TORONTO, Ontario, Canada (July 16, 2001) -- Arciero-Blair Racing
driver Max Wilson finished 25th today at the Molson Indy. The
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) FedEx Championship Series
continued in round ten of 21 events at Exhibition Place on the
temporary street course near downtown Toronto.
Wilson, driving the
Ford-powered number 25 WinnerB2B Lola, started the 95 lap event 25th
for the race on the 1.755 mile track that covered 196.50 miles.
Wilson went from 25th to 17th by lap 31 and was going into Turn
Eight when another car cut him off, damaging the front suspension.
The Arciero-Blair entry was unable to continue.
"Takagi came by
the outside of my car and clipped me," said Wilson. "I
tried to hold my line and defend my position, but even before the
turn he was already pulling right, hitting me. We went off the track
and broke the front left of my suspension. We had many problems that
we overcame this weekend and had good hopes for today. We need to go
on to Michigan next week, which will be the first time for me. We
have the right package for the race the Lola/Ford and I am going to
do everything I can to quickly learn about the track so we can have
good results."
Saturday's qualifying was frustrating for the
team due to a mistake made by another driver which forced Wilson
into the tire barrier. After the team smoothly and quickly got the
back-up car, Wilson had to wait out the mandatory eight minute
penalty for being part of the red flag situation. A CART rule
mandated that if more than one competitor is involved in the
incident that initiates the disruption, the appropriate
aforementioned penalty will be assessed to each competitor. That
penalty combined with the lost track time in switching to the
back-up car didn't give the Arciero-Blair driver a full qualifying
session and the opportunity to post a good lap. However, even in the
back-up car, Wilson was able to improve his time fromhis primary car
from 59.517 seconds to a qualifying time in the back-up car of
59.092.
"I was right behind him (Nakano) when he crashed in Turn
Eight," said Wilson. "When he hit the wall some of the
tire barrier bounced out at me and I couldn't avoid them. The car
was good and the Ford engine was quite good, but then we had to jump
into the spare car, which didn't have the same exact set-up as the
primary car. There’s a surface change there and I think that's why
it's a tough corner. It goes from asphalt to concrete to asphalt
again, so it's kind of slippery right there. But that's not the only
place where it's slippery on the track. Turn One is slippery too. I
think everyone was trying to push as hard as he can through
there."
The Molson Indy begins a run of five CART FedEx
Championship Series events in six weeks continuing on Sunday, July
22nd at the Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway in
Brooklyn, Mich. This will be the first 500-mile race for the Arciero-Blair
team and its driver, Wilson. The race on the two-mile oval will air
on the ABC Television Network, 1:30 p.m. EST (Live). Check local
listings. The race will also air on the CART Radio Network and on
CART's official website, at www.cart.com.
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