Michigan race update

Race finish: Tony Kanaan takes incredible victory, passing Max Papis as the Italian runs out of fuel on the final corner. Juan Montoya nearly pips Kanaan on the line, mere thousanths behind. Full report and results to follow

After 60 laps:

Gil de Ferran has been holding up the leaders as he tries to avoid being lapped. He then crashes in turn three and brings out the yellow.

Before the incident Max Papis had taken 3rd from Vasser and was challenging Montoya for 2nd.

Pit stops now expected.

Race order: Andretti, Montoya, Papis, Vasser, Kanaan, Fernandez, Unser Jr, Tracy, Da Matta, Pruett


After 65 laps:

Kanaan is the big winner in the pit stops, going up to 3rd. Greg Moore is out though, he cannot select any gears. Mauricio Gugelmin also stops on course. Alex Barron dropped out after getting a drive-through penalty for a pit road violation.

Race order: Andretti, Montoya, Kanaan, Papis, Vasser, Fernandez, Tracy, Da Matta, Pruett, Franchitti, Fittipaldi, Hearn, Barron, Herta, Carpentier, Jones, Jourdain, Salles, Moreno, Vitolo, Castro-Neves

Helio Castro Neves stops under the yellow with smoke pouring from his car. Mauricio Gugelmin retired because he had got debris from De Ferran's car in his radiators.


After 80 laps:

On the restart, Montoya and Andretti swap the lead frantically and continue to trade places. Kanaan was 3rd but had to pit with a flapping rear Gurney flap. He took on fuel and tyres as well and rejoined a lap down. Unser Jr now 4th

KOOL Green cars up to 6th and 7th

After 85 laps:

Max Papis charges past Andretti and Montoya into the lead. Andretti down to 3rd and under pressure from a flying Al Unser Jr. Papis has never led a CART race before and is able to pull away as Michael and Juan continue to swap places. Fernandez and Vasser both dropping back and Alex Barron has pitted again but had a problem with the air jack and needed to be lifted manually.


After 95 laps:

Papis over 3s ahead and Montoya dropping behind Andretti. Franchitti has moved up to 5th ahead of Tracy but is struggling to hold off Christiano da Matta. The other big battle is between Richie Hearn and Christian Fittipaldi for 11th place

After 107 laps:

Second round of pit stops but no problems for the leaders. Papis stop especially good.

Race order: Papis, Andretti, Montoya, Franchitti, Kanaan, Unser, Tracy, Vasser, Da Matta, Fernandez, Fittipaldi, Pruett, Hearn, Barron, Carpentier, Jones, Salles, Moreno, Vitolo, Herta.

Jourdain and Herta have made several pit stops and the Mexican is now out of the race. Kanaan is out of sequence after his early emergency pit visit, but for the time being at least he is back in contention.

After 115 laps:

Flying Kanaan passes Franchitti. Papis leads by a full 4.5s. Unser dropped back behind Franchitti with a slow (15s) pit stop.

Kanaan then makes third stop and drops off the lead lap. Big battle for 4th between Green cars, Unser and Da Matta.

After 119 laps:

Papis now 7s ahead as Montoya catches Andretti again and their parallel racing act begins again

After 122 laps:

Alex Barron's promising run on his Penske debut ends when he pulls in to retire with engine failure. Christiano da Matta also slows down on course and could be out. Moreno is another retirement in the pits

After 125 laps:

Da Matta has a gearbox problem but the fault is intermittent and he presses on

After 128 laps:

Papis is a full 9s ahead as Paul Tracy runs very wide in turn one and loses a lot of ground as he nearly brushes the wall.

Race order: Papis, Andretti, Montoya, Franchitti, Unser Jr, Vasser, Tracy, Fittipaldi, Pruett, Fernandez, Hearn, Kanaan, Carpentier, Jones, Da Matta, Salles, Vitolo.

Jourdain is now out due to driveshaft failure. Herta has retired with suspension problems.

After 135 laps:

Full course yellow after PJ Jones hits the wall in turn three. Gets out of the car unaided. Pit stops likely under caution.

After 139 laps:

Da Matta now out with electrical problems as the field pits for the third time. Kanaan likely to stay on track behind the pace car

After 140 laps:

Andretti just gets out of the pits ahead of Papis, who got just a bit too sideways out of his stop, despite an incredibly quick stop. Unser Jr again has a slow stop.

After 141 laps:

Race order under yellow: Andretti, Papis, Franchitti, Montoya, Pruett, Tracy, Fittipaldi, Fernandez, Unser Jr, Vasser, Hearn, Kanaan, Carpentier, Salles, Vitolo. Everyone else is already out.

Big winners in the 4th stops: Franchitti, Pruett

Big losers: Unser, Vasser


After 144 laps:

Restart, Franchitti drives around the outside of everyone into lead but Papis repasses him into turn three. Andretti shuffled down to 3rd .

After 145 laps:

Franchitti and Papis swap lead twice more as Andretti fends off Montoya.

After 146 laps:

Top three go three-abreast but stay in same order. Andretti loses momentum and loses 3rd to Montoya. Scott Pruett nearly hits the wall and drops back after big moment

After 147 laps:

Franchitti and Papis still all over each other. As soon as Franchitti goes ahead, Papis manages to draft back through. Andretti now back ahead of Montoya

After 150 laps:

Unser Jr pits as Papis and Franchitti complete a lap and a half wheel-to-wheel with Andretti just inches behind in third.

