PKV Racing's Cristiano da Matta qualified fourth while
teammate Jimmy Vasser will line up eighth for tomorrow's Lexmark Indy
300 on the temporary street circuit in Surfers Paradise, Queensland,
Australia.
Da Matta had a quick lap in qualifying of 1:32.753 (108.482 mph), which
puts the #21 Bell Micro/PKV Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone car on
the outside of Row #2. Vasser will slot the #12 Gulfstream/PKV Racing
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone entry on the outside of Row #4 after
turning in a fast lap of 1:33.703 (107.382 mph). Today's qualifying
effort is the 10th time in 12 events that PKV Racing has qualified both
cars in the top-10. It is also the team's best combined qualifying on
a street circuit and the second best on a temporary circuit behind a
second (da Matta) and an eighth (Vasser) in Cleveland.
Because today's weather conditions where the exact opposite from
yesterday's, hot and humid versus rainy, wet and cool, both PKV Racing
drivers were in essence taking to the track for the first time today.
Da Matta started the day sixth on the grid following yesterday's
provisional qualifying with a quick lap of 1:48.492 (92.869 mph). In
morning practice the Bell Micro/PKV Racing team made some mechanical
changes to the car in an effort to get more speed, but it was difficult
to gauge their effectiveness due to the different track conditions.
Da Matta had a quick time in the morning session of 1:36.099 (104.705
mph), which placed him 11th on both the individual and combined practice
report. After another round of changes da Matta went out for the 15
minute afternoon warm-up prior to qualifying and gave an indication of
what was to come as he clocked in with a fast time of 1:34.471 (106.509
mph). The time placed him fourth on individual practice report and moved
him to fourth on the combined report. In qualifying da Matta wasted no
time as he took to the track at the drop of the green flag, an unusual
move on a street circuit where the track gets faster as more rubber is
laid down, and began turning laps that consistently had him first or
second on the speed charts. By the end of his first stint, a run of
seven laps, he was at the top of the grid. With the threat of a red flag
hovering over the session, da Matta, who would need approximately 13
minutes to complete his final eight qualifying laps, began his second
stint with 16 minutes to go in the session. He ran his fastest lap of
the weekend on his final lap, the eighth of the stint and 15th overall.
""I am very happy with today's qualifying session," da Matta said. "The
Bell Micro/PKV Racing team had a great two runs. The first stint was
good all the way through. On the second stint, the first few laps I had
some traffic, but the rest of the way was clear and I one very good
lap," he explained. "The PKV Racing team did a lot of work before this
race and it has paid off. We also made a change to the car after the
morning practice that really helped. The Bell Micro/PKV Racing car is
very fast and I think it is also a good race car, so I am very confident
heading into tomorrow's race."
Da Matta, who is in his fifth Champ Car season and first with PKV
Racing, will be making his 91st career start, 12th with the team and
fifth in Surfers Paradise tomorrow. The talented 31-year-old Brazilian
has qualified in the top-10 in 11 of the 12 events this year (missing
out only in San Jose) with a best starting position of second in
Cleveland (he has qualified fourth three times Milwaukee, Las Vegas and
Australia). Da Matta has now qualified in the top-10 in all five of
his attempts in Surfers Paradise with one pole (2002). He has finished
in the top-10 three times in four races and, along with his teammate,
is one of 14 past winners of this race (no driver has ever repeated)
capturing the victory inn in 2001.
Da Matta, who spent the last two seasons competing in Formula 1, opened
the season with three top-10 finishes in the first four races including
a win in Portland, the first and only victory in the two plus year
history of PKV Racing. He then battled through a series of incidents
in the next five events, before rallying with a solid performance in
Montreal. The resident of Miami, Florida has finished in the top-10
in five of the 11 races contested this year and is currently 10th in
the championship standings with 130 points. Da Matta is 32 points out
of ninth place and mathematically can still finish as high fifth in
the season ending standings. The 2002 Series Champion is attempting to
finish in the top-10 in the standings for the fourth consecutive time
and fourth time in five Champ Car seasons (missed out only in 1999, his
rookie year).
Vasser was eighth on the provisional grid coming into today's qualifying
with a fast lap of 1:48.792 (92.488 mph). In morning practice he, like
his teammate, showed improvement in his time based on the improved
track conditions recording a fast lap of 1:35.558 (105.297 mph), but
unlike his teammate gained a position placing seventh on the speed
charts. In the afternoon warm-up Vasser had a little more difficulty
turning a quick lap of 1:35.484 (105.379), which put him 10th on both
the individual and combined practice reports. In qualifying Vasser used
a slightly different strategy than his da Matta beginning both stints
well after teammate. However, like his teammate his car was improved.
He also ran his fastest lap on his last lap, the seventh of his second
stint and the 13th overall.
"I am very happy for Cristiano's effort today in qualifying," Vasser
quickly said. "I expected to do better myself, but I just didn't put a
whole lap together," he noted. "The morning practice was basically like
running on a track for the first time because the conditions were so
different from yesterday, but the PKV Racing engineering staff made some
changes to the car that worked well for us," explained Vasser. "Overall,
I am pleased to have two PKV Racing cars in the top-eight for this race.
That is pretty good," he concluded.
Vasser, who is competing in his 14th year of Champ Car competition,
will be making his 230th career, Champ Car start tomorrow, which
will extend his record of consecutive starts to 209th. The highly
respected 39-year-old Californian has now qualified in the top-10 in 11
consecutive races and 11 of the 12 events this year including capturing
the first and only pole in PKV Racing's history, at Milwaukee. Vasser,
who is making his 14th start in Surfers Paradise, has now qualified in
the top-10 a total of 11 times in 14 attempts in Australia with one pole
(1996). He has finished in the top-10 five times with a victory in 1996.
Vasser, who is coming off a season high third place performance in Las
Vegas, has finished in the top-10 in seven of the 11 races this season
with three top-five showings, the third in Vegas, a fourth in Toronto
and a fifth in Milwaukee. He has finished 143 of his last 185 races and
placed in the top-10 in 130 of his 229 events including 65 top-five
showings and 32 podium finishes. The resident of Las Vegas, Nevada is
currently sixth in the standings with 173 points, but is just 13 points
out of fifth place, 41 out of fourth and 43 out of third. He has as
strong shot at finishing in the top-five in the championship standings,
which would be his best season since 1998 and establish a new team
record by topping his eight place showing in his inaugural season at PKV
Racing last year. It will also be the ninth time in the last 11 years
that the perennial championship contender, and 1996 Series Champion, has
place in the top-10 in the standings.
-pkv-
