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2007 Champ Car World Series Points Standings
2007 Roshfrans Champ Car Rookie of the Year
AUSTRALIAN TV SCHEDULE
ABOUT AUTODROMO HERMANOS RODRIGUEZ
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Continued from News mail your links to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk Sebastien Bourdais Wraps Up Champ Car Career in Mexico City With 31st Career Victory Frenchman Moves Into Sixth-Place Tie on All-Time Champ Car Win List It was a fitting end to a remarkable Champ Car World Series career for four-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone), as the Frenchman claimed his eighth victory of the season and the 31st of his Champ Car career in the Gran Premio Tecate presented by Banamex at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Despite the fact that he was penalized 22 seconds off his originally-allotted 75 seconds of Power To Pass for an infraction during the Sunday morning standing start practice session, Bourdais started second and calmly stalked polesitter and race leader Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) through the early stages of the race. He made his move on the Australian rising star on Lap 24, taking advantage of his Power To Pass to sweep into the lead in Turn 1. The quadruple Champ car champion retained the lead through both rounds of pit stops with customary outstanding service from his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing crew, while a late full-course caution period for debris in Turn 4 did nothing but reduce Bourdais' margin of victory. Bourdais was never challenged and crossed the stripe 1.906 seconds ahead of Power to claim the victory. The eight victories for Bourdais this season was a personal best, topping the 2004 and 2006 championship-winning seasons in which he earned seven wins in each season. It also moved him into a tie for fourth place on the all-time list of Champ Car victories in a single season. It was Bourdais' third victory in five career starts at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and he has finished inside the top two in four of his five career starts at the venue. He is now tied with Al Unser Jr. and Paul Tracy (#3 INDECK Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) for sixth place on the all-time Champ Car victory list with 31. Bourdais clinched his unprecedented fourth Vanderbilt Cup in the penultimate round of the 2007 season at Surfers Paradise and closed out the year--and his Champ Car career--with a total of 364 points. He finished 83 points ahead of Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone), 364-281, and departs Mexico City on Sunday evening for a test session in Barcelona with Scuderia Toro Rosso, for whom he will drive in Formula 1 in 2008. Power wrapped up a breakthrough Champ Car season with a second-place result, his best result since a victory in Round 7 at Toronto. It was the Team Australia driver's fifth podium result of the season, in which he also claimed his first career Champ Car victory in the Las Vegas season-opener. Power finished the year fourth in the championship standings, two positions better than his previous career-best points result of sixth, which he achieved in 2006. Although he stalled his car on the race's standing start and fell to the rear of the field, Oriol Servia (#22 Pay By Touch Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) capped a season that he began without a ride by charging to his third podium result of the season with a third-place performance in Mexico City. Servia did not join the series until Round 2 at Long Beach--where he substituted for an injured Tracy at Forsythe Championship Racing--and moved from FCR to PKV Racing prior to Round 13 at Surfers Paradise. His showing in Mexico City allowed him to move from ninth entering the race to sixth in the final point standings. American rookie Graham Rahal (#2 MEDI|ZONE Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) secured fifth place in the final Champ Car World Series point standings with fourth-place. Like Bourdais, Rahal was also docked 22 seconds of Power To Pass for the same infraction in standing start practice, but he too overcame the penalty to earn his fifth top-five result of the season. The fourth-place run was Rahal's best since finishing third three races ago in Zolder. Rounding out the top five was Tracy, who had by far his best permanent road course performance of the season. The Canadian missed Rounds 2 and 3 at Long Beach and Houston due to an injury he sustained in practice at Long Beach and recorded his seventh top-10 result in 12 starts this season. Despite missing two races, he wound up the year 11th in the championship standings. Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished sixth in the race and eighth in the championship to complete his rookie Champ Car season, while Bruno Junqueira (#19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished seventh to equal his position in the final championship standings. Mexico City native Mario Dominguez (#28 Tecate Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) wound up eighth in the Pacific Coast Motorsports machine after being penalized one position for crossing the line at the exit to Turn 17 multiple times. Nevertheless, Dominguez still earned the bonus point for improving the most positions from start to finish. PKV Racing's Neel Jani (#21 Red Bull-Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished ninth and Wilson--who suffered mechanical problems after running the early portion of the race inside the top five--completed the top 10. * With an 11th-place performance in the race American Alex Figge (#29 Pacific Coast Motorsports) had his best result since finishing eighth in the season-opener at Las Vegas. It was the final race of Figge's rookie campaign in the Champ Car World Series. * Mexican rookie David Martinez (#7 INDECK Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished 14th in his second Champ Car start of the season and the third of his career. The Monterrey, Mexico native finished ninth in his Champ Car debut at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last year, and finished 10th in Surfers Paradise three weeks ago. Martinez recorded the second-fastest lap in the race at 1:26.006 (116.113 mph). * Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) had a mechanical failure and completed just 12 laps. Nevertheless, Doornbos still earned a bonus point for running the fastest lap in the race at 1:24.713 (117.885 mph) and managed to hold off Power for third in the final point standings. * The race was slowed by full-course caution flags only twice for a total of eight laps. The first was at the start, when the cars of Servia, Conquest Racing's Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Soul Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Alex Tagliani (#8 PBS Equities Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) of Rocketsports stalled when the lights went out for the standing start. Under the first full-course caution, Dan Clarke (#4 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) also pulled-off with a mechanical failure. The second full-course caution came on Lap 55 of the 64-lap race, when a front wing endplate was found in the racing line at Turn 4. Under that full-course caution, Katherine Legge (#11 Dale Coyne Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) also retired with a mechanical failure. QUOTES Sebastien Bourdais #1 McDonalds Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone (Finished 1st) -- You know, we tried to do the best we could to stop the pressure from building around us, but there was just no way out. Everybody was really emotional today, and I was, too. I had to leave a couple of times before jumping in the McDonald's car. I couldn't hold it. It was really, really strange just to finally realize that it was going to be the last time. When I closed the visor it was all business. I knew it wasn't going to be easy because the Push-to-Pass and the fact that it increased the importance of it this weekend, it was going to be super hard. We just had the better car and the team once again just pulled it off. We had a good start and great strategy and great speed, and that's what it's all about." Will Power #5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone (Finished 2nd) -- "It would have been nice to win the last race of the season, considering we had pretty good pace in qualifying. The car was a little bit too loose coming down the straight. But as the season goes, we've had the pace all year, we've just had really bad luck in the races with mechanical failure and a couple other things. I think that we'll be strong next year. I think we learned a lot in how to win a championship this year and what not to do. I look forward to it, good result the last race. It's about time we finished on the podium. Yeah, looking forward to next year. Oriol Servia #22 Pay by Touch MegaSpirea Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone (Finished 3rd) -- "We were there, and it wouldn't go in gear. Stayed in neutral, neutral, neutral, and when it finally went in gear the engine died, even before I tried to clutch it. It was a little bit of a bad start, but Jimmy came in the radio and said, listen, these are longer races than what we had over the weekend, and he was there every lap with me and was pushing me, was telling me where everybody else was. At the last call we were both talking about the blacks or reds, and we both decided reds, and it was the right call. It just feels good when you're able to work together as a team and you're able to support each other like that. Obviously the last race I came in sixth or seventh and we were able to pass Paul and Pagenaud in the last three laps, and it was fantastic."
