The 1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami was a CART race which happened at the Homestead Motorsports Complex. It happened on March 15, 1998. It was the 1st round of the 1998 CART season.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 1 of 19 in the 1998 CART season | |
 | |
| Date | March 15, 1998 |
| Official name | Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami |
| Location | Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, United States |
| Course | Permanent oval course 1.5 mi / 2.4 km |
| Distance | 150 laps 225 mi / 360 km |
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)[1] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Greg Moore (Forsythe Racing) |
| Time | 24.856 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Greg Moore (Forsythe Racing) |
| Time | 26.405 (on lap of 150) |
| Podium | |
| First | Michael Andretti (Newman/Haas Racing) |
| Second | Greg Moore (Forsythe Racing) |
| Third | Alex Zanardi (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
Starting gridEdit
- Greg Moore 217.541 mph / 24.856 seconds (1st CART career pole)
- André Ribeiro 214.665 mph
- Jimmy Vasser
- Christian Fittipaldi
- Adrian Fernandez
- Alex Zanardi
- Mark Blundell
- Michael Andretti
- Patrick Carpentier
- Maurício Gugelmin
- Gil de Ferran
- Scott Pruett
- Dario Franchitti
- Al Unser Jr.
- Richie Hearn
- Bryan Herta
- Bobby Rahal
- Tony Kanaan (R)
- Michel Jourdain Jr.
- Max Papis
- Paul Tracy
- Hélio Castroneves (R)
- Roberto Moreno
- Hiro Matsushita
- Dennis Vitolo (Suffered an awful crash during practice. Suffered a broken finger, but raced.)
- P. J. Jones
- Alex Barron (R)
- Arnd Meier
- JJ Lehto (No speed due to gearbox problems)
RaceEdit
Lap 27Edit
Top 6: Greg Moore, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran and Adrian Fernandez.
Lap 34Edit
First full course caution was out, as rookie Tony Kanaan had hit the wall in turn 4.
Lap 44Edit
Green flag. de Ferran leads.
Lap 57Edit
Top 6: Gil de Ferran, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Carpentier and Scott Pruett.
Lap 67Edit
New leader: Michael Andretti!
Lap 75Edit
Second full course caution came out, as Paul Tracy "brushed" the wall in the backstretch.
Lap 82Edit
Green flag. de Ferran leads, but, laps later, he lost the lead, due to a pitstop.
Lap 97Edit
Top 6: Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Gil de Ferran, Christian Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti and Scott Pruett.
Lap 100Edit
Third full course caution, as another 1998 rookie had "brushed" the wall in turn 1: Hélio Castroneves.
Lap 107Edit
Green flag. Alex Zanardi leads.
Lap 116Edit
Fourth full course caution came out as Mark Blundell was another victim of the wall. This time in turn 2.
Lap 117Edit
Top 6: Andretti, Zanardi, Moore, Fittipaldi, Pruett and Fernandez.
Lap 122Edit
Green flag. Andretti once again was leading the race.
Lap 130Edit
Fifth full course caution: Hiro Matsushita had hit the wall in turn 2.
Lap 140Edit
Green flag. Andretti leads.
Race resultsEdit
Final resultsEdit
Top 12
- Michael Andretti 150 Laps
- Greg Moore
- Alex Zanardi
- Christian Fittipaldi
- Scott Pruett
- Adrian Fernandez
- Gil de Ferran
- Bryan Herta
- Dario Franchitti
- Maurício Gugelmin
- Patrick Carpentier
- Mark Blundell
Drivers who did not completed the raceEdit
- Al Unser Jr. +28 Transmission
- Hiro Matsushita +29 Contact
- Hélio Castroneves (R) +53 Contact
- Dennis Vitolo +60 Withdrawn due to injury
- Max Papis +67 Wheel bearing
- Paul Tracy +71 Suspension
- Michel Jourdain Jr. +72 Handling
- Tony Kanaan (R) +118 Contact
Point standingsEdit
Top 6
NotesEdit
- (R) denotes contender for Rookie of the Year award
- For this race, the Homestead-Miami Speedway was reconfigured for the third time in three years. In the summer of 1997, an $8.2 million reconfiguration project changed the turns from a rectangle to a traditional, continuous turn oval.
- First pole: Greg Moore
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-07-13.