2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey

25°40′41″N 100°17′00″W

2001 Grand Prix of Monterrey

Race details
Race 1 of 21 in the 2001 CART season
Date	March 11, 2001
Official name	2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey Presented by Herdez
Location	Fundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico
Course	Temporary Street Course 2.105 mi / 3.39 km
Distance	78 (shortened from 80) laps 164.19 mi / 264.42 km
Pole position
Driver	Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal)
Time	1:15.244
Fastest lap
Driver	Dario Franchitti (Team Green)
Time	1:15.403 (on lap 59 of 78 (shortened from 80))
Podium
First	Cristiano da Matta (Newman-Haas Racing)
Second	Gil de Ferran (Team Penske)
Third	Paul Tracy (Team Green)

The 2001 Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on March 11, 2001 at Fundidora Park in Monterrey, Mexico in front of a crowd of 116,000 people. It was the first round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series season and the inaugural open-wheel race at Monterrey (not to be confused with the Monterey Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in California). It was the first time CART had raced in Mexico since 1981. Newman/Haas Racing driver Cristiano da Matta led 32 laps of a timed race en route to his second career victory and his first with the team. Defending series champion Gil de Ferran finished 2nd and Paul Tracy finished 3rd.

Despite leading much of the first half of the race and starting on the pole, Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck finished 5th after he first experienced engine difficulties and then brake problems later on. Multiple drivers and teams experienced difficulties with their cars as this was the first full race of the season.

The race distance was shortened from 80 to 78 laps to comply with the two-hour time limit. There were five lead changes and three cautions. The race was considered a huge success for an inaugural event, and it remained on the CART calendar until 2006; its success inspired a second event in Mexico City from 2002 to 2007.

