2007 CCWS Rd. 3--Grand Prix of Houston

[mlittle]

After visits to Sin City and the home of the Queen Mary, the stars of the Champ Car World Series make their way to the western end of the Gulf Coast and the oil-drenched city of Houston for their return to the Reliant Park street circuit(or as the official name goes, JAGflo Speedway @ Reliant Park.... ). Set amidst the expanses of Reliant Park and Reliant Arena, this challenging 1.69-mile street course will once again challenge drivers and teams alike.....here is the event schedule for the Grand Prix of Houston.....

Practice Session #1......11:05 am, 20 April 2007
Practice Session #2.......3 pm, 20 April 2007
Qualifying Session #1....3:25 pm, 20 April 2007
Practice Session #3.......11 am, 21 April 2007
Practice Session #4.......2 pm, 21 April 2007
Qualifying Session #2....2:30 pm, 21 April 2007
Final Practice Session.....11 am, 22 April 2007
Grand Prix of Houston, 3 pm--22 April 2007 live on ESPN*
*-first ESPN broadcast of a ChampCar race since Fontana in Nov. 2001

[mlittle]

Practice Session #1 top-5..........................

1} #5 Will Power, Team Australia...............................59.417 sec
2} (R)#15 Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia................59.515 sec
3} #1 Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing........................59.723 sec
4} #9 Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing...........................59.841 sec
5} #8 Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports...............................59.924 sec

[mlittle]

Practice Session #2 top-5...................

1} #8 Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports..............................59.569 sec
2} #1 Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing.......................59.690 sec
3} (R)#2 Graham Rahal, NHL Racing..........................59.975 sec
4} (R)#15 Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia...............1:00.075 sec
5} #9 Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing...........................1:00.097 sec

[mlittle]

Top-5 provisional order from QS-1................

1st} #1 Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing....................58.376 sec*
2nd} #5 Will Power, Team Australia..........................58.890 sec
3rd} (R)#2 Graham Rahal, NHL Racing......................58.998 sec
4th} #9 Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing.......................59.216 sec
5th} #8 Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports...........................59.269 sec

*--by setting the fastest time in Friday qualifying, Bourdais is guaranteed a front-row starting spot and 1 championship pt.

[mlittle]

Practice Session #3 top-5.............

1} #1 Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing..........................58.224 sec
2} (R)#2 Graham Rahal, NHL Racing.............................58.566 sec
3} #9 Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing..............................58.677 sec
4} #5 Will Power, Team Australia..................................58.741 sec
5} (R)#15 Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia...................58.841 sec

~~one note of interest............Due to aggravating a mid-thoractic compression injury suffered in a late-race crash at Long Beach, Pacific Coast Motorsports has pulled driver Alex Figge from the event weekend; former ChampCar regular Roberto Moreno will substitute for Figge this weekend

[mlittle]

~~note of interest.......race control stripped provisional polesitter Sebastien Bourdais of his fastest lap in QS-2; the reason cited was Bourdais' near-blatant blocking of competitor Will Power during the session(blocking in NA motorsports is essentially defined as changing one's driving line in an effort to prevent another competitor from passing them during a race; it is also defined[when it occurs in a qual. session] as either holding up another driver or, as above, changing one's driving line to slow down or block another competitor's attempt to set a fast qual. time).....as a result, race control stripped Bourdais of his fastest time, placing Power into P1 for Sunday's race


Grand Prix of Houston Starting Grid..............
1} Will Power, #5 Aussie Vineyards...................................57.405 sec/105.545 mph
2} Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's...............................57.653 sec/105.091 mph**

3} Justin Wilson, #9 CDW................................................57.533 sec/105.310 mph
4} (R)Neel Jani, #21 Red Bull/Gulfstream..........................57.753 sec/104.909 mph

5} Oriol Servia, #3 Indeck/Forsythe.................................57.790 sec/104.840 mph
6} (R)Graham Rahal, #2 Medi/Zone.................................57.896 sec/104.650 mph

7} (R)Simon Pagenaud, #15 Aussie Vineyards...................57.929 sec/104.590 mph
8} (R)Tristan Gommendy, #22 Pay by Touch/Megaspiera....58.026 sec/104.415 mph

9} Mario Dominguez, #7 Telmex/Indeck............................58.079 sec/104.320 mph
10} Bruno Junquiera, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ.................58.181 sec/104.137 mph

