Heartbreak for Blundell at Michigan.

The fact that half of the 24 starters of Sunday's Michigan 500 failed to make the finish shows how tough the event is. Unfortunately two of the 12 retirements came from the PacWest team in what will rank as one of the most disappointing weekends of the year for the squad.

Both Mark Blundell and Mauricio Gugelmin drove at 110% while they were running and were on course for one of the best team results of the year when trouble struck.

For Blundell, an overheating problem sidelined him after 131 laps (of 250) just as the Englishman caught the lead draft having spent much of the first half of the race trying to regain his position on the same lap as the leaders.

Starting 17th, Blundell struggled in the early going his Reynard-Mercedes proving a slight handful on full tanks. By lap 30 Mark was a lap behind the leaders but after the first round of pit-stops his car began running better in traffic and he was able to stay with the leaders, albeit a lap down.

A caution flag on lap 98 saw all those on the lead lap pit for fuel and tyres, Blundell chose to stay on the track and thus was able to regain his place on the lead lap.

With his car lighter on fuel and handling well in the draft, Mark latched onto the tail of the lead pack and was steadily moving up towards the top ten when the temperature gauges began to rise. "I could see things getting hotter and feel things getting tighter," said the driver.

Needing a caution flag to allow him to pit without losing a lap Mark plugged on, holding his place amongst the leaders until he was forced into the pits on lap 130. The team checked the car over but could find no obvious faults and sent the Englishman on his way again, only to watch him coast to a halt on the run out of turn two.

"It is very disappointing because we had worked hard to get our lap back we lost earlier in the race," added Blundell who is in danger of dropping out of the top 20 in the points table. "The Motorola crew did everything in its power to get us back in the race."

For Gugelmin though, the disappointment was even more hard to take. The Brazilian driver had remained on the lead lap throughout the race and was amongst the scrap for the final podium position as the race entered its final 20 laps.

Where 'Big Mo' would have ended up in what is being regarded as one of the most dramatic races in recent years will never be known. With less than ten laps to go, Gugelmin was lying ninth and engaging in a tremendous tussle with Paul Tracy when he suddenly lost power and had to pull in to the pits and retire.

Gugelmin, who was classified 13th and the first non-points scorer, summed up the mood in the PacWest camp when he said, "That's the hardest day's work I have ever done for no result. Everyone battled hard all day."

Both drivers praised their pit-crews for quick and efficient work all day and will be determined to set the record straight at sponsor Motorola's home city of Chicago next weekend.