2006 CCWS Rd. 13--Lexmark Indy 300

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Who will win the Lexmark Indy 300?

Poll ended at Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:27 pm

Sebastien Bourdais
0
No votes
Paul Tracy
0
No votes
Alex Tagliani
0
No votes
A.J. Allmendinger
2
33%
anyone who hasn't previously won at Surfers
2
33%
anyone who hasn't previously won at Surfers
2
33%
 
Total votes: 6

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2006 CCWS Rd. 13--Lexmark Indy 300

Post by mlittle » Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:27 pm

Every series has their "crown jewels"; events that, should any driver win them, will mark high points in his or her career. In NA sportscar racing, there's Sebring, Daytona and Le Mans; for the IndyCar Series, it's the Indy 500; for the Australian V8's, it's Mt. Panorama and the challenging Bathurst 1000........there are four for ChampCar drivers: Long Beach, Toronto, Road America and Surfers Paradise. Since 1991, the series has made the annual trans-Pacific trip to the Gold Coast and each year a different driver has left with the victory. Here's the pole/race winners from the past 15 visits...........

1991: Michael Andretti/John Andretti
1992: Al Unser, Jr./Emerson Fittipaldi
1993: Nigel Mansell/Nigel Mansell
1994: Nigel Mansell/Michael Andretti
1995: Michael Andretti/Paul Tracy
1996: Jimmy Vasser/Jimmy Vasser
1997: Mauricio Gugelmin/Mark Blundell
1998: Dario Franchitti/Alex Zanardi
1999: Dario Franchitti/Dario Franchitti
2000: Juan Pablo Montoya/Adrian Fernandez
2001: Roberto Moreno/Cristiano da Matta
2002: Cristiano da Matta/Mario Dominguez
2003: Sebastien Bourdais/Ryan Hunter-Reay
2004: Paul Tracy/Bruno Junquiera
2005: Oriol Servia/Sebastien Bourdais

Who will win this year.....only the concrete canyons of the circuit know. :shock: :shock: :shock: :lol: :shock:
Here is the event schedule for the Lexmark indy 300
note:times listed are local(Australian east coast time; times in ( ) are US EDT)

Practice Session #1} 10:10 am, 20 Oct. 2006(8:10 pm, 19 Oct. 2006)
Practice Session #2} 1:50 pm, 20 Oct. 2006(11:50 pm, 19 Oct. 2006)
Qualifying Session #1}2:10 pm, 20 Oct. 2006(12:10 am, 20 Oct. 2006)
Practice Session #3}10:00 am, 21 Oct. 2006(8 pm, 20 Oct. 2006)
Practice Session #4}2 pm, 21 Oct. 2006(12 am, 21 Oct. 2006)
Qualifying Session #2}2:20 pm, 21 Oct. 2006(12:20 am, 21 Oct. 2006)
Final Practice Session}9 am, 22 Oct. 2006(7 pm, 21 Oct. 2006)
Lexmark Indy 300}1:10 pm, 22 Oct. 2006(11:10 pm, 21 Oct. 2006)

Note: the race will be broadcast live on the ChampCar website courtesy of CC's Race Director(unfortunately, it's a pay-subscription service..... :x :x ; there is free live timing/scoring on the site, though...); the race will be broadcast in the United States on tape-delay at 2:30 pm US EDT, 22 Oct. 2006 on Speed Channel
Last edited by mlittle on Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by mlittle » Wed Oct 04, 2006 6:10 pm

Championship points implications.............

Going into the upcoming round at Surfers Paradise, the only contenders for the Vanderbilt Cup this year are as follows...............

1st}Sebastien Bourdais...............338 pts
2nd}A.J. Allmendinger.................280 pts(-58 pts)

The points table for the ChampCar series goes as follows(from 1st-20th)....
31-27-25-23-21-19-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
1 pt. for the fastest qualifier in the 2 qual. sessions(QS-1 and QS-2)
1 pt. for the fastest race lap
1 pt. for leading at least one lap during the race
1 pt. for most improved positions gained(a/k/a the hard-charger award...)

Following this round, there will only be 35 pts. left, meaning that if ole' A.J. wants to prevent Bourdais from clinching the series title, he would have to make up btwn. Surfers and Mexico City at least 24 pts. If Allmendinger wins, sets fastest lap of the race, qualifies on the pole in Qs-1 & QS-2 and leads at least one lap during the race, he would earn 34 pts., meaning ole' SeaBass would have to finish(w/out any bonuses) 11th or worse or....
12th w/1 bonus pt. :shock:
13th w/2 bonus pts. :shock: :shock:
14th w/3 bonus pts. :shock: :shock: :shock:
15th w/4 bonus pts. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

My guess......someone should start inscribing Bourdais' name on the Vanderbilt Cup, because I suspect he'll likely win the title....and to think, I thought Justin Wilson would win the series title this year...... :shock: :shock:
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Briscoe to drive for RuSport at Surfers Paradise.........

Post by mlittle » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:10 am

What had been an open secret following RuSport's recent Sebring test was confirmed today, as team officials announced that former IndyCar Series driver Ryan Briscoe, who has competed recently in the A1GP series and the legendary Bathurst 1000, will drive the #10 entry at both Surfers Paradise and Mexico City in place of the recovering Cristiano da Matta, who was injured in a testing crash at Road America in early August. Here are some quotes from those involved....