Qualifying

March 10, 2001 - Qualifying Speeds
Rank	Driver	Time	Leader	Speed (mph)	Team
1	Kenny Bräck	1:15.244	–	100.665	Team Rahal
2	Cristiano da Matta	1:15.439	+0.195	100.404	Newman-Haas Racing
3	Gil de Ferran	1:15.551	+0.307	100.255	Team Penske
4	Hélio Castroneves	1:15.580	+0.336	100.217	Team Penske
5	Michael Andretti	1:16.104	+0.860	99.527	Team Motorola
6	Patrick Carpentier	1:16.353	+1.109	99.202	Forsythe Racing
7	Dario Franchitti	1:16.375	+1.131	99.174	Team Green
8	Oriol Servià	1:16.44	+1.200	99.084	Sigma Autosport
9	Jimmy Vasser	1:16.456	+1.212	99.069	Patrick Racing
10	Roberto Moreno	1:16.484	+1.240	99.032	Patrick Racing
11	Max Papis	1:16.512	+1.268	98.996	Team Rahal
12	Tony Kanaan	1:16.647	+1.403	98.822	Mo Nunn Racing
13	Alex Tagliani	1:16.716	+1.472	98.733	Forsythe Racing
14	Scott Dixon (R)	1:16.826	+1.582	98.592	PacWest Racing
15	Paul Tracy	1:16.909	+1.665	98.485	Team Green
16	Christian Fittipaldi	1:16.937	+1.693	98.449	Newman-Haas Racing
17	Maurício Gugelmin	1:17.005	+1.761	98.362	PacWest Racing
18	Bryan Herta	1:17.137	+1.893	98.194	Forsythe Racing
19	Adrian Fernández	1:17.270	+2.026	98.025	Fernandez Racing
20	Bruno Junqueira (R)	1:17.505	+2.261	97.728	Chip Ganassi Racing
21	Nicolas Minassian (R)	1:17.750	+2.326	97.646	Chip Ganassi Racing
22	Alex Zanardi	1:17.851	+2.607	97.294	Mo Nunn Racing
23	Michael Krumm	1:17.914	+2.670	97.215	Dale Coyne Racing
24	Michel Jourdain Jr.	1:18.381	+3.137	96.636	Bettenhausen Racing
25	Tora Takagi	1:18.991	+3.747	95.889	Walker Motorsport
26	Max Wilson (R)	1:19.294	+4.050	95.523	Arciero Racing
27	Shinji Nakano	1:19.362	+4.118	95.441	Fernandez Racing
28	Luiz Garcia Jr.	1:20.931	+5.687	93.591	Dale Coyne Racing
Source:[1]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/retired	Grid	Points
1	6	Cristiano da Matta	Newman-Haas Racing	78	2:00:44.856	2	211
2	1	Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	78	+1.982	3	16
3	26	Paul Tracy	Team Green	78	+2.802	15	14
4	39	Michael Andretti	Team Motorola	78	+4.931	5	12
5	8	Kenny Bräck	Team Rahal	78	+5.411	1	112
6	40	Jimmy Vasser	Patrick Racing	78	+5.710	9	8
7	55	Tony Kanaan	Mo Nunn Racing	78	+6.375	12	6
8	3	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	78	+7.244	4	5
9	27	Dario Franchitti	Team Green	78	+7.580	7	4
10	5	Tora Takagi (R)	Walker Motorsport	78	+17.457	25	3
11	12	Nicolas Minassian (R)	Chip Ganassi Racing	78	+24.227	21	2
12	7	Max Papis	Team Rahal	78	+24.981	11	1
13	18	Scott Dixon (R)	PacWest Racing	78	+31.435	14	—
14	22	Oriol Servià	Sigma Autosport	78	+32.354	8	—
15	17	Maurício Gugelmin	PacWest Racing	78	+32.733	17	—
16	77	Bryan Herta	Forsythe Racing	78	+33.745	18	—
17	16	Michel Jourdain Jr.	Bettenhausen Racing	78	+34.376	24	—
18	52	Shinji Nakano	Fernandez Racing	76	+2 Laps	27	—
19	51	Adrian Fernández	Fernandez Racing	75	Out of fuel	19	—
20	11	Christian Fittipaldi	Newman-Haas Racing	66	Contact	16	—
21	33	Alex Tagliani	Forsythe Racing	60	Overheating	13	—
22	4	Bruno Junqueira (R)	Chip Ganassi Racing	57	Water leak	20	—
23	19	Michael Krumm	Dale Coyne Racing	51	Mechanical	23	—
24	66	Alex Zanardi	Mo Nunn Racing	39	Contact	22	—
25	32	Patrick Carpentier	Forsythe Racing	38	Electrical	6	—
26	21	Luiz Garcia Jr.	Dale Coyne Racing	37	Mechanical	28	—
27	20	Roberto Moreno	Patrick Racing	21	Contact	10	—
28	25	Max Wilson (R)	Arciero Racing	7	Contact	26	—
Source:[2]

Notes

• ¹– Includes one bonus point for leading the most laps.^[3]
• ²– Includes one bonus point for being the fastest qualifier.^[3]

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers

Lap Leaders[4] Laps Leader 1–23 Kenny Bräck 24-37 Scott Dixon 38-42 Kenny Bräck 43-56 Cristiano da Matta 57-60 Dario Franchitti 61-78 Cristiano da Matta

Total laps led[4] Leader Laps Cristiano da Matta 32 Kenny Bräck 28 Scott Dixon 14 Dario Franchitti 4

Cautions: 3 for 16 laps[4] Laps Reason 9-13 Max Wilson crashes 22-27 Roberto Moreno crashes 68-72 Christian Fittipaldi crashes

Standings after the race

Drivers' standings [5] Pos +/- Driver Points 1 Cristiano da Matta 21 2 Gil de Ferran 16 3 Paul Tracy 14 4 Michael Andretti 12 5 Kenny Bräck 11

Constructors' standings Pos +/– Constructor Points 1 Lola 21 2 Reynard 16

Manufacturer's Standings[6] Pos +/- Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 21 2 Honda 16 3 Ford-Cosworth 11 4 Phoenix 0