Greg Moore (racing driver)

Gregory William Moore was born in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster, British Columbia on April 22, 1975. at tracks such as Westwood Motorsport Park. He divorced his wife Donna when Moore was five years old and Greg lived with his mother until the start of his karting career. Moore was first educated at Meadowridge School. He was transferred to Pitt Meadows Secondary School for the final two years of his education, where he graduated with honours in 1993. and his father gave him a go-kart at the age of six. Moore drove the go-kart with a minivan's plastic bodywork around it in the parking lot of his father's dealership. He developed vehicular control on dry slick tyres on a wet track. He began competitive go-kart racing at the age of ten, and joined the Westwood Karting Club soon after. His father acted as his manager, tutor and financier and adopted a "no-nonsense" approach to his career. He was twice named Maple Ridge Athlete of the Year and he won the British Columbia Hockey Provincial Championship. Moore played on the same minor ice hockey team as future professional player Paul Kariya. When he was 14, his father urged him to choose between ice hockey and racing if he wanted to further develop in sports. Moore ultimately decided to focus on racing. His sporting idols were ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky and three-time Formula One World Champion Ayrton Senna. ==Junior career==

In 1989 and 1990, Moore won the North American Enduro Kart Racing Championship. He won a race over 40 drivers. Track owner Richard Spenard was impressed by Moore's ability and invited him to return later that year to partake in a "Top Gun" series. and won against almost 800 fellow drivers at the conclusion of the school's three-day run-offs. Moore learnt how to select a lower gear, where to locate the apex of a corner, and how to avoid an accident. Moore competed in the eight-round Canadian Formula Ford Championship in a Van Diemen RF91-Ford; his father purchased the car from England and competed against drivers double his age. He won the Shannonville Motorsport Park round, and took a further four top-ten results to finish fourth in the final points' standings with 120 accrued. Moore moved to the higher-tier USAC FF2000 Western Division Championship in 1992 after plans to enter the Canadian F2000 Championship fell through when that series folded. He took four pole positions and four victories en route to taking the championship at the season's final round at Willow Springs. For winning the title, he drove a Formula Atlantic car in California and tested for Van Diemen at Snetterton Circuit in England. For 1993, his family believed a progression to Formula Atlantic would help his career develop. He sought to win Rookie of the Year and finish in the top five in points. In twelve races, Moore took seven top-ten finishes, with a best result of third at Portland International Raceway, and placed ninth in the points' standings with 64 points. Before the 1994 season, Moore did a conditioning program to lose weight and improve his stamina, and his car was rebuilt following analysis. and became the youngest driver in history to win a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)-sanctioned event. Moore's reputation and recognition of his ability (and lobbying by his father) attracted the attention of Forsythe Racing owner Gerald Forsythe, who sought a Canadian driver for his Indy Lights team in 1995. and signing Moore to a five-year contract. Three of Moore's mechanics transferred from his family's team to Forsythe Racing. While his father remained his manager, he did not join the organization as an employee. Driving a Lola T93/20-Buick 3800 V6, he dominated the championship, winning ten of twelve races. He broke the record for consecutive wins at the season's start with the first five races and the most victories in an Indy Lights season, both held by Paul Tracy from the 1990 championship (nine out of fourteen). Moore led a total of 375 out of 583 laps over all twelve races, covering en route to winning the drivers' championship with a record 242 points scored. ==Championship Auto Racing Teams==

