(July, 2000) - Oriol Seriva, who moved up from Dayton Indy Lights Series to CART after his 1999 Championship Season, finished third at Detroit -- the best finish for Carl Well's PPI Motorsports before his teammate Cristiano da Matta matched his record at Cleveland -- spoke with NYAutoRacing.com on the phone from North Carolina about his rookie season with his Telefonica Reynard Toyota.

KEVIN MA: Congratulations on your fine season.

ORIOL SERVIA: Thank You. We just need to do better, but I am happy with how things have gone so far.

KM: Oriol, you are a rookie for the 2000 season, can you tell me what's the difference between driving a Champ Car and an Indy Lights Car?

OS: The power is the biggest difference. At the end of the day, driving is driving. I have so many more races to race compare to last season. I need to be much more professional. It's not just the car itself, but the whole championship makes the difference.

KM: Specifically, in terms of driving style, do you need to adopt special skills to driving the 900bhp Champ Car?

OS: To drive it, everybody can drive it. But to drive it faster, it is more difficult. When you've gone step-by-step from a small horsepower car to a bigger one and so forth, you just get used to it and when you get to this point, even it has a lot of power you are prepared for it.

KM: How's your rookie season been so far? Have you met you own expectations?

OS: Honestly, it has gone much better than what I expected. I had a third place at Detroit and a sixth place at Long Beach, but what I expected is a little bit more consistency because some races I ended before I even started them. I crashed for one race and another one [at Rio and Montegi] on the parade lap and that was bad. I want to do a lot of miles but unfortunately I had to retire from those races early on without putting race miles on them. But so far I am extremly happy about how things are going and it makes me think that things are going to get even better from now on.

KM: You were the 1999 Indy Lights Champion but you did not win any races last year. How important is it for you, especially at the CART level, to take home a victory in a Champ Car?

OS: It would be very important for me, my career and my team. However, we have to be realistic of where we are and what potential we have. Right now, we are still fighting to finish in the top 10 in each race. From there to win, even if we finish top 10 is a big step. We have to go step by step. We need to go two more steps but we are working to get there. At Detroit, when I was third, I could see a second place or a win is possible. It looks easy [to pass two more cars] but the fact is it is very hard. But we have the potential and it would be great to have a win in my first season in Champ Car.

KM: Your better results this year have come on road courses. What kind of improvements do you like to see when you are driving on ovals?

OS: In fact, driving on ovals is very similar to driving an Indy Lights Car. However, we didn't test a lot on the ovals during winter so we need to find out the set-ups. The last couple of races on ovals we were doing well. Also, last time we tested at Chicago we were already in the front so we are going to find the way to move up on the oval races.

KM: I am going to bring back the issue between Indy Lights and CART. Do you have greater differences driving an Indy Lights Car and Champ Car between road courses and ovals?

OS: The driving style is very different between ovals and road courses. However, it is always the same thing that you need to get into the corners as fast as you can and have better race lines. It is always the same philosophy and you need to drive much more smoothly on the ovals compared to the road courses. I think a good driving on the road course should be also good on the oval. For example, in my case I always love the fast corners on the road courses, so when I go to the oval, I feel very confident because all of them are fast corners, so I think that is a good comparison.

KM: You drove Formula 3 in Europe before you moved to race in America in 1998. Many drivers, such as your teammate Cristiano da Matta and reigning champion Juan Montoya, moved to America to build up their racing resumes. Is it a trend that drivers want to do CART first before they go on to the other racing categories, such as Formula One?

OS: I wouldn't say it is one step before Formula One, I think it is one on the same level. Formula One nowadays has became very political, so at one point you are realistic that many circumstances have to come together in order for you to tap into Formula One. I came to Indy Lights in 1998 and then in the Champ Car now. I am not sure that if I don't win Formula 3000 that I would end up in Formula One now. Also, Champ Car is a lot more fun and fair for the drivers, a tenth of a second can make a difference. But in Formula One, the tenths can put you either on the right or left on the same row, so there is a lot more competition here and better for everybody because it pushes you to learn and it is better organized in that aspect.

