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| Posted By | Discussion Topic: CART Vancouver Molson Indy | ||||
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| NYR2119935 | posted on 09-02-2001 @ 4:49 PM |    | |||
| Psychopath Registered: May. 00  | http://espn.go.com/rpm/cart/2001/0901/1246873.html VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Canadian teammates Alex Tagliani and Patrick Carpentier swept the front row for the Vancouver Molson Indy with an aggressive wall-banging show Saturday on the narrow street circuit. "It's a blue and white front row," Tagliani said, referring to the Team Player's colors. "Our luck has turned and the team is really strong at the moment." It wasn't easy, though, with the times of the top 15 qualifiers for Sunday's race separated by less than one second. "It's really competitive and you have to be very aggressive," said Tagliani after earning his second career pole and first since the spring of 2000 in Brazil. "I was running too deep, not deep enough, running over curbs. I almost crashed once, and I scraped the wall, too. "It's so competitive, it's just hundredths of a second for the top eight spots," he added. Tagliani got around the 1.781-mile, 12-turn circuit at the edge of downtown Vancouver in 1 minute, 0.872 seconds -- a speed of 105.329 mph. His fellow Quebec native, Carpentier, was just 0.052 seconds and 0.090 mph slower at 1:00.924 and 105.239. "This guy has been pretty fast all weekend," Carpentier said, nodding toward his teammate. "I knew I had to push the car very hard. I had no choice. I think I hit the wall three or four times in qualifying and I nearly crashed on every lap." Being up front at the start won't change that aggressive style much on Sunday, according to Tagliani. "We have no choice," he said. "With one second separating 15 cars, you lift twice on one lap and you go from first to 15th. I don't want to be 15th." Gil de Ferran, the defending CART FedEx Series champion, and Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, the current series leader, were close behind the Canadians, sandwiching current runner-up Kenny Brack. "That was a very frustrating session," de Ferran said. "I had maybe three laps going that were better than my fast one, but I kept making mistakes on the last three turns. That's what qualifying is about though. The lap doesn't end after turn nine." While the Penske cars have been fast all year, de Ferran paid a compliment to the front row drivers, whose team has piled up the most points in the series over the last five races after overcoming a streak of bad fortune at the start of the season. "It certainly hasn't escaped my attention that they have been picking it up for quite a while now," he said. "We would certainly be mistaken if we did not take them as serious contenders at every event now." Castroneves was equally frustrated. "I couldn't get a clear lap," he said. "We were able to improve the car but we couldn't go for it at the end due to the last red flag. We're in a pretty good starting position, though. It's a narrow circuit, so we need to be careful and make sure we're in the points at the end." Brack, who lost the points lead to Castroneves two weeks ago at Road America, also thought he could have gone faster if the session had not been cut short. "But, overall, I'm pleased," he said. "It's very important to start up front at a place like this. Passing is so difficult that you need to qualify well." Paul Tracy, another Canadian and the defending race winner, improved from 19th in practice on Friday to eighth in qualifying, but also ended the session two minutes early when he nosed his car into a tire wall. Earlier in the day, he hit Michael Andretti from behind during practice. "We've got a good race car and a lot of things can happen in this race.," Tracy said. "I know we can do a good race from eighth." Castroneves leads Brack by just five points and de Ferran by 11 with seven races remaining. It was important for all three that they be near the front on a narrow, winding course that puts a premium on passing. "This type of race track is very narrow and it's easy to get in each other's way," de Ferran said. "None of us can afford to make a big mistake because it's getting to the time of year when there aren't as many points left." Tagliani agreed, saying, "We just want to have the points. We should take care of each other and not get too aggressive at the start. On this kind of track, you've got to expect there will be yellows and I think the race will be played out in the last 20 laps and probably in the last (pit) stop, too."  CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA | ||||
| Francine Banger | posted on 09-02-2001 @ 6:50 PM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Dec. 00 | For the 80 Millionth Fuckin Time Put all this Cart shit that ONLY YOU and maybe 1 or 2 other people in the entire world care about, In One Single Thread!!!!!!  | ||||
| mother shucker | posted on 09-03-2001 @ 1:20 AM | | |||
| Psychopath Registered: Nov. 00 | O.K., herrific! I shucked it, and I shucked it, and I shucked it, i'm quite the mother shucker! | ||||
| WhackBagKid TALK TO ME, GOMEZ. HE WHO IS #1. | posted on 09-03-2001 @ 2:45 AM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Sep. 00 | damnt! is this person retarted? we have told you b4, and you have agreed to do it, so why not do it u jackass?  Webmaster of the Undergound Unofficial I Hate adolescentmasturbator Message Board | ||||
| The Sleeper Being a Minor is a Threat to my Social Life PoseUr i ahve 2 threads at teh top, i feel like maynard | posted on 09-03-2001 @ 2:47 AM | | |||
| O&A Board Regular Registered: Oct. 00 | quote: Bra-Fuckin-Vo to whoever made that status. Hey NYR3924390483249082390483214, what do you think about the upcoming Ivy League Squash season?  | ||||
Displaying 1-5 of 5 messages in this thread. |