L) Picture from June 1970, Pedro in his BRM P153 at Spa, Belgian GP, his last F1 victory. Taken at La Source, part of the original and current circuit. Pedro considered Spa a real man's circuit and a favorite of his so he fought the GPDA several times because they refused to run there because it was too dangerous. 
C) From September 1968 is Pedro at Monza in a BRM P138, the year of the high wings. You can differentiate between the official BRM with its orange marks from the private BRM which were red.
R) March 1966 and the start of the Sebring 12 Hours. Pedro is the sixth from the left (between the cars) with a darker nomex  and a helmet marked by a horizontal line (the goggles), also Pedro is much smaller than the rest (1.68 M. or 5'6").  Pedro focused on the run in the Le Mans type start and he liked to get away very fast to avoid incidents, and he often did. 

CART pulls a 1.6 rating for Cleveland, IRL pulls 0.45  UPDATE More TV ratings are out for last weekend and the IRL must not be too happy today.  Their live broadcast of the Richmond race on ESPN drew a paltry 0.45 rating (0.366 million households), just barely beating out the CART qualifying show (on ESPN2 and tape delayed nonetheless) which received a 0.37 rating (0.284 million households).  The USA winner was the NASCAR Bus series with a 1.8 rating (1.175 million households).   CART, on a road course, had its best rating so far this year, while the IRL's oval tracks continue to make no headway.  Of course CART gave its sponsors good value by outdistanced both the IRL and NASCAR once again with a minimum of 10 million worldwide households, 1 million of which were in the USA and 9 million divided among the other 199 countries that get CART TV broadcasts. Rating Source: Speedvision.com 7/2/01 - According to Speedvision.com, the Cleveland CART race pulled down a 1.6 overnight rating.  Although the final rating will likely go lower, it is still the best rating so far this year here in the USA.  However, once again the good news is that the race was seen by at least 10 million viewers worldwide, so the sponsors certainly got their money's worth. [Editor's note - the 10 million could easily be 20 or 30 million...or more.  The 10 million is based on assuming a low of 50,000 viewers per country times 200 countries.  Unfortunately, there is no company that accurately tracks worldwide TV ratings, so the best anyone can really do is use very conservative estimates for now].

Pat Patrick to retire in a few years  That's what he told Steve Ballard of the Indianapolis Star News this weekend.  One of the founding fathers of CART, Mr. Patrick is a true gentleman, but he is getting up there in age.  It's time to slow down, relax a bit, and enjoy life a bit more. We can tell you a little story about Mr. Patrick.  In Monterrey, Mexico this past March, Mr. Patrick was faced with the prospect of making his way threw the throngs of fans that packed the circuit of his hugely successful inaugural event.  Already a bit unsteady on his feet, he asked me if I would help him make his way through, to which I gladly obliged.  Once safely through he looked me in the eyes and said thank you very much, and I could tell he really meant it. Pat Patrick, when he does decide to step down, will be sorely missed. Anyone want to buy a well established CART team?  Speak up now before someone else grabs it.  Mark C.

Team Kool Green donates more to Black Men of America Team KOOL Green's Dario Franchitti scored an impressive win yesterday in the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland to earn $18,881 for the 100 Black Men of America's urban technology program. The victory was worth a bonus of $10,000, in addition to $8,881 paid for laps completed by Franchitti and teammate Paul Tracy. The funds will assist the 100 Black Men of America in providing increased access to computers, technology, and training in urban communities. Through their partnership with 100 Black Men of America, Team KOOL Green, with funding provided by Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, the team's principal sponsor, provides financial donations for each lap completed and overall race performances by Tracy and Franchitti in FedEx Champ Car events. The funds will be used by 100 Black Men of America to support their efforts in urban centers to connect young adults over 21 with new information and communication tools to make a positive impact in their communities, including access to the Internet, new computer technology, and skills training. Sunday's win was hard-earned. Franchitti started 14th, but fell to 22nd after going off-course on the first lap to avoid a multi-car accident in turn one. He worked his way to 12th place and then emerged from the first round of scheduled pit stops in fifth. Following the second round of stops, excellent pit work by the Team KOOL Green crew advanced Franchitti two more positions to third. He took the lead on lap 91 when leader Memo Gidley had to make a third pit stop for fuel. Franchitti finished the race just .305 seconds ahead of Gidley. "It felt really good to be back in the victory lane and I'm very happy to be able to share my success with the 100 Black Men of America organization," said Franchitti. "I'm quite proud of the Team KOOL Green crew, they really put forth a tremendous effort. We almost scored the win and $10,000 bonus in Detroit (finished second), and this time we got the job done." 

