The 2001 Rockingham 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on 22 September 2001 at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire, England before 38,000 people. It was the 17th race of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series, the second (and final) event of the year to be held in Europe, and the series' first visit to the United Kingdom. Team Penske driver Gil de Ferran won the 140-lap race starting from second position. Kenny Bräck finished second for Team Rahal, and Newman/Haas Racing driver Cristiano da Matta was third.
Drainage problems with the circuit caused the first two days of the event to be cancelled. Bräck — the season points leader heading into the race — was awarded the pole position. Due to a compacted schedule the original distance of the race was reduced from 210 laps to 168. Bräck lost the lead on the first lap to de Ferran, who held the first position for the next 44 laps. Bräck passed de Ferran to reclaim the lead on the 45th lap and remained the leader until the second round of pit stops. The race distance was further reduced by series race director Chris Kneifel from 168 to 140 laps because of fading daylight. De Ferran held the first position until a slower car delayed him and allowed Bräck to retake the lead on the race's penultimate lap. He held it until de Ferran made a race-winning overtake on the final lap. It was de Ferran's first victory of the season, his second on an oval track, and the sixth of his career. There were three cautions and five lead changes during the race.
The result lowered Bräck's advantage over de Ferran in the Drivers' Championship to six points. Michael Andretti remained in third position though the revised gap to Hélio Castroneves in the battle for the position was two points. Da Matta's third-placed finish moved him from eighth to fifth. Honda's increased its lead over Ford Cosworth in the Manufacturers' Championship, while Toyota maintained third place, with four races left in the season.
Background
The Rockingham 500 was confirmed as part of CART's 2001 series' schedule in July 2000. It was the conclusion of a two-week European stretch for the series; the American Memorial was held at EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Klettwitz, Germany one week earlier. The Rockingham 500 was the 17th of 21 scheduled races for 2001 by CART, and was held on 22 September at the Rockingham Motor Speedway in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. It was the first time that CART had visited the United Kingdom. CART hoped for a crowd of 40,000 at the track, which had a capacity of 52,000. The track is a four-turn oval that has banking of up to 7.9 degrees. Prior to the race, Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck led the Drivers' Championship on 131 points, ahead of Gil de Ferran in second and Michael Andretti third. Hélio Castroneves was a close fourth with 111 points, ahead of fifth-placed Scott Dixon with 86 points. Honda led the Constructors' Championship with 257 points; Ford Cosworth were in second on 224 points, two ahead of Toyota in third place.
Bräck said his car's engine and chassis had been fast on oval tracks and felt that he and his team would compete for the victory at Rockingham. Da Matta stated that he had good results in the lower category formulas at tracks across England, and he had good memories about competing in the country, and hoped the race at Rockingham would be "interesting" having heard of a smooth track surface. Following a major accident involving Alex Zanardi at the season's previous race, his team Mo Nunn Racing announced they would participate at Rockingham but entered only one car. All crew members who worked on Zanardi's car were sent to the United States to recover from the incident, although his wife protested the decision. Mo Nunn Racing announced that the car would return for the next race of the year (at the Grand Prix of Houston), and revealed the week after Rockingham that Indy Lights Series driver Casey Mears would participate in the season's four remaining races.
Practice and qualifying
A total of three practice sessions were scheduled to be held before the Sunday race: two on Thursday and one on Friday. The first session was due to last 105 minutes, and the second and third sessions 90 minutes. Heavy rain three days beforehand caused the local clay to absorb a large amount of water. Only a small amount of evaporation had occurred due to low ambient temperatures. Race officials examined water that emerged through the track's surface in several areas on Thursday. The track surface had been drilled through overnight in an effort to drain collected water and prevent further seepage. Later, CART's jet dryer was used on the track. Although a dry surface was created, water continued to appear through it. CART chief steward Chris Kneifel drove the pace car onto the track at 3:00 p.m. British Summer Time (UTC+1) along with 26 cars and 23 secondary vehicles under caution for five installation laps in separate groups. No improvement was reported, and CART cancelled remainder of the day's activities an hour later.
Course officials resumed work by drilling shafts into the surface to form a well in an attempt to reduce the drainage problem before the start of Friday's scheduled sessions. It was mooted by some British press publications that the race would be moved to the track's infield road course. This was unfeasible since the circuit did not hold a licence from motorsport's world governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, to race on it, and the teams had not brought a suitable aerodynamic package. Drainage problems continued to affect the track and the qualifying session was cancelled. The starting order was determined by the drivers order in the points' standings. The pole position was awarded to Bräck, his sixth of the season. He was joined on the grid's front row by de Ferran. Andretti, Castroneves, Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Patrick Carpentier, Cristiano da Matta, Roberto Moreno and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top ten. Drying efforts continued overnight with additional equipment and extra workers from across England brought in to improve the track's drainage. Five jet dryers were taken onto the circuit with additional fuel transported from Sywell Aerodrome to help them carry out their operation. Additionally, thousands of small holes were created in the track's surface to release moisture.
