Motorsport: Dixon takes 13th spot in handy Champ Car debut

By BOB PEARCE

A one-stop strategy saw Kiwi driver Scott Dixon lead his debut Champ Car race yesterday, but ultimately dropped him down the field to finish 13th in a field of 28.

The 20-year-old Aucklander in a Toyota-powered Reynard led the first race of the season at Monterrey, Mexico, from the 24th to the 38th lap by delaying his only pitstop.

He was running in 10th place, the last point-scoring position, but with five laps to go he apparently had to slow to conserve fuel and was passed by three cars.

Brazilian Cristiano da Matta won in his first race for the Newman-Haas team. Second was the defending champion, Gil de Ferran, who held off a strong challenge from Canadian Paul Tracy.

Unluckiest driver was Swede Kenny Brack, who started from pole and was the fastest man on the new Fundadora track. He slipped to fifth behind Michael Andretti with a late engine problem and two offtrack excursions.

The race was reduced to 78 laps after Christian Fittipaldi crashed heavily on the 66th lap. He was not injured.

Despite slipping out of the points, Dixon had the satisfaction of beating his more experienced PacWest team-mate, Mauricio Gugelmin, who finished 15th.

The next race of the championship will be at Long Beach, California, on April 9.