2007 CCWS Rd. 13--Lexmark Indy 300

All about the Champ Car World Series (CCWS)

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Who will win in Surfers Paradise?

Poll ended at Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:21 am

Will Power
1
100%
Justin Wilson
0
No votes
Robert Doornbos
0
No votes
Alex Tagliani
0
No votes
a previous event winner
0
No votes
a previous event winner
0
No votes
none of the above
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 1

mlittle
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2007 CCWS Rd. 13--Lexmark Indy 300

Post by mlittle » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:21 am

Every major racing series at a couple of races that help to highlight the racing season.......in the Champ Car World Series, there's 4 of them..........at the beginning of the season, the focus is on the Queen Mary, Shoreline Drive and the streets of Long Beach, Ca. Midseason, there's the twin bills of Cleveland and Toronto............then there is the once-a-year Trans-Pacific trip to what is IMO one of the toughest street circuits in the world, Surfers Paradise on Australia's Gold Coast. Since 1991, the stars of the ChampCar series have made their mark upon this 2.7+ mile patch of Aussie blacktop and 2007 should be no different!

With two rounds remaining in the season, the focus will be on a couple of the frontrunners--for points leader Sebastien Bourdais, he has the dual chances of becoming the first repeat winner at Surfers and he can, barring disaster, clinch a precedent-setting 4th Vanderbilt Cup. For the lanky Brit, Justin Wilson, fresh from his win at Assen, it's another chance to keep Bourdais from hoisting the Cup outside North America. And expect lots of attention to shine on Queenslander Will Power, who has run well in his two previous visits and who, by winning at Las Vegas in the season opener, became the first person from the land down Under to win a ChampCar race. Can he hoist the winner's trophy on home soil?

note.......an official event schedule has not been posted on the ChampCar website; there will be on-track activity 19-21 October
Last edited by mlittle on Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by mlittle » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:25 am

Past Surfers Paradise Event Winners................................

--1991, John Andretti
--1992, Emerson Fittipaldi
--1993, Nigel Mansell
--1994, Michael Andretti
--1995, Paul Tracy*
--1996, Jimmy Vasser
--1997, Scott Pruett
--1998, Alex Zanardi
--1999, Dario Franchitti
--2000, Adrian Fernandez
--2001, Cristiano da Matta
--2002, Mario Dominguez
--2003, Ryan Hunter-Reay
--2004, Bruno Junquiera*
--2005, Sebastien Bourdais*
--2006, Nelson Phillipe

*--active ChampCar driver
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Post by mlittle » Sun Sep 30, 2007 1:33 pm

Lexmark Indy 300 Event Schedule.........................................................
note....all times local

19 October 2007, Practice Session 1(10-11:15 am)
19 October 2007, Qualifying Session 1(1:55-2:55 pm)
20 October 2007, Practice Session 2(10-11:15 am)
20 October 2007, Qualifying Session 2(2-3 pm)
21 October 2007, Warm-Up(9-9:30 am)
21 October 2007, Lexmark Indy 300(live, ESPN Classic-11:30 pm US EDT on 20 October 2007)
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Driver change at Conquest Racing....................

Post by mlittle » Thu Oct 04, 2007 2:34 pm

For the second time this year, Conquest Racing has changed its' driver lineup as 2006 Surfers' winner Nelson Phillipe will step in for Jan Heylen in the two final races of the 2007 ChampCar season, with sponsorship for both the Surfers Paradise and Mexico City races courtesy of Juniper Property Development Group(Juniper PDG)........here are some quotes from those involved:

Nelson Phillipe, #34 Juniper PDG:
I'm thrilled to be back and no better time than now with Surfers Paradise around the corner. It's been a challenge to be (on the sidelines) this year, but things happen for a reason and right now its' full steam ahead for Australia and Mexico.
Eric Bachelart, Owner--Conquest Racing:
It's great to have Nelson back where he belongs in Champ Car and with Conquest. He was a great driver the past three years; we expect he'll do very well despite his time away from the series. He's a skilled, smart driver who knows how to win.
Steve Johnson, President--Champ Car World Series:
We couldn't be more pleased with Phillipe's return. We're sorry that the opportunity came at the expense of another driver, Jan Heylen, but we expect to see Jan back in Champ Car real soon.

Image
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Post by mlittle » Thu Oct 18, 2007 12:36 pm

Bridgestone Fast Facts...........................

