1996 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit

1996 ITT Automotive Detroit

Race details
Race 8 of 16 in the 1996 IndyCar season
Date	June 9, 1996
Official name	ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit
Location	Belle Isle, Detroit, United States
Course	Temporary street course 2.1 mi / 3.4 km
Distance	77 (72 laps completed) laps mi / km
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 65.8 °F (18.8 °C); wind speeds up to 12.8 miles per hour (20.6 km/h)[1]
Pole position
Driver	Scott Pruett (Patrick Racing)
Time	1:11:802
Podium
First	Michael Andretti (Newman/Haas Racing)
Second	Christian Fittipaldi (Newman/Haas Racing)
Third	Gil de Ferran (Jim Hall Racing)

The 1996 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit was a CART race which happened at the Belle Isle Park. It happened on June 9, 1996. It was the 8th round of the 1996 IndyCar season.

Race

Lap 2

Christian Fittipaldi takes the lead from Scott Pruett.

Lap 4

Top 6: Christian Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran, Paul Tracy, Scott Pruett, Robby Gordon and Michael Andretti. First full course caution was out after Gordon had hit the tire wall. Green flag came out on lap 10.

Lap 13

Top 12: Christian Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran, Paul Tracy, Michael Andretti, Scott Pruett, André Ribeiro, Adrian Fernandez, Al Unser Jr., Bobby Rahal, Parker Johnstone, Mark Blundell and Alex Zanardi.

Some laps later

Second full course caution, as Greg Moore and André Ribeiro crashed. Neither the Canadian, nor the Brazilian had retired. One lap later, Gil de Ferran spun after leaving the pits.

Lap 25

Top 6: Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy, Gil de Ferran, Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Rahal. Green flag came out on lap 31.

Laps 36-37

At the very same curve, Emerson Fittipaldi and André Ribeiro crashed, but not simultaneously. Fittipaldi brushed the wall on lap 36. Ribeiro would do the same on the following lap. Both drivers retired.

Lap 46

Shades of 1994 came out, as Al Unser Jr. and Paul Tracy once again were involved into a crash. Two years before, both drivers collided, as Little Al went into the tyre barrier. The same fate happened on lap 46 of the 1996 race. Third caution was out. Green flag came out on lap 53.

Lap 57

Top 6: Christian Fittipaldi, Andretti, de Ferran, Rahal, Tracy and Pruett.

Lap 61

Fourth caution was out, as Bobby Rahal had a hard crash.

Lap 65

Green flag came out. Christian Fittipaldi went wide and Michael Andretti takes the lead. Meanwhile, Paul Tracy crashed very hard. Fifth full course caution. Few laps later, came the green flag.

1 lap after the restart

Scott Pruett caused the sixth full course caution as he crashed into the tyre barrier. Green flag came out with two minutes left.

Lap 72

As the race completed the 2-hour limit, Michael Andretti won the race on lap 72. 5 laps before the predicted laps.

Final results

Top 12

1. Michael Andretti 72 laps
2. Christian Fittipaldi
3. Gil de Ferran
4. Adrian Fernandez
5. Mark Blundell
6. Eddie Lawson
7. Stefan Johansson
8. Raul Boesel
9. P. J. Jones
10. Scott Pruett
11. Alex Zanardi +1
12. Jimmy Vasser +1

Drivers who did not completed the race

1. Bobby Rahal +12 Contact
2. Al Unser Jr. +26 Contact
3. Roberto Moreno +31 Broken exhaust
4. André Ribeiro +35 Contact
5. Emerson Fittipaldi +36 Contact
6. Robby Gordon +69 Contact

Did not started the race

1. Michel Jourdain Jr. Too slow

Point standings

After 8 of 16 races

1. Jimmy Vasser 98 points
2. Al Unser Jr. 75 points
3. Michael Andretti 71 points
4. Christian Fittipaldi 58 points
5. Gil de Ferran 55 points
6. Scott Pruett 54 points

References

1. "1996 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-07-13.

42°20′36″N 82°58′28″W