Paul Tracy of Toronto finished .384 seconds ahead of Kool/Team Green teammate Dario Franchitti to win the CART "Molson Indy Vancouver" at Pacific Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
There were mixed feelings in the Team KOOL Green camp after the squad's dominant one-two victory. Winner Paul Tracy was overjoyed to have won in front of his rabidly enthusiastic home fans, but runner-up Dario Franchitti was left frustrated after losing the lead when he stalled in the pits. Tracy, who had been suffering all weekend with a fever, said he didn't think he had a chance to beat his team-mate.
"We were catching Dario a little bit but it seemed like things were going his way until the pit stop," said Tracy. "Winning in Toronto in 1993 was the biggest race of my career and this is as good as that."
Franchitti blamed difficulty with the pit lane speed limiter system for the incident that cost him victory. "I'm pretty disappointed," he said. "I've been using a different pit lane limiter. I didn't like it but the team told me to use it. I dropped the clutch and the engine just died."
The Scotsman also sounded frustrated by the team decision to order the two drivers to hold position in the closing stages. "I was going fast enough to keep Paul honest but I knew I wasn't allowed to pass him," he said.
Team boss Barry Green played down the significance of the team orders. "Our rules are that whoever comes out ahead after the final pit stops will come home in front," he said, "unless we're getting pressure from the rear. We didn't get a lot of pressure from anyone today though, it's a great day for the team."
The other Canadians in the field both had disappointing days. Patrick Carpentier was involved in a crash on lap 3 and his Player's/Forsythe teammate Alex Tagliani dropped out on Lap 63 with a broken suspension.
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