2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey

The 2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on March 11, 2001 at Fundidora Park in Monterrey, Mexico in front of a crowd of 116,000 people. It was the first round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series season and the inaugural open-wheel race at Monterrey (not to be confused with the Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in California). It was the first time CART had raced in Mexico since 1981. Newman/Haas Racing driver Cristiano da Matta led 32 laps of a timed race en route to his second career victory and his first with the team. Defending series champion Gil de Ferran finished 2nd and Paul Tracy finished 3rd.

2001 Grand Prix of Monterrey
Race details
Race 1 of 21 in the 2001 CART season
DateMarch 11, 2001
Official name2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Presented by Herdez
LocationFundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico
CourseTemporary Street Course
2.105 mi / 3.39 km
Distance78 (shortened from 80) laps
164.19 mi / 264.42 km
Pole position
Driver Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal)
Time1:15.244
Fastest lap
Driver Dario Franchitti (Team Green)
Time1:15.403 (on lap 59 of 78 (shortened from 80))
Podium
First Cristiano da Matta (Newman-Haas Racing)
Second Gil de Ferran (Team Penske)
Third Paul Tracy (Team Green)

Despite leading much the first half of the race and starting on pole, Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck finished 5th after he first experienced engine difficulties and then brake problems later on. Multiple drivers and teams experienced difficulties with their cars as this was the first full race of the season.

The race distance was shortened from 80 to 78 laps to comply with the two-hour time limit. There were five lead changes and three cautions. The race was considered a huge success for an inaugural event, and it remained on the CART calendar until 2006; its success inspired a second event in Mexico City from 2002 to 2007.

Qualifying
March 10, 2001 - Qualifying Speeds
RankDriverTimeLeaderSpeed (mph)Team
1 Kenny Bräck 1:15.244 – 100.665 Team Rahal
2 Cristiano da Matta 1:15.439 +0.195 100.404 Newman-Haas Racing
3 Gil de Ferran 1:15.551 +0.307 100.255 Team Penske
4 Hélio Castroneves 1:15.580 +0.336 100.217 Team Penske
5 Michael Andretti 1:16.104 +0.860 99.527 Team Motorola
6 Patrick Carpentier 1:16.353 +1.109 99.202 Forsythe Racing
7 Dario Franchitti 1:16.375 +1.131 99.174 Team Green
8 Oriol Servià 1:16.44 +1.200 99.084 Sigma Autosport
9 Jimmy Vasser 1:16.456 +1.212 99.069 Patrick Racing
10 Roberto Moreno 1:16.484 +1.240 99.032 Patrick Racing
11 Max Papis 1:16.512 +1.268 98.996 Team Rahal
12 Tony Kanaan 1:16.647 +1.403 98.822 Mo Nunn Racing
13 Alex Tagliani 1:16.716 +1.472 98.733 Forsythe Racing
14 Scott Dixon (R) 1:16.826 +1.582 98.592 PacWest Racing
15 Paul Tracy 1:16.909 +1.665 98.485 Team Green
16 Christian Fittipaldi 1:16.937 +1.693 98.449 Newman-Haas Racing
17 Maurício Gugelmin 1:17.005 +1.761 98.362 PacWest Racing
18 Bryan Herta 1:17.137 +1.893 98.194 Forsythe Racing
19 Adrian Fernández 1:17.270 +2.026 98.025 Fernandez Racing
20 Bruno Junqueira (R) 1:17.505 +2.261 97.728 Chip Ganassi Racing
21 Nicolas Minassian (R) 1:17.750 +2.326 97.646 Chip Ganassi Racing
22 Alex Zanardi 1:17.851 +2.607 97.294 Mo Nunn Racing
23 Michael Krumm 1:17.914 +2.670 97.215 Dale Coyne Racing
24 Michel Jourdain, Jr. 1:18.381 +3.137 96.636 Bettenhausen Racing
25 Tora Takagi 1:18.991 +3.747 95.889 Walker Motorsport
26 Max Wilson (R) 1:19.294 +4.050 95.523 Arciero Racing
27 Shinji Nakano 1:19.362 +4.118 95.441 Fernandez Racing
28 Luiz Garcia, Jr. 1:20.931 +5.687 93.591 Dale Coyne Racing
Source:[1]

Race
PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/retiredGridPoints
1 6 Cristiano da Matta Newman-Haas Racing 78 2:00:44.856 2 211
2 1 Gil de Ferran Team Penske 78 +1.982 3 16
3 26 Paul Tracy Team Green 78 +2.802 15 14
4 39 Michael Andretti Team Motorola 78 +4.931 5 12
5 8 Kenny Bräck Team Rahal 78 +5.411 1 112
6 40 Jimmy Vasser Patrick Racing 78 +5.710 9 8
7 55 Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 78 +6.375 12 6
8 3 Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 78 +7.244 4 5
9 27 Dario Franchitti Team Green 78 +7.580 7 4
10 5 Tora Takagi (R) Walker Motorsport 78 +17.457 25 3
11 12 Nicolas Minassian (R) Chip Ganassi Racing 78 +24.227 21 2
12 7 Max Papis Team Rahal 78 +24.981 11 1
13 18 Scott Dixon (R) PacWest Racing 78 +31.435 14 —
14 22 Oriol Servià Sigma Autosport 78 +32.354 8 —
15 17 Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing 78 +32.733 17 —
16 77 Bryan Herta Forsythe Racing 78 +33.745 18 —
17 16 Michel Jourdain, Jr. Bettenhausen Racing 78 +34.376 24 —
18 52 Shinji Nakano Fernandez Racing 76 +2 Laps 27 —
19 51 Adrian Fernández Fernandez Racing 75 Out of fuel 19 —
20 11 Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 66 Contact 16 —
21 33 Alex Tagliani Forsythe Racing 60 Overheating 13 —
22 4 Bruno Junqueira (R) Chip Ganassi Racing 57 Water leak 20 —
23 19 Michael Krumm Dale Coyne Racing 51 Mechanical 23 —
24 66 Alex Zanardi Mo Nunn Racing 39 Contact 22 —
25 32 Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 38 Electrical 6 —
26 21 Luiz Garcia, Jr. Dale Coyne Racing 37 Mechanical 28 —
27 20 Roberto Moreno Patrick Racing 21 Contact 10 —
28 25 Max Wilson (R) Arciero Racing 7 Contact 26 —
Source:[2]
Notes
  • 1– Includes one bonus point for leading the most laps.[3]
  • 2– Includes one bonus point for being the fastest qualifier.[3]

Race statistics
  • Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers

Standings after the race
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References
  1. "2001 Tecate Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix Presented by Herdez Qualifying Results". Championship Auto Racing Teams. March 10, 2001. Archived from the original on January 10, 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  2. "2001 Tecate Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix Presented by Herdez". Championship Auto Racing Teams. March 11, 2001. Archived from the original on January 10, 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  3. Championship Auto Racing Teams (March 2001). "CART FedEx Championship Series - 2001 Rule Book". Archived from the original on 2016-05-28. Retrieved 2017-05-22.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  4. "2001 Tecate Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Box Score" (PDF). Championship Auto Racing Teams. March 11, 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2003. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  5. "2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Results". Racing-reference.info. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  6. "Points standings after Monterrey". Motorsport.com. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
Previous race:
Not held		 CART Indycar World Series
2001 season		 Next race:
2001 Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix
Previous race:
Not held		 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Next race:
2002 Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix
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