Newsroom
FOUR FROM FOUR FOR FRENCH ACE
Monday, 5 June 2006
Sebastien Bourdais made it four wins from four starts while Team Australia had a round it would rather forget at the Milwaukee Mile, Round 4 of the Champ Car World Series this morning.
Frenchman Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing) extended his lead in the championship after winning the 197-lap race from this year’s main rival Englishman Justin Wilson (RuSPORT) with another Frenchman Nelson Philippe (CTE Racing – HVM) scoring his first Champ Car podium in third.
Team Australia’s Alex Tagliani did not even make the start after a crash in yesterday’s practice caused too much damage to his car to make the grid.
Toowoomba’s Will Power, after qualifying fifth, finished 11th with mechanical woes ending his race on lap 155.
The whole weekend belonged to Bourdais who claimed pole position yesterday and then clawed his way back from a lap down to continue his pursuit of three successive Champ Car titles.
A leak in one of his tyres saw Bourdais drop a lap after just 20 laps but the 27-year-old needed just nine more laps to get back on the lead orbit. He was back in the lead by lap 101 and had almost lapped the field after another 50 trips around the 1.032-mile oval circuit.
A lap 166 restart meant Bourdais needed one more strong burst to fight off Wilson and Philippe to roll to his fourth consecutive victory of the season.
“This car was a rocketship today,” said Bourdais. “It really looked like we were going to run away with it, and I guess on lap 15 or something, our guys started to see a small leak on the right rear (tyre), then I started to think different.
“At that point I was (still) very confident we were going to have a good result because the car was really good and we didn't panic and everybody knew what we had to do.
“The most important thing was to finish this race, not make any mistakes, and we were already really concentrated. Then I started to hit traffic and go very quickly and play catch-up a little bit, and it all worked out.”
Wilson drove to his third runner-up finish of the season after leading for 61 laps of the race. Philippe scored the first podium of his young Champ Car career and vaulted him up four positions in the championship standings to sixth.
Bourdais leads the championship on 136 points from Wilson on 105 while Mario Dominguez (Forsythe Championship Racing) maintains third on 76 despite a 14th place finish today.
Power continues to fly the flag for Australian hopes in the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year standings. The 25-year-old has a slender one-point margin over the first full-time female Champ Car driver in England’s Katherine Legge (PKV Racing).
Power, who qualified an impressive fifth, avoided some early race carnage and was exiting the pits after his second stop on lap 155 when a broken drive shaft ended his race.
The result was a disappointing one for Team Australia, which lost its second car driven by Tagliani after a crash in practice yesterday morning.
Tagliani received a minor cut to his hand in the accident and now sits seventh in the championship standings – although just 16 points from third.
“The car was doing really well today, and I was getting more confident with it as the day progressed,” said Power.
“I was making adjustments as the race went by in the cockpit and got used to traffic, but unfortunately once I left the pits our drive shaft broke.
“It’s very disappointing. We needed a top six finish and those points … it’s definitely a kick in the stomach, but it’s a long season so I look forward to Portland.
“It was a different sort of racing out there today … you have to take a few risks if you want to get through the back markers as quickly.
“It’s all about experience, if we run out here next year, I will be in much better shape just based on the amount of racing I did today.”
The next round of the Champ Car World Series is scheduled for Portland on June 18. 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 4 – Milwaukee - Race Results
1 - Sebastien Bourdais (Newman Haas Racing) 197 laps Active
2 - Justin Wilson (RuSPORT) 197 laps Active
3 - Nelson Philippe (CTE Racing – HVM) 197 laps Active
4 - A.J. Allmendinger (RuSPORT) 197 laps Active
5 - Oriol Servia (PKV Racing) 196 laps Active
6 – Katherine Legge (PKV Racing) 195 laps Active
7 - Andrew Ranger (Mi-Jack Conquest Racing) 194 laps Active
8 – Dan Clarke (CTE Racing – HVM) 191 laps Active
9 – Charles Zwolsman (Mi-Jack Conquest Racing) 191 laps Active
10 – Nicky Pastorelli (Rocketsports Racing) 183 laps Active
11 – Will Power (Team Australia) 155 laps Mechanical
12 – Jan Heylen (Dale Coyne Racing) 67 laps Electrical
13 - Cristiano da Matta (Dale Coyne Racing) 31 laps Mechanical
14 - Mario Dominguez (Forsythe Championship Racing) 4 laps Contact
15 – Bruno Junqueira (Newman Haas Racing) 1 lap Contact
16 - Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) 1 lap Contact
DNS - Alex Tagliani (Team Australia) 0 laps
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Frenchman Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing) extended his lead in the championship after winning the 197-lap race from this year’s main rival Englishman Justin Wilson (RuSPORT) with another Frenchman Nelson Philippe (CTE Racing – HVM) scoring his first Champ Car podium in third.
