1998 Molson Indy Toronto

The 1998 Molson Indy Toronto was the eleventh round of the 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 19, 1998, on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Alex Zanardi passed Michael Andretti with three laps to go to win the race, after Andretti had inherited the lead when pole-sitter Dario Franchitti retired due to a brake failure.

Canada 1998 Toronto
Race details
Race 11 of 19 in the 1998 CART season
Exhibition Place track layout
DateJuly 19, 1998
Official name1998 Molson Indy Toronto
LocationExhibition Place
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
CourseTemporary street course
1.755 mi / 2.824 km
Distance95 laps
166.725 mi / 268.28 km
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 25 °C (77 °F); wind speeds up to 14 kilometres per hour (8.7 mph)[1]
Pole position
DriverDario Franchitti (Team KOOL Green)
Time58.694
Fastest lap
DriverChristian Fittipaldi (Newman/Haas Racing)
Time59.924 (on lap 75 of 95)
Podium
FirstAlex Zanardi (Chip Ganassi Racing)
SecondMichael Andretti (Newman/Haas Racing)
ThirdJimmy Vasser (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Starting grid

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  1. Dario Franchitti (second straight pole in Toronto)
  2. Alex Zanardi
  3. Michael Andretti
  4. Gil de Ferran
  5. Christian Fittipaldi
  6. Jimmy Vasser
  7. Tony Kanaan (R)
  8. Scott Pruett
  9. Bobby Rahal
  10. Paul Tracy
  11. André Ribeiro
  12. Greg Moore
  13. Richie Hearn
  14. Al Unser Jr.
  15. Mark Blundell
  16. Adrian Fernandez
  17. Bryan Herta
  18. Patrick Carpentier
  19. Maurício Gugelmin
  20. Max Papis
  21. Hélio Castroneves (R)
  22. Robby Gordon
  23. P. J. Jones
  24. Michel Jourdain Jr.
  25. Arnd Meier
  26. JJ Lehto (R)
  27. Alex Barron (R)
  28. Gualter Salles

Race

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Lap 17

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Richie Hearn locked up the right front tire and spun on turn 1. Top 6 was composed by: Dario Franchitti, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, Gil de Ferran, Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy.

Lap 26

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First full course caution. Michel Jourdain Jr. and Alex Barron collided at the hairpin. Arnd Meier stalled the car metres in front and started a jampack. Meanwhile, Gil de Ferran retired after an incident in the pits. Christian Fittipaldi had problems, also, but did not retired.

Lap 27

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Top 6: Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Paul Tracy, Alex Zanardi and Tony Kanaan.

Lap 30

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Before going green, Patrick Carpentier collided with Mark Blundell on turn 9.

Lap 32

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Second full course caution, as Blundell's car stalled on turn 9, following the collision with Carpentier. On lap 36, green flag came out.

Lap 38

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JJ Lehto had a big crash. Third full course caution. Green flag came out some laps later.

Lap 52

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Top 6: Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Tony Kanaan and Paul Tracy.

Lap 61

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Tony Kanaan had a pit fire. Meanwhile, in the hairpin, Alex Zanardi had a collision with his teammate Jimmy Vasser.

Lap 68

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Gualter Salles had a collision at the hairpin with Al Unser Jr. and went airborne.

16 laps to go

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Dario Franchitti spun and stalled, ending his day. Paul Tracy slightly t-boned him. Fourth full course caution was out. Green flag came out with 11 laps to go.

8 laps to go

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Top 6: Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Jimmy Vasser, Bobby Rahal, Bryan Herta and Scott Pruett.

5 laps to go

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Paul Tracy and Adrian Fernandez collided on turn 1 while they were battling for 9th place.

3 laps to go

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Alex Zanardi overtakes Michael Andretti at the hairpin.

Classification

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Race

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Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing 95 1:52:24.080 2 20
2 6   Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 95 +1.921 3 16
3 12   Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 95 +6.702 6 14
4 7   Bobby Rahal Team Rahal 95 +8.078 9 12
5 8   Bryan Herta Team Rahal 95 +12.984 17 10
6 20   Scott Pruett Patrick Racing 95 +14.607 8 8
7 10   Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 95 +15.305 13 6
8 25   Max Papis Arciero-Wells Racing 95 +24.676 20 5
9 40   Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 95 +31.923 16 4
10 16   Hélio Castro-Neves Bettenhausen Racing 95 +32.691 21 3
11 99   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 95 +34.926 12 2
12 17   Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing Group 95 +37.640 19 1
13 24   Robby Gordon Arciero-Wells Racing 94 +1 Lap 22
14 26   Paul Tracy Team Green 94 +1 Lap 10
15 77   Arnd Meier Davis Racing 94 +1 Lap 25
16 11   Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 93 +2 Laps 5
17 2   Al Unser Jr. Team Penske 93 +2 Laps 14
18 19   Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 93 +2 Laps 24
19 98   P. J. Jones All American Racing 84 Suspension 23
20 27   Dario Franchitti Team Green 79 Brakes 1 1+1
21 34   Gualter Salles Payton/Coyne Racing 65 Contact 28
22 21   Tony Kanaan Tasman Motorsports Group 61 Fire 7
23 3   André Ribeiro Team Penske 54 Transmission 11
24 9   JJ Lehto Hogan Racing 37 Contact 26
25 33   Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 33 Suspension 18
26 18   Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Group 30 Electrical 15
27 5   Gil de Ferran Walker Racing 26 Contact 4
28 36   Alex Barron All American Racing 25 Contact 27

Caution flags

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Laps Cause
25-29 Multi-car contact at hairpin
33-34 Blundell (18) stopped on track
40-43 Lehto (9) contact
79-83 Franchitti (27) contact, Tracy (26) stall

Lap leaders

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Laps Leader
1-65 Dario Franchitti
66 Bobby Rahal
67 Bryan Herta
68 Christian Fittipaldi
69-79 Dario Franchitti
80-92 Michael Andretti
93-95 Alex Zanardi
 
Driver Laps led
Dario Franchitti 76
Michael Andretti 13
Alex Zanardi 3
Bobby Rahal 1
Bryan Herta 1
Christian Fittipaldi 1

Point standings after race

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Pos Driver Points
1   Alex Zanardi 175
2   Jimmy Vasser 106
3   Greg Moore 99
4   Adrián Fernández 89
5   Michael Andretti 84

References

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  1. ^ "1998 Molson Indy Toronto weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-07-13.