1999 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami

The 1999 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami was the first and opening round of the 1999 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held March 21, 1999, on the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida.

United States 1999 Marlboro Grand Prix Miami
Race details
Race 1 of 20 in the 1999 CART season
Homestead-Miami Speedway
DateMarch 21, 1999
Official nameMarlboro Grand Prix of Miami
LocationHomestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, United States
CoursePermanent oval course
1.5 mi / 2.4 km
Distance150 laps
225 mi / 360 km
WeatherDry
Pole position
DriverGreg Moore (Forsythe Racing)
Time24.886
Fastest lap
DriverDario Franchitti (Team KOOL Green)
Time26.825 (on lap 149 of 150)
Podium
FirstGreg Moore (Forsythe Racing)
SecondMichael Andretti (Newman-Haas Racing)
ThirdDario Franchitti (Team KOOL Green)

Report

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Report

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The race was less than a lap old when Naoki Hattori and Al Unser Jr. crashed in turns 1 and 2, collecting Raul Boesel. Boesel was substituting for Paul Tracy, who was suspended for the race due to multiple rough-driving incidents during the 1998 season.[1] Boesel was unhurt, but Unser and Hattori both suffered leg injuries. Richie Hearn dropped out of the race due to suspension problems. In an interview with ABC pit reporter Gary Gerould, Hearn noted he and the team had been having problems with the car all weekend, deciding to retire as to not impede other drivers.

Scott Pruett crashed in turns one and two to bring out the second yellow flag on lap 81. He was trying to pass Mauricio Gugelmin for 16th place, but lost control and spun into the wall, though he was unhurt in the crash. Several drivers took advantage of the caution to make pit stops. Helio Castro-Neves inherited the lead when they did not pit under caution. Patrick Carpentier and Robby Gordon served drive-through penalties for not using the access road to properly enter the pits during the caution. For Gordon, it was insult added to injury, since he dealt with mechanical problems during the race, already several laps down. He later retired from the race after the third caution.

The third caution came out on lap 111, when Adrian Fernandez crashed in turn four. Despite a strong start and race, Fernandez's engine blew, and he slid into the turn four wall. Castroneves pitted from the lead, ceding the lead back to Moore.

Greg Moore won the opening race of the season from pole, leading 96 out of the 150 laps,[2] winning comfortably ahead of Michael Andretti and Dario Franchitti before a crowd of roughly 40,000.[3] Moore capitalized on a mistake Andretti made in the pits. Andretti had won the race the previous two years, but accidentally shut off his engine during his pit stop under the 2nd caution.[4] It would turn out to be Moore's final pole and win. Coincidentally it was also Mercedes Benz final pole and win before they left the sport altogether at the end of the 2000 season.

Shigeaki Hattori crashed during practice on Friday, the impact measured at 140 Gs. Although he was removed from the car by track personnel, he only suffered a concussion and, despite withdrawing from the race, was at the track during the race on Sunday.[5] This was the first Champ Car race since the 1993 Indianapolis 500 without 3-time champion Bobby Rahal, who retired after the 1998 season.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Team Speed
1 99   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 217.279
2 40   Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 216.861
3 33   Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 215.701
4 9   Hélio Castro-Neves Hogan Racing 215.581
5 6   Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 215.358
6 25   Cristiano da Matta Arciero-Wells Racing 214.631
7 27   Dario Franchitti Team Green 215.554
8 4   Juan Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing 213.850
9 12   Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 213.774
10 17   Mauricio Gugelmin PacWest Racing 213.757
11 8   Bryan Herta Team Rahal 213.757
12 15   Naoki Hattori Walker Racing 213.479
13 18   Mark Blundell PacWest Racing 213.184
14 2   Al Unser Jr. Team Penske 212.731
15 7   Max Papis Team Rahal 212.656
16 11   Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 212.439
17 44   Tony Kanaan Forsythe Racing 211.566
18 22   Robby Gordon Team Gordon 211.533
19 10   Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 210.201
20 31   Raul Boesel Team Green 208.877
21 20   P. J. Jones Patrick Racing 208.531
22 24   Scott Pruett Arciero-Wells Racing 206.484
23 36   Alex Barron All American Racers 206.429
24 71   Luiz Garcia Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 196.020
25 5   Gil de Ferran Walker Racing No Time
26 34   Dennis Vitolo Payton/Coyne Racing No Time
27 19   Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing No Time
Withdrew
16   Shigeaki Hattori Bettenhausen Racing Crash during practice
[6]

