[h=2]REAR VIEW: Carpentier beats out the best[/h] Thursday, 02 February 2017
Robin Miller / Images by LAT
Patrick Carpentier, seen here in 2000.
WHAT: Patrick Carpentier earns a drive with Tony Bettenhausen Jr.
WHERE: Sebring International Raceway
WHEN: December, 1996
It was December of 1996, and Tony Bettenhausen Jr. was trying to find a full-time driver for the 1997 CART season. So he and engineer Tom Brown decided to host an audition.
But it's doubtful they could have envisioned the talent they'd invited to this shootout in Sebring, Florida.
Canada's Patrick Carpentier, Denmark's Tom Kristensen, Scotland's Allan McNish and Germany's Jorg Muller were up-and-coming open wheelers trying to win a ride that only required they bring a helmet because Bettenhausen didn't need any help with Alumax as his sponsor.
At 25, Carpentier was coming off an impressive run in the Toyota Atlantic series (
pictured below) that saw him win nine out of 12 races (including eight in a row) on his way to the championship.
The 30-year-old Kristensen captured the German and Japanese Formula 3 titles in the early '90s before moving to Formula 3000 in 1995 and 1996.
McNish, 27, already had an impressive résumé as 1988 Formula Vauxhall champ, 1989 runner-up to David Brabham in British Formula 3 and running up front in Formula 3000 while also testing F1 cars for McLaren and Benetton.
Born in the Netherlands before heading for Germany, Muller was also an accomplished 27-year-old with titles in Formula Opel, European Formula Ford, German Formula 3 and Formula 3000 in 1996.
Carpentier was the youngest and least prepared, to hear him tell it almost 20 years later.
"Oh man, I got off to a bad start because I overslept and got to the track late and Tony's team wasn't real happy about that," the good-natured Quebec native said with a chuckle. "So then I got started, and there was so much more power compared to an Atlantic car and I wasn't ready for that.
"The car was shaking so bad going down the back straightaway I couldn't see and it was tough. Near the end of the day they told me that I wasn't going fast enough and I simply had to get quicker.
"So I went out and drove as hard as I could, but fortunately kept it on the track."
Then he went back to his hotel room and tried to sleep.
"My neck hurt so bad it was unbelievable, and they told me to stick around for a couple days and they would let me know who got the ride."
As it turned out, Kristensen had gearbox trouble and was given a second day, when he posted the quickest lap – just a fraction faster than Carpentier. McNish was third quick and Muller crashed.
"I'll never forget, it was 10 p.m. and Tony called and said it was going to be my ride," Carpentier continued. "I was so happy and I called my dad and then I couldn't go to sleep because I was so excited."
His rookie season with Bettenhausen had a few highs (he nearly won Gateway before being passed late by Paul Tracy) and more lows ("we got lost and I couldn't help them and they couldn't help me") so he was one and done with Tony B. But Pat was immediately picked up by the Players team – where he scored five CART wins in six years with the team and finished third in the 2002 points race.
And what happened to those other three guys?
Kristensen got a late invite by Porsche to run Le Mans in 1997 and promptly went to the top step of the podium to begin his unparalleled career in endurance racing. He won Le Mans a record nine times (including six in a row, five of which were with Audi) and added an unmatched six victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring before retiring in 2014.
McNish scored a test job with Benetton in F1 and a sports car ride with Porsche – where he won Le Mans in 1998. He was the 2000 American Le Mans champ before finally getting his F1 chance with Toyota in 2002, but it was an uncompetitive slug.
But from 2004-2013, he notched five wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring, teamed with Kristensen twice to win Le Mans (2008 and 2013) and added two more ALMS series crowns (2006-2007) before retiring.
Muller was an F1 test driver for Arrows, Sauber and Williams but never got to start an F1 race. He won the ALMS title in 2001 and was a front-runner in European and World Touring Car and continues to compete in Super GT for BMW.
"It's pretty cool to think about that test and those guys and what happened in their careers," said Carpentier. "But I think it all turned out pretty good for everyone."