RESULTS: Gran Premio Tecate at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
FOUR SCORE! SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS MAKES
HISTORY DOWN UNDER
pic;R Pascal 11/56 Motorsport Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) solidified his legendary status as a Champ Car World Series driver by locking up his fourth consecutive Series title with an impressive victory Down Under at the Lexmark Indy 300. The Frenchmen, who is set to depart Champ Car to pursue a career in Formula One next season, will have left his name in many places in the record book. With his 30th career victory today, the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing driver became the first driver in history to win four consecutive Champ Car World Series titles, a feat that is very rare in professional sports. In fact it has never been done in either NASCAR or NFL and it hasn't been done in the last twenty years in the NBA, NHL or MLB. To add to his already long list of records, Bourdais also became the first repeat winner in the 17 year history of the Surfers Paradise event. Bourdais had previously won Down Under in 2005. The race started off well for Bourdais who moved up one position from his fourth place on the grid when Paul Tracy (#3 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Oriol Servia (#22 Pay By Touch / PKV Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) touched, sending Tracy spinning. While Tracy was making his way up through the field, Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) was building a lead up front after starting on pole. Tracy was pushing a little too hard and touched the tire bundle in Turn 7 which took out the yellow flag. With the yellow came the first round of pit stops. Tracy, Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Bruno Junqueira (#19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) elected to stay out while the rest of the field headed down pit lane. The first round of pits stops were not incident-free. Race leader Power was exiting his pit box when David Martinez (#7 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) was entering his and contact ensued, sending Power to the rear of the field. Power would later on fall out of the race after he and Katherine Legge (#11 Dale Coyne Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) came together when the Australian was trying to get by her. Bourdais picked up the lead when Tracy pitted on lap 20. The Frenchman maintained his lead until his second pit stop on lap 32. Bourdais came out in second but was quickly overtaken by Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). However Bourdais retook his position in front of the field when Wilson pitted on lap 44. After that, the four time champ never looked back and kept putting in fast laps building a gap over Wilson. When Bourdais pitted for a final time on lap 48 he was able to maintain his lead on the Briton and clinch an unprecedented fourth straight title. Tracy was running third when he had to pit for fuel on the last lap which enabled Junqueira to score a third consecutive podium finish. It was the Brazilian's 100th start and 34th career podium. Rookie Doornbos came home in fourth and clinched the Rookie of the year title while Team Australia's Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) was fifth. Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Soul Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished sixth in his return with Conquest Racing. Alex Tagliani (#8 PBS Equities Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) Neel Jani (#21 Red Bull / Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone), Tracy, and Martinez rounded out the top-ten. Next up for the Champ Car World Series will be the season finale in Mexico City on November 11, 2007. The race will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. QUOTES Sebastien Bourdais: "Well, it's been quite an above average day, I should say. You know, it's just the success of an awesome group of people within that McDonald's team. We started that relationship back in 2003. Just all the results really speak for themselves. You know, it's how good these guys are. And they proved it today again when we came in the pits in third and came out first. From there, it was in my hands to try to make it stick. We had a great fight with Justin when he short-filled and got ahead of us. Then we had to, you know, stay with him with a heavier car, and we pulled it off. Then coming to that last corner, it's just all the emotions flowing through your mind. Just you realize how much has come to you and how much you've achieved with these guys and you get the sense that it's coming to an end very closely now. What a fun five years it's been. I'm surely not going to forget about it any time soon." Justin Wilson: "We had a few problems at the start as well. I let the clutch out. Everything was good. I was just getting a little bit of wheel spin. When I went to shift from first to second, I ended up in neutral. A couple of guys went by me. I was quite frustrated at that point. Then Paul went off at the first corner. You know, it was just a matter of staying calm and not doing anything stupid. This race is always that way. After I think the first yellow, there were three people on the same strategy I was, or two people in front of me. I was running third behind Oriol and Sebastien. I was pretty comfortable with that. We were working out when to save fuel, when to push. Then I was behind Oriol when he hit the wall at turn two. He hit it pretty hard. That allowed me to get on a roll. I got a run on him into turn five. After that, it was just a case of running down Sebastien. The car was working well." Bruno Junqueira: "Today we had a very eventful day. I was third behind Sebastien and Justin. My car felt very good in the warm-up, much better than in practice and qualifications. I was very confident. But two hours before the race, my mechanics found an oil leak in the engine. So I had to change the engine in a hurry. We put a fresh engine in the car. The car was ready just two minutes before the start of the race. On the start, because you do the out