Marlboro Indycar World Series 1995
Round 6: Rex Mays Classic at Milwaukee Mile
One week after a spectacular and eventful Indy 500, the Marlboro championship trail heads over to the oldest track in America in Milwaukee. The biggest news of the week-end concerns the health of Stan Fox, who was victim of a terrible crash at the start of the Indy 500. The Indiana native has left the baptist hospital and has not suffered any serious injuries, but nonetheless, he understandably announced his retirement from racing shortly after.
In other news, with Willy T. Ribs suffering minor injuries after being involved in the Stan Fox crash, Lyn St. James substitutes for him in the Coors Light Payton/Coyne Lola for Milwaukee.
On track, a 4-way battle for the pole on saturday delivered A show as Jeff Gordon, Michael Andretti and the two Penske-Hondas of Ayrton Senna and Al Unser Jr took turns exchaning first place, with Jeff Gordon ending up putting his Pennzoil Reynard-Mercedes on pole in front of Senna.
Despite the rocket start by Walker's Robby Gordon, goign from 6th to 2nd at the opening lap, the race ended up being a three-way fight between Jeff, Little Al and Michael. Senna, running in 4th, crashed into turn 3 attempting to overtake Michael on lap 122, while Indy 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve had a solid race ending up in 6th, but he was nowhere near the leading trio.
In the end, Jeff and Little Al pulled away from Michael and dueled for the win. Jeff looked to block Little Al on the outside, but Unser dived into the inside on lap 179, with Jeff almost hitting the wall, giving away the lead to the reigning champion, who would cruise the last 20 laps to his second win of the season.
Little Al gaining momentum
Milwaukee Race Results
1) Al Unser Jr20 pts
2) Jeff Gordon 16 pts
3) Michael Andretti 14 pts
4) Christian Fittipaldi 12 pts
5) Robby Gordon 10 pts
6) Jacques Villeneuve 6 pts
7) John Andretti 4 pts
8) Raul Boesel 3 pts
9) Jimmy Vasser 2 pts
10) Adrian Fernandez 1 pt
Round 7: Budweiser Grand Prix of New York at the Glen
Ayrton Senna scores pole position at Watkins Glen, but the show would be all about Robby Gordon. The brazilian led much of the first half, but the Walker driver never gave up, being right on his trail. A rare mistake by the brazilian saw him miss the boot, with Robby taking advantage and going into the lead, a lead which he would never concede as he dominated the second half to score his 4th career win and second of the season. Senna, after going through even more trouble, would end up retiring with a faulty gearbox, while Jeff Gordon's merc Engine blew up in smokes, along with the rahal team.
Robby Gordon leading at the Glen
Watkins Glen Race Results
1) Robby Gordon 20 pts
2) Jimmy Vasser 16 pts
3) Scott Pruett 14 pts
4) Michael Andretti 12 pts
5) Al Unser Jr 10 pts
6) John Andretti 6 pts
7) Adrian Fernandez 4 pts
8) Christian Fittipaldi 3 pts
9) Jacques Villeneuve 2 pts
10) Parker Johnstone 1 pt
Round 8: GI Joe's 200 in Portland
Heading into the pacific Northwest, Ayrton Senna had a discussion with Roger Penske and Al Unser Jr concerning the status of the two drivers, with Senna thinking that the equal status setup might be more detrimental to the team than intended this year.
So far, it seemed that Penske heeded to his call, for Ayrton dominated the race with Little Al not really challenging him in second, even though he definitely looked tempted. However, controversy would ensue, as Littel Al's car was found to be underweight, and thus Unser was disqualified. Tensions are starting to brew in the Penske paddock...
Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon again had engine issues during the race, and he was becoming increasingly displeased with it. With his contract expriring after this season, it might be the beginning of the end for Jeff and Jim Hall...
Things aren't so smooth for Jeff Gordon
Portland Race Results
1) Ayrton Senna 20 pts
2) Jimmy Vasser 16 pts
3) Bobby Rahal 14 pts
4) Michael Andretti 12 pts
5) Bryan Herta 10 pts
6) Parker Johnstone 6 pts
7) Mauricio Gugelmin 4 pts
8) Robby Gordon 3 pts
9) Adrian Fernandez 2 pts
10) Davy Jones 1 pt
Round 9: New England 200 at New Hampshire
Jeff Gordon once again starts on pole on an oval, but the biggest surprise is André Ribeiro of Tasman starting alongside the california kid. Gordon led comfortably for the first 42 laps, but he was forced to pit for damage after slightly clipping the wall on lap 47, damaging half of his front wing. He would make a great recovery drive and finish 6th, but still, another disappointement...
The race turned into a duel for the win between Michael Andretti and the underdog Ribeiro, who took turns passing each other for the lead. Ribeiro eventually took it with a daring manoeuver at the backstraight, and he would hold off Michael for a massive upset win.
However, slightly overshadowing that was Al Unser and Senna's battling for position. As if to show his miscontentement to Roger giving him an illegal car in Portland and Senna thinking he can just reverse their equal status like that, Little Al did a dirty move on Senna late in the race, squeezing him tightly on the inside. Little Al would end up in 3rd place, while Jacques Villeneuve takes advantage to pip 4th from senna and gain back precious points in the standings.
Ribeiro celebrating his upset win
New Hampshire Race Results
1) André Ribeiro 20 pts
2) Michael Andretti 16 pts
3) Al Unser Jr 14 pts
4) Jacques Villeneuve 12 pts
5) Ayrton Senna 10 pts
6) Jeff Gordon 6 pts
7) Jimmy Vasser 4 pts
8) John Andretti 3 pts
9) Robby Gordon 2 pts
10) Bobby Rahal 1 pt
Round 10: Molson Indy Toronto
In the streets of Exhibition Place, Villeneuve scores his first career pole, barely beating Senna's lap by only 000.1 seconds.
Villeneuve and Senna battled it out for the win, putting on quite a show to the Toronto folks, with a very vocal contingent of québécois fans cheering on for Gilles's son. However, a third party came late in the race to play spoiler in Michael Andretti, the king of Exhibition Place. Andretti would find himself up front late in the race, but a spirited Villeneuve charged on, taking the lead at the end of the backstraight and never looking back, scoring his second win of the season and cementing his status as a title contender, while Senna ends up in 3rd. Al Unser Jr crashed with Scott Pruett at the backstraight on the opening lap, while Jeff Gordon finally has a decent result, finishing in 4th. Robbie Stanley gets another point for Foyt.
Toronto Race Results
1) Jacques Villeneuve 20 pts
2) Michael Andretti 16 pts
3) Ayrton Senna 14 pts
4) Jeff Gordon 12 pts
5) Robby Gordon 10 pts
6) Bryan Herta 6 pts
7) Bobby Rahal 4 pts
8) Adrian Fernandez 3 pts
9) Christian Fittipaldi 2 pts
10) Robbie Stanley 1 pt
Up next is the second 500 miler of the year at Michigan. Will the Penskes settle their differences and focus on the title? Will Villeneuve further establish himself? Will Jeff Gordon finally have something going right for his title aspirations? Or Will we see another upset like in Nazareth and New Hampshire?
To be continued...