CART: Castro-Neves a Star on the Streets of Long Beach
6 April 1998
FedEx Championship Series rookie Helio Castro-Neves showed why racing great Emerson Fittipaldi selected him as his protg at this weekend's Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Team Alumax Reynard/Mercedes- Benz driver led 14 laps in his first Champ Car race on a street circuit, only to have a chance at victory slip from his grasp late in the race. Joining the young Brazilian in the top 10 were three other Mercedes-Benz pilots, including Greg Moore, who's sixth place finish keeps him a close second in the points standings, and the PacWest duo of Mark Blundell and Mauricio Gugelmin.Starting the 105-lap, 166.53-mile event 15th, Castro-Neves' race almost ended on the first lap, when he stalled trying to avoid the Marlboro Penske/Mercedes-Benz of Al Unser Jr., who was crowded into the tire barriers in turn one at the start. That mishap dropped the 22-year-old to the back of the pack and led to a decision by the Bettenhausen Motorsports crew to change to a two pit-stop race strategy.
Castro-Neves, fellow Mercedes-Benz drivers JJ Lehto and Moore, and four others elected to stay out when most of the field pitted during an early caution. That put Lehto in the lead, followed by Castro-Neves, with Moore fifth.
Lehto pitted with braking problems soon after, handing the lead to Castro-Neves. Neves' final stop dropped him to ninth, but all eight cars ahead of him needed to make another stop to complete the race.
Unfortunately, with his first victory potentially in his grasp, Neves slid into the tire barriers at turn six while contemplating a move around lapped traffic. He was able to continue, however, and finished ninth, the best result yet in his short Champ Car career.
Moore, who started his Player's Forsythe Reynard/Mercedes 14th and also opted to stretch his fuel mileage early in the race, led two laps and looked likely to score his third consecutive top-four finish of the season, but a mishap during his final pit stop resulted in a black flag penalty for a pit lane violation, and he had to settle for sixth. He heads to the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix in Nazareth, Pa., four points behind leader Adrian Fernandez.
Motorola Reynard/Mercedes-Benz driver Blundell followed Moore across the line, having moved up from 23rd on the starting grid despite using a 1997 Reynard/Mercedes package. His performance marked the third consecutive top 10 finish for last year's championship-winning Mercedes-Benz CART engine. Blundell's teammate Gugelmin finished 10th after being forced to make an extra stop to allow the PacWest crew to tighten a wheel nut.
Mercedes Quotes
Greg Moore, No. 99, Player's Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone
"I'm pleased with sixth, although I easily could have been third
or
fourth. On the splash and go at the end of the race, my fuel guy didn't
get out of the way in time. (Moore black flagged for hitting crew man).
I
knew everyone was going to have to make one more stop. I was making
competitive laps at the end, so that was encouraging. We got some points
coming out of Long Beach, so that's good."
Mark Blundell, No. 18, Motorola Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone
"It was a long race, especially starting 23rd on the grid. We
struggled early to be really competitive, and then we got caught in a
couple of mishaps with backmarkers, which was a bit disappointing. We got
a
few more points but not as many as we wanted. The 97
(Reynard/Mercedes-Benz) is a great car, but it's history now. Now it's
heads up and eyes forward for the 98."
Helio Castro-Neves, No. 16, Alumax Reynard/Mercedes/Goodyear
"Unfortunately I got stuck at the start when Al Jr. Hit the tires.
It was into his back, so I just tried to stay cool and calm down. I knew
I
had a good car. Then we decided to change to a two stop strategy. I was
confident all the time. I had a good engine and good tires today. At the
end I was trying to run the fastest laps of the race. I was under braking
and I just lost concentration. Sometimes bad things happen. This race
was
a confidence builder."
Mauricio Gugelmin, No. 17, Hollywood Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone
"We had a loose wheel nut, so we had to come back in (to the
pits).
When you have a pit lane that is sloped like this, that can happen.
Before
that, it was going to be a better day than I had expected. We ran really
lean to see if we could catch a yellow (flag), so we were slower than
everybody else, but the yellow never came."
Mimmo Schiattarella, No. 15 Hawaiian Tropic Reynard/Mercedes/Goodyear
"We could've gotten a few more positions, but I was penalized for
taking the wrong way into the pits. It was my mistake. The first 15 laps
the brakes were very spongy, then I broke the gear lever, so I only had a
little bit to hang onto. This championship is so competitive, but we
could
surely improve if we could get a chance to test."
JJ Lehto, No. 9, Hogan Racing Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone
"I came in and changed tires and then on the next lap my seat
caught on fire. There was so much smoke I couldn't breathe. Then I lost
the brake pedal. I came in and the fire went out and the pedal came back,
so I got back in the car and finished the race. I was sliding around a
lot, and I had problems with a sticky throttle. At least I got my name on
the list for leading a lap. We've got a lot of work to do, though."
Andre Ribeiro, No. 3, Marlboro Penske/Mercedes/Goodyear
"For sure it was a tough day out there. First I damaged my front
wing, and then I had a punctured right rear tire, which combined put me as
far back as 20th and three laps down. Finally, on lap 55 I had a problem
with my gearbox, which ended my day."
Al Unser Jr., No. 2, Marlboro Penske/Mercedes/Goodyear
"It is a shame we fell out so early on such a beautiful day in
Southern California. I am very proud of Marlboro Team Penske and feel
worse for my guys than for myself. Everyone has worked so hard to get
ready for the race. I was next to (Scott) Pruett going into the corner.
I
think he accelerated out of the corner quicker than I could and possibly
lost track of where I was, and my right front tire connected with his left
rear tire."
Race Report, Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach, Calif.
April 5, 1998
Pos Driver Chassis / Engine / Tires Laps
1 Alex Zanardi Reynard/Honda/Firestone 105
2 Dario Franchitti Reynard/Honda/Firestone 105
3 Bryan Herta Reynard/Ford/Firestone 105
4 Adrian Fernandez Reynard/Ford/Firestone 105
5 Tony Kanaan Reynard/Honda/Firestone 105
6 Greg Moore Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone 105
7 Mark Blundell Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone 105
8 Jimmy Vasser Reynard/Honda/Firestone 105
9 Helio Castro-Neves Reynard/Mercedes/Goodyear
105
10 Mauricio Gugelmin Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone
105
16 Mimmo Schiattarella Reynard/Mercedes/Goodyear
101
18 JJ Lehto Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone 99
22 Andre Ribeiro Penske/Mercedes/Goodyear 55
28 Patrick Carpentier Reynard/Mercedes/Firestone 8
29 Al Unser Jr. Penske/Mercedes/Goodyear 0
PPG Cup Rankings: Fernandez 41 Manufacturer's
Rankings: Ford-Cosworth 57
Moore 37
Honda 50
Zanardi 34
Mercedes-Benz
Honda 41
Toyota 2
