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Press Release - 8/25/96 Mosport IMSA Race is Duel to the Last Lap...Again! BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO -- Gianpiero Moretti, Massimiliano "Max" Papis and Didier Theys drove their MOMO / Yokohama Ferrari 333 SPs to an incredible second and third place finish in the Chrysler Mosport 500 race at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada today in the IMSA Exxon World SportsCar Championship series. |
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We're very close in the championship and today we showed Oldsmobile that
we were superior. I'm proud to be here and to drive a Ferrari.
"The last lap was amazing," said the 26 year old Papis. "I tried to put a lot of pressure on JP (John Paul) and passed him by, then my car got very loose and he got me in the last corner. I'm happy to be second though. Of course I wanted to win, but the Dyson team did a good race. |
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The duel came down to the final lap between "Mad Max" Papis and eventual
winner John Paul Jr. in the #20 Dyson Ford R&S MK III. Paul, who had
been leading for many laps, and Papis exchanged the lead two times on
the final lap. Papis made a pass for the lead in the chicane, and
Paul took it back in the final turn in another classic nose-to-tail finish.
The margin of victory in this amazing race was a mere .189 seconds.
Didier Theys had a unique kind of race day. He started the race in the #30 MOMO / Yokohama Ferrari, driving two full stints before turning the car over to Papis on lap 53. |
He was out of the car on lap, only long enough to catch his breath
and get a drink of water, before hopping into the #66 MOMO entry to
relieve team owner Moretti. Thus he actually finished the race in
both second and third place.
Paul teamed with series regular Butch Leitzinger for the victory. Papis and Theys were credited for second and Theys started that car. Moretti and Theys were third, although Theys will only receive IMSA points for the #30 car finish. |
IMSA Exxon World SportsCar points leader Wayne Taylor finished fourth
in today's race. Fermin Velez and Antonio Hermann rounded out the fifth
spot, after leading several laps, in the #3 Scandia Ferrari.
Taylor maintains the lead in the Driver's point standings by only one point over Papis' 220. Theys, who received points for a second-place finish because of starting that car, maintains the third spot with 185. Ferrari bounced to the top of the Manufacturer point standings by two points over Oldsmobile. |
Papis had a record of three victories, three seconds, a third and a fifth-place finish in eight IMSA starts. He also claims four poles and four fastest laps. They's record this season includes two second place finishes, one third, two fourths and three fifths in eight races. He holds one pole position and two fastest lap records this year. Moretti's record spans three decades and includes seven victories, 64 Top five and 114 Top Ten finishes in 172 IMSA career starts. Additional sponsorship for the MOMO Corse team for 1996 comes from Breed Technology, Lista International, Automobile Magazine and Brembo Brakes.- ø |