KM: You were pretty much a road course racer in Europe, so was it hard for you to learn the ovals when you first came here?

OS: When I came here in '98, the first race was on the oval and I didn't know what is it going to be like. I finished fourth in that race and the second race, I qualified on the front row. I think it more depends on your own skills and as I said, I always love fast corners, so I feel confident driving on ovals myself.

KM: On ovals, you need to have more car control and smooth driving styles compared to road courses. What's your view on that?

OS: On the oval, your always getting close to the limit. On road courses, you can go over the limit and then nothing will happen. You can't go over the limit on ovals because you will end up in the wall, so the good drivers are the ones able to go close to the limit. Also, it is very important to have good communication with your engineer.

KM: You are from Spain. In Spain, motorcycle racing is by far more popular than car racing. How important is it to have a sponsor like Telefonica, promoting the sport? We have seen the Spanish Telecom logo everywhere, Formula One, Formula 3000, Rally and of course Champ Car. Is it a nice program to have for Spanish drivers?

OS: I think it is very important what Telefonica is doing. In Spain, there are many fans who follow the bike, and we always have World Championships in bike, but not in Formula One or CART. We have a Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz, the only one. I think the talent is there but we've never had the opportunity before because we never got the money. What Telefonica is doing is very important because it puts the drivers in the situation to show their potential. It is just the first step, we have to keep pushing more to make it happens [to have a Spanish Champion].

KM: You went back to Spain last week, what did you do over there?

OS: It was a crazy thing. After we finished the Chicago test, I was planning to go to Miami where I am living now; but I was talking to Max Papis and he told me he was going to Italy for five days, and I thought he is crazy. Then I started looking at the schedule and I thought I am not able to go to Barcelona until October, so I decided to do the same thing. It was a little bit crazy just for five days but it was worthy. I saw my family and friends, even though it was a little bit too short, it was good enough.

KM: What's your relationship with your teammate Cristiano da Matta?

OS: We already had a good relationship when we drove Indy Lights together in 1998. We work very well together and it is also very good for the whole team.

KM: Have you also talked to Scott Pruett? He has moved to NASCAR this year but you guys are technically in the same team with PPI Motorsports.

OS: We haven't been together much. They have 35 races and we have 20 races, so we never been together in the same place. I went to Daytona for the first race and that's about it. Even though we are in the same time, we don't really have constant communication.

KM: The Michigan 500 is coming up and it's a superspeedway race. Do you have any idea how to prepare for the race and is it going to be the first time for you running Champ Car on the 2-mile oval?

OS: We have tested there and I already felt the speed right away. It is a very fast track and the team already has good data for the set-ups. Scott Pruett had a pole position over at Fontana last year, which is a similar track, so I think we can do well. It is a 500-mile race, a really long race, so I am very excited about the upcoming event.

KM: In terms of the Toyota engine, what's been the biggest improvement during the season?

OS: They are working all the time non-stop. They always look into adding more power and also working on the reliability. As a manufacturer, they are more motivated than anybody else and they have shown improvement race by race. I am confindent that by the end of the season, we are going to have the best engine.

KM: What's your outlook for the remainder of the season? What kind of results would you like to see by the end of the 2000 season?

OS: Now we have gone to the podium, I think everything is possible. However, we have to be realistic and go step-by-step. I would like to have more consistency, being in top 10 in each race, and we have the potential to have more podium finishes. I would like to fight for the win before the end of the season.

KM: Finally, this week is the Molson Indy at Toronto. It is a very tricky track. Do you have any personal perferences in terms of set-ups for this race?

OS: It is a very special track as you said. You always have pieces of concrete in the middle of the corner, just where you want to go to the apex; you enter the corner and you find the concrete where the car loses on the grip, so I think it is important to have the mind set in terms of set-up. In the race because it is easy to make a mistake because it is very slippery, so we'll see. It is going to be a good race for sure, and it is another road course, so I hope I am going to finish well also.