lap without going full throttle, trying to save fuel on the parade lap, I don't know, when I went full throttle, I lift the clutch the way I usually do, the car just bogged down and stalled. I was first very lucky that nobody hit me from behind. Then the safety team did a very good job to start me. Then I kept racing. I started the race. I was like 57 seconds behind the leaders and realized I had to save fuel. We were very close on the last three races. That put us in a good position in the championship. The team did a great job today on the pit stop and strategy. My car was very good, very fast, not just today, throughout the whole weekend. I'm enjoying a lot." Simon Pagenaud: "We had a very good car. The car was just fantastic all race. Just the race is not as good as it should be, the fuel save mode, because all race, I just save fuel and not push a hundred percent. It was pretty disappointing I would say from a racing point of view. I think we need to work on that for next year to make the race a bit more interesting for the drivers and the fans also. But I was really pleased because we worked really well on that car during the practice and in qualifying. In the race I had a really good car. It was very fun to drive. I was also very pleased to see so much Team Australia flags on the side of the track. I could even see it when driving. It was really nice. It's great to feel so much support coming here." Will Power: "Once again in the first stint we had to pit under yellow. All the cars are compressed. There's a lot of mayhem in the pit lane. Unfortunately, I got sent out early. Just a simple mistake. The guy left a lollypop and sent into another car, which bent the steering arm, then we're on the back foot. From that point on, the steering wasn't straight. The suspension was slightly bent. So the car wasn't behaving exactly how it should. Then I was trying to charge back through the field, got a run on Katherine Legge. I guess the car stepped out a little bit and grabbed her back wheel and threw me into the wall. A disappointing day. You know, once again, the same as last year, we have the car, had everything in place to win the race, but, you know, just bad luck. These things happen. Feel disappointed for all the fans that came out to watch us today. Feel disappointed for Craig Gore, as well. Unfortunately he couldn't be here. You know, we'll lift above it, move on. We've got to race in Mexico. Try and win that one." Results 1. Sebastien Bourdais F Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 61 2. Justin Wilson GB RuSPORT 61 6.775 3. Bruno Junqueira BR Dale Coyne Racing 61 50.896 4. Robert Doornbos* NL Minardi Team USA 61 1:02.640 5. Simon Pagenaud* F Team Australia 61 1:03.410 6. Nelson Philippe F Conquest Racing 61 1:09.010 7. Alex Tagliani CDN Rocketsports Racing 61 1:12.290 8. Neel Jani* CH PKV Racing 61 1:29.789 9. Paul Tracy CDN Forsythe Racing 61 1:48.614 10. David Martinez* MEX Forsythe Championship Racing 60 1 lap 11. Graham Rahal* USA Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 60 1 lap 12. Mario Dominguez MEX Forsythe Championship Racing 59 2 laps 13. Alex Figge* USA Pacific Coast Motorsports 59 2 laps 14. Oriol Servia E PKV Racing 58 3 laps 15. Katherine Legge GB Dale Coyne Racing 26 4 laps 16. Will Power AUS Team Australia 18 12.911 17. Dan Clarke GB Minardi Team USA 12 5 laps
JUSTIN WILSON TAKES HIS FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR AT ASSEN Heylen and Junqueira complete the podium
From the beginning of the Bavaria Beer Champ Car GP of Holland Presented by Audi. Gant, Hertz, Pioneer and Jumbo, Justin Wilson in the CDW sponsored DP01 Coswoprth looked like a man with a point to prove. Snatching the lead into the first corner from pole-sitter Sebastien Bourdais he held off all-comers to record his first win of 2007 and the fourth of his Champ car career. Wilson, having qualified second on the grid behind the championship
leader Sebastien Bourdais, made the better getaway to lead the
opening lap before a very early full-course yellow, caused when Paul
Tracy spun off, brought several back-markers in for
early stops, including both the Pacific cars of Figge and Dalziel. On lap 16 debris on the track brought out the yellows for a second time sending most of the field scurrying to the pits. This left Junquiera with a comfortable lead ahead of Wilson, with once again Neel Jani. Gommedy keeping him honest followed by Rahal and Heylen. The race then when a bit processional for some laps as if everyone was waiting for the final series of pit-stops,although in reality it turned out the 'power to pass' switch had been disallowed due to problems. The only change happened on lap 28 when Junqueira stopped for the second time handing the lead back to Wilson. A second yellow period a lap later once again precipitated a rush to the pits.which of course handed the lead back to the Brazilian. Junqueria stayed there until his final stop on Lap 50. when sadly for him things started to go a bit awry. The Dale Coyne Racing team suddenly encountered a problem with the pit lane speed limiter on Junqueira's car causing him to oose time while in the pits, nett result, both Wilson and Heylen were able to pit and rejoin without loosing their places, relegating Junqueria to third. Justin then simply 'coasted' to victory, Heylern kept him moderately in check for a few laps before the Briton edged away to an excellent win. Joining him on the podium was Conquest Racing's Jan Heylen in the Grafiprint DP01 and of course the Dale Coyne Racing car of Bruno Junqueira.. PKV Racing's Tristan Gommendy and Neel Jani were fourth and fifth respectively with fourth place a career best for Frenchman Gommendy. For the Swiss driver Jani, perseverance paid off as he overcame a problem with his Power-to-Pass on lap 22 to earn his fourth top-five finish this season. After starting near the front, rookie Simon Pagenaud fell back to 11th early on , primarily due to a slightly slow pitstop, but it all worked out later on as he finished sixth. Polesitter Bourdais finished seventh. after early problems, his Power-to-Pass system failing anda stall in the pit lane all contributing to his lowly position.
