PKV RACING'S VASSER FINISHES ON PODIUM AT LEXAMRK INDY 300
DA MATTA INVOLVED IN OPENING LAP INCIDENT, FINISHES 19TH
SURFERS PARADISE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2005 --
Round #10 -- 2005 Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered
by Ford season -- PKV Racing's Jimmy Vasser notched his second
consecutive podium finish placing third at the Lexmark Indy 300 in
Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. Teammate Cristiano da Matta was
involved in a opening lap incident that knocked him from the competition
placing him 19th.
Vasser, who pilots the #12 Gulfstream/PKV Racing
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone machine, qualified eighth. He moved into
sixth place on the opening lap when da Matta and Mario Dominguez dropped
out of the race. Following an outstanding pit stop by his Gulfstream/PKV
Racing crew on lap 20, Vasser took over the fifth spot. On lap 24, Paul
Tracy caught fire and had to retire moving Vasser into fourth. He took
over third place on lap 33 when Justin Wilson became entangled with
another car. Vasser held station, dropping back only after his final pit
stop, when two cars that were out of sequence did not pit, but moved back
into third on lap 49 when the two made their final stop. Unfortunately
he was unable to gain any more ground finishing behind winner Sebastien
Bourdais and A. J. Allmendinger.
Today's third place showing moved Vsser ahead of Dominguez in the
standings, but with Allmedinger finishing second, Vasser remains in sixth
place in the standings with 198 points. He trails Allmendinger by just
one point for fifth and is just 23 points behind Tracy for the fourth
spot with 35 points available in the season finale in Mexico City.
Vasser is seeking his first top-five finish in the championship standings
since 1998, when he placed second (he was sixth in 2000) and is trying to
establish a new team record by topping his eight place showing in his
inaugural season at PKV Racing last year. The perennial championship
contender, and 1996 Series Champion, has already assured himself of his
ninth top-10 showing time in the last 11 years.
"It was a great finish for the Gulfsteam/PKV Racing team," Vasser
said. "It is always good to finish on the podium and get some points,
but we are in a tight race with Allmendinger (A. J.) and Dominguez
(Mario) for fifth in the championship, so it looks like it is going to
come down to the final race in Mexico City," he explained. "I think
this is my third podium in 14 tries at Surfers Paradise and it is always
a great place to get that trophy. I just want to give all the credit to
the PKV Racing team. They have worked very hard this season and we are
starting to reap the benefits of all that hard work. I am also very
happy for Gulfstream, Bell Micro and everyone involved with PKV Racing,"
Vasser concluded.
Vasser, who is competing in his 14th year of Champ Car competition, made
his 230th career Champ Car start, 209th consecutive and 14th at Surfers
Paradise. The highly respected 39-year-old Californian has now finished
in the top-10 in eight of the 12 races this season with three top-five
showings including two podiums, thirds in Vegas and Surfers Paradise, a
fourth in Toronto and a fifth in Milwaukee. He has 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. In his 14 starts in Surfers, the resident of Las
Vegas, NV has finished in the top-10 six times with a victory (1996) and
qualified in the top-10 a total of 11 times with one pole (1996).
Vasser has finished 144 of his last 186 races and placed in the top-10
in 131 of his 230 events including 66 top-five showings and 33 podium
finishes.
Da Matta, in the #21 Bell Micro/PKV Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone
entry, qualified fourth for the second consecutive race tying his second
best qualifying effort for the season. Starting on the outside of Row
#2, da Matta was running along side of Dominguez, behind pole sitter
Oriol Servia and Bourdais, with Tracy coming through the field as they
entered the first corner on the opening lap. When the leaders began to
brake for the corner, da Matta, who was battling to hold onto third place
going into the chicane, hit the back of Servia's car and bounced off
Dominquez. Both da Matta and Dominguez were damaged beyond repair and
retired from the race. Servia was able to continue after a stop for
repairs.
"Going into the first chicane Sebastien (Bourdais) and Oriol (Servia)
started on the brakes," da Matta began. "I just couldn't slow down
quick enough. I was to close and should have given myself more space,
but I wanted to beat Dominguez (Mario) to the chicane. It was a
mistake," he said. "I feel bad for the Bell Micro/PKV Racing crew.
They worked very hard to give me a good car and we missed an opportunity
to score some valuable points. My goal now is to finish off the season
with a very good performance in Mexico City," da Matta concluded.
Da Matta, who is in his fifth Champ Car season and first with PKV Racing,
made his 91st career start, 12th with the team and fifth in Surfers
Paradise. The 31-year-old Brazilian currently sits 11th in the standings
with 132 points just five points out of ninth. Da Matta has finished in
the top-10 in five of the 12 races contested this year. He 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). 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).
Da Matta has now finished in the top-10 three times in five races at
Surfers Paradise 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. The resident of Miami, FL has qualified in the top-10 in all five
of his attempts in Surfers Paradise with one pole (2002).
PKV Racing made its fourth and fifth starts while competing in its third
race in Australia today. Today's third place finish by Vasser is their
best. The team's previous high is 11th by Mika Salo in 2003 and Roberto
Gonzalez in 2004. The team has qualified in the top-10 four times in
five attempts with a best starting position of fourth by da Matta this
year.
After the first 11 races in the 2005 Champ Car World Series season, PKV
Racing has established a number of team records. Da Matta scored the
team's first victory in their two plus year history in Portland (round
#4) while Vasser earned the team's first pole in round #3 at Milwaukee.
The two drivers have combined to set team records for best combined
qualifying, first and fourth at Milwaukee and best combined finish, first
and sixth at Portland. They have both qualified in the top-five twice
(Milwaukee and Las Vegas, Vasser -- third, da Matta -- fourth) and in the
top-10 in a team record ten races, including a team record six
consecutive races. Da Matta and Vasser have finished in the top-10 in
the same race three times (eighth/10th at Long Beach; first/sixth,
Portland and sixth/seventh, Montreal) this year and at least one of them
placed in the top-six in eight of the 12 events including five
consecutive races (the streak ended in Edmonton), which is also a team
record.
Next up for PKV Racing is the Gran Premio de Mexico, November 4-6, at
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico. It will be
televised live at 3:30 p.m. (ET) on SPEED Channel.
For more information please visit: www.pkvracing.com or
www.gulfstream.com.
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