11} Alex Tagliani, #8 LXN2/Wal-Mart Canada.....................58.261 sec/103.994 mph
12} Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Below...............58.355 sec/103.827 mph

13} (R)Robert Doornbos, #14 OzJet/Mediamall...................58.569 sec/103.447 mph
14} (R)Matt Halliday, #42 42 Below....................................58.577 sec/103.433 mph

15} (R)Ryan Dalziel, #28 Ironclad......................................58.835 sec/102.980 mph
16} Roberto Moreno, #29 Imperial Capital Bank...................59.231 sec/102.291 mph#

17} Katherine Legge, #11 AMR/i-Rise...................................59.257 sec/102.246 mph

**--although Bourdais was stripped of his fastest lap in QS-2, as provisional polestter from QS-1, he was allowed to keep his front-row starting spot
#-substituting for Alex Figge in Sunday's race

[Julian Mayo]

~~note of interest.......race control stripped provisional polesitter Sebastien Bourdais of his fastest lap in QS-2; the reason cited was Bourdais' near-blatant blocking of competitor Will Power during the session(blocking in NA motorsports is essentially defined as changing one's driving line in an effort to prevent another competitor from passing them during a race; it is also defined[when it occurs in a qual. session] as either holding up another driver or, as above, changing one's driving line to slow down or block another competitor's attempt to set a fast qual. time).....as a result, race control stripped Bourdais of his fastest time, placing Power into P1 for Sunday's race


Grand Prix of Houston Starting Grid..............
1} Will Power, #5 Aussie Vineyards...................................57.405 sec/105.545 mph
2} Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's...............................57.653 sec/105.091 mph**

3} Justin Wilson, #9 CDW................................................57.533 sec/105.310 mph
4} (R)Neel Jani, #21 Red Bull/Gulfstream..........................57.753 sec/104.909 mph

5} Oriol Servia, #3 Indeck/Forsythe.................................57.790 sec/104.840 mph
6} (R)Graham Rahal, #2 Medi/Zone.................................57.896 sec/104.650 mph

7} (R)Simon Pagenaud, #15 Aussie Vineyards...................57.929 sec/104.590 mph
8} (R)Tristan Gommendy, #22 Pay by Touch/Megaspiera....58.026 sec/104.415 mph

9} Mario Dominguez, #7 Telmex/Indeck............................58.079 sec/104.320 mph
10} Bruno Junquiera, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ.................58.181 sec/104.137 mph

11} Alex Tagliani, #8 LXN2/Wal-Mart Canada.....................58.261 sec/103.994 mph
12} Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Below...............58.355 sec/103.827 mph

13} (R)Robert Doornbos, #14 OzJet/Mediamall...................58.569 sec/103.447 mph
14} (R)Matt Halliday, #42 42 Below....................................58.577 sec/103.433 mph

15} (R)Ryan Dalziel, #28 Ironclad......................................58.835 sec/102.980 mph
16} Roberto Moreno, #29 Imperial Capital Bank...................59.231 sec/102.291 mph#

17} Katherine Legge, #11 AMR/i-Rise...................................59.257 sec/102.246 mph

**--although Bourdais was stripped of his fastest lap in QS-2, as provisional polestter from QS-1, he was allowed to keep his front-row starting spot
#-substituting for Alex Figge in Sunday's race

Methinks Sebass is feeling nervous

[mlittle]

~~note of interest.......race control stripped provisional polesitter Sebastien Bourdais of his fastest lap in QS-2; the reason cited was Bourdais' near-blatant blocking of competitor Will Power during the session(blocking in NA motorsports is essentially defined as changing one's driving line in an effort to prevent another competitor from passing them during a race; it is also defined[when it occurs in a qual. session] as either holding up another driver or, as above, changing one's driving line to slow down or block another competitor's attempt to set a fast qual. time).....as a result, race control stripped Bourdais of his fastest time, placing Power into P1 for Sunday's race


Grand Prix of Houston Starting Grid..............
1} Will Power, #5 Aussie Vineyards...................................57.405 sec/105.545 mph
2} Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's...............................57.653 sec/105.091 mph**

3} Justin Wilson, #9 CDW................................................57.533 sec/105.310 mph
4} (R)Neel Jani, #21 Red Bull/Gulfstream..........................57.753 sec/104.909 mph

5} Oriol Servia, #3 Indeck/Forsythe.................................57.790 sec/104.840 mph
6} (R)Graham Rahal, #2 Medi/Zone.................................57.896 sec/104.650 mph

