Indianapolis, Sept 25: Leading the challengers to Schumacher’s bid for a record sixth Formula One crown, is Montoya, who has finished on the podium in the past eight F1 races. The South American star won the Indianapolis 500 in 2000 on the 2 1/2-mile oval, part of which is used for the F1 road course.
"I have some great memories from the brickyard," Montoya said. "The atmosphere is simply fantastic. I consider Indy to be a home race for me, so I feel I must give my supporters a good race."
The cars will race 73 laps around a 2.6-mile course that finishes with the long Indy oval straightaway. Montoya expects his car to have the edge there. "Our car can definitely do well at the speedway as the power of the BMW engine suits the long straight, so I am anticipating a close fight with our immediate rivals," Montoya said.

Schumacher refuses to concede any edge at Indy to Montoya or his BMW. "We're geared up for Indianapolis," Schumacher said. "A lot of people say it is a track that is more adapted to BMW Williams, but we can't say that we agree. The same thing was said about Monza but, after a tough fight, we won out."



That fight carries into the constructors' title race, where Williams BMW owns a 141-137 edge on reigning King Ferrari.



"We have two main targets to focus on now," Montoya said. "The team needs to secure the constructors championship and I have to close the gap to Michael in the drivers standings and, if possible, get ahead of him."



Montoya wants an advantage heading into the season-ender because he is concerned that the Japanese track favours Schumacher.



"We need to keep the ball rolling and make the most out of this race because Suzuka is a circuit that really suits Michael's driving style," Montoya said.


Bureau Report