Toyota on the up

The turbo V8 had finished no higher than fourth until Ganassi got its hands on it. Since the seasons's beginning, Juan Montoya has added a third pole position, and Jimmy Vasser has steadily been edging up the highest finish record.

The Californian finished fourth at the season opener at Homestead, matching the result of Christiano da Matta at Nazareth, 1999, and then took third at Long Beach.

Then last weekend at Rio, Vasser went one better and took second place. Indeed, it could easily have been the engine's first win, because when the race went green with five laps to go, Vasser was tucked right under leader Adrian Fernandez' rear wing.

However, before Vasser could attempt a move, Alex Tagliani spun and brought the yellows out again, which stayed out until the race finished.

In any case, Vasser had conclusively proved the competitiveness of the Toyota engine, which now seems to be a match for any in the pit lane. Toyota lies third in the manufacturer's championship, a mere 12 points shy of leaders Ford.