The 1996 Rio 400 was a CART race at the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway. It happened on March 17, 1996. It was the 2nd round of the 1996 IndyCar season.
Starting grid
Alex Zanardi Jimmy Vasser André Ribeiro Greg Moore Parker Johnstone Bobby Rahal Gil de Ferran Adrian Fernandez Maurício Gugelmin Scott Pruett Robby Gordon Al Unser Jr. Emerson Fittipaldi Roberto Moreno Michael Andretti Bryan Herta Carlos Guerrero Mark Blundell Eddie Lawson Hiro Matsushita Stefan Johansson Jeff Krosnoff Marco Greco Juan Manuel Fangio II Paul Tracy Raul Boesel Christian Fittipaldi
Did not start Scott Goodyear Wrecked during practice; sidelined for most of the season
Race
On lap 11, Mark Blundell had a serious crash in turn 4, suffering a broken foot. The race continued under yellow caution flags until lap 23, with Alex Zanardi leading from Greg Moore and André Ribeiro. De Ferran ran out of fuel on lap 80. Moore had taken the lead, but retired with suspension problems on lap 115. Ribeiro eventually won from Al Unser Jr. and Scott Pruett.
Box Score FinishGridNameTeamChassisEngineTireLapsTime/Status 1 3 31 André Ribeiro Tasman Motorsports Lola T96/00 Honda 133 2:06:08.100 19 20 2 12 2 Al Unser Jr. Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-25 Mercedes-Benz 133 +2.141 0 16 3 10 20 Scott Pruett Patrick Racing Lola T96/00 Ford 133 +2.732 0 14 4 1 4 Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 96I Honda 133 +2.767 64 14 5 27 11 Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing Lola T96/00 Ford 133 +3.540 0 10 6 6 18 Bobby Rahal Team Rahal Reynard 96I Mercedes-Benz 133 +4.051 0 8 7 26 1 Raul Boesel Brahma Sports Team Reynard 96I Ford 133 +5.110 0 6 8 2 12 Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 96I Honda 132 +1 Lap 0 5 9 14 34 Roberto Moreno Payton-Coyne Racing Lola T96/00 Ford 132 +1 Lap 0 4 10 7 8 Gil de Ferran Hall Racing Reynard 96I Honda 131 +2 Laps 20 3 11 13 9 Emerson Fittipaldi Hogan-Penske Racing Penske PC-25 Mercedes-Benz 131 +2 Laps 0 2 12 23 7 Marco Greco Team Scandia Lola T96/00 Ford 131 +2 Laps 0 1 13 16 28 Bryan Herta Team Rahal Reynard 96I Mercedes-Benz 131 +2 Laps 0 0 14 8 32 Adrián Fernández Tasman Motorsports Lola T96/00 Honda 126 +7 Laps 0 0 15 11 5 Robby Gordon Walker Racing Reynard 96I Ford 124 Crash 2 0 16 5 49 Parker Johnstone Brix Comptech Racing Reynard 96I Honda 118 Fuel 0 0 17 24 36 Juan Manuel Fangio II All American Racers Eagle Mk-V Toyota 118 +15 Laps 0 0 18 4 99 Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard 96I Mercedes-Benz 116 Engine 28 0 19 25 3 Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-25 Mercedes-Benz 102 Crash 0 0 20 17 22 Carlos Guerrero Team Scandia Lola T96/00 Ford 95 Engine 0 0 21 19 10 Eddie Lawson Galles Racing Lola T96/00 Mercedes-Benz 87 Drive line 0 0 22 15 6 Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T96/00 Ford 86 Engine 0 0 23 21 16 Stefan Johansson Bettenhausen Motorsports Reynard 96I Mercedes-Benz 61 Cooling 0 0 24 20 19 Hiro Matsushita Payton-Coyne Racing Lola T96/00 Ford 53 Header 0 0 25 9 17 Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing Reynard 96I Ford 49 Suspension 0 0 26 22 25 Jeff Krosnoff Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard 96I Toyota 37 Engine 0 0 27 18 21 Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Reynard 96I Ford 10 Crash 0 0 Source:1996 Indy Car Rio 4001996 Rio do Janeiro Champ Cars
Did not qualify Scott Goodyear (#15) - withdrawn, injured in practice crash.
Race statistics
Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–6 Alex Zanardi 7 André Ribeiro 8–60 Alex Zanardi 61–80 Gil de Ferran 81–97 Greg Moore 98–102 Alex Zanardi 103–104 Robby Gordon 105–115 Greg Moore 116–133 André Ribeiro
Point standings After 2 of 16 races Scott Pruett 26 points Jimmy Vasser 25 points Al Unser Jr. 21 points André Ribeiro 20 points Gil de Ferran 19 points Bobby Rahal 18 points
References