The 2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante was the nineteenth and final round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 17, 2002, at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first Champ Car race at the track since the 1981 season. The race preceded a mass exodus of significant drivers and teams who all competed in their final Champ Car event, most of whom knew beforehand that they would not return. Most rued the fact that they were leaving for the rival Indy Racing League, wishing to continue in CART rather than endure a more stable future in the IRL.ESPN.com - Robin Miller, November 16th, 2002: CART Needs New Stars CART's winningest driver (42 wins), Michael Andretti, along with Kenny Brack, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and Japan's most successful driver in U.S. open wheel racing Tora Takagi would all bid CART adieu in favor of the IRL. Other entities leaving CART included 1996-1999 champions Chip Ganassi Racing, 1995 champions Team KOOL Green, and Mo Nunn Racing permanently switched to the IRL, and Japanese automotive industry giants Honda and Toyota likewise left CART for the IRL. Season champion Cristiano da Matta was set to leave CART for Formula One with his engine supplier's F1 team, and Christian Fittipaldi attempted a stock car career.
Qualifying results
Pos Nat Name Team Qual 1 Qual 2 Best 1 Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:25.941 1:26.126 1:25.941 2 Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 1:26.027 1:27.670 1:26.027 3 Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 1:26.147 1:26.891 1:26.147 4 Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 1:26.719 1:26.394 1:26.394 5 Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 1:26.703— 1:26.703 6 Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:27.147 1:26.786 1:26.786 7 Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 1:26.904 1:27.322 1:26.904 8 Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 1:26.971 1:27.573 1:26.971 9 Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 1:27.344 1:26.975 1:26.975 10 Michael Andretti Team Motorola 1:27.355 1:27.053 1:27.053 11 Tora Takagi Walker Racing 1:27.144 1:27.150 1:27.144 12 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 1:27.174 1:27.405 1:27.174 13 Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 1:27.245 1:27.919 1:27.245 14 Alex Tagliani Team Player's 1:27.483 1:27.437 1:27.437 15 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 1:27.525 1:27.447 1:27.447 16 Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 1:29.659 1:27.727 1:27.727 17 Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 1:27.923 1:27.807 1:27.807 18 André Lotterer Dale Coyne Racing 1:28.058 1:27.898 1:27.898 19 Luis Díaz Fernández Racing 1:27.992 1:27.969 1:27.969
Race
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 12 Kenny Bräck Target Chip Ganassi Racing 73 1:56:48.475 6 20 2 1 Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing 73 +3.987 secs 12 16 3 4 Bruno Junqueira Target Chip Ganassi Racing 73 +5.073 secs 1 16 4 32 Patrick Carpentier Team Player's 73 +10.842 secs 7 12 5 27 Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green 73 +12.548 secs 3 10 6 5 Tora Takagi Walker Racing 73 +16.762 secs 11 8 7 44 Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Racing 73 +23.622 secs 15 6 8 10 Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing 73 +25.846 secs 4 6 9 20 Oriol Servià Patrick Racing 73 +28.034 secs 16 4 10 33 Alex Tagliani Team Player's 73 +29.949 secs 14 3 11 8 Jimmy Vasser Team Rahal 73 +30.628 secs 5 2 12 19 André Lotterer Dale Coyne Racing 73 +31.426 secs 18 1 13 9 Michel Jourdain Jr. Team Rahal 73 +32.055 secs 17 0 14 52 Shinji Nakano Fernández Racing 73 +50.219 secs 13 0 15 11 Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing 67 Engine 2 0 16 26 Paul Tracy Team KOOL Green 61 Suspension 8 0 17 39 Michael Andretti Team Motorola 50 Contact 10 0 18 55 Mario Domínguez Herdez Competition 16 Suspension 9 0 19 51 Luis Díaz Fernández Racing 1 Engine 19 0
Caution flags Laps Cause1-2 Tracy (26) & Vasser (8) contact51-55 Andretti (39) contact
Notes
Laps Leader1-40 Tony Kanaan41-52 Dario Franchitti53-61 Michel Jourdain Jr.62-73 Kenny Bräck Driver Laps ledTony Kanaan 40Kenny Bräck 12Dario Franchitti 12Michel Jourdain Jr. 9
New Track Record Bruno Junqueira 1:25.941 (Qualification session #1) New Race Record Kenny Bräck 1:56:48.475 Average Speed 104.468 mph
External links Friday Qualifying Results Saturday Qualifying Results Race Results