Heading into the Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise, Australia, Gil de Ferran was aiming to join elite company in winning back-to-back series titles. The three previous drivers who accomplished this feat are legends of the sport: Rick Mears (1981-82), Bobby Rahal (1986-87) and Alex Zanardi (1997-98). De Ferran knew the event would be a tough test, especially since last year, he was involved in contact at the first turn and never completed a lap in the race.

“The track itself is probably one of the most challenging street circuits we go to, and it’s definitely the longest and most intricate,” explained de Ferran. “Just like last season, Australia will be of vital importance in the outcome of the CART Championship. The situation is looking relatively good — but it’s not decided by any means. Heading into Australia last year, we were also in a good position but didn’t get through the first corner. Hopefully, we’ll be more successful this year.”

One of two drivers remaining who could possibly derail de Ferran’s quest was Kenny Brack. The popular Swede was enjoying a fine season, leading all drivers in wins on the campaign with four. Brack was also coming into the race hoping to improve one position from his impressive second place finish as a series rookie in last year’s race.

The remaining driver who held on to championship hopes was de Ferran’s teammate at Team Penske, Helio Castroneves. Facing a 38-point deficit to de Ferran with a maximum 44 points available in the last two races of the year including Surfers Paradise, Castroneves knew his chances of a championship were slim at best.

In qualifying, de Ferran showed that he was well prepared for the task at hand by leading the session going into the final minutes. However, de Ferran was required to serve an eight-minute carryover penalty at the end of qualifying as a result of causing a stoppage in the previous event’s qualifying session. This proved to be the critical factor as Roberto Moreno put in a flyer just as the session came to an end to snatch the pole away from de Ferran as well as deny the Penske driver a championship point.

The final qualifying results had three Brazilians heading the field with Moreno and de Ferran on the front row and Cristiano da Matta showing good form in taking third on the grid. The top five was rounded out by Team Green drivers, Paul Tracy and Dario Franchitti. Championship contenders Brack and Castroneves did not fare well as Brack only managed to qualify 13th and Castroneves did slightly better with 11th.

A record crowd of over 110,000 greeted the drivers and teams on race day. De Ferran took advantage of his front-row stating position and seized the lead, which he held on to until the first round of pit stops. Moreno came out the better following the stops and took over the lead. However, right before the second round of stops, da Matta, who had been running well throughout the day, made a sensational pass to get around Moreno and lead the field for the first time on Lap 47.

Da Matta would consolidate his position with a strong set of laps and went on the win his second race of the season.

As far as the championship, mechanical problems forced Castroneves to retire, and with it his championship hopes ended. Brack fought his way through the field and finished off a good day’s effort with fifth place. But de Ferran drove a smart race and finished one place ahead of Brack in fourth. As a result, de Ferran clinched his second straight championship with still one race remaining in the 2001 season.

“I guess it hasn’t completely sunk in yet,” stated a happy de Ferran. “All I can think is I’m a very fortunate person to be driving for a guy like Roger (Penske) and a team like we have. All I can think is how much I like these guys. To me, I’ve been living in a dream since I joined the team two years ago.

“Since I joined the team, my life has been wonderful from a personal and professional standpoint. I’ve been able to drive better and keep reaching new heights. Never in a million years did I ever think I would achieve this much success. For me to be speaking here as a two-time champion is very special. I guess we’ll just keep going.”

For race winner, da Matta, his accomplishment gave him a particular distinction. His first three victories in CART took place on three different types of circuits. His first was on the oval in Chicago in 2000. He earned his second on the road course in Monterrey, Mexico. With his victory in Australia, da Matta conquered the challenge of winning on a street course.

“To win any race is a very good feeling,” effused da Matta after the race. “To win in Australia is good because we come here so early and you get to make friends and go out to dinner and things like that. It almost feels like home. I’ve been here since Friday and you just start to enjoy it so much. They really enjoy our racing, and it’s a very special taste.”

As fate would have it, da Matta would go on to win the 2001 season finale at the superspeedway in Fontana, California completing his cycle of taking his first four victories on the four different types of circuits featured on the calendar.

