Motor City double for Castroneves
BY JUSTIN LACY | 18th Jun 2001
In recording his second win of the season, Castroneves became the first driver to win consecutive events on the Belle Isle street circuit and is now within five points of series leader Kenny Brack, who finished ninth.
"It was a dream come true to come back to where I had my first win and repeat the victory," Castroneves said.
"I knew when we got the pole we would be able to win this race if we just stayed calm and focused."The Brazilian dominated the race despite a winning margin of just 0.7 seconds, leading all 72 laps from pole position and taking the maximum 22 points available.
Dario Franchitti finished second after starting from fourth on the grid. The Scot dropped a couple of places in the early stages when his engine briefly cut out, but worked his way back to a podium position by race finish.
Roberto Moreno finished third, collecting his first podium finish since taking second in the final race last year and his second top-ten showing this season.
Michael Andretti managed to hold on for fourth, just over ten seconds ahead of Christian Fittipaldi and Gil de Ferran. Andretti was lucky to survive as he lost the use of his clutch at the second pit stop and therefore would have been in trouble if forced to make a third stop.
Fellow front-row starter Bruno Junqueira pressured Castroneves early before gearbox problems eventually ended his race.
Patrick Carpentier came close to his first Champ Car win, filling Castroneves' mirrors for most of the day before being passed by a group of drivers at the last restart when he slid wide and finished eighth.
Paul Tracy's day ended in heartache when his Kool Green Honda/Reynard ran out of fuel on the last lap, stopping his charge from 23rd that had him sitting in fifth place.
Brack's lead in the drivers' championship has fallen from 23 points to just five, as Castroneves broke clear of the pack to stake his claim on the 2001 title.
Andretti was the big mover, climbing from eighth courtesy of his fourth place finish to be in third with 48 points. Da Matta fell back one spot and De Ferran moved up two, while Paul Tracy and Jimmy Vasser went from equal third to equal sixth as neither made it to the finish at Detroit.
Honda increased its lead over Toyota in the manufacturers' standings from two points to ten, despite both brands having four top-ten placegetters. Ford-Cosworth lost ground to its rivals and is now 20 points behind Toyota, after its two top runners finished eighth and ninth.
RACE RESULTS
1 Helio Castroneves (Honda) 1hr53:51.815
2 D Franchitti (Honda) +0.702
3 R Moreno (Toyota) +2.891
4 M Andretti (Honda) +3.386
5 C Fittipaldi (Toyota) +13.465
6 Gil de Ferran (Honda) +14.577
7 Cristiano da Matta (Toyota) +15.084
8 P Carpentier (Ford-Cosworth) +15.829
9 K Brack (Ford-Cosworth) +16.320
10 Mauricio Gugelmin (Toyota) +19.675DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Brack (SWE) 74
2 Castroneves (BRA) 69
3 Andretti (USA) 48
4 Da Matta (BRA) 46
5 De Ferran (BRA) 44
=6 Tracy (CAN) 40
=6 Vasser (USA) 40
8 S Dixon (NZ) 38
9 Franchitti (SCO)37
10 T Kanaan (BRA) 34MANUFACTURERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
1 Honda 108
2 Toyota 98
3 Ford-Cosworth 78Next round: Freightliner/G.I. Joe's 200, Portland International Raceway, Portland, USA - June 24