source: www.dcanews.com
It was a tough weekend for the Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing team at the famed Brands Hatch circuit in England. The team struggled with set up from the start of the weekend. While there were moments where it looked as if things were going to take a turn for the better, they never really did. After an acceptable qualifying position of 12th on Saturday's provisional grid, the team lost two spots on Sunday and qualified a disappointing 15th for the start of today's race.
Rookie, Tiago Monteiro was dissatisfied with the final result, but happy to finish his first CART Champ Car race at Brands Hatch safely. "It was a good experience," he said. "I learned a lot, we all learned a lot. It was tough; I had to fight all weekend with a car that did not suit me which was frustrating. I kept pushing hard and had some good times, but couldn't pass. I tried not to get overtaken. This is my rookie year and we had a difficult weekend, but that is expected your first year. As we said at the beginning of the year, our goal is to finish the races and that's what we did today. It's good for the team that we finished the race safely. Now it's time to start thinking about the next race."
"We did an extra stop for more fuel which put us behind." explained team owner Emerson Fittipaldi. "Overall it was a good experience, but now we need more speed. The crowd was excellent; it was a fantastic event. Chris did a wonderful job putting on a great show for the British fans. I love coming to Brands Hatch. It was great to be a grand marshal of the race with my friends Mario Andretti and Damon Hill. I look forward to coming back again and to next weekend's event in Germany."
Co-owner James Dingman continues to be confident about the team saying, "It's a long season. We're very proud of Tiago and the progress he continues to make. Now we're excited for the German Grand Prix."
Eric Bachelart, whose race shop oversees race operations for Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing was happy that both cars he fielded today came home safely. "Both cars did well today and we're happy that they both finished the race. The key was fuel economy. Mario was able to conserve more fuel so he only had to make two stops. Unfortunately, Tiago consumed for fuel and therefore had to make an extra stop. I think they both did a great job."
Now the team focuses it's attention to next weekend's German Grand Prix, which should be extremely exciting. The circuit will host the CART Champ Car World Series' 5th event next Sunday, May 11th with on track action beginning with a Rookie Practice Saturday at 9:15 a.m. The race will air on CBS starting at 1:00 p.m. ET.