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CART: Castro-Neves Set for Champ Car Debut

14 March 1998

With pre-season testing now complete, Brazils Helio Castro-Neves has his mind on only one thing--competing in next weeks Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami.

The driver of the Team Alumax Reynard/Mercedes-Benz will join 28 other competitors at the Miami-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex for the season opener of the CART/FedEx Championship Series, scheduled for March 13-15.

It is a major race for the 22-year-old rookie from Sao Paulo.

For me, this race is important for a lot of reasons, Castro-Neves said. Obviously, it will be my first race in CART. But this race also means a lot because I have been fortunate to have people behind me like Emerson Fittipaldi and Tony Bettenhausen, as well as the people at Alumax who have given me the opportunity to be in this series. And the fact the race is in the Miami area makes it special because Miami has become a second home for me.

To prepare for the season opener, Castro-Neves has spent the better portion of the year to date in testing in Florida at Homestead and Sebring and at Firebird Raceway near Phoenix, Ariz. Castro-Neves has logged nearly 2,400 miles of testing since being named driver of the Team Alumax entry.

Even before spring training, it seems like there has been little time to pause, Castro-Neves continued. We have been doing a lot of testing at a lot of different places, but that is good because it has given me time in the car and time to get used to working with my new team.

Team owner Tony Bettenhausen has been very pleased with pre-season testing.

We have had some great tests, Bettenhausen pointed out. The driver has logged a lot of miles and has done a very good job. He has been quick at all of the tracks, but he has also done a good job when we have practiced pit stops. It has also been good for the crew as we have been moving different crew people around to determine their various strengths at the different positions during a pit stop.

We also feel that Goodyear has been making gains. The reliability of the Mercedes-Benz engine is progressing. The driver is progressing too. >From the moment he leaves to the pits to the moment he comes in and hits the marks, hes on it 10-10ths.