The Rio 200 (initially Rio 400) was a CART Champ Car event held at Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, in Rio de Janeiro. The race was contested on the trapezoid speedway at the facility known as Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway. The race was held from 1996 to 2000. The first three events were run over 400 kilometers; the final two were 200 miles.

Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway at Jacarepaguá

This event was the only South American race sanctioned by CART. The IRL IndyCar Series began its 2010 season in Brazil with the São Paulo Indy 300, its first event outside of North America or Japan. However, this event took place on a temporary street circuit in São Paulo rather than at a permanent facility like Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro.

The 2001 race was canceled when the Rio municipal government missed a deadline for guaranteeing payment of sanctioning fees and failed to grant race promoter Fittipaldi access to the facility so he could begin preparations for the race.[1] CART, later renamed Champ Car, never returned to Rio.

Race Winners

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Season Date Race Name Driver Team Chassis Engine Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report Ref
Laps Miles (km)
1996 March 17 Indy Car Rio 400   André Ribeiro Tasman Motorsports Lola Honda 133 247.912 (398.975) 2:06:08 117.917 Report [2]
1997 May 11 Hollywood Rio 400K   Paul Tracy Penske Racing Penske Ilmor-Mercedes 133 247.912 (398.975) 2:10:47 113.721 Report [3]
1998 May 10 Rio 400K   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Ilmor-Mercedes 133 247.912 (398.975) 1:52:14 132.531 Report [4]
1999 May 15 GP Telemar Rio 200   Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 108 201.312 (323.98) 1:36:32 125.12 Report [5]
2000 April 30 Rio 200   Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford-Cosworth 108 201.312 (323.98) 1:37:12 124.256 Report [6]

References

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  1. ^ CART cancels Rio 200. Autoweek, 8 February 2001.
  2. ^ "1996 IndyCar Rio 400". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "1997 Hollywood Rio 400K". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "1998 Rio 400K". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "1999 GP Telemar Rio 200". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "2000 Rio 200". Racing-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2021.