April 13, 2003
SHARP, TOYOTA WIN JAPAN INDY 300 AT MOTEGI
- Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) proved to be the last man standing in a wild IRL IndyCar Series race at Twin Ring Motegi and gave Toyota its second straight victory on the Japanese oval. He was joined in the top five by fellow Toyota drivers Felipe Giaffone (Hollywood Toyota) in third and teammate Al Unser Jr. (Corteco/Bryant Toyota) in fifth. Giaffone’s Mo Nunn Racing teammate Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) also placed in the top 10 with an eighth-place finish.
- Today’s win is the second for Toyota in three IndyCar Series events. Toyota-powered drivers have now captured seven of the nine top-three finishing positions in the season’s first three races. Dating back to last season’s CART competition, Toyota has now won 12 of its last 22 races.
- Scott Sharp’s victory is his first of the season and a record-tying eighth career IndyCar Series win. The triumph marks the seventh consecutive season that he’s won an IRL event – another IndyCar Series record. The win moves Sharp into the series points lead after three consecutive top-seven finishes in the season’s first three races. He previously finished fifth at Homestead and seventh at Phoenix.
- Scott Sharp’s win is the first for Kelley Racing with Toyota power. The team was the first to sign with Toyota upon the manufacturer’s entry into Indy Racing League competition.
- With today’s third-place finish, Felipe Giaffone has now registered back-to-back third-place showings. In addition, he’s climbed up to third overall in the IndyCar Series points standings.
- Al Unser Jr. earned his second consecutive top-five finish with a fifth today. The strong showing moves the two-time Indy 500 winner into sixth place in the points standings.
- Toyota-powered cars led 115 of the 200 laps today and registered the fastest race lap (Tomas Scheckter).
- By leading 45 laps, pole-sitter Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) has now led in each of his first three IRL IndyCar Series races. He had just edged by Tony Kanaan for the lead with 23 laps remaining when he and Kanaan made contact (Dixon’s right rear w/Kanaan’s left front) in Turn Three. He won the season-opener at Homestead and was leading at Phoenix before he was sidelined with a gearbox problem.
- After back-to-back top-three finishes at Homestead and Phoenix, Helio Castroneves saw his day at Motegi come to an early conclusion. The two-time defending Indy 500 winner was collected in a spin by rookie Roger Yasukawa approximately a quarter of the way through the race while running in the top five. Despite the early retirement, Castroneves is still fifth in points.
Toyota Drivers Start/Finish
Scott Sharp 7/1
Felipe Giaffone 9/3
Al Unser, Jr. 8/5
Tora Takagi 3/8
Scott Dixon 1/15
Tomas Scheckter 4/16
Alex Barron 12/17
A.J. Foyt IV 18/18
Shigeaki Hattori 22/20
Helio Castroneves 11/22
Next Race: Indianapolis 500, May 25, ABC 12 noon EDT
April 12, 2003
DIXON,TOYOTA ON MOTEGI POLE; TOYOTAS START 1-3-4 IN JAPAN
- Two races after registering his first Indy Racing League victory, Scott Dixon earned his first IndyCar Series pole position at Motegi, Japan, on the strength of the fastest practice lap of the weekend after qualifying was washed out at the 1.-5-mile oval. Dixon’s Target Toyota was the fastest in two of the three practice sessions leading up to qualifying and turned the weekend’s fastest lap on Friday afternoon.
- With Scott Dixon’s pole position, Target Chip Ganassi and Toyota power will start on the pole at Motegi for the third time in the past four years. A year ago, the team won from the pole in CART competition with Bruno Junqueira behind the wheel. In addition, Juan Montoya drove his Target Toyota to the top spot in qualifying in 2000.
- Scott Dixon’s pole position marks the first for Toyota in IndyCar Series competition. The manufacturer won 12 of 19 poles last year in CART.
- Dixon will have plenty of fellow Toyota drivers starting upfront with him for Sunday’s (local time) race. Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota) earned his best-ever IndyCar Series start with a third. Takagi missed making it an all-Toyota front row by just over 3/1000ths of a second. He’ll be joined in the second row by Dixon’sTarget Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Tomas Scheckter, who earned the fourth spot.