QUOTES Justin Wilson: "It's a great result for the #9 CDW/RuSPORT team. I've got to thank the whole team -- they've done brilliantly and they deserve this win so much. The pit-stops were good and my engineer Mike Talbott did a great job working out a set-up with no running in the warm-up. The crowd seemed to me as good, if not better, than any Formula 1 race I've been to." Jan Heylen: "We finally had everything work out for us after a rough start of the season. From the first session on Friday, we knew we had a fast car and we were really encouraged by all of our sessions leading up to the race because at each session we were getting better and learning more. I'm very happy for the team and all of our guests from Grafiprint. The promoters have done an amazing job at both of these European events so I think both Zolder and Assen can be considered a great success." Bruno Junqueira(below) "My car was pretty good today. Could save fuel and
still go pretty fast. I did a good pace throughout the whole race,
almost the entire time I was leading and I felt very good. I think the
team did a good job."
words and Pics R Pascal - 11/56 Motorsport
Sebastien Bourdais wins from Pole at Zolder Bruno Junqueira Runner-up in Best Finish for Dale Coyne Racing Since 2004 Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) proved once again why he is the driver to beat in the Champ Car World Series, earning nearly every point by grabbing the pole position on Saturday, setting the fastest race lap and winning by more than 13 seconds. With the weekend Bourdais extended his points lead to 53 markers over Dutch driver Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). Finishing second was Dale Coyne Racing driver Bruno Junqueira (#19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone), who scored the best ever finish in Dale Coyne's 24 years as a team owner. Though the Brazilian started fourth, it wasn't an average Sunday drive. Junqueira lost one position at the start when the entire field came to pit road on lap 17, a fueling problem saw him exit pit lane in 15th place. Mired in the back of the field, Junqueira and the Coyne Racing crew came back onto pit lane under the next yellow just ten laps later. The alternate strategy saw Bruno move up to second in the order as the other drivers had to dive onto pit lane for service under green flag conditions. Junqueira made his final stop on lap 48 also under green flag conditions and dropped back to tenth. When a full-course caution slowed the race again, the majority of the field used the opportunity to come to pit road for a final splash of fuel to reach the end of the race. While they came to pit lane, Junqueira stayed out and moved back up to the fourth position, sitting behind Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone), Belgian Jan Heylen (#34 Grafiprint Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Tristan Gommendy (#22 Pay By Touch-MegaSpirea Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). The three drivers in front all had to pit for fuel while Bruno worked hard to conserve fuel and make it to the chequered flag. In the end, the three-time championship runner-up battled valiantly with Bourdais and his Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing teammate Graham Rahal (#2 Medi|Zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) letting the French champion slip by but holding off the American rookie. By holding onto second, Junqueira forced the 18-year-old Rahal to settle for his fourth podium finish. Much like Bruno, Rahal was embroiled in a tight battle throughout the race, mostly with Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). Power finished fourth losing more ground in the race for the Vanderbilt Cup, with Wilson right behind in fifth. Forsythe Championship Racing driver Oriol Servia (#7 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished sixth, his ninth top-10 finish in 10 races. Doornbos finished seventh, also losing ground to Bourdais in the Championship chase, finishing just ahead of fellow rookie Neel Jani (#21 Red Bull-Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) who came home eighth. Rounding out the top-10 were Canadians Alex Tagliani (#8 Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Paul Tracy (#3 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). With the double podium, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing took the early lead in the Phanos Champ Car European Team Cup competition earning 70 points over the course of the weekend. Team Australia, winners of the Champ Car Canadian Triple Crown, are second with 60.5 points and the Rocketsports/RuSPORT duo are third. Next up is the back-end of the European double header as the Champ Car World Series heads to Assen, Holland for the Bavaria Beer Champ Car Grand Prix of Holland presented by Audi, Hertz, Gant, Pioneer and Jumbo. QUOTES Sebastien Bourdais: "It was a great weekend once again. It wasn't exactly the target to go after the win but we would obviously go for it if we could. The McDonald's team did a fantastic job" Bruno Junqueira ""I am very happy to get a podium for Dale Coyne Racing. I just kept my head down and concentrated on saving fuel after that. I drove as hard as I could at the finish Graham Rahal: "The end of the race was very exciting for me. The Medi|Zone team had to work awfully hard because I got a horrible start and lost another spot, so I was trying to make up time the rest of the race. It was a bit of hard dicing but I managed to pull a little gap on them and I managed to cruise to the finish which was nice."