Malaysian government wants CART at Sepang Joe Heitzler let the cat out of the bag this weekend that the Government of Malaysia is interested in hosting a CART race at Sepang. Should CART race in Malaysia before China?  Perhaps, but China must eventually happen too.  It will be too large an economic powerhouse to ignore.  As can be seen from the photos below, Sepang is a first class facility throughout.  Notice the width of the pit straight, perfect for a standing start.  While you will never get all the drivers to agree that standing starts at perhaps 3 races per year would be exciting for the fans (change is difficult for some to come to grips with), we have talked to the engine manufacturers and so far the response has been - "no problem, they do a standing start every time they leave the pits now.  They push the button on the wheel, rev the engine, let the clutch out, and away they go.  If they stall, oh well, that's part of the skill of a standing start." 

Wrap-up report voiced by Tom Michaels
Dario Franchitti, who captured the win Sunday
Dario Franchitti on finally getting a win after the long drought
Dario Franchitti on jumping up in the points standings with the win
Memo Gidley on his chances of catching Franchitti
Kenny Brack post-race comments

Max Papis post-race comments

Post Race Press Conference

Memo Gidley Post-race comments

Bryan Herta post-race comments

Memo Gidley interview pre race

Friday top-3 drivers press conference

Preview voiced by Tom Michaels of the CART Radio Network 

Roberto Moreno on last year's win, his only career victory in the CART series. 

Moreno on overcoming doubters for his first CART victory last year, which came from the pole 

Michael Andretti  on the unique layout of the Cleveland track at Burke Lakefront Airport 

Andretti on taking chances on the wide Cleveland track 

Kenny Brack on why he likes racing at Cleveland

Mauricio Gugelmin of PacWest Racing on the bumpiness of Cleveland track 

6/27/00

SCCA

CART looking at new road course in Alabama  3rd UPDATE Steve Johnson, who runs the SCCA told Autoracing1.com - "The SCCA has received several proposals to relocate its headquarters.  Birmingham AL is one of the three cities that has come forward. As President and CEO of both SCCA Inc and SCCA Pro, I owe it to our members and partners to look at any and all opportunities. Currently, the SCCA is not soliciting bids for a new home. I will however, review any proposal that comes in and do a due diligence process to see if the relocation would be good for the short term and long term success of the SCCA as it relates to our strategic plan. I can tell you that the offers have been appealing enough to continue talking to all three cities. I can also tell you that although the offers are appealing, there is not enough information to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors to relocate our headquarters. In conclusion, the SCCA is staying in Denver at this time. We will continue to work with any partners that express interest in having the greatest motor sports organization in the world relocate to their city as long as it makes good sense for the SCCA and it members."  6/21/01 - Although our source was pretty positive the SCCA was moving to Alabama, other sources tell us no decision has been made yet.  Stay tuned.  6/20/01 - You may already be aware of this and how it connects to CART, etc. is not known (CART and SCCA Trans Am have partnered if you recall) but......the SCCA is moving its headquarters from Denver to Birmingham, Alabama. The site will be near the nearly complete Barber Motorsports Park complex. This article describes the track in detail.  This page even rumors that the track might get a 2nd USGP Motorcycle race. At 45' wide, that's probably all its really wide enough for. 11/24/00 - The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum announced plans to build a new museum and road racing track in Birmingham, Alabama.  The Barber Motorsports Park, a $33 million investment, will be largely financed by the museum, with infrastructure assistance from governmental entities. The museum and 2.4-mile road racing track should take 18-24 months to construct, and should be in operation in 2002.  We hear CART is taking a look at the track.  "We want to do this project for several reasons," said George Barber, the museum's founder. "First, we have the largest, and we think the best, collection of motorcycles in the Western Hemisphere, and we want to show them off properly. The new museum and track will display them, both standing still and moving. Second, we expect the museum and road racing track to be a major tourist attraction. We hope to bring in 125,000 people the first year of operation, and many of those people will be out-of-towners who will stay in hotels and eat in local restaurants. Third, we want to provide additional recreational opportunities for people in Birmingham and Alabama. A world-class motorsports museum and road racing track will help do that."  We think the location is ideal. We're close to downtown Birmingham and the airport, adjacent to Interstate 20, and close to Interstates 65 and 59. We're between Mercedes and Honda, both of whom have a great tradition of road racing. We're also between the Mercedes Museum and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum at Talladega, so we form a trio of motoring museums along I-20," said Jeff Ray, the museum's Executive Director.  The site is bounded on the west by the Cahaba River, and plans are to be environmentally proactive by establishing a substantial buffer along the riverbank. Between the buffer and track will be large, wooded camping areas. The stretch of the Cahaba River bordering the site will stay undeveloped and scenic. A canoe launch site with public access is also planned.

(L) Site Plan (C) Track layout, (R) Elevation changes

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