Rockingham Motor Speedway's chief executive David Grace apologised for the delays and denied the anticipation of a drainage problem. He added that the operators were advised by experts. CART's chairman and CEO Joseph Heitzler rejected suggestions that it was the incorrect decision to stage the race in September as he had been informed that the month was one of the driest of the year. Carpentier argued that circuit personnel should have been prepared a month beforehand, while Kanaan voiced his concerns about the situation for everybody. The 15,000 spectators who were in attendance on Thursday were issued cash refunds.
Race Problems on the back straight had been mostly rectified although a damp track surface in the first and fourth turns was created by water coming from under the grandstands. Race officials deliberated on the morning of the race and declared the track safe after repairs were completed. The drivers took to the track at 11:15 a.m local time for a ten-minute practice session. Carpentier set the fastest time of 27.075 seconds; Franchitti and Jimmy Vasser rounded out the top three. A second 90-minute session began at 12:20 p.m. local time. Kanaan recorded the session's quickest lap at 24.719 seconds, ahead of Bräck and Tracy in second and third. Three yellow caution flags were shown: the first was for Max Papis who cut his right-rear tyre, the second was for Maurício Gugelmin who slid out of the groove and hit the turn one outside barrier. His car slid across the wall and stopped at the corner's exit. The final stoppage was for a track inspection after Castroneves' pit crew reported a cut right rear tyre.
All drivers participated in an eight-minute installation session which saw Kanaan continue his good form by setting the fastest lap. Tracy and Dixon rounded out the top three. Weather conditions at the race's start were partly cloudy and mild with an air temperature ranging from , and a track temperature between . The race was due to be held over 210 laps originally but the compacted schedule reduced it to 168. Approximately 38,000 people attended the race. Oriol Servià's car failed to start and his pit crew worked quickly to allow him to take the start. Michel Jourdain Jr. had problems starting his engine but was able to join the field. The race started at 4:45 p.m. local time. Bräck maintained his pole position advantage heading into the first turn with de Ferran driving to his right. De Ferran passed Bräck on the back straight to take over first place and held it to lead the first lap.
The race's first caution was necessitated on the same lap when Papis spun on the frontstretch, and slid backwards towards the first corner before getting his car facing in the racing direction. Vasser made contact with Tora Takagi who was sent into the frontstretch barrier. Bruno Junqueira and Memo Gidley spun in avoidance; the latter regained control of his car while Junqueira struck the outside wall, causing him to become the race's first retirement. Max Wilson spun while gaining optimum tyre temperature and fell to the rear of the field. The race restarted on the ninth lap with de Ferran leading Bräck and Andretti. Wilson delayed Bräck on the 23rd lap allowing de Ferran to establish a two-second lead over him. Wilson received a warning from the series' race control. Franchitti passed Castroneves for the fourth position seven laps later. Christian Fittipaldi attempted to lap Gidley on lap 37, but the latter drove defensively, causing Fittipaldi to slow, and Vasser, Adrián Fernández, and Carpentier overtook him.
Bräck closed the gap with de Ferran over the next fifteen laps as they moved towards slower cars. Bräck got a run on de Ferran and overtook him at the bottom of the first turn to take over the lead on lap 46, while Andretti lost fourth place to Franchitti on the same lap. Jourdain's car generated oversteer and he spun leaving turn four, and slid down the frontstretch triggering the second caution on the 50th lap. Franchitti drove right in avoidance. Castroneves avoided hitting Jourdain's car, which remained at the bottom of the first turn and, though his vehicle lost one of its shock covers, he regained control of his car and continued. Fittipaldi reported to his team that he had a problem with either his gearbox or drivetrain and drove slowly into the pit lane on lap 53 becoming the race's second retirement. The leaders elected to make pit stops on the same lap under caution. Da Matta gained the most positions, moving from sixth to third, and Bräck remained the leader at the lap-57 restart. Bräck pulled away from the rest of the field, until de Ferran drew closer to him by the start of the 80th lap.
Da Matta, Andretti, and Franchitti contended for third position until the field closed up because of the presence of slower cars. The third caution was shown fourteen laps later when Adrián Fernández lost engine power driving into the second turn; he steered to the bottom of the track on the backstretch to retire. Oil was laid on the track heading into turn two, and marshals were required to dry it. Kniefel announced on lap 90 that he had reduced the number of laps to be run from 168 to 140 because of fading sunlight. All of the leaders (including Bräck) chose to make pit stops for fuel and tyres under caution on lap 100. Castroneves passed da Matta and Andretti around the inside in the pit lane and Newman/Haas Racing believed he had committed an infraction. The team informed CART of Castroneves' passing, which was observed by their co-owner Paul Newman.