Mad Max

Auto Racing Digest, Sept, 2000 by J.J. O'Malley

CART may have found a much-needed action hero in Italian daredevil Max Papis

WANTED: Racing superstar. Must have dynamic personality and be charismatic and spontaneous. Good-looking, strong appeal to the opposite sex. Solid international racing resume. Must be able to win races and contend for the championship.

CONTACT: Championship Auto Racing Teams. Serious inquiries only.

CRT DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK far to find a superstar to navigate its premier FedEx Championship Series through the beginning of the 21st century. Now in his fourth full season of Champ Car racing, Max Papis has emerged as the man who can fill that position.

He made that abundantly clear in the 2000 season-opening Grand Prix of Miami, cruising to a victory in his Miller Lite Ford, his first one CART. It was a dramatic way to shed his "non-winner" tag.

"Today Max rules!" he shouted in Victory Lane. "Today we proved we can lead a race, and win a race. When the moment came, I took advantage [on a pass of Paul Tracy in the closing laps]. I had to wait for the opportunity, and I took advantage of it.

"Our belief in ourselves to be race winners every weekend is coming, but I don't think about things like winning the championship. I just go at it race by race, but I know we have the potential."

"I think now that Max has broken through and won his first race, the proverbial floodgates will open, and he will be even tougher," said his team owner, Bobby Rahal. "Max has been consistent finishing races and finding a way into the top five. Now he knows not only how it feels to win, but how to win--and that makes him a better driver."

It didn't take long for Papis to make a lasting impression on American motor sports enthusiasts--less than 24 hours, to be exact. Massimiliano Papis came to the 1996 Rolex 24 at Daytona as just another face in the crowd, a smiling man in a bright red Momo Ferrari uniform.

He had had a cup of coffee in Formula One, once finishing seventh in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza for the Footwork team and testing for the Arrows, Lotus, and Ligier programs. He also had driven in Formula 3000, finishing fifth in the standings in 1994 and 10th in 1993. Before that, he had won two races and finished seventh in the points for two straight years in the Italian Formula 3 Championship.

While few American fans knew Massimiliano Papis at the start of race at Daytona, the place was buzzing about the exploits of "Mad Max" by the finish. Midway through the race, Gianpiero Moretti's Momo Ferrari 333SP trailed the Riley & Scott Olds of Wayne Taylor by four laps. Moretti, Bob Wollek, Didier Theys, and Papis closed that deficit, and then Papis took the wheel for the final 90 minutes.

Taylor was driving the leading car, and for the remainder of the race it was a duel to the finish. Papis was still a lap down on a restart with only 30 minutes remaining, but the determined Italian began shearing six seconds per lap from Taylor's advantage. After unlapping self, Papis set the race's fastest lap in the closing minutes. Although he finished second (by 65 seconds), the legend of "Mad Max" was born.

Papis then continued his all-out assault on North American racing, winning three races, notching three seconds, and establishing eight track records and four fastest race laps en route to a second place in the IMSA World SportsCar championship. What's more, Papis did all of this in style. He celebrated his victory in the Six Hours of Watkins Glen, for instance, by wearing a Dr. Seuss hat and waving an Italian flag.

Papis landed in CART following the tragic death in 1996 of Jeff Krosnoff at Toronto. The rising road-racing star was named Krosnoff's replacement for Arciero-Wells, and he drove the final three races, with his best finish being a ninth at Road America.

He stayed with Arciero-Wells for two more seasons, though not many people seemed to notice. In 1997 he was 24th in the standings, and while he was voted the STP most improved driver in 1998, scoring points in seven of the final 11 events after a dismal start, he was 21st in the standings. Not exactly the stuff legends are made of.

Things started to change in 1999, though, when he hooked up with Rahal, a popular three-time CART champion during a driving career that ended after the '98 season. Papis made the most of this golden opportunity, scoring 11 top-five finishes to place fifth in the points standings. He led CART in laps completed and miles completed, and trailed only champion Juan Montoya in laps led with 328. How consistent was Papis in 1999? He finished 18 of the 20 races.

"I think if you look at the second half of the season in 1999, we made a great jump in performance," Papis says. "We dominated at Michigan and Fontana on the big ovals, won the pole and led many laps on the small oval at Chicago, and scored podium finishes on the road courses."

The only thing missing was a win. He came agonizingly close at Michigan, running out of fuel only two turns away from the victory, and he had consecutive runner-up finishes at Australia and California. But it wasn't to be.