2001 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
| Race details | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 2 of 21 in the 2001 CART season
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| Date | April 8, 2001 | ||||
| Official name | Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | ||||
| Location | Long Beach, California, United States | ||||
| Course | Temporary street circuit 1.968 mi / 3.167 km | ||||
| Distance | 82 laps 161.376 mi / 259.694 km | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | 1:08.556 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | 1:08.992 (on lap 71 of 82) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) | ||||
| Second | Cristiano da Matta (Newman-Haas Racing) | ||||
| Third | Gil de Ferran (Team Penske) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The 2001 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on April 8, 2001 on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California. It was the second round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series and the 27th annual running of the event (18th under CART's sanctioning). The 82-lap race was won by Team Penske driver Hélio Castroneves. Cristiano da Matta of Newman/Haas Racing finished second and Castroneves' teammate Gil de Ferran came in third.
Castroneves won the pole position after posting the quickest lap in qualifying. He was trailed by second-place qualifier Kenny Bräck in the opening laps, though Bräck was forced to retire on the 32nd lap after stalling his engine during a pit stop. Da Matta then became Castroneves' biggest threat for the win and repeatedly tried to overtake him, to no avail. Castroneves led all 82 laps and earned his fourth CART victory.
As a result of the race, Castroneves improved from eighth to third in the Drivers' Championship, while podium finishers da Matta and de Ferran remained first and second, respectively. Meanwhile, Lola and Reynard were tied for the Constructors' Championship lead and Honda eked ahead of Toyota in the Manufacturers' Championship by one point.