Champ Car drivers Alex Tagliani and Paul Tracy were embroiled in a physical exchange in pit lane during a drama-filled ninth round of the Champ Car World Series in San Jose, California overnight.

Tagliani (Team Australia) confronted fellow Canadian Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) in pit lane after an on-track accident on lap 54 of the 97-lap race, resulting in a physical altercation between the two drivers.

Tracy had gone down the runoff area after missing a turn, and roared back on to the track right in the path of the oncoming Tagliani, ending the race for both Canadian stars. The battle, having ended on the track, spilled back into pit lane as Tagliani confronted his countryman twice in an incident that eventually escalated into fisticuffs.

"This is a huge disappointment for our team and having the guys work hard like that again to rebuild the car," said Tagliani.

"Everything was working as planned. I really think we had the car to finish right in front of (Cristiano) da Matta which was second place, and Tracy hitting me took the podium away from us."

Tracy viewed the incident as an unfortunate situation which should not have led to the drama in pit lane.

"I went off into the runoff, got the car turned around and I thought I had enough room to leave before Tagliani got past me but obviously I didn't and as I was coming back on to the track we touched and that was it for both of us," said Tracy.

"I came back to the pits and he kept confronting me, he kept grabbing me and I told him to stop grabbing me, and he kept grabbing me and I kept telling him to stop, then he walked away and came back and grabbed me again and that was it, I had to push him off me."

Champ Car Race Operations will review the incident and will determine what, if any, penalties for misconduct will be levied because of the incident.

"We understand that this is a very competitive series and our athletes can get caught up in the heat of the moment but we do not condone this type of behavior," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson.

"We will review this incident thoroughly and determine what needs to be done to make sure things like this do not happen in the future."

This incident overshadowed an antertaining race which was eventually won by series champion and current leader Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing) from Brazilian Cristiano da Matta (RuSPORT) and Englishman Justin Wilson (RuSPORT).

Team Australia's Will Power, from Toowoomba in Queensland, produced his second consecutive sixth placing in his rookie season which is his equal best result in the series.

Bourdais led 69 of the 97 laps to score his fifth win of the season in front of a weekend crowd totaling 155,934.

His win now takes him to 255 points in the standings, 31 points clear of Wilson with A.J Allmendinger, who finished seventh in San Jose, another 14 points back.

"We just had the perfect setup," said Bourdais. "The car would take a few laps to really go up to speed. But once it was there, it was just unstoppable. It was a great feeling.

"I was able to, without taking stupid chances, really run fast towards the end of the race when the fuel didn't matter any more. Once we got in the lead, we really didn't have anybody that seemed to be able to get to us."

Power's sixth place moves him up to 11th position overall on 123 points, with only 18 points separating fourth and 11th. The young Queenslander has also extended his lead in the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year title.

"In the first couple of laps I hit (Oriol) Servia," said Power. "I think maybe his people called yellow and I didn't get called for a yellow and braked in a normal spot. After the hit, it felt like something was slightly bent, so it felt like the car bottomed pretty bad all through the race.

"At the end I was able to keep up with those guys and keep AJ behind me. I finished sixth which was a good result considering how the race started. I'm really happy to get points and finish as a top rookie again."

The next round of the Champ Car World Series is scheduled for Denver on August 13. Queensland will host Round 14 of the Champ Car World Series with the Lexmark Indy 300 to be held from October 19 to 22. The annual Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast is a partnership between the Queensland Government and IMG.

Round 9 - San Jose - Race Results

1 - Sebastien Bourdais (Newman Haas Racing) 97 laps Active

2 - Cristiano da Matta (RuSPORT) 97 laps Active

3 - Justin Wilson (RuSPORT) 97 laps Active

4 - Nelson Philippe (CTE Racing - HVM) 97 laps Active

5 - Mario Dominguez (Dale Coyne Racing) 97 laps Active

6 - Will Power (Team Australia) 97 laps Active

7 - A.J. Allmendinger (Forsythe Championship Racing) 97 laps Active

8 - Oriol Servia (PKV Racing) 97 laps Active

9 - Charles Zwolsman (Mi-Jack Conquest Racing) 97 laps Active

10 - Nicky Pastorelli (Rocketsports Racing) 97 laps Active

11 - Jan Heylen (Dale Coyne Racing) 97 laps Active

12 - Katherine Legge (PKV Racing) 90 laps Active

13 - Andrew Ranger (Mi-Jack Conquest Racing) 80 laps Contact

14 - Alex Tagliani (Team Australia) 52 laps Contact

15 - Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) 51 laps Contact

16 - Dan Clarke (CTE Racing - HVM) 49 laps Mechanical

17 - Bruno Junqueira (Newman Haas Racing) 2 laps Contact


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