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2003 German 500
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2003 German 500
The 2003 German 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) open-wheel race that was held on May 11, 2003 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany. It was the fifth round of the 2003 Champ Car World Series and the second and final running of the event. The 154-lap race was won by Newman/Haas Racing driver Sébastien Bourdais. Mario Domínguez of Herdez Competition finished second and Team Rahal's Michel Jourdain Jr. came in third.
Bourdais set the fastest time of qualifying and won the pole position. Prior to the race, Alex Zanardi drove 13 laps around the circuit in honor of the laps he never completed in the 2001 American Memorial due to his near-fatal crash. Bourdais and his teammate Bruno Junqueira traded the lead several times before Domínguez passed them both on lap 35. Domínguez's blocking tactics against Bourdais were deemed too aggressive by CART and he was issued a penalty, allowing Bourdais and Junqueira to continue their battle for the lead. After the final round of pit stops, Bourdais reclaimed the lead, but received immense pressure from Domínguez's multiple attempts to pass him. Bourdais ultimately fended off Domínguez and earned his second CART victory.
With Paul Tracy struggling to materialize a fast pace due to an overabundance of downforce on his car, he was left tied with Junqueira for the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Bourdais' win boosted him from sixth to fourth place in the standings. Lola widened their lead over Reynard in the Constructors' Championship with 13 races left in the season.
The German 500 was the fifth of 18 scheduled open-wheel races for the 2003 Champ Car World Series, the second edition of the event, and the second and last race in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)'s European swing; the London Champ Car Trophy was held at Brands Hatch in England the week prior. It was held on May 11, 2003 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, a three-turn 2.023 mi (3.256 km) superspeedway, in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany, and was contested over 154 laps and 311.542 miles (501.378 km). The FIA Sportscars and German Formula Three Championship held support races that same weekend. Heading into the race, Paul Tracy held the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 65 points, eleven more than Bruno Junqueira in second. Michel Jourdain Jr. held third on 42 points, ahead of fourth-placed Adrián Fernández with 29 and fifth-placed Patrick Carpentier with 28. In the Constructors' Cup standings, Lola led with 88 points, while Reynard stood second on 34.
CART's last race at Lausitz, held four days after the September 11 attacks in 2001, was overshadowed by a severe crash which left Alex Zanardi losing both legs. One month after track promoters filed for insolvency, the event was dropped from the series' schedule in 2002, despite CART's expectations that the race would be held as scheduled. The race was again omitted from the schedule in 2003, although an event in Europe was tentatively listed. On January 10, 2003, CART president and chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Pook and track CEO Hans-Jörg Fischer announced the series' return to Lausitz; additionally, all tickets sold to the cancelled 2002 event would be honored for the 2003 event. CART required each team not to change their aerodynamic configuration from the previous round at Brands Hatch. The road course aero package was expected to decrease speeds below 200 mph (320 km/h) and create close pack racing.
Sébastien Bourdais, the winner of the preceding London Champ Car Trophy, expressed anticipation for the German 500 and admitted that he underestimated the skills necessary to compete on an oval track until he completed a preseason test at Phoenix International Raceway. Championship leader Tracy acknowledged the adversity of altering the racing setup from that of a road course like Brands Hatch to a superspeedway like Lausitz, but assured that he would finish well in the race. Junqueira conversely believed that Forsythe Racing's overuse of downforce may place Tracy and Carpentier at a disadvantage compared to other teams. Jourdain Jr. was confident that he could perform well at Lausitz due to Team Rahal's success on superspeedways over the past five years, including a win at the track with Kenny Bräck in 2001.
One 160-minute practice session on Saturday morning preceded the race on Sunday. The first 25 minutes were exclusively reserved for the nine rookie drivers, while the last 135 minutes were open to all competitors. Bourdais set the quickest time of the session at 36.794 seconds, almost a tenth of a second quicker than Newman/Haas Racing teammate Junqueira in second. Mario Domínguez, Alex Tagliani, and Jourdain Jr. rounded out the top-five. The session featured several stoppages for Darren Manning, Rodolfo Lavín, and Tagliani, all of whom slowed to a halt on the track. Debris from Tracy and Oriol Servià's cars also paused the session.
It’s great to win the pole on my first trip to an oval. It was not really my job -- the engineers did a wonderful job to make the car where I could run flat out. I think we have had a strong car since the beginning of the season. We were quick at Brands Hatch so I didn’t think we prepared the cars enough for this event since we had to make a compromise and have one set-up that would work on the road course and the oval. It was fairly easy to stay flat all the way around. We definitely have a good chance to be on pace at all of the races.
