devilmaster
07-12-04, 01:09 PM
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/cart/news_story.asp?ID=90878&hubName=auto_racing-cart
On Attendance:
ATTENDANCE REPORT: Attendance for the Toronto Molson Indy remained strong, with a crowd of 72,561 showing up for Sunday's race on a gorgeous, sunny day.
The number was down a negligible 800 or so from last year.
The total weekend attendance of 164,218 was about three thousand less than 2003.
Still, the crowd of 41,704 for Friday's provisional qualifying was the lowest since 1992 and the 49,953 at Saturday's qualifying was the lowest since 1993.
Last year's weekend attendance was 167,352, a good showing at a time when Toronto's tourism industry was suffering from the SARS crisis. The weekend record was set in 2001, when 169,023 took in the events and all-time high 73,628 watched the race.
On Carpentier:
T-DOT BREAKTHROUGH: When Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Que., dropped from fourth to ninth near the middle of the race, you couldn't blame him for feeling a sense of deja vu.
Carpentier has never done well at the Molson Indy, so he was more than thrilled when he managed to work his way onto the podium.
``It's great. First time that we've done well in Toronto, I always seem to have a little bit of bad luck, things never went our way,'' said Carpentier. ``At the beginning of the race, I thought we were going to get lapped two or three times because the car got really, really loose.''
A pit stop on the 34th lap changed his afternoon.
``I was hoping to go to the pit stop because it was a small pit stop window,'' he said. ``After that, we adjusted some stuff in the car and the car was really fast.
``We managed to come back.''
On Bourdais and F1:
F1 TALK: With each passing week, the talk of a Formula One ride opening up for Sebastien Bourdais heats up.
While the Frenchman is interested, he's staying focused on Champ Car.
``I think it's really early to talk about that,'' he said. ``People are asking me the question a lot.
``I mean, even if people are talking about me in the Formula One paddock, that doesn't mean that teams are talking about me.
``I have a job to perform. It's to win this championship. You know, if I have a shot in Formula One, I have a shot. But I've been knocking at the door for a long time. ...
``If it comes, I will consider it.''
On Vasser's Day:
GREAT SEAT: Starting out 11th and working his way through the field, Jimmy Vasser ended up with a fine view of the bumping and grinding on the course.
His favourites?
``I saw something with Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani,'' he said.
``I think Tag hit the push to pass from way far back coming onto the back straight. I think Pat had three car lengths on him. I was like, `Wow, that was pretty ambitious.'
``But he was flashing all the way down the straightaway. By the time they got to the braking zone, Tag really tried to stick it in there, and Pat wanted to brake as late as he could. Tag kind of forced him into a mistake.''
Other highlights?
``I saw (Ryan) Hunter-Reay run into the back of (A.J.) Allmendinger. It was yellow. He just ran right into the back of him, spun him out. Allmendinger was really mad. When I drove by, he had two fists in the air, shaking them. Then (Paul) Tracy and (Justin) Wilson, I don't know who is at fault, but Wilson had a terrible accident off the concrete.''
On other stuff:
THE BODYGUARD: Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi and Ontario MPP Monte Kwinter jointly told the drivers to start the engines.
Before giving the order, Domi told the crowd he was there for, ``Paul Tracy. I'm here for him.''
``If he has any problems off the track,'' said Domi, ``I'm here to be his bodyguard.''
ANTHEM ACTION: Country singer Jason McCoy performed the national anthems before the race. Two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets, from 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Bagotville, Que., followed with a flyby.
Steve
On Attendance:
ATTENDANCE REPORT: Attendance for the Toronto Molson Indy remained strong, with a crowd of 72,561 showing up for Sunday's race on a gorgeous, sunny day.
The number was down a negligible 800 or so from last year.
The total weekend attendance of 164,218 was about three thousand less than 2003.
Still, the crowd of 41,704 for Friday's provisional qualifying was the lowest since 1992 and the 49,953 at Saturday's qualifying was the lowest since 1993.
Last year's weekend attendance was 167,352, a good showing at a time when Toronto's tourism industry was suffering from the SARS crisis. The weekend record was set in 2001, when 169,023 took in the events and all-time high 73,628 watched the race.
On Carpentier:
T-DOT BREAKTHROUGH: When Patrick Carpentier of Joliette, Que., dropped from fourth to ninth near the middle of the race, you couldn't blame him for feeling a sense of deja vu.
Carpentier has never done well at the Molson Indy, so he was more than thrilled when he managed to work his way onto the podium.
``It's great. First time that we've done well in Toronto, I always seem to have a little bit of bad luck, things never went our way,'' said Carpentier. ``At the beginning of the race, I thought we were going to get lapped two or three times because the car got really, really loose.''
A pit stop on the 34th lap changed his afternoon.
``I was hoping to go to the pit stop because it was a small pit stop window,'' he said. ``After that, we adjusted some stuff in the car and the car was really fast.
``We managed to come back.''
On Bourdais and F1:
F1 TALK: With each passing week, the talk of a Formula One ride opening up for Sebastien Bourdais heats up.
While the Frenchman is interested, he's staying focused on Champ Car.
``I think it's really early to talk about that,'' he said. ``People are asking me the question a lot.
``I mean, even if people are talking about me in the Formula One paddock, that doesn't mean that teams are talking about me.
``I have a job to perform. It's to win this championship. You know, if I have a shot in Formula One, I have a shot. But I've been knocking at the door for a long time. ...
``If it comes, I will consider it.''
On Vasser's Day:
GREAT SEAT: Starting out 11th and working his way through the field, Jimmy Vasser ended up with a fine view of the bumping and grinding on the course.
His favourites?
``I saw something with Patrick Carpentier and Alex Tagliani,'' he said.
``I think Tag hit the push to pass from way far back coming onto the back straight. I think Pat had three car lengths on him. I was like, `Wow, that was pretty ambitious.'
``But he was flashing all the way down the straightaway. By the time they got to the braking zone, Tag really tried to stick it in there, and Pat wanted to brake as late as he could. Tag kind of forced him into a mistake.''
Other highlights?
``I saw (Ryan) Hunter-Reay run into the back of (A.J.) Allmendinger. It was yellow. He just ran right into the back of him, spun him out. Allmendinger was really mad. When I drove by, he had two fists in the air, shaking them. Then (Paul) Tracy and (Justin) Wilson, I don't know who is at fault, but Wilson had a terrible accident off the concrete.''
On other stuff:
THE BODYGUARD: Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi and Ontario MPP Monte Kwinter jointly told the drivers to start the engines.
Before giving the order, Domi told the crowd he was there for, ``Paul Tracy. I'm here for him.''
``If he has any problems off the track,'' said Domi, ``I'm here to be his bodyguard.''
ANTHEM ACTION: Country singer Jason McCoy performed the national anthems before the race. Two Canadian CF-18 fighter jets, from 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Bagotville, Que., followed with a flyby.
Steve