1996: Debut season during practice for the 1996 Miller 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. After testing for Forsythe Racing at Phoenix International Raceway in September 1995, the team's primary sponsor, Player's, confirmed on October 19 that Moore would replace the outgoing Jacques Villeneuve for the 1996 season. He spent 30 days testing for the team in the United States, and underwent a conditioning program to prepare himself physically with the turbocharged No. 99 Reynard 96I Mercedes-Benz IC108 V8t for the to races. Fellow drivers did not give him much advice so Moore observed them. He debuted at the season-opening Grand Prix of Miami at the Homestead–Miami Speedway. Starting in sixth he finished in seventh, after incurring a stop-and-go penalty for an illegal overtake on Juan Manuel Fangio II under yellow flag conditions, and unlapped himself from the race winner, Jimmy Vasser. He bettered that result with a second-place finish at Nazareth Speedway two rounds after that. Although Forsythe Racing had sub-par equipment, he regularly challenged for victories and claimed three podium finishes. He began the season with three top-four finishes—including second-places at Surfers Paradise and Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet—in the first six races. He held off Michael Andretti to take his first career victory becoming—at the age of 22 years, 1 month and 10 days—the youngest driver to win a CART race. A week later, he won the ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix at The Raceway on Belle Isle after PacWest Racing teammates Maurício Gugelmin and Mark Blundell ran out of fuel on the final lap. Thereafter Moore, who was considered a contender for the championship, achieved two top-five finishes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Portland International Raceway as mechanical attrition and accidents hindered him. He was seventh in the points standings with 111. 1998: Fifth place in points For the 1998 season, Moore drove a Reynard car with a lighter and smaller Mercedes-Benz engine, and built up his endurance for races in training. Nevertheless, Moore continued driving well, taking another three top-ten finishes in the next three races becoming the drivers' championship leader. The rest of his season included five consecutive retirements, despite his engine lacking traction on road courses. He placed fifth in the drivers' standings with 141 points, 1999: Final season Entering the 1999 season, CART's fanbase and the media considered Moore a favourite to win the title. He spent much of the pre-season testing on road and street courses, telling the New York Daily News his objective for the season was to win as many races as possible and claim the drivers' championship. He led 96 laps in his fifth career win at the season-opening round, the Grand Prix of Miami, from the pole position. He finished in the top ten four more times over the next six races, losing the lead in the points standings after a 12th-place finish at the season's fourth round, the Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix at Nazareth Speedway. He concluded the season tenth with 97 points in the drivers' championship. He admitted to being interested in NASCAR, and established friendships with drivers such as Jeff Burton, and discussed competing in stock cars with Bobby Labonte. Moore told USA Today: "I think your career can be longer over there. You can be older and still be competitive because of the way the cars are. It's not as physically demanding. It's more a thinking-man's kind of thing." He discussed driving for Cal Wells' PPI Motorsports team, and with Andy Petree Racing. Moore entered into discussions with Forsythe Racing on June 30. In August 1999, Moore signed a $10 million three-year contract to replace Al Unser Jr. at Penske's CART team from 2000 onward alongside Gil de Ferran. According to CART driver Tony Kanaan, Moore planned to spend three to four more years in CART, before entering NASCAR. ==Other racing ventures==

Frank Williams, the founder and principal of the Williams Formula One team, asked about Moore's services as a test driver, but was told he was under contract to Forsythe Racing. In late 1997, Moore drove for AMG-Mercedes in the FIA GT Championship at the season's final two rounds, the Sebring 3 Hours and the Laguna Seca 3 Hours, sharing the No. 12 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR with Alexander Wurz in the GT1 category. Their car finished in seventh place in both races. Moore was one of twelve drivers invited to compete in the four-race International Race of Champions (IROC) stock car racing series in 1999. Driving a Pontiac Firebird, he finished 12th (and last) in the points' standings with three top-ten finishes and earned 25 points. ==Death==