After 151 laps:

Unser rejoins having pitted with handling problems. Wings adjusted, he is now down to 12th. Andretti nearly hits the wall trying to go around the outside of both Papis and Franchitti then demotes Dario to 2nd and challenges Papis again

After 154 laps:

Christia Fittipaldi moves up to 5th, major handling adjustments were made to his Swift at the fourth stops. He is closing on Montoya and the other leaders.

After 158 laps:

Kanaan pits for fifth stop as Fittipaldi attacks Montoya for 4th. Andretti retakes 2nd from Franchitti but Dario immediately passes him back again

After 164 laps:

Montoya gets back into the groove and passes both Andretti and Franchitti. Andretti appears to be slowing slightly and is under pressure from his team mate Fittipaldi. Papis is pulling away again.

After 173 laps:

Papis leads by 5s from a big battle between Franchitti and Montoya. Gualter Salles has retired from 14th with an engine problem.

After 177 laps:

Papis pits to begin the fifth round of stops.

After 178 laps:

Montoya and Franchitti pit together, nearly colliding on the pit entry road. Montoya locks up and overshoots pit box, taking one of the air hoses with him. He loses a lot of time as the crew pull him back and reposition. All the other leaders pit too.

Montoya should escape a penalty despite running over an air hose because it was only his front wheels that hit the hose.

After 183 laps:

Full course yellow as Scott Pruett hits the wall in turn three. Unhurt, climbs out of the car. This should help Kanaan and Unser Jr because they are out of sequence on the stops

After 185 laps:

Race order under yellow: Papis, Andretti, Franchitti, Tracy, Unser Jr, Fittipaldi, Fernandez, Vasser, Kanaan, Montoya, Hearn, Carpentier, Vitolo. All on the lead lap apart from Carpentier and Vitolo

After 186 laps:

Unser makes late stop under yellow to try and finally eradicate handling problems and take on service. Kanaan also pits.

After 191 laps:

Race restarts, Andretti very slow away and causes minor traffic jam, allowing Team KOOL Green cars to move into 2nd and 3rd as Papis again escapes up the road.

After 192 laps:

Andretti passes Tracy for 3rd and works on Franchitti. Fittipaldi in contention as well as Andretti fails to complete his move. Richie Hearn retires after making several stops

After 194 laps:

Team Gree/Newman-Haas battle is allowing Papis to pull well away again. Montoya already up to 6th

After 197 laps:

5s covers the whole top ten. The pace is hotting up and things are about to get crazy

After 199 laps:

Fittipaldi passes Tracy who is then under pressure from Montoya and Kanaan. Fittipaldi now up with Franchitti as Andretti takes 2nd and goes after Papis

After 202 laps:

Papis leads by 1.2s, Andretti, Fittipaldi, Franchitti, Montoya, Tracy and Kanaan all absolutely together and swapping places everywhere

After 204 laps:

Hearn rejoins after 15 lap pit stop. Montoya takes both Newman-Haas cars in one move then drops back behind Andretti yet again. Unser pits to retire with an engine problem

After 206 laps:

Unser is out. Kanaan takes Fittipaldi for 6th. Papis leads Franchitti, then Andretti, Tracy, Montoya, Kanaan, Fittipaldi. The rest are being left behind

After 212 laps:

Montoya goes from 4th to 2nd in one corner as Dennis Vitolo gets in the way of the leaders. Kanaan and Fittipaldi are side by side everywhere and Adrian Fernandez is about to join the lead group

After 217 laps:

Papis 4s ahead, Hearn back in the pits with his engine cover off. Montoya runs 2nd with Andretti all over Franchitti in the battle for 3rd

After 218 laps:

Montoya edging away from 3rd placed battle to challenge Papis, but is still over 3s behind

After 219 laps:

Kanaan and Fittipaldi have now pushed Tracy down to 7th

After 221 laps:

Papis stops for final service. Vasser also in. Very quick stop. Vasser's crew have big trouble with the right rear wheel.

After 222 laps:

Montoya pits but again overshoots slightly, though not by nearly as much as last time, but still loses around 3s.

After 223 laps:

Franchitti, Fittipaldi pit, so does Andretti. Kanaan yet to pit and leads the race. Fernandez also stops for last time

After 227 laps:

Kanaan stops with a one lap lead having just run some incredibly quick laps. Perfect stop but Papis retakes the lead.

After 229 laps:

Race order with stops completed: Papis, Kanaan, Franchitti, Andretti, Montoya, Tracy, Fittipaldi, Vasser, Fernandez, Carpentier, Vitolo

After 230 laps:

Montoya moves into 3rd but Franchitti immediately fights back. Papis leads Kanaan by 2.5s with the rest another 5s behind

After 233 laps:

Kanaan flying, takes 0.4s off Papis in a single lap

After 235 laps:

Papis leads by 1.8s. Jimmy Vasser now fastest man on the track, moving up to 4th behind Montoya. Franchitti 5th, then Andretti, Tracy, Fittipaldi

After 236 laps:

Ganassi pair fighting hard, Vasser moves up to 3rd but Montoya comes straight back at him