Greg Moore (racing driver)
Gregory William "Greg" Moore (born April 22, 1975 in New Westminster , British Columbia , Canada , † October 31, 1999 in Fontana , California ) was a Canadian racing car driver . Moore was considered one of the greatest talents in North American formula racing at the time.
Junior categories
His racing career began in 1986 with karts , he won the North American Enduro Kart Championship in 1989 and 1990. In 1991 he was the best newcomer in the Formula Ford 1600. The following year he won the USAC Formula 2000 West title.
From 1993 he drove in the CART Indy Lights series. After winning three races in 1994, he set a record in 1995 with ten wins in twelve races and became champion in this series.
Champ Car Series
At the age of 20, he joined Forsythe Racing in 1996 as the youngest driver in the superordinate Champ Car series and immediately finished ninth in the overall standings and second-best rookie after Alex Zanardi . Moore celebrated his first win in Milwaukee in June 1997 , followed by the second a week later, this time in Detroit . At the age of 22 years, 1 month and 10 days, he was the youngest driver to ever win a race in this series. He finished this season in seventh overall and improved to fifth in 1998.
In 1999 he won the first race of the season at Homestead , but had problems with the Mercedes engine in the following events . During the season he signed a contract with Penske for the 2000 season .
The day before the last race of the season, the Marlboro 500 at the California Speedway in Fontana , he retired in the paddock a fracture on the right hand when he on a scooter was hit by a vehicle boxes. He had to skip the qualifying session that took place shortly afterwards, but decided to start the race after a special practice session.
After starting from last place on the grid and having worked his way into the top 10 with numerous overtaking maneuvers, he lost control of his vehicle on lap ten and crashed into one of the concrete walls inside at around 220 mph (350 km / h) of the oval. On impact, forces of 154 g acted on Moore's skull, causing fatal head injuries. Richie Hearn had had an accident at the same place six laps earlier , but was uninjured. In contrast to Hearn, Moore's vehicle was excavated from an asphalt access road in the grassy run-off zone. As a result, the vehicle overturned sideways and hit a boundary wall with the cockpit opening first. Although Moore was flown to a nearby hospital by rescue helicopter , he died shortly afterwards. The award ceremony and the award ceremony for the championship winners, which also took place after the race, were then canceled.
After the accident, the run-off zone was completely paved. Moore's start number 99 was withdrawn by those responsible for the Champ Car series in recognition of his talent and person; in the competing IndyCar Series , the number was used only once until 2009: In the Indianapolis 500 2003 , of all things for a car driven by Richie Hearn.
Moore was buried in Vancouver .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Pete Fink: "15 Years Ago Today: Memories of Greg Moore". Motorsport-Total.com, October 31, 2014, accessed October 31, 2014 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Moore, Greg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Moore, Gregory William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 22, 1975 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New Westminster , British Columbia , Canada |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 31, 1999 |
| Place of death | Fontana , California |