Montoya Ready for Indy 'Homecoming'

Some drivers have expressed reservations about Sunday's U.S. Formula One Grand Prix but Juan Pablo Montoya sees it as a homecoming. And the Colombian has got his timing right.

The Williams driver's victory in a subdued Italian Grand Prix brought a rare expression of joy to a weekend overshadowed by death and destruction in New York and Washington. Montoya now heads for America knowing he has considerable local support as a familiar face after winning the Indianapolis 500 at the first attempt last year while reigning CART champion.

"For Juan Pablo the venue, where he won the Indy 500 in 2000, has a special meaning," said BMW motor sport director Gerhard Berger. "And the victory in Monza will have made him even stronger."

Montoya, with three pole positions in the last four races, is on a roll and can further enhance his reputation in America by joining a small band of motor racing greats if he wins. Only four drivers have ever won the Indy 500 and the U.S. Formula One Grand Prix and the last was Mario Andretti in 1977.

The others are Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi and Britons Graham Hill and Jim Clark - multiple Formula One World Champions.

Tight Security

"I'm very happy to go back there," Montoya said at Monza. "Last time I was there, I won."

Montoya may know "The Brickyard" as well as anybody but the Formula One track uses only a small part of the famed banked oval. The rest of the circuit twists through the infield, further away from the immense grandstands capable of seating a crowd of 250,000.

The oldest venue in motor sport attracted a Formula One record crowd last year but that turn-out could well be down after the attacks. Security will be tighter than usual but the business of racing goes on.

"Following the tragic events in America, this Grand Prix has been the subject of lots of discussions," Berger said. "From our point of view now the most important thing is for everyone to concentrate on their targets for the race and do the best job possible."

Reluctant Traveller

Michael Schumacher won here last season for Ferrari in the first Formula One race in the United States for nine years and he has already sewn up both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles. But Schumacher's team boss Jean Todt admitted after Monza that the German's "heart wasn't in it" there and it remains to be seen how he feels at Indianapolis.

He dismissed suggestions last week that he might skip the race altogether but he and brother Ralf, Montoya's teammate, have not been enthusiastic travellers. Michael's teammate Rubens Barrichello, who finished second in Monza and became a father for the first time at the weekend, is keener about the trip.

Barrichello can seize second place overall in the Championship if he scores four points more than McLaren's David Coulthard. Williams, with Ralf a front-runner after three wins this season, can also leapfrog over McLaren into second place in the Constructors' Championship.

Further down the field, Czech Tomas Enge continues as a replacement at Prost for Brazilian Luciano Burti, who will miss the rest of the season. Jordan's Frenchman Jean Alesi is ready to celebrate his 200th start while veteran British television commentator Murray Walker is about to hang up his microphone after half a century of talking.