# 1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami

The 1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami was a CART race which happened at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. It happened on March 15, 1998. It was the 1st round of the 1998 CART season.

## Starting grid

* Greg Moore 217.541 mph / 24.856 seconds (1st CART career pole)
* André Ribeiro 214.665 mph
* Jimmy Vasser
* Christian Fittipaldi
* Adrian Fernandez
* Alex Zanardi
* Mark Blundell
* Michael Andretti
* Patrick Carpentier
* Maurício Gugelmin
* Gil de Ferran
* Scott Pruett
* Dario Franchitti
* Al Unser Jr.
* Richie Hearn
* Bryan Herta
* Bobby Rahal
* Tony Kanaan (R)
* Michel Jourdain Jr.
* Max Papis
* Paul Tracy
* Hélio Castroneves (R)
* Roberto Moreno
* Hiro Matsushita
* Dennis Vitolo (Suffered an awful crash during practice. Suffered a broken finger, but raced.)
* P. J. Jones
* Alex Barron (R)
* Arnd Meier
* JJ Lehto (No speed due to gearbox problems)

## Race
### Lap 27

Top 6: Greg Moore, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, Christian Fittipaldi, Gil de Ferran and Adrian Fernandez.

### Lap 34

First full course caution was out, as rookie Tony Kanaan had hit the wall in turn 4.

### Lap 44

Green flag. de Ferran leads.

### Lap 57

Top 6: Gil de Ferran, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Christian Fittipaldi, Patrick Carpentier and Scott Pruett.

### Lap 67

New leader: Michael Andretti!

### Lap 75

Second full course caution came out, as Paul Tracy "brushed" the wall in the backstretch.

### Lap 82

Green flag. de Ferran leads, but, laps later, he lost the lead, due to a pitstop.

### Lap 97

Top 6: Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Gil de Ferran, Christian Fittipaldi, Dario Franchitti and Scott Pruett.

### Lap 100

Third full course caution, as another 1998 rookie had "brushed" the wall in turn 1: Hélio Castroneves.

### Lap 107

Green flag. Alex Zanardi leads.

### Lap 116

Fourth full course caution came out as Mark Blundell was another victim of the wall. This time in turn 2.

### Lap 117

Top 6: Andretti, Zanardi, Moore, Fittipaldi, Pruett and Fernandez.

### Lap 122

Green flag. Andretti once again was leading the race.

### Lap 130

Fifth full course caution: Hiro Matsushita had hit the wall in turn 2.

### Lap 140

Green flag. Andretti leads.

## Race results

| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 6 | Michael Andretti | Newman-Haas Racing | 150 | 1:33:39.268 | 8 | 20+1 |
| 2 | 99 | Greg Moore | Forsythe Racing | 150 | +0.075 | 1 | 16+1 |
| 3 | 1 | Alex Zanardi | Chip Ganassi Racing | 150 | +0.918 | 6 | 14 |
| 4 | 11 | Christian Fittipaldi | Newman-Haas Racing | 150 | +3.359 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | 20 | Scott Pruett | Patrick Racing | 150 | +5.257 | 12 | 10 |
| 6 | 40 | Adrián Fernández | Patrick Racing | 150 | +5.926 | 5 | 8 |
| 7 | 5 | Gil de Ferran | Walker Racing | 150 | +6.810 | 11 | 6 |
| 8 | 8 | Bryan Herta | Team Rahal | 150 | +9.866 | 16 | 5 |
| 9 | 27 | Dario Franchitti | Team KOOL Green | 150 | +10.275 | 13 | 4 |
| 10 | 17 | Maurício Gugelmin | PacWest Racing Group | 150 | +10.855 | 10 | 3 |
| 11 | 33 | Patrick Carpentier | Forsythe Racing | 150 | +11.382 | 9 | 2 |
| 12 | 18 | Mark Blundell | PacWest Racing Group | 150 | +29.029 | 7 | 1 |
| 13 | 10 | Richie Hearn | Della Penna Motorsports | 149 | +1 Lap | 15 | |
| 14 | 9 | JJ Lehto | Hogan Racing | 149 | +1 Lap | 29 | |
| 15 | 15 | Roberto Moreno | Project Indy | 149 | +1 Lap | 23 | |
| 16 | 12 | Jimmy Vasser | Chip Ganassi Racing | 148 | +2 Laps | 3 | |
| 17 | 3 | André Ribeiro | Marlboro Team Penske | 148 | +2 Laps | 2 | |
| 18 | 36 | Alex Barron | All American Racing | 148 | +2 Laps | 27 | |
| 19 | 7 | Bobby Rahal | Team Rahal | 147 | +3 Laps | 17 | |
| 20 | 98 | P. J. Jones | All American Racing | 146 | +4 Laps | 26 | |
| 21 | 77 | Arnd Meier | Davis Racing | 136 | +14 Laps | 28 | |
| 22 | 2 | Al Unser Jr. | Marlboro Team Penske | 122 | Transmission | 14 | |
| 23 | 24 | Hiro Matsushita | Arciero-Wells Racing | 121 | Contact | 24 | |
| 24 | 16 | Hélio Castro-Neves | Bettenhausen Racing | 97 | Contact | 22 | |
| 25 | 34 | Dennis Vitolo | Payton/Coyne Racing | 90 | Withdrew | 25 | |
| 26 | 25 | Max Papis | Arciero-Wells Racing | 83 | Wheel Bearing | 20 | |
| 27 | 26 | Paul Tracy | Team KOOL Green | 79 | Suspension | 21 | |
| 28 | 19 | Michel Jourdain Jr. | Payton/Coyne Racing | 78 | Handling | 19 | |
| 29 | 21 | Tony Kanaan | Tasman Motorsports Group | 32 | Contact | 18 | |

## Final results

Top 12
* Michael Andretti 150 Laps
* Greg Moore
* Alex Zanardi
* Christian Fittipaldi
* Scott Pruett
* Adrian Fernandez
* Gil de Ferran
* Bryan Herta
* Dario Franchitti
* Maurício Gugelmin
* Patrick Carpentier
* Mark Blundell

### Drivers who did not completed the race

* Al Unser Jr. +28 Transmission
* Hiro Matsushita +29 Contact
* Hélio Castroneves (R) +53 Contact
* Dennis Vitolo +60 Withdrawn due to injury
* Max Papis +67 Wheel bearing
* Paul Tracy +71 Suspension
* Michel Jourdain Jr. +72 Handling
* Tony Kanaan (R) +118 Contact

## Point standings

Top 6
* Andretti 21 points
* Moore 17 points
* Zanardi 14 points
* Fittipaldi 12 points
* Pruett 10 points
* Fernandez 8 points