- The Kelley Racing duo of Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) and Al Unser, Jr. (Corteco/Bryant Toyota) swept the fourth row to make it five Toyotas in the first eight, while Felipe Giaffone (Hollywood Toyota) will start right behind them in 9th, giving Toyota six of the first nine with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Mo NunnRacing and Kelley Racing all having qualified two cars inside the top-nine.
Toyota Motegi Qualifying:
1. Scott Dixon
3. Tora Takagi
4. Tomas Scheckter
7. Scott Sharp
8. Al Unser Jr.
9. Felipe Giaffone
11. Helio Castroneves
12. Alex Barron
18. A.J. Foyt IV
22. Shigeaki Hattori
Japan Indy 300, April 13, ABC, 1:00 p.m. EDT (tape delayed)
April 11, 2003
DIXON, TOYOTA TOP MOTEGI TIME CHARTS
- Scott Dixon (Target Toyota) topped both the Friday morning and afternoon practice sessions in the first day of practice for Sunday’s Japan Indy 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. Dixon’s top lap came in the afternoon session when he circled the 1.5-mile oval at 206.996 mph.
- Dixon enters this weekend’s action having been the dominant driver of the early going this season in IndyCar Series competition with a victory in the season-opener at Homestead followed by another impressive performance at Phoenix, where the New Zealander quickly moved to the front and then pulled away from the field before being sidelined with a gear box failure.
- Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Toyota head into the Motegi event as the “defending champ” after winning last year’s Motegi CART race from the pole. The Target Ganassi team won three of the five Motegi poles in CART competition.
- Dixon wasn’t the only Toyota-powered driver in contention for the top spot, though, as Toyota-powered drivers took eight of the top 11 spots overall on Friday including four of the top six. In Friday’s morning session, Toyota-powered cars notched five of the top six positions.
- Kelley Racing teammates Al Unser Jr. (Corteco/Bryant Toyota) and Scott Sharp (Delphi Toyota) both placed in the top-five overall on Friday. Unser Jr., coming off a fourth-place finish at Phoenix, was fourth, while his teammate placed fifth for the day.
- Alex Barron made an impressive showing while sitting in for Gil de Ferran in the #6 Marlboro Toyota as he placed ninth overall on the day, but was just over 1/10th of a second off Unser’s fourth-place time. Marlboro Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves was just ahead of Barron in eighth, registering a time that was only .057 seconds ahead of Barron.
- Felipe Giaffone (Hollywood Toyota) picked up where he left off after a third-place finish at Phoenix with another strong run, placing sixth on the day. His Mo Nunn Racing teammate, Tora Takagi (Pioneer Toyota), placed fifth in the morning session and 11th overall.
- Tomas Scheckter, who was third in the morning, joined Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dixon in the top-10 in 10th overall on Friday Four different Toyota teams placed two drivers in the top 11 for the day.
Japan Indy 300, April 13, ABC, 1:00 p.m. EDT (tape delay)
April 08, 2003
2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar
2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series - FAST FACTS
JAPAN INDY 300
April 12, 11:30 p.m. EDT, ABC (Tape Delayed - April 13, 1 p.m. EDT)
Twin Ring Motegi
200 laps on the 1.5-mile oval
BALANCED EFFORT PAYS OFF FOR TOYOTA TEAMS – Four different Toyota-powered drivers have already earned top-three finishes and six have placed in the top five just two races into the 2003 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series season. Scott Dixon (1st at Miami), Helio Castroneves (2nd at Phoenix, 3rd at Miami), Gil de Ferran (2nd at Miami), Felipe Giaffone (3rd at Phoenix) Al Unser Jr., (4th at Phoenix) and Scott Sharp (5th at Miami) all have registered at least one top-five finish already this season.
Just as impressive is that nine of the 10 Toyota-powered drivers have had at least one top-10 finish in the season’s first two races with all five Toyota teams being represented.