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2003 German 500
The 2003 German 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) open-wheel race that was held on May 11, 2003 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany. It was the fifth round of the 2003 Champ Car World Series and the second and final running of the event. The 154-lap race was won by Newman/Haas Racing driver Sébastien Bourdais. Mario Domínguez of Herdez Competition finished second and Team Rahal's Michel Jourdain Jr. came in third.
Bourdais set the fastest time of qualifying and won the pole position. Prior to the race, Alex Zanardi drove 13 laps around the circuit in honor of the laps he never completed in the 2001 American Memorial due to his near-fatal crash. Bourdais and his teammate Bruno Junqueira traded the lead several times before Domínguez passed them both on lap 35. Domínguez's blocking tactics against Bourdais were deemed too aggressive by CART and he was issued a penalty, allowing Bourdais and Junqueira to continue their battle for the lead. After the final round of pit stops, Bourdais reclaimed the lead, but received immense pressure from Domínguez's multiple attempts to pass him. Bourdais ultimately fended off Domínguez and earned his second CART victory.
With Paul Tracy struggling to materialize a fast pace due to an overabundance of downforce on his car, he was left tied with Junqueira for the lead in the Drivers' Championship. Bourdais' win boosted him from sixth to fourth place in the standings. Lola widened their lead over Reynard in the Constructors' Championship with 13 races left in the season.
The German 500 was the fifth of 18 scheduled open-wheel races for the 2003 Champ Car World Series, the second edition of the event, and the second and last race in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)'s European swing; the London Champ Car Trophy was held at Brands Hatch in England the week prior. It was held on May 11, 2003 at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, a three-turn 2.023 mi (3.256 km) superspeedway, in Klettwitz, Brandenburg, Germany, and was contested over 154 laps and 311.542 miles (501.378 km). The FIA Sportscars and German Formula Three Championship held support races that same weekend. Heading into the race, Paul Tracy held the lead in the Drivers' Championship with 65 points, eleven more than Bruno Junqueira in second. Michel Jourdain Jr. held third on 42 points, ahead of fourth-placed Adrián Fernández with 29 and fifth-placed Patrick Carpentier with 28. In the Constructors' Cup standings, Lola led with 88 points, while Reynard stood second on 34.
CART's last race at Lausitz, held four days after the September 11 attacks in 2001, was overshadowed by a severe crash which left Alex Zanardi losing both legs. One month after track promoters filed for insolvency, the event was dropped from the series' schedule in 2002, despite CART's expectations that the race would be held as scheduled. The race was again omitted from the schedule in 2003, although an event in Europe was tentatively listed. On January 10, 2003, CART president and chief executive officer (CEO) Chris Pook and track CEO Hans-Jörg Fischer announced the series' return to Lausitz; additionally, all tickets sold to the cancelled 2002 event would be honored for the 2003 event. CART required each team not to change their aerodynamic configuration from the previous round at Brands Hatch. The road course aero package was expected to decrease speeds below 200 mph (320 km/h) and create close pack racing.
Sébastien Bourdais, the winner of the preceding London Champ Car Trophy, expressed anticipation for the German 500 and admitted that he underestimated the skills necessary to compete on an oval track until he completed a preseason test at Phoenix International Raceway. Championship leader Tracy acknowledged the adversity of altering the racing setup from that of a road course like Brands Hatch to a superspeedway like Lausitz, but assured that he would finish well in the race. Junqueira conversely believed that Forsythe Racing's overuse of downforce may place Tracy and Carpentier at a disadvantage compared to other teams. Jourdain Jr. was confident that he could perform well at Lausitz due to Team Rahal's success on superspeedways over the past five years, including a win at the track with Kenny Bräck in 2001.
One 160-minute practice session on Saturday morning preceded the race on Sunday. The first 25 minutes were exclusively reserved for the nine rookie drivers, while the last 135 minutes were open to all competitors. Bourdais set the quickest time of the session at 36.794 seconds, almost a tenth of a second quicker than Newman/Haas Racing teammate Junqueira in second. Mario Domínguez, Alex Tagliani, and Jourdain Jr. rounded out the top-five. The session featured several stoppages for Darren Manning, Rodolfo Lavín, and Tagliani, all of whom slowed to a halt on the track. Debris from Tracy and Oriol Servià's cars also paused the session.
It’s great to win the pole on my first trip to an oval. It was not really my job -- the engineers did a wonderful job to make the car where I could run flat out. I think we have had a strong car since the beginning of the season. We were quick at Brands Hatch so I didn’t think we prepared the cars enough for this event since we had to make a compromise and have one set-up that would work on the road course and the oval. It was fairly easy to stay flat all the way around. We definitely have a good chance to be on pace at all of the races.
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