Ryan Briscoe, #10 Western Union FC/L:
I'm very excited about joining RuSport and competing in Champ Car. Because my first stop will be in Surfers Paradise, it will be a very special race for me. It's been my goal since the beginning of the year to race in Champ Car, and I'm with a top team, so it's a really exciting opportunity for me. I'm hoping we can get off to a quick start and get some good results for the team.
Jeremy Dale, RuSport team president:
Since Cristiano's accident in August, we have spent a considerable amount of time and effort on finding the right driver for the No. 10 car. Although we interviewed and tested several talented and capable drivers, we believe Ryan is the ideal type of driver for RuSport. The experience he has gained in his relatively young racing careerhas enabled him to become a competitive driver with a solid base of technical knowledge that we look for. RuSport is a team made up of very competitive people, and racing without the No. 10 car at the past three Champ Car events has been challenging for everyone here. However, the entire team is very excited to have the No. 10 car back on track in Australia and Mexico City, particulary with a driver of Ryan's caliber.
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Atlantic driver to make Surfers debut........

Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:24 pm

There will be at least, as with 2005, two new drivers on the grid at Surfers Paradise, as Dale Coyne Racing announced earlier today that Andreas Wirth, currently one of FCR-Atlantic's drivers, will pilot the #19 FC/L when the series travels Down Under for its' annual visit to the Gold Coast. Wirth will join new RuSport driver Ryan Briscoe in making their series debut at the legendary street circuit.
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Tuesday update from the beach..........

Post by mlittle » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:01 pm

Brief update from Surfers Paradise......

~~ChampCar debutant to honor the late "Crocodile Hunter".....In honor of the late conservationist Steve Irwin, Dale Coyne Racing and driver Andreas Wirth have decided to honor Irwin's legacy by carrying the colors of his organization, the Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors Worldwide on the #19 FC/L Wirth will pilot on the Gold Coast this weekend

~~good weather at Surfers....for now. According to ar1.com, all the ChampCar teams, drivers and equipment have made it to the track and are in the process of decamping and setting up for the weekend. Weather conditions at present(its' 11 pm US EDT 16 October 2006 currently, which would make it around noon there 17 October 2006....) are cloudy with temps around 72-deg.(F) and winds from the east at 13 mph; the weather is expected to remain partly cloudy through Saturday....although the forecast is currently calling for showers on Sunday. :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Seen and heard in Surfers Paradise.............

Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:08 am

With qualifying a few hours from now, here's a look at the seen and heard from Surfers Paraidse........

~~present for most of the week was former Minardi F1 team principal Paul Stoddart, who is still in talks with ChampCar on fielding a team for 2007; sources report that series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven may opt to have Stoddart buy into CTE-HVM Racing as a team co-owner for 2007....
~~An olive branch........at Thursday's press conference, 2003 series champion Paul Tracy offered an olive branch towards current series champion Sebastien Bourdais, saying that while the series would like to see SeaBass stay, if he can find an opportunity to race in F1, he has the blessings of everyone in the series
~~lower attendance...............attendance figures are reported to be in the 56K range, down 10,000 from last year's day 1 attendance..... :shock: :shock:

Qualifying primers..............
~~each driver gets 15 laps to set their fastest time in the session(expect most drivers to run 2 stints of 7-8 laps)
~~whoever sets the fastest time in QS-1 will get a guaranteed front-row starting spot(assuming they don't set the fastest time in QS-2.....) and one championship point
~~if a driver causes or brings out a red flag situation, they will lose their fastest time from the session
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SeaBass fastest in first practice session.........

Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:28 pm

As qualifying draws near, news from a sunny Surfers Paradise............

~~SeaBass tops practice session
With a late flyer, current points leader Sebastien Bourdais(#1 McDonald's FC/L) captured P1, edging out Team Australia's Alex Tagliani(#15 Aussie Vineyards FC/L). Here are the top-5 from the session...........

1}S. Bourdais, 1:33.441 sec
2}A. Tagliani, 1:33.813 sec
3}J. Wilson, 1:34.032 sec
4}(R)W. Power, 1:34.074 sec
5}P. Tracy, 1:34.110 sec
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:52 pm

Practice session #2 has begun.......

session will last 15 minutes and is essentially a warmup leading into the QS-1.......no times posted as of yet
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:53 pm

Allmendinger posts the first time of the session at 1:38.500 sec


Ranger now fastest at a 1:38.2; 6 drivers have now posted times
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:54 pm

10 drivers have posted times; top-5 are Ranger, Allmendinger, Dominguez, Heylen and Clarke
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:55 pm

Allmendinger back up to P1; "Speedy" Dan Clarke now P2

Phillipe moves up to third; 9 min. remaining in practice #2
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:57 pm

Servia and Bourdais move up to P3 and P4 respectively; times comin' in fast now!

Local favorite Will Power now P2 w/a flyer of 1:34.725!
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:58 pm

Red Flag! Race control reporting a red flag situation; there were two in the first practice session.........all times frozen; top-5 w/7 minutes left....Allmendinger, Dominguez, Servia, Phillipe and Clarke
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 1:59 pm

According to race control, Briscoe clipped the wall at the second of the two back-side chicanes; they're also reporting that Heylen has stopped at turn 9


6 minutes left in the session.........
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 20, 2006 2:00 pm

Both Briscoe and Heylen will sit out the remainder of the practice for bringing out the red flag; all times still frozen


5 minutes in the session...........
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