The

2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante The Gran Premio de México, 2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante was the nineteenth and final round of the 2002 CART season, 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 17, 2002 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, ...

was the nineteenth and final round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 17, 2002 at the

Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a motorsport race track in Mexico City, Mexico, named after the racing drivers Ricardo (1942–1962) and Pedro Rodríguez (1940–1971). The circuit got its name shortly after it opened when Ricardo Rodr ...

in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...

race at the track since the 1981 season. The race preceded a mass exodus of significant drivers and teams who all competed in their final

event, most of whom knew beforehand that they would not return. Most rued the fact that they were leaving for the rival

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

, wishing to continue in CART rather than endure a more stable future in the IRL.ESPN.com - Robin Miller, November 16th, 2002: CART Needs New Stars
/ref> CART's winningest driver (42 wins),

Michael Andretti Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PP ...

, along with

Kenny Brack Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith" ...

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...

, Dario Franchitti,

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...

, and Japan's most successful driver in U.S. open wheel racing

Tora Takagi Toranosuke "Tora" Takagi (高木虎之介; born 12 February 1974) is a Japanese former racing driver. Early career Takagi was heavily influenced by his father, a touring car driver. In the early 1980s he began racing karts, competing in his f ...

would all bid CART adieu in favor of the IRL. Other entities leaving CART included 1996-

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

champions Chip Ganassi Racing,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

champions Team KOOL Green, and

Mo Nunn Racing Mo or MO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mo, a girl in the ''Horrible Histories'' TV series * Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel ''Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke * Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo'' * Mo, the ...

permanently switched to the IRL, and Japanese

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...

giants

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

and

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

likewise left CART for the IRL. Season champion

Cristiano da Matta Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born 19 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional racing driver. He won the CART Championship in 2002, and drove in Formula One with the Toyota team from 2003 to 2004. Career biography Origins and early car ...

was set to leave CART for

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

with his engine supplier's F1 team, and

Christian Fittipaldi Christian Fittipaldi (born 18 January 1971) is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and parti ...

attempted a stock car career.

Qualifying results

Race

Caution flags

Notes

* New Track Record

Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976) is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series. Racing career Early c ...

1:25.941 (Qualification session #1) * New Race Record

Kenny Bräck Kenny Bräck (born 21 March 1966) is a Swedish former race car driver. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He won the 1998 Indy Racing League championship and the 1999 Indianapolis ...

1:56:48.475 * Average Speed 104.468 mph

External links

Friday Qualifying Results

Saturday Qualifying Results

{{CART World Series race report, Name_of_race =

, Year_of_race = 2002 , Previous_race_in_season =

2002 The 500 The 2002 MAVTV 500, The 500 presented by Toyota was the eighteenth round of the 2002 CART season, 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 3, 2002 at the Auto Club Speedway, California Speedway in Fontana, California, United ...

, Next_race_in_season = 2003 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Next season , Previous_year's_race = 1981 Copa México 150 , Next_year's_race = 2003 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

Gran Premio Telmex-gigante, 2002 Gran Premio Tecate