2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey explained

25.6781°N -100.2833°W

The 2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on March 11, 2001 at Fundidora Park in Monterrey, Mexico in front of a crowd of 116,000 people. It was the first round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series season and the inaugural open-wheel race at Monterrey (not to be confused with the Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in California). It was the first time CART had raced in Mexico since 1981. Newman/Haas Racing driver Cristiano da Matta led 32 laps of a timed race en route to his second career victory and his first with the team. Defending series champion Gil de Ferran finished 2nd and Paul Tracy finished 3rd.

Despite leading much the first half of the race and starting on pole, Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck finished 5th after he first experienced engine difficulties and then brake problems later on. Multiple drivers and teams experienced difficulties with their cars as this was the first full race of the season.

The race distance was shortened from 80 to 78 laps to comply with the two-hour time limit. There were five lead changes and three cautions. The race was considered a huge success for an inaugural event, and it remained on the CART calendar until 2006; its success inspired a second event in Mexico City from 2002 to 2007.

Qualifying

March 10, 2001 - Qualifying Speeds
Rank Driver Time LeaderSpeed (mph)Team
1 Kenny Bräck1:15.244100.665Team Rahal
2 Cristiano da Matta1:15.439+0.195100.404Newman-Haas Racing
3 Gil de Ferran1:15.551+0.307100.255Team Penske
4 Hélio Castroneves1:15.580+0.336100.217Team Penske
5 Michael Andretti1:16.104+0.86099.527Team Motorola
6 Patrick Carpentier1:16.353+1.10999.202Forsythe Racing
7 Dario Franchitti1:16.375+1.13199.174Team Green
8 Oriol Servià1:16.44+1.20099.084Sigma Autosport
9 Jimmy Vasser1:16.456+1.21299.069Patrick Racing
10 Roberto Moreno1:16.484+1.24099.032Patrick Racing
11 Max Papis1:16.512+1.26898.996Team Rahal
12 Tony Kanaan1:16.647+1.40398.822Mo Nunn Racing
13 Alex Tagliani1:16.716+1.47298.733Forsythe Racing
14 Scott Dixon (R)1:16.826+1.58298.592PacWest Racing
15 Paul Tracy1:16.909+1.66598.485Team Green
16 Christian Fittipaldi1:16.937+1.69398.449Newman-Haas Racing
17 Maurício Gugelmin1:17.005+1.76198.362PacWest Racing
18 Bryan Herta1:17.137+1.89398.194Forsythe Racing
19 Adrian Fernández1:17.270+2.02698.025Fernandez Racing
20 Bruno Junqueira (R)1:17.505+2.26197.728Chip Ganassi Racing
21 Nicolas Minassian (R)1:17.750+2.32697.646Chip Ganassi Racing
22 Alex Zanardi1:17.851+2.60797.294Mo Nunn Racing
23 Michael Krumm1:17.914+2.67097.215Dale Coyne Racing
24 Michel Jourdain Jr.1:18.381+3.13796.636Bettenhausen Racing
25 Tora Takagi1:18.991+3.74795.889Walker Motorsport
26 Max Wilson (R)1:19.294+4.05095.523Arciero Racing
27 Shinji Nakano1:19.362+4.11895.441Fernandez Racing
28 Luiz Garcia Jr.1:20.931+5.68793.591Dale Coyne Racing

Race

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/retired Grid Points
16 Cristiano da MattaNewman-Haas Racing782:00:44.856221
21 Gil de FerranTeam Penske78+1.982316
326 Paul TracyTeam Green78+2.8021514
439 Michael AndrettiTeam Motorola78+4.931512
58 Kenny BräckTeam Rahal78+5.411111
640 Jimmy VasserPatrick Racing78+5.71098
755 Tony KanaanMo Nunn Racing78+6.375126
83 Hélio CastronevesTeam Penske78+7.24445
927 Dario FranchittiTeam Green78+7.58074
105 Tora Takagi (R)Walker Motorsport78+17.457253
1112 Nicolas Minassian (R)Chip Ganassi Racing78+24.227212
127 Max PapisTeam Rahal78+24.981111
1318 Scott Dixon (R)PacWest Racing78+31.43514
1422 Oriol ServiàSigma Autosport78+32.3548
1517 Maurício GugelminPacWest Racing78+32.73317
1677 Bryan HertaForsythe Racing78+33.74518
1716 Michel Jourdain Jr.Bettenhausen Racing78+34.37624
1852 Shinji NakanoFernandez Racing76+2 Laps27
1951 Adrian FernándezFernandez Racing75Out of fuel19
2011 Christian FittipaldiNewman-Haas Racing66Contact16
2133 Alex TaglianiForsythe Racing60Overheating13
224 Bruno Junqueira (R)Chip Ganassi Racing57Water leak20
2319 Michael KrummDale Coyne Racing51Mechanical23
2466 Alex ZanardiMo Nunn Racing39Contact22
2532 Patrick CarpentierForsythe Racing38Electrical6
2621 Luiz Garcia Jr.Dale Coyne Racing37Mechanical28
2720 Roberto MorenoPatrick Racing21Contact10
2825 Max Wilson (R)Arciero Racing7Contact26
Notes

Race statistics

Lap Leaders[2]
LapsLeader
1–23 Kenny Bräck
24-37 Scott Dixon
38-42 Kenny Bräck
43-56 Cristiano da Matta
57-60 Dario Franchitti
61-78 Cristiano da Matta
Total laps led
LeaderLaps
Cristiano da Matta 32
Kenny Bräck 28
Scott Dixon 14
Dario Franchitti 4
Cautions: 3 for 16 laps
LapsReason
9-13 Max Wilson crashes
22-27 Roberto Moreno crashes
68-72 Christian Fittipaldi crashes

Standings after the race

Drivers' standings [3]
Pos+/-DriverPoints
1 Cristiano da Matta21
2 Gil de Ferran16
3 Paul Tracy14
4 Michael Andretti12
5 Kenny Bräck11
Constructors' standings
Pos+/–ConstructorPoints
1 Lola21
2 Reynard16
Manufacturer's Standings[4]
Pos+/-ManufacturerPoints
1 Toyota21
2 Honda16
3 Ford-Cosworth11
4 Phoenix0

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CART FedEx Championship Series - 2001 Rule Book . Championship Auto Racing Teams . March 2001 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160528174124/http://pdfsr.com/pdf/cart-2001-rule-book-electronic-version-1 . 2016-05-28 . bot: unknown . 2017-05-22 .
  2. Web site: 2001 Tecate Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Box Score . Championship Auto Racing Teams . March 11, 2001 . May 24, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20030623135608/http://www.cart.com/Content/PDF/Results/2001/20010311PDFR_0006.pdf . June 23, 2003 . dead .
  3. Web site: 2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Results. Racing-reference.info. May 31, 2017.
  4. Web site: Points standings after Monterrey. Motorsport.com. May 31, 2017.