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Tecate-Telmex Grand Prix 2001 winner, Cristiano da Matta from
Newman/Hass Racing visited Fundidora Park circuit in Monterrey
this week. This young driver from Brazil came to see the
grounds, and changes made to track, and prepare to defend his
2002 crown.
Cristiano was interviewed by reporters, went around the
circuit accompanied by journalists and rode a mountain bike
-one of his favorite hobbies- to go over part of the course
making spectacular jumps over the new "rumble strips" placed
on the slow turns. He also went up to winners podium,
reminiscing about his last year victory and ended with an
autograph session in a music store in a shopping mall, before
going to the airport to take a plane to his native Belo
Horizonte, to relax before starting the 2002 season.
In the course of his long press conference (almost one hour)
held before local media, Cristiano talked a little about
everything and among the topics mentioned, the Brazilian
"miner" said Indy Lights will be missed since its cars "were a
good CART training, powerful and difficult to drive, 450 hp.
Now Atlantic Formula cars are 250 hp and personally I think it
is a big step going from that to CART with 800 hp. This will
be interesting as some Indy Lights teams went to Atlantic and
improved its competitiveness".
The driver also commented about his 2002 expectations: "I am
100% focused on my objective, the CART championship. We have
good opportunities, I believe I am one out of six drivers with
good possibilities".
Then he spoke about his country drivers, who won two Nations
Cups consecutively: "This year we have 4 drivers less (Helio,
Gil, Moreno and Gugelmin) but I hope to represent my country
as well as the others in the past years. When on the track,
nationality does not come into play, I do not distinguish
drivers I pass, whether Brazilians or not. Gil (de Ferran)
leaving to IRL is a shame because, one, as a driver, always
want to win when the champion defends his title, but I think
neither him nor Helio (Castro Neves) are happy, as there is no
comparison between IRL and CART, that series is at the Indy
Lights level. However, CART also loses because they are a
couple of excellent drivers".
Cristiano, strong favorite among CART 2002 title candidates,
also talked about the track, Monterrey and the new rules: "I
could see the track in the morning, its changes. A lot of
improvements, such as rumble strips placed on turns to prevent
drivers cutting across the grass, and everything is now ready
for the race. This circuit is one of the best ones, with a
very smooth pavement, very nice and in a beautiful place. It
is better than any track in the USA and only in its second
year therefore more things can be made (in the future). I
think its level is close to Formula 1……. Monterrey fans, I am
sure, are among the best ones. They know what happens, what do
you do as driver, understand about competition and I am
feeling very honored to arrive to a place where people talk
about me and enjoy what am I doing. I like it very
much……Concerning rules changes, for 2002 I think more
important than scoring on Friday, is the fact that all of us
will be into one group to qualify. Friday qualifying is going
to make the show more exciting for the fans, because in the
past we focused on setup and testing changes for the race. But
I like to be qualifying in one group, not in two groups as the
last year. It is more fair and exciting for the fans, and
increases competitiveness -which is very high in CART-
although I hope not so much because I want to win many races".
Finally, Cristiano also talked about the Mexican drivers
running in CART and evaluated their possibilities:
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Michel Jourdain: "Is who I contact more, he's got a
great opportunity running with the winningest racing 2001
team. For the first time Michel has a winning opportunity to
make the job with a good team behind him all the season. Maybe
he will have difficulties in the beginning because he is
integrating to Team Rahal, but from mid-season on he should be
fighting against the best ones".
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Mario Domínguez: "I ran with him in Indy Lights in 1998
and he is good, but he has more to do than Michel because only
10 testing days are allowed for new drivers in pre-season and
the learning phase is longer for them. He is a good driver and
will become better by learning".
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Adrián Fernández: "He has made many changes in his team
and should improve what he got last year when starting as team
owner. He is a good driver, always a dangerous competitor". "
--Monterrey PR--
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Martin Basso
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