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Pook admits strategy mistake at Brands

CART President Chris Pook has admitted he made a mistake in enforcing regulations that stipulated a two-stop-under-green fuel strategy at Brands Hatch during the Champ Car London Trophy over the May day bank holiday

The drivers in the race were forced to conserve their fuel and didn't drive flat-out which created a high-speed procession and little overtaking on the 1.2-mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

"I'm not making excuses for it," said Pook, "it was bad decision and I'm responsible. But we've had some good racing this year. We had some good stuff in the field; we've had good stuff at the front of the field, and when we got to Brands every bloody (team) radio was saying, 'Conserve. Don't pass anybody. Conserve fuel; conserve fuel; conserve fuel.'

"Everything that has happened since the St. Petersburg race has been reinforced up until we allowed ourselves to be pressured into that two-pit-stop fiasco at Brands. I'll take full blame for that. I was trying to reach some level of compromise with the team owners following their decision to turn over all matters on engines and engine-related activities to management from the franchise board.

"It was unfortunate, because it is a tight little racetrack. But you know what? So was Nazareth a tight little racetrack and so was Phoenix a tight little racetrack, and this company had some of the best racing at those two facilities."

According to Pook, the Champ Car drivers have asked CART to consider awarding a championship point to the driver posting the race's fastest lap as an incentive to them to race hard. This gesture has encouraged Pook who was compelled to point out the change in attitude from last year: "Look at what that group is doing in support of the series and compare it to where we were last year, and it's a night-and-day proposition."

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