Race

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Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 99   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 150 1:38:54.535 1 20+1+1
2 6   Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 150 +1.110 5 16
3 27   Dario Franchitti Team Green 150 +2.146 7 14
4 12   Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 150 +9.178 9 12
5 7   Max Papis Team Rahal 150 +21.411 15 10
6 5   Gil de Ferran Walker Racing 150 +21.700 24 8
7 33   Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 150 +21.922 3 6
8 18   Mark Blundell PacWest Racing 150 +24.862 13 5
9 11   Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 150 +25.467 16 4
10 4   Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing 149 +1 Lap 8 3
11 17   Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing 149 +1 Lap 10 2
12 8   Bryan Herta Team Rahal 149 +1 Lap 11 1
13 20   P. J. Jones Patrick Racing 149 +1 Lap 19
14 25   Cristiano da Matta Arciero-Wells Racing 148 +2 Laps 6
15 36   Alex Barron All American Racers 148 +2 Laps 23
16 34   Dennis Vitolo Payton/Coyne Racing 142 +8 Laps 26
17 9   Hélio Castro-Neves Hogan Racing 138 Electrical 4
18 19   Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 136 +14 Laps 27
19 22   Robby Gordon Team Gordon 112 Engine 18
20 40   Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 110 Contact 2
21 44   Tony Kanaan Forsythe Racing 98 Fuel system 17
22 24   Scott Pruett Arciero-Wells Racing 79 Contact 22
23 10   Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 36 Suspension 19
24 71   Luiz Garcia Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 1 Contact 25
25 15   Naoki Hattori Walker Racing 0 Contact 12
26 2   Al Unser Jr. Team Penske 0 Contact 14
27 26   Raul Boesel Team Green 0 Contact 20
DNS 16   Shigeaki Hattori Bettenhausen Racing Injury
[7][8]

Caution flags

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Laps Cause
2-17 Hattori (15), Unser Jr. (2), Hearn (10), Boesel (26), Garcia Jr. (71) contact
82-92 Pruett (24) contact
111-121 Fernández (40) contact

Lap Leaders

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Laps Leader
1-59 Greg Moore
60 Patrick Carpentier
61-62 Adrián Fernández
63-64 Michael Andretti
65-66 Gil de Ferran
67-84 Dario Franchitti
85-113 Hélio Castro-Neves
114-150 Greg Moore
 
Driver Laps led
Greg Moore 96
Hélio Castro-Neves 29
Dario Franchitti 18
Michael Andretti 2
Gil de Ferran 2
Adrián Fernández 2
Patrick Carpentier 1

Point standings after race

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Pos Driver Points
1   Greg Moore 22
2   Michael Andretti 16
3   Dario Franchitti 14
4   Jimmy Vasser 12
5   Max Papis 10

References

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  1. ^ "Suspension sidelines Tracy for CART's season opener - Las Vegas Sun Newspaper". March 19, 1999.
  2. ^ Millan, Jorge (March 22, 1999). "Moore is better at Grand Prix". The Palm Beach Post. p. 1C. Retrieved March 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Skip Wood. Andretti stall opens door for Moore. USA Today; McLean, Virginia. 22 Mar 1999: 14C. ProQuest 408814669.
  4. ^ CART: Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami. The Washington Post; Washington, D.C. 22 Mar 1999: D04. ProQuest 408444450.
  5. ^ Wood 1999
  6. ^ "CART: Greg Moore Grabs Pole for Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami".
  7. ^ "1999 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  8. ^ "Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami". Ultimate Racing History. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
Previous race:
none
CART FedEx Championship Series
1999 season
Next race:
1999 Firestone Firehawk 500K

Previous race:
1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami
Grand Prix of Miami Next race:
2000 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami