1994 Indycar season: rounds 1-3
Round 1: Valvoline 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
March 20th, 1994.
That date will be remembered for the beginning of the new era of Indycar and the first Indycar start for Ayrton Senna. Already, the media ran wild with stories of the season's battle between Senna and Al Unser Jr and how the young drivers like Jeff Gordon and Robby Gordon would fare against the best driver in the world, and how Senna would fare on ovals.
The answer came on saturday, as Senna took the atlanta motor speedway for his first qualifying lap in the new Penske PC-23 Honda. While he had to fight off the reflex of pressing on the brake heading into the banked turn, Senna didn't look out of place, getting progressively faster as he got more comfortable.
However, to the surprise of everyone, neither Senna or Little Al, or even Emerson Fittipaldi, got pole position. It was reigning 3-time Indycar champion and 2-time Indy 500 winner Michael Andretti, in the supposedly underpowered Lola-Ford, getting pole position, as if saying he wasn't gonna go down without a fight. Robby Gordon, in the brand new Reynard chassis, qualifies 2nd, while Adrian Fernandez, in his first full time indycar season for Galles Racing, beats Senna and Little Al for 4th spot. Quebecois wonderkid Jacques Villeneuve starts in 8th, while Jimmy Vasser confirms della pena's ambitions by starting 10th ahead of 1993 rookie of the year Jeff Gordon, who also runs the new Reynard chassis for Jim Hall and ready to test himself against Senna and Little Al.
ROW 1
Michael Andretti
Robby Gordon
ROW 2
Emerson Fittipaldi
Adrian Fernandez
ROW 3
Al Unser Jr
Ayrton Senna
ROW 4
Eddie Cheever
Jacques Villeneuve
ROW 5
John Andretti
Jimmy Vasser
ROW 6
Jeff Gordon
Scott Sharp
ROW 7
Scott Goodyear
Bryan Herta
ROW 8
Mauricio Gugelmin
Bobby Rahal
ROW 9
Robbie Stanley
Wally Dallenbach Jr
ROW 10
Mario Andretti
Raul Boesel
ROW 11
Robbie Groff
Willy T. Ribs
ROW 12
Hiro Matsushita
Mark Smith
ROW 13
Davy Jones
Davey Hamilton
ROW 14
Robbie Buhl
Jeff Andretti
ROW 15
Buddy Lazier
Chris Smith
The start of the race sees Robby Gordon taking over 1st place from michael, while Senna and Little Al easily passed Fernandez to follow Emmo in their chase for Michael and Robby. The race devolved into a massive attrition fest, with crashes, engine failures and mechanical issues abound. Al Unser Jr was one such victim of electrical issues, while Michael Andretti had to retire following mechanical issues and Fernandez and Villeneuve crashed in the bankings.
Senna led the mid-portion of the race, showing off the penske-honda's potential and his skills adapting well to ovals. Roger Penske and Emmo taught him a lot about oval racing, and it looks like it payed off.
But then, Robby Gordon came out with a big pit strategy by Ganassi's shot caller Mo Nunn, and would find himself in the lead in the late portion. Despite Senna and Emmo threatening him, Robby held on and maamged to win the opening race of the season in a stunning upset, scoring Reynard's first win in their first Indycar start.
The Reynard 94I
Speaking of upsets, Jimmy Vasser in the della pena reynard finishe din 4th, beating Scott Sharp of Pacwest and Jeff Gordon to do so., while rookies Bryan Herta and Robbie Stanely scores their first points in their first outings.
Atlanta Race Results
1) Robby Gordon 20 pts
2) Ayrton Senna 16 pts
3) Emerson Fittipaldi 14 pts
4) Jimmy Vasser 12 pts
5) Scott Sharp 10 pts
6) Jeff Gordon 6 pts
7) Eddie Cheever 4 pts
8) Bryan Herta 3 pts
9) Robbie Stanley 2 pts
10) Scott Goodyear 1 pt
Round 2: Jimmy Bryant Memorial at Phoenix
April 10th, 1994
At the short oval of Phoenix, Senna continues to impress by scoring pole position, albeit it wasn't a blowout, for Jacques Villeneuve got close to snatchign the pole away from him. Jeff Gordon starts in 8th, outqualifying Al Unser Jr.
ROW 1
Ayrton Senna
Jacques Villeneuve
ROW 2
Michael Andretti
Mario Andretti
ROW 3
Raul Boesel
Emerson Fittipaldi
ROW 4
John Andretti
Jeff Gordon
ROW 5
Al Unser Jr
Robbie Stanley
ROW 6
Jimmy Vasser
Robby Gordon
ROW 7
Scott Sharp
Mauricio Gugelmin
ROW 8
Scott Goodyear
Adrian Fernandez
ROW 9
Davy Jones
Mark Smith
ROW 10
Willy T. Ribs
Bryan Herta
ROW 11
Davey Hamilton
Bobby Rahal
ROW 12
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Robbie Groff
ROW 13
Buddy Lazier
Hiro Matsushita
ROW 14
Jeff Andretti
Eddie Cheever (Penalised for running an illegal setup)
DNQ
Robbie Buhl
Chris Smith
The Phoenix race saw Senna and Michael fight for the lead in the opening laps, but the Penske-Honda juggernaut finally showed itself for the first time, as Senna eventually passed Michael in a trademark aggressive move on the inside, and Emmo and Little Al soon eniugh travelsd to 2dn and 3rd, while Jeff Gorodn followed them.
But then, the crashfest started.
First off, Jacques Villeneuve, running 5th, didn't see the stalled Hiro Matsushita and hit him head on, the cars obliterating in ahlf. However, surprisingly, both drivers would come out in one piece, something which Paul Page expressed his amazement over on commentary.