Event} Lexmark Indy 300
Where} Surfers Paradise, Australia
When} 19-21 October 2007


Entry List........................
Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's
(R)Graham Rahal, #2 Medi/Zone
Paul Tracy, #3 Indeck/Monster Energy Drink
Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Power
Will Power, #5 Aussie Vineyards
David Martinez, #7 Indeck/Roshfrans
Alex Tagliani, #8 LXN2/Tide
Justin Wilson, #9 CDW
Katherine Legge, #11 i-Rise/AMR
(R)Robert Doornbos, #14 Muermans/OzJet
(R)Simon Pagenaud, #15 Aussie Vineyards
Bruno Junquiera, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ
(R)Neel Jani, #21 Red Bull/Gulfstream
Oriol Servia, #22 Gulfstream
Mario Dominguez, #28 Ironclad
(R)Alex Figge, #29 Molecule Labs
Nelson Phillipe, #34 Juniper P.D.G.
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ChampCar penalizes several drivers prior to race weekend....

Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 19, 2007 7:08 am

Back at the most recent ChampCar race in Assen, Holland in early September a ECU software glitch came up that effectively prevented drivers from using the "push-to-pass" or "boost" function in their 750hp Cosworth XFE-3 engines(the boost function adds 50-75hp extra depending on which track they're at during a race weekend); during the Assen race, several drivers complained that when they hit the boost button on their steering wheels, the pit speed limiter came up instead(instead of getting extra boost, they got their speed cut down to 70 mph....in some cases, down to 45 mph..... :evil: :shock: :shock: ). At the time, ChampCar's chief steward, Tony Cotman, warned that any drivers caught using the boost function after being ordered not to would lose part of their boost allotment of 75 seconds at the next race in Surfers Paradise.........

Well, as the saying goes.....the chickens have come home to roost; series officials have released a list of the drivers who got nailed by ChampCar for violating the chief steward's orders at Assen; the list includes:
--Will Power, Team Australia
--Dan Clarke, Minardi Team USA
--Neel Jani, PKV Racing
--Bruno Junquiera, Dale Coyne Racing
--Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia

According to ChampCar officials, those penalized above will lose around 40% of their alloted boost time for the 1 hr., 45 min. race(instead of 75 seconds, the four above will only have 45 seconds)
Last edited by mlittle on Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 19, 2007 2:26 pm

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

1st} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing.....................1:32.754 sec
2nd} Oriol Servia, PKV Racing...........................1:32.939 sec
3rd} Will Power, Team Australia.........................1:33.129 sec
4th} Bruno Junquiera, Dale Coyne Racing...........1:33.220 sec
5th} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing..................1:33.278 sec
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Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:08 pm

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

1st} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing..................1:31.415 sec
2nd} Will Power, Team Australia.....................1:31.861 sec
3rd} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing...............1:32.101 sec
4th} Paul Tracy, Forsythe Champ. Racing.........1:32.195 sec
5th} Oriol Servia, PKV Racing..........................1:32.356 sec
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Servia picks up the provisional point Down Under............

Post by mlittle » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:14 pm

It has been a bumpy few weeks for Oriol Servia; first he gets gassed by Forsythe, then gets picked up by PKV Racing...........only to draw first blood as Servia set the fastest time in the QS-1 session Friday at Surfers Paradise, earning the one championship point and the guaranteed front-row starting spot that goes with the provisional pole.........

Provisional top-5......................
1st} Oriol Servia, PKV Racing............................1:30.862 sec
2nd} Will Power, Team Australia........................1:30.895 sec
3rd} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing.....................1:31.365 sec
4th} Paul Tracy, Forsythe Champ. Racing............1:31.820 sec
5th}(R)Neel Jani, PKV Racing..............................1:32.520 sec
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Post by mlittle » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:49 pm

Surfers Paradise Practice Session #3 top-5............................
1st} Oriol Servia, PKV Racing.............................1:31.225 sec
2nd} Will Power, Team Australia.........................1:31.229 sec
3rd} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing......................1:31.308 sec
4th} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing...................1:31.531 sec
5th} Mario Dominguez, Pacific Coast Mtrspts.........1:31.948 sec
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Post by mlittle » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:51 pm

Surfers Paradise Practice Session #4 top-5.............................................
1st} Will Power, Team Australia..........................1:32.265 sec
2nd} Paul Tracy, Forsythe Champ. Racing...........1:32.723 sec
3rd}(R)Robert Doornbos, Minardi Team USA........1:32.980 sec
4th} Dan Clarke, Minardi Team USA....................1:33.059 sec
5th}(R)Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia..............1:33.429 sec
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Post by mlittle » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:19 am

Lexmark Indy 300 Starting Grid...............................................

