The 1997 Dixie Crystals Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1997 PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick. The race took place on May 18 in Savannah, Georgia, United States, on Grand Prize of America Road Course parkland circuit on Hutchinson Island; a river island in the Savannah River, north of downtown Savannah. The race was won by Hélio Castroneves for Tasman Motorsports. Sérgio Paese finished second ahead of Lee Bentham, Luiz Garcia Jr., and Naoki Hattori.
Report
Background
In the 1990s, a group of local businessmen formed the Colonial Motorsport company, deciding it was time to bring back international racing action to Savannah. Major international races had last been held on the streets of Savannah with the American Grand Prize in 1908, 1910, and 1911; and the Vanderbilt Cup Race in 1911. After four years of careful negotiations, an agreement was reached for a stand-alone Indy Lights race, with follow up events in '98 and '99 offering the possibility of a future CART round. Public monies helped build a 1.965-mile county road to serve as a 10-turn circuit; the first time a public road had been pre-designed with the intention of also using it for racing in the USA.
Mark Blundell quoted, after a feasibility test for future CART races, "As a drivers track, it's good, It's quite demanding and really physical. It's a fun circuit to drive, and there are at least two and possibly three spots for overtaking. It doesn't have a street course feel, it's more of a road course feel. From a spectator viewpoint, there are plenty of great vantage points."
The event looked like a modest success; drivers seemed happy with the course, fans turned out in reasonable numbers, and a contract was in place for future years. However, creditors and several companies involved in the construction didn't want to give the promoters a reasonable time frame to make the event profitable. The resulting lawsuit threw Colonial Motorsport company into Chapter 11, and all its contracts, including the one with CART, were dissolved. The track itself came into public ownership and fell into disrepair.
Classification
Indy Lights Pos Qual Driver Team Laps Laps Led Points11 Hélio Castroneves Tasman Motorsports50502224 Sérgio Paese FRE Racing5016310 Lee Bentham Forsythe Racing501443 Luiz Garcia Jr. Dorricott Racing5012515 Naoki Hattori Team Green501067 Hideki Noda Indy Regency Racing508717 Oswaldo Negri Jr. Genoa Racing506812 Airton Daré Brian Stewart Racing49595 Didier André Autosport Racing4941013 Fredrik Larsson Johansson Motorsports4931116 Bob Dorricott, Jr. Dorricott Racing492129 Christophe Tinseau Conquest Racing4911324 Casey Mears Team Mears49146 David Empringham Forsythe Racing48 Crash158 Shigeaki Hattori Lucas Place Motorsports48 Crash1614 Chris Simmons Team Green481711 Mark Hotchkis Team Green481825 Clint Mears Team Mears47 Off Course1923 John Jones Eclipse Racing452020 Geoff Boss Team Medlin42 Wheel2119 Cristiano da Matta Brian Stewart Racing16 Crash2218 Robby Unser PacWest Lights16 Crash232 Tony Kanaan Tasman Motorsports15 Throttle2421 Jaques Lazier Brian Stewart Racing8 Crash2522 Rodolfo Lavín Indy Regency Racing1 CrashDNSDNQ Dave DeSilva Lucas Place Motorsports
Notes: All teams used a Normally-Aspirated Buick V6 engine producing 425 hp, and the Lola T97/20 chassis.
Support Races
North American Touring Car Championship Season Date Pole position Winning driver Winning team 1997 May 17 Peter Cunningham Peter Cunningham Honda American Racing Team May 18 Peter Cunningham Peter Cunningham Honda American Racing Team
Barber Dodge Pro Series Season Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver 1997 May 18 Derek Hill Rocky Moran Jr. Derek Hill
USAC Formula Ford 2000 Season Date Winning driver Chassis 1997 May 18 Luciano Zangirolami Van Diemen RF97
References