7} (R)Simon Pagenaud, #15 Aussie Vineyards...................57.929 sec/104.590 mph
8} (R)Tristan Gommendy, #22 Pay by Touch/Megaspiera....58.026 sec/104.415 mph

9} Mario Dominguez, #7 Telmex/Indeck............................58.079 sec/104.320 mph
10} Bruno Junquiera, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ.................58.181 sec/104.137 mph

11} Alex Tagliani, #8 LXN2/Wal-Mart Canada.....................58.261 sec/103.994 mph
12} Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Below...............58.355 sec/103.827 mph

13} (R)Robert Doornbos, #14 OzJet/Mediamall...................58.569 sec/103.447 mph
14} (R)Matt Halliday, #42 42 Below....................................58.577 sec/103.433 mph

15} (R)Ryan Dalziel, #28 Ironclad......................................58.835 sec/102.980 mph
16} Roberto Moreno, #29 Imperial Capital Bank...................59.231 sec/102.291 mph#

17} Katherine Legge, #11 AMR/i-Rise...................................59.257 sec/102.246 mph

**--although Bourdais was stripped of his fastest lap in QS-2, as provisional polestter from QS-1, he was allowed to keep his front-row starting spot
#-substituting for Alex Figge in Sunday's race

Methinks Sebass is feeling nervous

Must not have affected him, Julian.........SeaBass won.

[mlittle]

It was a 1-2 finish for Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing as 3-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais and 18-yr. old rookie Graham Rahal finished 1st and 2nd at today's Grand Prix of Houston............here's a recap of the activity.

~~After an aborted first start, the field took the green flag on lap 2 and Team Australia's Will Power got the jump on Bourdais, only to see Bourdais jump the chicane at turn 1-2(Bourdais was ordered on lap 4 to relinquish the lead, which he did to RuSport's Justin Wilson, who had passed Power to take 2nd)
~~Wilson's lead lasted all of 10 laps, when Bourdais re-took the lead with an inside pass through the chicane
~~Bourdais held on to the lead through the first round of stops during a full-course caution while Wilson lost spots during his stop
~~things got worse for the lanky Brit when he and Power got together at turn 4, cutting Wilson's left-rear tire and causing damage to Power's car; after the two had pitted for repairs, Power added insult to injury by passing Wilson at the same spot later on
~~things really got interesting a few laps later when Katherine Legge tried to slip down the inside of the 1-2 chicane, taking both her and PKV's Neel Jani out; seconds later, Dan Clarke's day ended when he hit the right-rear of Legge's car, putting him out of the race
~~late in the race, the other PKV entry of Tristan Gommendy led over Sebastien Bourdais, trying to stretch out his fuel....it didn't work; just as at Long Beach, Gommendy ran short on fuel..........unlike LB, when Gommendy was able to pit, he ran out of fuel just within sight of pit lane, handing the lead to Bourdais, who held on to win
~~for Bourdais, it was his 25th career win in ChampCar competition, tying him for 11th on the all-time list with Gordon Johncock; for Rahal, his second-place finish set the all-time record for youngest driver ever with a podium finish


Here is the top-10 from Houston....................
1st} #1 Sebastien Bourdais.........................................93 laps
2nd} (R)#2 Graham Rahal..........................................-4.818 sec
3rd} (R)#14 Robert Doornbos.....................................-7.060 sec
4th} #3 Oriol Servia...................................................-8.749 sec
5th} (R)#15 Simon Pagenaud.....................................-9.453 sec
6th} #7 Mario Dominguez...........................................-19.078 sec
7th} #19 Bruno Junquiera...........................................-19.780 sec
8th} (R)#28 Ryan Dalziel............................................-20.329 sec
9th} #8 Alex Tagliani..................................................-25.062 sec
10th} #9 Justin Wilson................................................-28.539 sec

[RE30B#16]

It was a 1-2 finish for Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing as 3-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais and 18-yr. old rookie Graham Rahal finished 1st and 2nd at today's Grand Prix of Houston............here's a recap of the activity.

I predicted SeaBass would take this race. Great comeback for Graham Rahal after stuffing it before turn 1 in Vegas. I am not as well versed with the CCWS points system, but I believe ex-F1 pilot Robert "Doornobs" Doornbos is in first place in the points now with two top 3 finishes. If not, he must be second!