Team Australia’s day to forget Power had a gearbox problem sideline the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 after only 25 laps, a costly problem for the Australian as championship rival Sebastien Bourdais was able to win today’s race and further extend his series lead as Power failed to score a significant points haul. Power started alongside Bourdais on the front row of the grid but was lost two positions at the start of the race when his car failed to engage first gear off the starting line. The Toowoomba-born driver then pitted earlier than anticipated to change from the option ‘red’ tyres to the standard ‘black’ tyres, as the reds were not handling well around the 4.048-mile (6.515 km) circuit. Power’s car was back to its best, but as last year’s Champ Car Rookie of the Year worked at chasing down a podium finish his car jammed in fourth gear due to a gearbox problem, ending his race and classifying him in 16th position. Simon Pagenaud was caught up in an accident on the first lap of the race entering Turn 5, causing him to make contact with Paul Tracy. The Frenchman pitted on lap four to replace a broken front wing as a result of the contact, and further time was lost when last year’s Atlantic champion stalled twice in pit lane. He recovered to finish 11th and now sits eighth in the championship standings, while Power remains third in the series points but now lies 53 points behind Bourdais, who won today’s race ahead of Dan Clarke and Graham Rahal. The Champ Car World Sereis now heads to Europe for Rounds 11 and 12, with the first event at the Zolder circuit in Belgium on August 26 followed by the second race at Assen in Holland one week later. WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY … Will Power – #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 “I think off the start line it didn’t go it into gear properly and I got a neutral and lost a couple of spots,” said Power. “From there I really struggled on the red tyres, the car was basically impossible to drive for us, so we pitted early and went out of sequence and then when we put the black tyres on and it made the car completely opposite handling-wise and it made the car really good. “Halfway through the second stint the car kept getting stuck in fourth gear and something broke in the gearbox and jammed up. There was nothing we could do from there. “We go on to Europe now and have to work on getting two really good podiums. The Team Australia guys did a great job and we will keep on soldering on. The season is not over yet.” Simon Pagenaud – #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 “Coming into turn five on the first lap I was on the inside and I didn’t overshoot the braking there, but someone turned on me, grabbed my wheel and I went in the air,” said Pagenaud. “We had a little hope, but the race was officially over when I came into the pits and unfortunately I stalled the Aussie Vineyards car twice and I don’t know why. “From that point on I drove on to get points, but the car was fun to drive and felt great. I have to thank the whole team for giving me a great car. “We just didn’t have the best luck for the race, that’s just the way it is. We were fast and that is probably the most important thing.” Derrick Walker – Team Australia Co-Owner “It was a very, very long day for Team Australia today,” said Walker. “We had all the makings of a good day and we didn’t come away with much. “It was another first for the Panoz gearbox. We found another weakness in the system there, it was the gearbox this time, which has sidelined Will and has taken away a lot of valuable points, because we were racing with a non-updated part for the gearbox. “Simon had the early incident set him back for the rest of the race and around here you don’t recover easy from that. Unfortunately we didn’t manage to get back up there with him. “Fortunately it didn’t make too much of a dent in the points, now we just need to make sure we find the problems early on and eliminate them.” Craig Gore – Team Australia Co-Owner “Will has certainly had his fair share of mechanical problems this season and has lost three races this year through no fault of his own,” said Gore. “He’s a tough character and will not give up, but Sebastien’s win does make things a little tougher. But if there is a driver than can reel in the gap it’s Will and the team is behind him to get the job done at the next two rounds in Europe so that he can be back in title contention by the time we get to the Gold Coast in October. “Simon also had what you would call a ‘character building’ day and unfortunately was caught up in some troubles on the first lap. He will also be out to recover lost ground over the next two rounds in Europe.”
ROBERT DOORNBOS
CRASHES AND PASSES HIS WAY TO SECOND CAREER WIN Some had said the most important part of the San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway was Saturday qualifying, as the tight street circuit in the "Capital of Silicon Valley" had produced races with few passing opportunities. This year's edition proved them wrong though as Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) visited the winner's circle after starting shotgun on the field in the 15th spot. After a flawless standing start, Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) took the lead into Turn 1, but made a mistake in Turn 2 allowing pole sitter Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) to get by and reassume the point. While that was going in the front, a log jam in the tight hairpin forced those at the back to slow dramatically. Unfortunately, Doornbos was unable to slow enough and the Dutchman deposited his front wing on the back of Jan Heylen's (#34 Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) machine forcing both of the European drivers to pit lane and bringing out a full course yellow. As the field prepared to for the green flag, Dan Clarke (#4 Team Minardi USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) ran into the back of Wilson forcing them both to pit lane. Wilson would lose 20 laps repairing the suspension and drivetrain damage while Clarke would return to the track, only to make contact with Katherine Legge (#11 Dale Coyne Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and retire from the race. Just a few laps later, Legge would bring out the yellow flag after making contact with the Turn 2 wall, giving Doornbos a chance to alter his race strategy and pit out of sequence. Back at the front, Oriol Servia (#7 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) assumed the lead with PKV Racing driver Neel Jani (#21 Red Bull-Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) in the second spot. The two would battle for the rest of the day with Jani passing for the lead in Turn 1 on lap 34. After a round of green flag pitstops, Servia chased Jani, and on two consecutive laps made a move in Turn 1, nosing ahead but Jani held his ground and repassed Servia on the exit of the hairpin. On their next trip through the corner, Servia made the same move, but made it stick to grab the lead once again. With everyone watching the battle up front, Doornbos used his light fuel load to run fast laps and gain ground. When he had to duck into pit lane under green, the Dutchman was able to rejoin the field in third. He was now set to finish the race on one more pit stop, and a timely yellow on lap 76 got him back in sequence when everyone came to pit lane for the final time. Doornbos' Minardi Team USA crew got him out first followed by Jani and Servia. On the restart, Jani used his Cosworth Power-to-Pass to go by Doornbos in the first corner. Unfortunately for Jani, his PKV Racing team decided to use the red Bridgestone Alternate tires. Though the softer compound tires meant some quicker lap times, their longevity was unable to sustain the final 25-lap run. Just halfway into the run, Doornbos used his final two seconds of Power-to-Pass to get back by Jani in Turn 1. Doornbos then drove away building a six-second lead over Jani. With the win, the leading rookie closed his gap in the Series standings to just 10 points behind Bourdais. The Swiss rookie, Jani, spent the final laps holding off Servia with the two drivers claiming the second and third positions. Team Australia's Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished fourth, gaining two championship points on Series leader Bourdais, who battled his car all race but drove to a fifth place finish. Coming home sixth was 18-year-old Graham Rahal (#2 Medi|Zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) who overcame a stall in pit lane on his first stop. Dale Coyne Racing's Bruno Junqueira (#19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished seventh with Tristan Gommendy (#22 Pay By Touch-Megaspiera Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) eighth. Heylen earned his best finish of the season with his ninth place result for Conquest Racing and Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished tenth. QUOTES Robert Doornbos: "It's a great way to feel after such a difficult weekend. It's just a great way to finish the week. We hope to continue the rest of the season like this. It's a big motivation boost for everybody. So thanks a lot to the team." Neel Jani "I'm disappointed after leading so many laps. I was hoping to finish it off and get my first win. But, well, next time we know we should put the black tires on the Red Bull-Gulfstream car." Oriol Servia: "Today we had a problem with the air gun and we lost two spots in the pits at the end. It hurts because it was the win, but last week at Edmonton, the Forsythe guys made up a lot of spots on pit lane. Anyway, Neel and Robert, they were both very strong."