Team Australia’s Alex Tagliani did not even make the start after a crash in yesterday’s practice caused too much damage to his car to make the grid.
Toowoomba’s Will Power, after qualifying fifth, finished 11th with mechanical woes ending his race on lap 155.
The whole weekend belonged to Bourdais who claimed pole position yesterday and then clawed his way back from a lap down to continue his pursuit of three successive Champ Car titles.
A leak in one of his tyres saw Bourdais drop a lap after just 20 laps but the 27-year-old needed just nine more laps to get back on the lead orbit. He was back in the lead by lap 101 and had almost lapped the field after another 50 trips around the 1.032-mile oval circuit.
A lap 166 restart meant Bourdais needed one more strong burst to fight off Wilson and Philippe to roll to his fourth consecutive victory of the season.
“This car was a rocketship today,” said Bourdais. “It really looked like we were going to run away with it, and I guess on lap 15 or something, our guys started to see a small leak on the right rear (tyre), then I started to think different.
“At that point I was (still) very confident we were going to have a good result because the car was really good and we didn't panic and everybody knew what we had to do.
“The most important thing was to finish this race, not make any mistakes, and we were already really concentrated. Then I started to hit traffic and go very quickly and play catch-up a little bit, and it all worked out.”
Wilson drove to his third runner-up finish of the season after leading for 61 laps of the race. Philippe scored the first podium of his young Champ Car career and vaulted him up four positions in the championship standings to sixth.
Bourdais leads the championship on 136 points from Wilson on 105 while Mario Dominguez (Forsythe Championship Racing) maintains third on 76 despite a 14th place finish today.
Power continues to fly the flag for Australian hopes in the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year standings. The 25-year-old has a slender one-point margin over the first full-time female Champ Car driver in England’s Katherine Legge (PKV Racing).
Power, who qualified an impressive fifth, avoided some early race carnage and was exiting the pits after his second stop on lap 155 when a broken drive shaft ended his race.
The result was a disappointing one for Team Australia, which lost its second car driven by Tagliani after a crash in practice yesterday morning.
Tagliani received a minor cut to his hand in the accident and now sits seventh in the championship standings – although just 16 points from third.
“The car was doing really well today, and I was getting more confident with it as the day progressed,” said Power.
“I was making adjustments as the race went by in the cockpit and got used to traffic, but unfortunately once I left the pits our drive shaft broke.
“It’s very disappointing. We needed a top six finish and those points … it’s definitely a kick in the stomach, but it’s a long season so I look forward to Portland.
“It was a different sort of racing out there today … you have to take a few risks if you want to get through the back markers as quickly.
“It’s all about experience, if we run out here next year, I will be in much better shape just based on the amount of racing I did today.”
The next round of the Champ Car World Series is scheduled for Portland on June 18. 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 4 – Milwaukee - Race Results
1 - Sebastien Bourdais (Newman Haas Racing) 197 laps Active
2 - Justin Wilson (RuSPORT) 197 laps Active
3 - Nelson Philippe (CTE Racing – HVM) 197 laps Active
4 - A.J. Allmendinger (RuSPORT) 197 laps Active
5 - Oriol Servia (PKV Racing) 196 laps Active
6 – Katherine Legge (PKV Racing) 195 laps Active
7 - Andrew Ranger (Mi-Jack Conquest Racing) 194 laps Active
8 – Dan Clarke (CTE Racing – HVM) 191 laps Active
9 – Charles Zwolsman (Mi-Jack Conquest Racing) 191 laps Active
10 – Nicky Pastorelli (Rocketsports Racing) 183 laps Active
11 – Will Power (Team Australia) 155 laps Mechanical
12 – Jan Heylen (Dale Coyne Racing) 67 laps Electrical
13 - Cristiano da Matta (Dale Coyne Racing) 31 laps Mechanical
14 - Mario Dominguez (Forsythe Championship Racing) 4 laps Contact
15 – Bruno Junqueira (Newman Haas Racing) 1 lap Contact
16 - Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) 1 lap Contact
DNS - Alex Tagliani (Team Australia) 0 laps
Back | Back to top
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