The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 155

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR WWW.INDYSTAR.COM Sports SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2003 R7 U.3. GRAND PRIX OTP till hr3 a a asfi ir rr UPG VILLAS AT WINDING RIDGE 56th German Church Road BRICK HOMES VAULTED CEILINGS GOLF COURSE COMMUNITY another Epmark franchised EPMAKK' community 1 Jiu'iV i i 1 1 ii iff 1 WAYNE GRETZKY MICHAEL JORDAN PEYTON MANNING TIGER WOODS SAMMY SOSA -11 uui.1 i iiiuhluiiuiuuiuiiwiu-U .0 I PA ft I'? I Indy's Autograph Superstore! of autographs Sport Celebrity Music History Disney Animation Art The Life and AP Photo Collection Movie Posters Golf Prints City Stadium Panoramas SUPERB CUSTOM FRAMING Ml ''Hill N0SIQ3 SVN0H1 S1H380H VITflf 3S0U 313d SITON H3TIIW 31993d U399VT HOIW 1 1 'if ri rv A 250 to 12,000 SqFt 1CC0 Meridian 1812 Meridian Indianapolis, IN 6V i Robert Scheer The Star Finding speed: Kimi Raikkonen pulls out of the pits for his pole-winning run. He'll go for his second career win today in the U.S. Grand Prix. realty Montsraary (317) (rr LmJ i Raikkonen enjoys going fast downhill as a snowboarder in the off-season, but his racing career has been nothing but going up.

He parlayed a 2000 Formula Renault championship into an F-l ride with the Sauber Petronas team and the next year was plucked by team principal Ron Dennis to join the elite McLaren-Mercedes outfit. This year, he scored his first win, in Malaysia in March, and is threatening to deny Schumacher a record sixth championship. While a pole is no guarantee of a win, it's closer to that in F-l than in any other major racing series. And Raikkonen knows it. "It's the best place to start," he said.

"You never know what is going to happen in a race, but it looks quite good now." the finish. But if his own Indy history is discouraging, his team's isn't. Fellow Finn Mika Hakkinen, the champion driver Raikkonen replaced at McLaren-Mercedes, capped his career by winning the 2001 U.S. Grand Prix. And teammate David Coulthard, who starts eighth today, has two third places and a fifth to show for his three Indy visits.

"I haven't finished a race so far here," he said, "but it has been many, many other circuits, also, where before I haven't done very well Then this year has been going much better." Coulthard is prepared to offer whatever help he can. "Even from the fourth row of the grid everything is possible," the Scotsman said. "I look forward to the race. Congratulations to Kimi on his great lap. Let's just hope it (carries over) to the race." Reticent Raikkonen must be wary of Barrichello on first turn.

From R1 mistaken for a lack of confidence. "Of course we are in it, as long as there is even a small chance," he said. "It is quite an important pole and the fact my two championship contenders are a bit further down can only be good for the battle." Montoya qualified fourth and Schumacher seventh. Raikkonen's first order of business will be getting safely through the first turn, where he figures to get a strong challenge from defending race winner and front-row starter Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher's Ferrari teammate. The Brazilian said the sharp right-hand turn affords an opportunity to pass and is not as dangerous as many on the circuit.

"If you compare the first turn here to Monza (Italy), for example, this is like a motor way," he said. "It does have space for you to go everywhere. The way that it's done with the curb, you can approach to the inside or you can cut across if you need to. Anything can happen, but it can be a quite safe one." If he can get through the first turn unscathed and his car stays together for 73 laps, Raikkonen could have the second win of his 48-race career. But those are two big "ifs" for a driver who hasn't had much success in his two previous visits to Indianapolis.