TOYOTA DRIVERS DOMINATE INDYCAR SERIES POINTS STANDINGS – Toyota drivers dominate the IndyCar Series points standings heading into Motegi with six of the top seven sporting Toyota power. Helio Castroneves currently sits second, followed by Scott Dixon, Gil de Ferran, Felipe Giaffone, Scott Sharp and Al Unser Jr. in positions third through seventh.
BARRON RETURNS TO TOYOTA RANKS – Alex Barron returns to the Toyota ranks at Motegi driving for the sidelined Gil de Ferran in the #6 Marlboro Toyota. The Californian won the 1997 Toyota Atlantic Championship as a rookie and then moved on to the CART ranks in one of Dan Gurney’s Toyota Eagles. Barron then became the first Toyota-powered driver ever to lead a Champ Car race when he led 12 laps at Vancouver as a rookie. More recently, Barron is coming off a season where he won his first IndyCar Series event while finishing fifth overall in 2002. He also earned co-Rookie of the Year honors at Indianapolis.
TOYOTA, TARGET/GANASSI LOOK TO DEFEND MOTEGI CROWN – While this year’s Japan Indy 300 marks the first visit to Twin Ring Motegi for the IRL IndyCar Series, Toyota and Target Chip Ganassi Racing return to retain their 2002 crown won at the track in CART competition. A year ago, Bruno Junqueira took the victory from the pole in a Target Toyota. In addition, the team dominated the 2000 Motegi event only to see victory slip away after an unfortunate late race pit incident. Overall, the Target team sat on the pole in three of the five CART events held at Twin Ring Motegi.
MOTEGI EXPERIENCED – While Target Chip Ganassi Racing is the only Toyota team in this week’s field that has previously won at Twin Ring Motegi, both Mo Nunn Racing and Marlboro Team Penske have extensive experience on the fast Japanese oval as well. Mo Nunn Racing dominated the first part of last year’s CART event and finished third in 2001, while Penske’s Helio Castroneves finished second that same year.
KELLEY RACING ANNOUNCES INDY ENTRY FOR RENNA – Kelley Racing announced that they will enter a third car at the Indianapolis 500 with Deland, Fla., native Tony Renna behind the wheel. The car will be sponsored by Cure Autism Now Foundation and HomeMed Pharmacy. Renna, a former Indy Lights teammate of fellow Toyota driver Scott Dixon, was extremely impressive in a six-race stint with the team last weekend, earning a top finish of sixth in the season finale at Texas.
Toyota IndyCar Series DriverLine-Up and Position Entering Japan
Car # Driver Car Points Standing
#3 HelioCastronves Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) 2nd
#9 Scott Dixon Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force 3rd
#21 Felipe Giaffone Hollywood Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 5th
#8 Scott Sharp Delphi Toyota (Dallara) 6th
#31 Al Unser, Jr. Corteco/Bryant Toyota (Dallara) 7th
#10 Tomas Scheckter Target Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 11th
#5 Shigeaki Hattori Epson Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 15th
#12 Tora Takagi Pioneer Toyota (Panoz/G-Force) 19th
#14 A.J. Foyt IV Conseco Toyota (Dallara) 20th
#6 AlexBarron Marlboro Toyota (Dallara) First 2003 event
** Gil de Ferran currently is fourth in points, butwill not race at Motegi
“Quotes”
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports: “Motegi is one of the most important races for Toyota and we’d love to keep our win streak going. Having had a number of drivers and teams race at the track before should be an advantage, but it’s going to bethe first time there for everyone with the IndyCar Series equipment. I’m sure the Japanese fans will love the close racing the series brings.”
Tony Renna, #32 Cure Autism Now/HomeMed Pharmacy Toyota: “It is a tremendous honor for me to represent Cure Autism Now and HomeMed Pharmacy in one of the great sporting events in the world. I am not just racing at Indy this year, but I am going into the month of May with a Kelley Racing organization that will clearly allow me to compete for victory in my first attempt. I am thrilled to have Toyota power behind me. Their focus toward success is incredible, and combined with the Dallara chassis, Firestone tires, and the Kelley Racing Team, I know we are going to accomplish tremendous things."