Meanwhile following a period of running at full speed Carpentier, Marques and Kanaan dive into the pits under green on lap 70 followed by Montoya and Fittipaldi three laps later. The Brazilian passes the Ganassi driver in the pits, but Montoya pulls off a stunning move a lap later to bully his way back ahead of the Newman-Haas pilot. This upsets Fittipaldi's rhythm and the duo are split by Franchitti two laps later following his pitstop, but it is not long before Montoya pulls away from the following pair.
For now though, this is a battle for 5th, 6th and 7th place as an off kilter pit strategy has temporarily given the race lead to Al Unser Jr. The veteran is not running solo, as he being pressed hard by Paul Tracy, Robbie Gordan and Richie Hearn amidst the lapped traffic. Unser Jr must be desperate for a good result here; however he would need a desperately long caution period to make his fuel last to the end, which is something that Christiano Da Matta could not look forward to. By lap 80, he had finally pulled out of the race with his engine finally crying "enough"...

Within four laps, a full-course yellow did indeed appear for debris on track belonging to Adrian Fernandez. The Mexican had a quiet day ploughing around in the midfield making limited progress, when he brushed the wall with his Pat Patrick owned machine; there's limited damage, but enough to end the day. Behind the safety car, the top four use take opportunity to pit - right from the off, it is clear that this caution is not going to last long and the temporary front-runners do not have enough fuel to bring it home. When the safety car pulls in Unser Jr., Tracy and Gordan had dropped to 16th, 17th and 18th respectively with Hearn further back.

The green flag was waved on lap 90, but is instantly withdrawn as rain began to draw in at the back of the track - a further five laps at safety car speeds follows as the moisture dissipates and with 13 laps remaining the field starts racing again. Montoya leads Franchitti, Fittipaldi and an invigorated Max Papis across the start/finish line, while Carpentier and PJ Jones do battle with Tony Kanaan for 5th position; however before any racing rhythm can set in, yet another full-course yellow is thrown - this time for light contact between Robbie Gordan and Michel Jourdain Jr.
Although there is no damage, the CART safety team check over the area to be sure that no debris sits on track - at the speeds obtained on ovals, great care needs to be taken to make sure no unnecessary incidents occur.

The race restarts for the final time on lap 102 and a sleepwalking Franchitti lets Montoya surge into the lead; however Dario has no need to worry as third place Fittipaldi drops back towards the clutches of Papis. Unfortunately for all involved, there are just not enough laps left for any changes and the field crosses the finish line in the same order as they were at race restart.
In the championship stakes, Montoya extends his lead over the non-finishing Adrian Fernandez and 8th place Greg Moore; however Franchitti jumps up a few positions to become Montoya's main challenger. This may have been a race of tactics as opposed to overtaking, but even the strategies and tactics employed failed to invigorate the Rio event.
Onward to Gateway International Raceway for Round 6...






















Race Quality: 2 out of 5
Source Quality: B (good, if dark picture; slightly drained of colour)
(January 2010)


Highlights of the 1999 CART Grand Prix of Rio (poor quality)