1988: Mario was the fastest driver during practice all week, leading the charts at 221.565 mph. On the morning of pole day, he drove a practice lap of 220.372 mph, second only to Rick Mears (222.827 mph). Mario drew the coveted first qualifying attempt, but his qualifying speed was curiously slow, inconsistent, and disappointing (214.692 mph). He claims to have hit a patch of oil-dry in turn four, which was laid down that morning due to a crash by Raul Boesel. On race day, his car was plagued with problems. About 30 laps into the race, a gearbox bearing failed and created an oil leak. A long pit stop was needed to make repairs. Later in the race, an ignition problem forced another series of long pit stops to change various electrical components. With the leaders passed lap 170, Mario was about 50 laps down when the team finally called the day quits with a dead engine. Mario was credited with 118 laps in 20th place.