Team Australia wins Canadian Triple Crown Award Bourdais takes Championship lead in Canada Heading into the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton there was a three-way battle for the top spot in the Series Championship, but after the checkered flag flew, three-time Champion Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) showed his experience by winning the event at Rexall Speedway and built himself a 20 point lead in the standings. As Bourdais flourished on Sunday, the two main competitors found nothing but trouble. Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) began the day as points leader but never found a rhythm during race. Contact on lap 69 with Alex Tagliani (#8 Tide@Wal-Mart Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) in Turn 1 forced the Dutchman one lap down, relegating him to an 11th place finish and dropping him to second place in the standings. Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards/Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) began his race from the pole position, but slippery paint in his grid slot allowed Bourdais to get the jump at the start and take the lead in the first corner. Power then stayed right on Bourdais tail until the first round of pit stops on lap 20. During the stops under yellow, Bourdais was blocked pulling out of his stall and Power's Team Australia crew took advantage and put the Aussie Vineyards car in the lead. Power held the lead until green flag pit stops started on lap 49. The Australian driver was the first to take service giving the lead back to Bourdais. Giving up the lead was just the beginning of Power's trouble though as a broken piece in his steering assembly forced him back to the pits and caused his only DNF of the season. Driving a consistent race and always keeping the leader in his sites was Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) who earned his fifth straight top-5 finish. With the second place finish, the British driver gained on all but one of his competitors and is now only nine markers out of second position in the standings. Finishing third was Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing rookie Graham Rahal (#2 Medi|zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) who had the best Champ Car event of his young career, running at the front all day after qualifying fourth. The podium finish is Rahal's second this season. Team Australia's Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosoworth/DP01/Bridgestone) finished fourth for the third straight race. The strong finish propelled Team Australia to the inaugural Champ Car Canadian Triple Crown title. The duo's average finish of 5.2 just bettered the strong effort from Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's Bourdais and Rahal, who leave the three Canadian events with an average finish of 5.5. Coming home in fifth and sixth were Forsythe Championship Racing teammates Paul Tracy (#3 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Oriol Servia (#7 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). Both drivers fought off challenges from Bruno Junqueira (#19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) throughout the race. Junqueira finished seventh just ahead of Dan Clarke (#4 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). Rookie Neel Jani (#21 Red Bull-Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) had a great start moving from fifth to third but while he was on pit lane during his first stop, the engine stalled and the Swiss driver fought his way back from 17th to finish ninth. Jan Heylen (#34 Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) earned his best finish of the season bringing his Conquest Racing car home tenth. Next up for the competitors in the Champ Car World Series is the San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway in the heart of Silicon Valley. The event begins on Friday, July 27 with practice and qualifying. The race will begin at 3:00 p.m. local (6:00 p.m. ET) on Sunday, July 29. The race can be seen live on ESPN2. Fans can also follow all of the action via the official website of the Champ Car World Series, www.champcar.ws.
QUOTES FROM THE TOP THREE FINISHERS Sebastien Bourdais: "It was a fun race. It was tough, as usual. It's a place that beats you up, drags you down to your knees, but when you can pull it off, it feels really good. I think everybody was tired towards the end. But the McDonald's car was fast, and that's really all that matters. Graham Rahal "It's been a solid weekend for the whole Medi|Zone team. The race today was another good performance. Thought I had a good start, but then when I got alongside Justin, realized that Neel was inside of him. So then, you know, kind of the first half of the race was chasing them around. And then pretty much we just saved as much fuel as possible, kind of played into our hands. Justin Wilson: "It was a long, tough race. It was great fun and we gave everything we had, but it wasn't quite enough. The CDW team did a fantastic job all weekend and I'm really pleased to get another podium here at Edmonton for CDW and all our partners
RESULTS:
Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton RESULTS: Qualifying 2006 RESULTS WILL POWERS SLIPS AND SLIDES TO VICTORY AT TORONTO Robert Doornbos Takes Series Championship Lead in Tight Three-way Battle Mother Nature has taken a keen interest in the last two rounds of the Champ Car World Series as precipitation once again added intrigue into the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto when the skies opened up 37 laps into the event. Team Australia's Will Power in teh No 5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01 was able to navigate the both the wet and dry conditions to claim his second career win and move into the second spot in the Series Championship standings just two points behind. The changing conditions also changed the landscape of the championship as Robert Doornbos's Minardi Team USA DP01 assumed the top spot from Sebastien Bourdais in the McDonald's backed machine after finishing sixth. On lap 68 Doornbos and Bourdais were running together and made contact entering Turn 3, both cars ended up against the tires, but the three-time defending champ Bourdais got the worst of the incident having to retire from the race ninth, while Doornbos only lost a lap to the field. The poor finishing result for Bourdais dropped him to third in the Championship standings just three points out of the lead. The Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto started with a flurry as Oriol Servia jumped to the lead in the first corner from his third place starting position, while behind him mayhem broke out as Simon Pagenaud in the Aussie Vineyards sponsored car made contact in Turn 4 with Alex Tagliani's Tide@Wal-Mart Victory Lap Charity Program backed machine cutting down "Tags" rear tyre and breaking the front wing off of Pagenaud's Team Australia car. The front wing ended up underneath another Canadian's car, as Paul Tracy ran over the debris and pushed the piece all the way to Turn 8, effecting his steering and forcing him hard into the wall. As cars rounded the blind Turn 7, there was no place to go for Graham Rahal 's Medi|Zone car, Jan Heylen Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium backed DP01, Katherine Legge or Alex Figge's Pacific Coast Cosworth DP01. Finally Tristan Gommendy's ironically sponsored Pay By Touch-Megaspiera car went for the wildest ride launching over the back of Heylen's car!. All the drivers were uninjured, but sadly only Rahal was able to continue. Servia paced the race for the first 34 laps before green flag pit stops changed the complexion of the race. Servia was the first to duck onto pit lane after he experienced fuel pickup problems. One lap later it was Bourdais who came to replenish his fuel and refresh his Bridgestone Potenzas leaving Will Power at the point. As the round of green flag stops came to an end so did the clear weather as rain started to fall on the 