36°32′01″N140°13′39″E / 36.53361°N 140.22750°E /36.53361; 140.22750
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 5 of 21 in the2001 CART season | |
 | |
| Date | May 19, 2001 |
| Official name | 2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 |
| Location | Twin Ring Motegi,Tochigi,Japan |
| Course | Oval 1.549 mi / 2.493 km |
| Distance | 201 laps 311.349 mi / 501.067 km |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) |
| Time | 25.849 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver |  Alex Zanardi (Mo Nunn Racing) |
| Time | 26.715 (on lap 184 of 201) |
| Podium | |
| First |  Kenny Bräck (Team Rahal) |
| Second | Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske) |
| Third | Tony Kanaan (Mo Nunn Racing) |
The2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 was aChampionship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on May 19, 2001 atTwin Ring Motegi inTochigi,Japan. It was the 5th round of the2001 CART FedEx Championship Series season.Team Rahal driverKenny Bräck scored his first career win in CART despite not starting on the front row for the first time that season. PolesitterHélio Castroneves finished 2nd andTony Kanaan took 3rd.
Bräck's win moved him five spots into 1st place in the drivers' standings, where he would remain for much of the season. It was Team Rahal's first win of the season and their first since2000 atMiami-Homestead. Castroneves' podium put him at 2nd place overall in the standings; he and Bräck would continue to battle for 1st place for much of the season. Kanaan's podium was his first since his win at the1999 U.S. 500 in Michigan and would be his andMo Nunn Racing's only podium in 2001.
The race was a testament to Bräck and Castroneves' blistering race pace, as both were the only ones still on the lead lap at the end of the race; this was partially the result of the long, uninterrupted stretch of green-flag running between Laps 8 and 194. Throughout the race Brack was the last of the leaders to pit during each round of stops. He thus needed less fuel at his final pit stop and saved enough time to leap from third to first place. The race also saw heavy attrition, as almost half of the entrants ultimately retired with a variety of issues. Points leaderCristiano da Matta was taken out on Lap 1 by rookieBruno Junqueira, who spun coming out of Turn 2. This dropped the points leader into a tie for 3rd in the standings.
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