The 1999 Grand Prix Telemar Rio 200 was the fifth round of the 1999 CART World Series Season, held on May 15, 1999, on the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Christian Fittipaldi won his first and only Pole Position of his career.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 5 of 20 in the 1999 CART season | |
 | |
| Date | May 15, 1999 |
| Official name | 1999 Grand Prix Telemar Rio 200 |
| Location | Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.864 mi / 3.000 km |
| Distance | 108 laps 201.312 mi / 323.978 km |
| Weather | Light rain |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Christian Fittipaldi (Newman-Haas Racing) |
| Time | 38.565 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Juan Pablo Montoya (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Time | 38.891 (on lap 107 of 108) |
| Podium | |
| First | Juan Pablo Montoya (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Second | Dario Franchitti (Team KOOL Green) |
| Third | Christian Fittipaldi (Newman-Haas Racing) |
Report edit
Race edit
The race was delayed due to rain, and the drivers had to wait for the track to dry out. On the second attempt to start, Juan Pablo Montoya dived past front-row starters Christian Fittipaldi and Dario Franchitti to take the lead. The trio quickly pulled away from the rest of the field with Franchitti taking second from Fittipaldi at the first round of pit stops, only for Fittipaldi to reverse the order a few laps later by passing Franchitti on the track. Neither, despite staying within two seconds of Montoya, were able to give a serious challenge to him, the Colombian taking his third successive win. The battle for second eventually went to Franchitti who beat Fittipaldi with a quicker second pitstop.
Classification edit
Race edit
Caution flags edit
| Laps | Cause |
|---|---|
| 1 | Field not aligned |
| 30-36 | Andretti (6) engine blow-up |
| 50-55 | Pruett (24) engine blow-up |
| 85-90 | Fernández (40) contact |
| 91-95 | Rain |
| 98-102 | Gordon (22), Jourdain Jr. (19) contact |
Lap Leaders edit
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|
Point standings after race edit
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
66 |
| 2 |  Dario Franchitti
|
51 |
| 3 |  Christian Fittipaldi
|
49 |
| 4 |  Greg Moore
|
45 |
| 5 |  Adrián Fernández
|
43 |
References edit
| Previous race: 1999 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix |
CART FedEx Championship Series 1999 season |
Next race: 1999 Motorola 300 |
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| Previous race: 1998 Rio 400 |
Rio 200 | Next race: 2000 Rio 200 |