The year 1996 marked the beginning of a new era in CART. The upstart team of Chip Ganassi Racing began the year with two drivers who would eventually write their names in the record books: Jimmy Vasser and Alex Zanardi. The team also featured a new combination of a Reynard chassis, Honda engine, and Firestone tires. This combination would prove to be the package of choice over the previously dominant Reynard-Ford/Cosworth-Goodyear package from 1995.

Vasser started 1996 with a bang, taking his first career Champ Car win at the season-opening oval race in Miami. He followed this up with an eighth at the Rio 400 in Brazil and another win in Surfers Paradise, Australia. Heading into Round Four of the season, the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Vasser held on to a five-point lead in the championship over Scott Pruett.

Qualifying showcased a fascinating battle between drivers and packages. Future series champion, Gil de Ferran (2000, 2001), driving a Reynard-Honda-Goodyear package secured the pole ahead of another future series champion and Vasser’s teammate, Alex Zanardi (1997, 1998). Vasser would end up with the third starting spot, while yet another future champion, Paul Tracy (2003) rounded out Row Two in his Penske-Mercedes-Goodyear package. Qualifying fifth was the driver who was second in the points going into the weekend, Scott Pruett, who was piloting a Lola-Ford/Cosworth-Firestone.

De Ferran led the first 38 of 105 race laps and the order eventually sorted out with de Ferran, Zanardi, Vasser, Pruett, and Tracy comprising the top five. However, there was notable action in the opening laps as Vasser and Tracy fought for position. The pair came into contact on Lap Four, with Tracy coming out ahead. Then a spin by Tracy on Lap 10 promoted Vasser to third and dropped Tracy to fifth.

For de Ferran and Zanardi, their run at the front held the promise of a Champ Car victory. Both drivers had come from racing in Europe to find a new home in CART. While de Ferran was already a race winner and in his second CART season driving for legendary team owner, Jim Hall, Zanardi was a rookie and Vasser’s teammate at an up-and-coming team. Both drivers were potential winners in Brazil, with Zanardi starting on pole and de Ferran leading his home race in the later stages before a fuel problem spoiled his chances. Neither driver would prevail on that day and now victory was foremost in their minds at Long Beach.

On Lap 39, de Ferran pitted and surrendered the lead to Zanardi. But the Italian’s day would end almost immediately thereafter as contact with a backmarker put him out of the race in Turn One. After a full-course caution, de Ferran found himself back in front, this time followed by Vasser, Tracy, and a surprising Parker Johnstone in his Reynard-Honda-Firestone. It appeared that de Ferran was set for a dominating victory as he led 62 consecutive laps and was cruising towards the checkered flag with a lead of over eight seconds.

Then with four laps remaining, a turbo problem caused de Ferran’s engine to lose horsepower, and he could only watch as Vasser streaked past on Lap 102. Sadly, de Ferran would lose four places and finish fifth. After the race de Ferran dejectedly stated, “This beats Rio as the biggest disappointment in my career.” He added, “The car was running perfectly. I had no indication ahead of time.”

The win was Vasser’s third victory in four races. “Lady Luck smiled on us today,” admitted Vasser as he extended his championship lead to 23 points over Pruett, who lost two laps in the pits to replace a broken coil. Johnstone took his best ever CART finish in second, while six-time Long Beach winner, Al Unser, Jr. came home in third. Tracy and de Ferran rounded out the top five. Vasser’s hot start in 1996 catapulted him to a points lead that he would never relinquish on his way to the series championship.

We at Grand Prix DB could not have better timed the debut of our site. Earlier today came the offiical announcement that the Indy Racing League and Champ Car have been unified into one series. To celebrate this new beginning, Grand Prix DB would like to recognize some of the great races that have taken place in the CART/Champ Car era. After all, if the IRL has purchased all the historical records from Champ Car, what better way to usher in this new era than to look back at some of the races that helped make that history. In the weeks leading up to the season opener at Homestead, we will be publishing a series of retrospective articles.