The Marlboro 500 at California Speedway on October 31 was the final race of the 1999 season, and was scheduled to be Moore's last race with Forsythe Racing before moving to Penske in 2000. On the morning of the day before the race, he was knocked off his motor scooter by a paddock vehicle in the hospitality area because its driver was blinded by the rising sun. Moore suffered a deep laceration to his right hand that required fifteen stitches, bruising to his right hip, After a six-lap on-track test session, Officials required him to start at the back of the grid because he missed qualifying. on lap 10, Moore was 15th when he lost control of his car midway through turn two, He attempted to regain control but left skid marks on the track as he spun almost down the circuit, and into the infield grass at more than . went sideways into the air for about , The impact, registered at by the vehicle's black box, Moore's helmet struck the ground multiple times before the car rested upside down after spinning four times. He was the second driver to die from injuries sustained in a crash during a CART race that season: Gonzalo Rodríguez died in a practice accident at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca three races earlier. Makeshift memorials were built at Pitt Meadows Secondary School and his father's car dealership. The Canadian Motor Sports Hall of Fame had a book of condolence for fans to sign for later delivery to the Moore family. He was cremated on November 2. A private memorial service was held at St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church in downtown Vancouver, attended by 1,200 family members and close friends on the following day. On November 4, a second public memorial service took place at Maple Ridge Baptist Church in Moore's home town of Maple Ridge attended by 1,500 mourners. CART impounded what was left of Moore's car for an investigation into the cause of the accident, and would review footage of the event. On December 20, CART stated its investigation of Moore's crash found there was no single cause for it. CART engineers obtained and analyzed a plethora of data from equipment installed in Moore's car, discovering he began losing vehicular control halfway in turn two but not why it went airborne on the asphalt access road. Tim Mayer, CART's vice-president of racing operations, commented, "I think the answers we know show that there isn't a clear-cut answer, but he was reacting to a situation that started in the middle of Turn Two, and there's nothing there that seems unusual. We're confident that there was no mechanical failure. The cause of the accident is something of a mystery. I mean that the initial factor that set the chain of events in motion is unknown." ==Driving style and racing overalls==

Moore was described as having "Gilles Villeneuve-esque car control" that accompanied "his fearless style, and his incredible determination." In his CART career, he was known as an oval track specialist, Regardless of the blue colour of his team's primary sponsor Player's, Moore wore a pair of red racing gloves to emphasise the pride in his Canadian nationality. ==Personality and legacy==

Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun described Moore as "tall and fair-haired with wire-rimmed glasses" and someone who "possessed a wholesome, innocent bearing and boyish enthusiasm that was infectious." Race car driver Mario Andretti described him as articulate, a meaningful speaker, and considered him "very professional and mature for his age". Moore was cordial with the media, and CART fans and fellow drivers regarded him with affection because of his occasional "wacky and over-the-top sense of humour", particularly with children. established friendships with several drivers and organized social gatherings. As a mark of respect, CART, Indy Lights and Formula Atlantic retired Moore's car number 99 from the list of those available to drivers in all three series. On September 1, 2000, CART established the Greg Moore Legacy Award to honour "the driver who best typifies Moore's legacy of outstanding talent on track as well as displaying a dynamic personality with fans, media and within the CART community." a driver who idolizes Moore and put a pair of Moore's red racing gloves in his race suit in qualifying for the 2012 Indianapolis 500. Others to list Moore as a role model include Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy competitor Stefan Rzadzinski and sports car driver Scott Hargrove. It supports scholarships for young people to continue their education after graduating from secondary school, provides funding to five health charities and local hospitals, aids in the development of amateur athletes and works against drunk driving. Moore was posthumously awarded the Jack Diamond Award, which honours "an individual who consistently demonstrated a competitive and co-operative spirit, who excelled in sport and who made a positive contribution to the community". In 2007, Moore's stepmother opened a glass case gallery containing his racing artifacts in the BC Sports Hall of Fame. A go-kart track in Chilliwack, a youth centre in Maple Ridge established in October 2001, and the Emergency Department at the Ridge Meadows Hospital inaugurated eight years later by British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell and the Minister of Health George Abbott are all named after Moore. Turn 2 at Mission Raceway Park is named "Greg Moore Turn", marked by a bronze sign. Moore was honoured by the organizers of the Molson Indy Vancouver with the words "Courage, Greg Moore No. 99" written in large white block letters across the start/finish line of the Concord Pacific Place temporary street circuit in 2000. The following year, a documentary to complement the book ''Greg Moore – A Racer's Story, was narrated and hosted by actress Ashley Judd. It was shown twice on The Sports Network in 2001 and had a subsequent release on VHS. Dario Franchitti dedicated his 2002 Molson Indy Vancouver win to Moore, and again after his 2009 IndyCar Series championship victory. A second documentary, A Hero's Drive: The Greg Moore Tribute'', was shown on Sportsnet in May 2013. ==Racing record==

Racing career summary American open-wheel racing results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) (Small number denotes finishing position) Indy Lights CART International Race of Champions (key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led. Small number denotes finishing position) ==See also==

Notes References ==Bibliography==