As an F-l rookie in 2001, a driveshaft problem knocked him out after just two laps. Last year, he started sixth and had a good race going through 50 laps until an engine failure left him 17th at Call Star reporter Steve Ballard at 1-317-444-6184. i i i Mm i 'fi'' PrrrnV Reis-Nichols Manufacturer Designer importer North .3535 East 86lh Street Indianapolis, IN (317) 255-4467 South 789 US 31 North Greenwood. IN (317) 883-4467 wwm.rtttntehols.com Matt Kryger The Star Three up front: Pole winner Kimi Raikkonen (center), Rubens Barrichello (left), who qualified second, and Oliver Panis, who will start third, answer questions after qualifying. Raikkonen will be starting from the pole position for only the second time in his Formula One career.

1 QtlKl JlUP' -mm wZ I I F-1 'V ALL 2005 LINCOLN LS SEDANS and 2003 AVIATORS if a I 3 F-l races are often decided by the furious jump from the standing start Not only is Schumacher in the fourth row, Olivier Panis is in the second. Panis has never started a grand prix race that far forward in his nine-year career, and the position is new for the Toyota team, too. Panis indicated that his team will use a differentjuel strategy to challenge for a top-three finish that would be considered a major upset. "I think for this grand prix, more or less the strategy is quite clear," he said. "I tried a different strategy maybe with some grand prix before and I think it (worked) quite well" He did not elaborate.

Jarno Trulli was Friday's top qualifier and might have contended for the pole Saturday, but he went off course into the tire barrier in the warm-up, damaging both ends of his Renault car. After repairs, he settled for the 10th starting spot. Trulli's accident was the first significant mishap of FTs weekend. Call Star reporter Curt Cavin at 1-317-444-6409. Matt Kryger The Star Bad news: Ferrari crew member Claudio Bersini shows his disappointment after seeing Michael Schumacher's qualifying time.

IBV J-tfr jttt. Montoya will start 4th, -Michael Schumacher 7th. From R1 with the fuel levels left from qualifying, Montoya could have been carrying more Saturday. That would have slowed him in qualifying but allow him to turn his BMW engine harder or go farther before he stops in today's 73-lap race. Conversely, Raikkonen and Barrichello could have lightened their fuel tanks to gain the most forward and subsequently safest starting position possible.

The tradeoff is needing more refueling time during the race. F-l teams never reveal their game plans, leaving numerous possibilities to the race. "We'll see who's happy tomorrow," Raikkonen said. "We have more to win than lose." Raikkonen was the surprising pole winner, given his lack of weekend speed in practice. The 23-year-old Finn was ninth in Friday's first round of qualifying and no better than sixth in the three pre-qualifying sessions Saturday.

He said the event's intermittent rain stole most of his practice time. He also considered himself lucky the team found the right setup. "We just had a better car today," he said. The pole was the second of his career. The other came in the European Grand Prix in Germany in June.

Schumacher described a disappointing day and said the most important issue would be determining why the car was loose. It twice that are expected today. "You would say last race (in Italy) that the two main contenders were Montoya and Schumacher," said Barrichello, who won last year's USGP when Schumacher slowed at the finish line. "Then all of a sudden you see Kimi on pole, the other two guys behind. "It's quite open.

It's going to be very fun (in the race)." JOB for up to 72 Months could have been the strong wind that blew from the west. "I am not clear what was going on, but the car was sliding too much and I could not find any grip," he said. Schumacher also had a mechanical problem in Saturday's first practice, reducing him to an early spectator. But he can still wrap up his record-setting sixth title if he leaves here with a 10-point lead. "At least seventh place (on the starting grid) is on the clean side of the track," he said.

"In terms of the championship, my closest rival (Montoya) is only three places ahead of me, so this is not a disaster." Barrichello said having Raikkonen on the pole is a dream for F-l's fans, who are enjoying the most competitive three-way battle since 1986. An estimated 60,000 attended Saturday's qualifying session and perhaps as many as WELCOME, RACE FANS! If you like Race Cars Pretty Girls, you'll Sw des for details. OPEN SUNDAY AfXAZ Buyers Wecome finely OPEN RACE DAY OPEN SUNDAY OPEN RACE DAY SHOWTIME 3pm-1 OPEN 4444 S. HARDING 1OO0FT NORTH Of 485 (317)787-7469 P. MERCURY U.S.

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