Moments before Villeneuve's crash
Later, Mario Andretti collided with backmarker Wally Dallenbach Jr to crash out of the race. This seemed as if the Penske Juggernaut would have a nice and quiet day, and Senna would amazingly score his first indycar race on an oval.
However, his lack of experience on them ended up biting him, for Senna clipped the wall at the first turn, forcing him to retire from the race. He looked visibly disappointed, but he told in interviews that it was a bit complicated driving on ovals, but he is now starting to underatand what he's stepping into.
Jeff Gordon tried to catch up with the remaining two penskes, but Emmo and Little Al were simply too strong, and Fittipaldi would win the race with Little Al right behind him in 2nd.
Race Results
1) Emerson Fittipaldi 20 pts
2) Al Unser Jr 16 pts
3) Jeff Gordon 14 pts
4) Michael Andretti 12 pts
5) Jimmy Vasser 10 pts
6) Bryan Herta 6 pts
7) John Andretti 4 pts
8) Raul Boesel 3 pts
9) Scott Sharp 2 pts
10) Robbie Stanley 1 pt
Round 3: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
April 17th, 1994
A record crowd full of race fans and celebrities from the world over gathered at Long Beach to witness Senna's much anticipated Indycar debut on a street track. As soon as he got into the cockpit, he entered F1 grand prix mode, shattering the track record to get his second pole position, with his teammate Al Unser Jr sitting alongside him in 2nd.
This is it. The dream match that the entire world was waiting for. The hundreds of thousands in attendance, the millions watching around the world awaitign the start of the title duel between Senna and Little Al.
ROW 1
Ayrton Senna
Al Unser Jr
ROW 2
Emerson Fittipaldi
Michael Andretti
ROW 3
Robby Gordon
Mario Andretti
ROW 4
Raul Boesel
Mauricio Gugelmin
ROW 5
Eddie Cheever
John Andretti
ROW 6
Bobby Rahal
Jeff Gordon
ROW 7
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Jacques Villeneuve
ROW 8
Mark Smith
Robbie Groff
ROW 9
Scott Sharp
Scott Goodyear
ROW 10
Adrian Fernandez
Dave Kudrave
ROW 11
Hiro Matsushita
Willy T. Ribs
ROW 12
Jimmy Vasser
Bryan Herta
ROW 13
Davy Jones
Robbie Buhl
ROW 14
Robbie Stanley
Jeff Andretti
ROW 15
Buddy Lazier
Chris Smith
And this is exactly what the people is gonna get! As soon as the grene flag waved, Senna and Little Al flew away from the field and began the first chapter of their much anticipated duel. Roger Penske has made it clesr betwedn those two: they will be treated as equals, and they will be allowed to race each other, as long as they can keep things civil between themselves off the track.
The non-american fans watching Indycar for the first time were surprised at Al Unser Jr, this american, matching Senna's pace and even overtaking him for the lead multiple times! This is the king of the beach we are talking about, a 5-time winner of that race. Nobody cared if it was the Penske-Honda showing off its full potential, or that Penske was gonna dominate in the same way that is more common to Formula 1 than Indycar. All eyes were on that duel that, last year, was thought off as only the stuff of a race fan's wildest dreams. But it isn't a dream. It is reality.
Ayrton Senna was battling with Al Unser Jr for the win. On equal machinery.
If senna thought he was gonna have it easy in Indycars, as a lot of european and brazilian fans thought before watching Indycar for the first time, then he was in for a wake-up call, as Little Al was pulling away from him!
This only lit a fire under the three-time F1 champion's ass.
For the last portion of the race, Senna matched Little Al's incredible pace move for move, using all the tricks in the book to pressure Al into a mistake. Little Al held firm, braking as late as he could.
But alas, this wasn't any pretender to his throne at Long Beach he was facing. It was Senna.
Heading into the right turn at the end of shoreline drive, Senna made his move, diving into Al's outside line and taking the lead to the roar of the crowd! Al, despite his best efforts trying to take the fight to the brazilian, had no choice but to admit defeat, and he would simply slow down in order to bring the car home as Senna scores his first Indycar win at Long Beach.
Robby Gordon scores another podium, confirming Ganassi's status as a rising team, while Jeff Gordon had a quiet race, ending up in 9th.
While many people would say that the Reynard-Chevroket package won't be challenging the Penskes anytime soon, it didn't seem to worry Jeff that much. On the contrary, he says that he is confident in his chances at beating the Penskes at Indianapolis in May. While this could simply be seen as youthful confidence from the 23-year old, the real reason behind such a statement is only known to him and Jim Hall.
RACE RESULTS
1) Ayrton Senna 20 pts
2) Al Unser Jr 16 pts
3) Robby Gordon 14 pts
4) Michael Andretti 12 pts
5) Raul Boesel 10 pts
6) John Andretti 6 pts
7) Mauricio Gugelmin 4 pts
8) Wally Dallenbach Jr 3 pts
9) Jeff Gordon 2 pts
10) Robbie Groff 1 pt
A few weeks later, at the Hall workshop at the GM offices in Detroit, Jeff arrived at the precise hour that Jim asked him. Entering the wind tunnel, he was greeted by Jim and two other guests: none other than Bobby Rahal, his old indylights teammate Bryan Herta and Carl Hogan, as well as engineers from germany, ready to reveal what was hidden underneath the Pennzoil Reynard.
"Is it ready?" Jeff asked.
"Oh yes." Jim said. "We're ready to unleash Frankenstein."
"It's gonna cause such a shitstorm at Indy." Bobby Rahal said with a sly grin.
"And there will be nothing Penske or anyone can do about it." Jim said as the reveal bestowed upon them...
To Be Continued in the Month of May...
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