1.755-mile circuit. The Red Bull-Gulfstream DP01 of Neel Jani and Ryan Dalziel's Sun Media/PCM Cosworth/DP01 both stopped for the grooved tyres designed for the wet conditions on lap 38. The move would prove prophetic as the yellow flag would fly on the same lap after Tagliani and Servia both slid into the tire barriers. As most of the field came to pit road under the yellow, Dalziel assumed the lead and continued on the point for 16 laps, the first laps he has led in Champ Car competition. On the restart, Power drove by Bourdais and Minardi's Dan Clarke to move from fifth to third. Then on the ensuing two restarts for cars sliding into the tire barriers, Power moved by Neel Jani and Dalziel to claim the lead. Jani was the next to get by Dalziel while Justin Wilson's CDW Cosworth/DP01 also had the Scot in his sights. Wilson would trail Dalziel for the next nine circuits before contact in Turn 8 caused Dalziel end up in the tires and Wilson end up on the podium. At the finish it was Power who made it to the chequered flag first followed by Jani, who earned his second career Champ Car podium and Wilson. Simon Pagenaud finished fourth and Dale Coyne Racing driver Bruno Junqueira in the Sonny's Bar-B-Q car scored his best finish of the season coming home fifth. The race for the Canadian Triple Crown saw the Team Australia duo of Power and Pagenaud continue to lead with RSPORTS driver Alex Tagliani and Justin Wilson second in the standings with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing's Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal placed third. Next up for the competitors in the Champ Car World Series is the Rexall Grand Prix Edmonton which starts on Friday, July 20 with practice and qualifying. The race will begin at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, July 22 and can be seen live on ESPN in the United States and Global in Canada.
From the Podium ... Will Power: "It was an interesting race. It was great that it rained, but also in the dry we went a lap longer than everyone. We were looking good then. We were looking good either way. So, you know, I'm very happy for the team. This is exactly what we needed points-wise, and also for Sebastien not to finish, that really helps us in the championship. We've got some pretty strong tracks coming up." Neel Jani: "I have to still learn a bit more about fuel saving in Champ Car. But as it seemed at the end, with the rain, it wasn't that important anymore. We had to pit for the rain tires one lap after everybody else just after the yellow flag came out, so the team did a great job on that, and also the pit stop was good. That just brought us from, I think five, six or seven forward to second. Obviously then Will passed me, but he was too quick today." Justin Wilson: "It was an eventful race. I was racing Sebastien earlier on. I tried to pass him going into five. He got a really bad run through four so I knew I had a chance. He went in deep and turned in as if I wasn't there. I was disappointed that I got spun around. But, you know, I was fired up to come back, too. I enjoyed passing him later in the race and getting a position off of him."
DOORNBOS EARNS FIRST CHAMP CAR VICTORY AFTER WET AND WILD DAY IN MONT-TREMBLANT
I t was anything but a Canada Day parade on Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant as Robert Doornbos in the Minardi Team USA Panoz DP01 battled the weather as well as open wheel's best drivers to claim his first career Champ Car victory. The 25-year-old Dutchman was involved in wheel-to-wheel fights throughout the day and emerged victorious on the 2.62-mile mountainous circuit in the heart of the Laurentians.The start of the race was far from spectacular for the front row as Tristan Gommendy in the Pay By Touch-Megaspiera DP01 failed to roll off the grid with an electrical problem and Team Australia's Will Power's Aussie Vineyards backed Team Australia car stalled when the lights extinguished. Both drivers would join the race at the back of the field with Gommendy losing two laps on pit lane making the necessary repairs and Power getting restarted before he lost a lap. The quiet Australian then slowly started to work his way through the field making an impressive pass of Paul Tracy's Indeck Cosworth/DP01 on lap 14 for the tenth position. The entire field would then cycle through pit stops under green before Jan Heylen in the no 34 Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium car brought out a full course yellow bunching the field up behind the leader Bourdais Macdonald sponsored machine who had built a 10 second lead. A drizzling rain fell over the track during the caution period and as the field came to the green on the restart, the three-time champion Bourdais made an uncharacteristic mistake sliding off at the notorious Turn 14 known locally as "Namerow" and rejoining near the back. That mistake gave Doornbos the lead for the first time but problems in the pit on the next stop moved him back in the field once again. With intermittent and sometimes heavy rain falling, the drivers were struggling to find grip. Power spun on his own in Turn 5 while he was running second and Englishman Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) took full advantage of the conditions passing three cars and moving from fifth to second on Lap 43. As the rain continued to get heavier the entire field pitted for the grooved Bridgestone Potenza rain tires trying to gain as much traction as they could. Wilson took over the lead on pit lane and was starting to drive away before a costly mistake in Turn 8 handed the lead to rookie Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). The young Frenchman was doing yeoman's duty at the front of the field trying to balance grip with speed but unfortunately was bit like his countryman Bourdais, by "Namerow." Pagenaud was able to rejoin in fourth position just behind his teammate Power. Doornbos inherited the lead on lap 53 and was beginning to pull away before the final full course yellow brought Bourdais right back to his tail. The caution set-up a five lap duel between Doornbos and Bourdais with the experienced rookie able to hold off the champion with Will Power claiming his third podium finish. Power and Simon Pagenaud not only overcame difficulities at the start to earn third and fourth place finishes respectively but put Team Australia in the drivers seat after the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. The dynamic duo averaged a finish of 3.5, one full position ahead of the Newman/Haas/Lanigan pair of Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal (#2 Medi|Zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). Sitting in third position in the triple crown standings are RSPORTS teammates Justin Wilson and Canadian Alex Tagliani (#8 Tide @ Wal-Mart Victory Lap Charity Program Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) with an average combined finish of sixth. With the win Doornbos moves into a tie with Bourdais for the series championship lead at 145 points. Will Power is third just 14 points in arrears with RSPORTS teammates Justin Wilson and Alex Tagliani fourth and fifth. from the podium... Robert Doornbos: "Spectacular, it's a great feeling obviously. It's a new car, so that had a little bit of advantage last winter when I made the decision to come to Champ Car and combine it with my F1 activities with Red Bull. I was nervous because it's a new series, new circuits. I don't know the tracks. I don't know the drivers. I know they're competitive. But the team was also new in the takeover. So, yeah, nothing was really in my favor. Yeah, I think we worked very hard during test sessions. And Michael Cannon deserves all the credit, my engineer. He's helping me through the race. He has so much experience winning, running at the front. It makes life easy for me. I feel very comfortable. I feel that I'm in control with the team. I can motivate them. Obviously the results, the mechanics, they deserve it as well. Yeah, I think we can continue like this."
