1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami

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.

United States 1998 Marlboro Miami
Race details
Race 1 of 19 in the 1998 CART season
DateMarch 15, 1998
Official nameMarlboro Grand Prix of Miami
LocationHomestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida, United States
CoursePermanent oval course
1.5 mi / 2.4 km
Distance150 laps
225 mi / 360 km
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 77 °F (25 °C); wind speeds up to 13 miles per hour (21 km/h)[1]
Pole position
DriverGreg Moore (Forsythe Racing)
Time24.856
Fastest lap
DriverGreg Moore (Forsythe Racing)
Time26.405 (on lap of 150)
Podium
FirstMichael Andretti (Newman/Haas Racing)
SecondGreg Moore (Forsythe Racing)
ThirdAlex Zanardi (Chip Ganassi Racing)

Starting grid edit

  1. Greg Moore 217.541 mph / 24.856 seconds (1st CART career pole)
  2. André Ribeiro 214.665 mph
  3. Jimmy Vasser
  4. Christian Fittipaldi
  5. Adrian Fernandez
  6. Alex Zanardi
  7. Mark Blundell
  8. Michael Andretti
  9. Patrick Carpentier
  10. Maurício Gugelmin
  11. Gil de Ferran
  12. Scott Pruett
  13. Dario Franchitti
  14. Al Unser Jr.
  15. Richie Hearn
  16. Bryan Herta
  17. Bobby Rahal
  18. Tony Kanaan (R)
  19. Michel Jourdain Jr.
  20. Max Papis
  21. Paul Tracy
  22. Hélio Castroneves (R)
  23. Roberto Moreno
  24. Hiro Matsushita
  25. Dennis Vitolo (Suffered an awful crash during practice. Suffered a broken finger, but raced.)
  26. P. J. Jones
  27. Alex Barron (R)
  28. Arnd Meier
  29. JJ Lehto (No speed due to gearbox problems)

Race edit

Lap 27 edit

Top 6: Greg Moore, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran and Adrian Fernandez.

Lap 34 edit

First full course caution was out, as rookie Tony Kanaan had hit the wall in turn 4.

Lap 44 edit

Green flag. de Ferran leads.

Lap 57 edit

Top 6: Gil de Ferran, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Carpentier and Scott Pruett.

Lap 67 edit

New leader: Michael Andretti!

Lap 75 edit

Second full course caution came out, as Paul Tracy "brushed" the wall in the backstretch.

Lap 82 edit

Green flag. de Ferran leads, but, laps later, he lost the lead, due to a pitstop.

Lap 97 edit

Top 6: Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Gil de Ferran, Christian Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti and Scott Pruett.

Lap 100 edit

Third full course caution, as another 1998 rookie had "brushed" the wall in turn 1: Hélio Castroneves.

Lap 107 edit

Green flag. Alex Zanardi leads.

Lap 116 edit

Fourth full course caution came out as Mark Blundell was another victim of the wall. This time in turn 2.

Lap 117 edit

Top 6: Andretti, Zanardi, Moore, Fittipaldi, Pruett and Fernandez.

Lap 122 edit

Green flag. Andretti once again was leading the race.

Lap 130 edit

Fifth full course caution: Hiro Matsushita had hit the wall in turn 2.

Lap 140 edit

Green flag. Andretti leads.

Race results edit

Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6   Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 150 1:33:39.268 8 20+1
2 99   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 150 +0.075 1 16+1
3 1   Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing 150 +0.918 6 14
4 11   Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 150 +3.359 4 12
5 20   Scott Pruett Patrick Racing 150 +5.257 12 10
6 40   Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 150 +5.926 5 8
7 5   Gil de Ferran Walker Racing 150 +6.810 11 6
8 8   Bryan Herta Team Rahal 150 +9.866 16 5
9 27   Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 150 +10.275 13 4
10 17   Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing Group 150 +10.855 10 3
11 33   Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 150 +11.382 9 2
12 18   Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Group 150 +29.029 7 1
13 10   Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 149 +1 Lap 15
14 9   JJ Lehto Hogan Racing 149 +1 Lap 29
15 15   Roberto Moreno Project Indy 149 +1 Lap 23
16 12   Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 148 +2 Laps 3
17 3   André Ribeiro Marlboro Team Penske 148 +2 Laps 2
18 36   Alex Barron All American Racing 148 +2 Laps 27
19 7   Bobby Rahal Team Rahal 147 +3 Laps 17
20 98   P. J. Jones All American Racing 146 +4 Laps 26
21 77   Arnd Meier Davis Racing 136 +14 Laps 28
22 2   Al Unser Jr. Marlboro Team Penske 122 Transmission 14
23 24   Hiro Matsushita Arciero-Wells Racing 121 Contact 24
24 16   Hélio Castro-Neves Bettenhausen Racing 97 Contact 22
25 34   Dennis Vitolo Payton/Coyne Racing 90 Withdrew 25
26 25   Max Papis Arciero-Wells Racing 83 Wheel Bearing 20
27 26   Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 79 Suspension 21
28 19   Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 78 Handling 19
29 21   Tony Kanaan Tasman Motorsports Group 32 Contact 18

Final results edit

Top 12

  1. Michael Andretti 150 Laps
  2. Greg Moore
  3. Alex Zanardi
  4. Christian Fittipaldi
  5. Scott Pruett
  6. Adrian Fernandez
  7. Gil de Ferran
  8. Bryan Herta
  9. Dario Franchitti
  10. Maurício Gugelmin
  11. Patrick Carpentier
  12. Mark Blundell

Drivers who did not completed the race edit

  1. Al Unser Jr. +28 Transmission
  2. Hiro Matsushita +29 Contact
  3. Hélio Castroneves (R) +53 Contact
  4. Dennis Vitolo +60 Withdrawn due to injury
  5. Max Papis +67 Wheel bearing
  6. Paul Tracy +71 Suspension
  7. Michel Jourdain Jr. +72 Handling
  8. Tony Kanaan (R) +118 Contact

Point standings edit

Top 6

  1. Andretti 21 points
  2. Moore 17 points
  3. Zanardi 14 points
  4. Fittipaldi 12 points
  5. Pruett 10 points
  6. Fernandez 8 points

Notes edit

  1. (R) denotes contender for Rookie of the Year award
  2. 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.
  3. First pole: Greg Moore

References edit

  1. ^ "1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved July 13, 2013.