1st} Will Power, Team Australia..............................1:30.054 sec
2nd} Oriol Servia, PKV Racing................................1:30.693 sec**

3rd} Paul Tracy, Forsythe Champ. Racing................1:30.426 sec
4th} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing.......................1:30.438 sec

5th} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing..........................1:30.586 sec
6th}(R)Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia.................1:31.038 sec

7th} Bruno Junquiera, Dale Coyne Racing................1:31.212 sec
8th}(R)Neel Jani, PKV Racing..................................1:31.281 sec

9th}(R)Graham Rahal, NHL Racing...........................1:31.347 sec
10th} Dan Clarke, Minardi Team USA.......................1:31.413 sec

11th} Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports.............................1:31.664 sec
12th} Mario Dominguez, Pacific Coast Mtrspts............1:31.746 sec

13th} Nelson Phillipe, Conquest Racing......................1:31.842 sec
14th}(R)Robert Doornbos, Minardi Team USA.............1:31.969 sec

15th}(R)Alex Figge, Pacific Coast Mtrspts...................1:32.458 sec
16th} Katherine Legge, Dale Coyne Racing.................1:32.694 sec

17th} David Martinez, Forsythe Champ. Racing...........1:33.892 sec
**--Servia's time was set in QS-1, under ChampCar rules, the provisional pole winner from QS-1 is guaranteed a front-row starting spot regardless of his or her time from QS-2
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Championship day Down Under......................

Post by mlittle » Sun Oct 21, 2007 7:03 pm

**SPOILER ALERT**

For the past 16 years, there had never been a repeat winner in Surfers Paradise.....unitl Sebastien Bourdais, F1-bound, ended that streak in style, holding off RuSport's Justin Wilson to win and, in the process, winning his 4th consecutive Vanderbilt Cup title in the process......SeaBass, who merely needed to finish 12th or better to clinch, said following the race that he felt no pressure to perform, noting that,
It was one of those races where I decided to have fun with it and give it all we had. To win the race, win the championship (and) be the first repeat winner in Surfers--what a day!"
At the drop of the lights(mod's note.....I'm actually starting to like these heah' standing starts..... :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: ), every car sans that of Bruno Junquiera made it off the starting line; timely work by his pitcrew got him out ontrack without losing a lap, but he would have to save fuel for most of the race to make up the time; Junky would later finish on the posium in third.

For the second year in a row, Surfers' home favorite, Aussie Will Power, saw his chances at a win disappear........last year it was SeaBass's dive-bomb of a pass that did him in; this year's went as follows.....after the drop of the lights, Power had roared out to the early lead and held it until the first round of stops when his pitcrew waved him out after his stop....right as Forsythe's David Martinez was pulling into his pitstall; the ensuing tap damaged the front-left wishbone on Power's car. Power, despite this, charged his way back frow the rear of the field only to make contact w/DCR's Katherine Legge, ending his day with a 16th-place finish.

For SeaBass's former teammate, Bruno Junquiera, his podium finish marked the end of a very eventful day for the driver of the Sonny's Real-Pit-BBQ Panoz(it was Junky's 100th career ChampCar start.... :clap: :clap: :clap: ).....to summarize:
~~prior to the race, his team replaced the XFE-3 engine in his car due to an oil leak in the other engine
~~at the start, his car stalled; his pitcrew retrieved him off the track, got him fired up and got him out before losing a lap
~~throughout the race he had to constantly save fuel, but in the end it got him and Dale Coyne's squad their third consecutive podium

Image

After the race, Bourdais, who concludes his NA motorsports career next month at Hermanos Rodriguez before heading off to Formula 1, was asked in the post-race press conference about his time with Newman-Haas-Lanigan over the past five years.....
I give these guys my total dedication; we've been really working hard together, as I said (earlier), for these past five years. You know, I just couldn't stand myself if I didn't give it all I had until the very end. They deserve the very best, and we're going to do just that. Obviously to win (the) championship with a win today means a lot; at least we'll be in a mood to celebrate and have a great party. There's one more race to go (in Mexico City) and we'll just give it our very best there also. It's a place that's been very good to us over the past few years and now we'll try and have some fun there one more time and, (hopefully) a win there as well.

Top-10 from the "Concrete Canyons" of Surfers Paradise.........................
1st} #1 Sebastien Bourdais...............................61 laps
2nd} #9 Justin Wilson........................................-6.775 sec
3rd} #19 Bruno Junquiera..................................-50.896 sec
4th}(R)#14 Robert Doornbos..............................-1:02.360 sec
5th}(R)#15 Simon Pagenaud..............................-1:03.410 sec
6th} #34 Nelson Phillipe.....................................-1:09.010 sec
7th} #8 Alex Tagliani.........................................-1:12.290 sec
8th}(R)#21 Neel Jani.........................................-1:29.789 sec
9th} #3 Paul Tracy............................................-1:48.614 sec
10th} #7 David Martinez....................................-1 lap

note.......the race aired live in North America at 11:30 PM US EDT on Saturday Oct. 20th; a re-air is scheduled for Sunday afternoon....hence the SPOILER ALERT at the top of the screen................
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