2001 Rockingham 500
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52°30′54″N 0°39′27″W / 52.5150°N 0.6575°W
1.479 mi / 2.380 km
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 17 of 21 in the 2001 CART season | |
 Map of the track | |
| Date | 22 September, 2001 |
| Official name | Rockingham 500K |
| Location | Rockingham Motor Speedway, Corby, Northamptonshire, England |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.479 mi / 2.380 km |
| Distance | 140 laps 207.060 mi / 333.230 km |
| Weather | Partly Cloudy |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal) |
| Time | No Time Trials |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver |  Patrick Carpentier (Forsythe Racing) |
| Time | 25.251 (on lap 134 of 140) |
| Podium | |
| First |  Gil de Ferran (Team Penske) |
| Second | Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal) |
| Third | Cristiano da Matta (Newman/Haas Racing) |
The 2001 Rockingham 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on 22 September 2001 at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire, England before 38,000 people. It was the 17th race of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series, the second (and final) event of the year to be held in Europe, and the series' first visit to the United Kingdom. Team Penske driver Gil de Ferran won the 140-lap race starting from second position. Kenny Bräck finished second for Team Rahal, and Newman/Haas Racing driver Cristiano da Matta was third.
Drainage problems with the circuit caused the first two days of the event to be cancelled. Bräck — the season points leader heading into the race — was awarded the pole position. Due to a compacted schedule the original distance of the race was reduced from 210 laps to 168. Bräck lost the lead on the first lap to de Ferran, who held the first position for the next 44 laps. Bräck passed de Ferran to reclaim the lead on the 45th lap and remained the leader until the second round of pit stops. The race distance was further reduced by series race director Chris Kneifel from 168 to 140 laps because of fading daylight. De Ferran held the first position until a slower car delayed him and allowed Bräck to retake the lead on the race's penultimate lap. He held it until de Ferran made a race-winning overtake on the final lap. It was de Ferran's first victory of the season, his second on an oval track, and the sixth of his career. There were three cautions and five lead changes during the race.
The result lowered Bräck's advantage over de Ferran in the Drivers' Championship to six points. Michael Andretti remained in third position though the revised gap to Hélio Castroneves in the battle for the position was two points. Da Matta's third-placed finish moved him from eighth to fifth. Honda's increased its lead over Ford Cosworth in the Manufacturers' Championship, while Toyota maintained third place, with four races left in the season.
The Rockingham 500 was confirmed as part of CART's 2001 series' schedule in July 2000.[1] It was the conclusion of a two-week European stretch for the series; the American Memorial was held at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Germany one week earlier.[2] The Rockingham 500 was the 17th of 21 scheduled races for 2001 by CART,[3] and was held on 22 September at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire, England.[4] It was the first time that CART had visited the United Kingdom.[5] CART hoped for a crowd of 40,000 at the track, which had a capacity of 52,000.[6] The track is a four-turn 1.479-mile (2.380 km) oval that has banking of up to 7.9 degrees.[7] Prior to the race, Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck led the Drivers' Championship on 131 points, ahead of Gil de Ferran in second and Michael Andretti third. Hélio Castroneves was a close fourth with 111 points, ahead of fifth-placed Scott Dixon with 86 points.[8] Honda led the Constructors' Championship with 257 points; Ford Cosworth were in second on 224 points, two ahead of Toyota in third place.[8]
Bräck said his car's engine and chassis had been fast on oval tracks and felt that he and his team would compete for the victory at Rockingham.[9] Da Matta stated that he had good results in the lower category formulas at tracks across England, and he had good memories about competing in the country, and hoped the race at Rockingham would be "interesting" having heard of a smooth track surface.[10] Following a major accident involving Alex Zanardi at the season's previous race, his team Mo Nunn Racing announced they would participate at Rockingham but entered only one car. All crew members who worked on Zanardi's car were sent to the United States to recover from the incident, although his wife protested the decision. Mo Nunn Racing announced that the car would return for the next race of the year (at the Grand Prix of Houston),[11] and revealed the week after Rockingham that Indy Lights Series driver Casey Mears would participate in the season's four remaining races.[12]
Practice and qualifying
A total of three practice sessions were scheduled to be held before the Sunday race: two on Thursday and one on Friday. The first session was due to last 105 minutes, and the second and third sessions 90 minutes.[13] Heavy rain three days beforehand caused the local clay to absorb a large amount of water. Only a small amount of evaporation had occurred due to low ambient temperatures.[14] Race officials examined water that emerged through the track's surface in several areas on Thursday.[5] The track surface had been drilled through overnight in an effort to drain collected water and prevent further seepage.[15] Later, CART's jet dryer was used on the track. Although a dry surface was created, water continued to appear through it. CART chief steward Chris Kneifel drove the pace car onto the track at 3:00 p.m. British Summer Time (UTC+1) along with 26 cars and 23 secondary vehicles under caution for five installation laps in separate groups. No improvement was reported, and CART cancelled remainder of the day's activities an hour later.[16]
Course officials resumed work by drilling shafts into the surface to form a well in an attempt to reduce the drainage problem before the start of Friday's scheduled sessions.[14] It was mooted by some British press publications that the race would be moved to the track's infield road course. This was unfeasible since the circuit did not hold a licence from motorsport's world governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, to race on it, and the teams had not brought a suitable aerodynamic package.[17][18] Drainage problems continued to affect the track and the qualifying session was cancelled. The starting order was determined by the drivers order in the points' standings. The pole position was awarded to Bräck, his sixth of the season. He was joined on the grid's front row by de Ferran.[19] Andretti, Castroneves, Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Patrick Carpentier, Cristiano da Matta, Roberto Moreno and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top ten.[17] Drying efforts continued overnight with additional equipment and extra workers from across England brought in to improve the track's drainage. Five jet dryers were taken onto the circuit with additional fuel transported from Sywell Aerodrome to help them carry out their operation.[19] Additionally, thousands of small holes were created in the track's surface to release moisture.[20]
Rockingham Motor Speedway's chief executive David Grace apologised for the delays and denied the anticipation of a drainage problem.[18] He added that the operators were advised by experts. CART's chairman and CEO Joseph Heitzler rejected suggestions that it was the incorrect decision to stage the race in September as he had been informed that the month was one of the driest of the year.[21] Carpentier argued that circuit personnel should have been prepared a month beforehand, while Kanaan voiced his concerns about the situation for everybody.[6] The 15,000 spectators who were in attendance on Thursday were issued cash refunds.[18]