Sebastien Bourdais: "I guess in our bad luck we got a little lucky in the conditions, getting out of sync, cycling back to the front helped us. It's a bit of a shame. Obviously the McDonald's car was really, really good under dry conditions. Had it stayed this way, I think it was going to be a really, really good day for us. The boys had done a terrific job and the car was very, very good. We were getting good fuel mileage and good pace. Then under the yellow, when the track started to get wet, you know, in some places, and they decided to restart the race, I was like, oh, boy that's going to be tough. I was the first one to discover the slippery conditions and I made a mistake. I went for the restart in 14. I wasn't really quick, but the car went straight and ended up in the gravel. That was disappointing, but I knew the race was going to be long and we kept fighting for it. After that, the condition kept getting trickier and trickier. All of a sudden we saw ourselves in wets and close to the front. So it was looking fairly good. Just Robert passed me very cleanly on the track. Just left the door open. I was kind of hoping he was going to do the same when at some point I was a little quicker behind him. But that's not what he did. That's the only reason I was very unhappy with him." Will Power: "I went past my grid, so I had to get it in reverse, trying to get it into first gear. By the time I look up, the third red lights are on. Straight to the floor realizing the light's going to go out in a sec. I think the reason I stalled is because the turbo did not spool. So I stalled. Looked in my mirrors. People just missing me. I mean, I thought there was going to be a big accident. So I took off and went into a lot of fuel save. We ended up -- I think we were running second for a while. This track is just so ridiculous with the weather. It's completely dry and sunny in one spot, then you get to the next corner and it's raining. I spun. I think I went to the back again. Then there was, you know, a big scuffle of about five or six cars for the lead. Everyone in the pits got wets. The car was all right in the wet, you know. I think it was a lot about driving because everybody had the dry setup on. We ended up third. The good thing about Champ Car is you just never give up. It's great like that. I mean, you can almost go a lap down and then come back and finish on the podium. It's just really, really good racing."
TRACY EARNS 31st CAREER VICTORY DURING WILD CHAMP CAR GRAND PRIX OF CLEVELAND Through the first six laps of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by LaSalle Bank at Burke Lakefront Airport, Paul tracy (#3 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) was more likely to receive a visit from an NTSB investigator than the trophy queen. The 2003 champion was involved in two separate incidents requiring him to change his front wing during the early stages of the event, but the cagy veteran and his Forsythe Championship Racing team played the fuel strategy correctly to claim the victory. Tracy's excitement began on lap 4 when he and Graham Rahal (#2 Medi|Zone DP01/Bridgestone) got together in Turn 4 bringing out a full course caution. On the ensuing restart Tracy once again ran into problems, this time hitting Bruno Junqueira (#19 Sonny's Bar-B-Q DP01/Bridgestone) in Turn 1 forcing the Brazilian out of the race and Tracy back to pit lane for his third front wing assembly. While all of this was going on behind them, Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and the Team Australia duo of Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) pulled away from the rest of the field and looked to be cruising to an easy podium. Bourdais and Power ran nose to tail through the early stages and when the three-time defending champion Bourdais dove to pit lane, Power took advantage of the extra lap and a quick pitstop to gain the lead. Power then held onto the lead through the second round of pitstops as he once again was able to stay out one lap longer than the rest of the leaders. While the leaders had their race strategy, the group running in the middle of the field took advantage of the early yellows to fill up their tanks. A full course caution on lap 67 set the stage for the finish as Dan Clarke (#4 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) spun in between Turns 7 and 8 while Bourdais was forced to retire with mechanical problems. Both Power and Pagenaud along with RSPORTS teammates Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Alex Tagliani (#8 LXN2 (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) came to pit lane for a last splash of methanol giving up their spots in the top 5. Inheriting the lead was Tracy with the 18-year-old Rahal slated in second. Rahal, who was looking to join his father Bobby, by earning his first win at Cleveland, pushed Tracy hard but was unable to make the pass before having to also make a late race pitstop for fuel. While Tracy and Rahal were battling, rookies Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Neel Jani (#21 Red Bull-Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) were able to conserve enough fuel to make it to the finish. For Doornbos, the second place result marks his fourth podium finish in five races, while Jani earned his first career podium finishing third. Justin Wilson finished fourth ahead of rookie Simon Pagenaud who finished fifth. Alex Tagliani finished sixth with Oriol Servia (#7 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) seventh and Rahal coming home eighth. The battle of the Vanderbilt Cup is heating up as Champ Car hits its summer stretch. Three-time defending series champion Sebastien Bourdais leads the way with 117 points, but rookie charger Robert Doornbos is closing in fast with 114 points. Will Power is third in the standings with 105 and RSPORTS teammates Alex Tagliani and Justin Wilson round out the top five.
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(below) At the green flag it was Wilson who again held the lead with a train
of five cars led by Switzerland's Neel Jani and Belgium's Tristan
Gommendy hard on his heels. Further back Bruno Junqueira picked up a puncture forcing him onto a
different strategy from most of the leading runners, one that very
nearly paid off.. 