Title: The Toyota GP of Long Beach
The Saint - April 8, 2007 03:23 PM (GMT)
The Saint - April 13, 2007 08:11 PM (GMT)
Practice Session 1 Results
1 S. Bourdais 1 Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 1:08.857 102.891 165.587
2 M. Dominguez 7 Forsythe Championship Racing 1:09.145 102.463 164.898 0.288
3 W. Power 5 Team Australia 1:09.506 101.931 164.042 0.649 0.361
4 S. Pagenaud 15 Team Australia 1:09.749 101.576 163.470 0.892 0.243
5 A. Tagliani 8 RSPORTS 1:09.756 101.565 163.453 0.899 0.007
6 P. Tracy 3 Forsythe Championship Racing 1:09.858 101.417 163.214 1.001 0.102
7 B. Junqueira 19 Dale Coyne Racing 1:09.971 101.253 162.951 1.114 0.113
8 J. Wilson 9 RSPORTS 1:09.984 101.235 162.922 1.127 0.013
9 N. Jani 21 PKV Racing 1:09.985 101.233 162.918 1.128 0.001
10 T. Gommendy 22 PKV Racing 1:10.139 101.011 162.561 1.282 0.154
11 R. Doornbos 14 Minardi Team USA 1:10.497 100.498 161.735 1.640 0.358
12 G. Rahal 2 Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 1:10.520 100.465 161.682 1.663 0.023
13 M. Halliday 42 Conquest Racing 1:10.604 100.346 161.491 1.747 0.084
14 K. Legge 11 Dale Coyne Racing 1:10.780 100.096 161.088 1.923 0.176
15 R. Dalziel 28 Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:10.848 100.000 160.934 1.991 0.068
16 D. Clarke 4 Minardi Team USA 1:10.974 99.822 160.648 2.117 0.126
17 A. Figge 29 Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:11.068 99.690 160.435 2.211 0.094
1 S. Bourdais 1 Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 1:08.857 102.891 165.587
2 M. Dominguez 7 Forsythe Championship Racing 1:09.145 102.463 164.898 0.288
3 W. Power 5 Team Australia 1:09.506 101.931 164.042 0.649 0.361
4 S. Pagenaud 15 Team Australia 1:09.749 101.576 163.470 0.892 0.243
5 A. Tagliani 8 RSPORTS 1:09.756 101.565 163.453 0.899 0.007
6 P. Tracy 3 Forsythe Championship Racing 1:09.858 101.417 163.214 1.001 0.102
7 B. Junqueira 19 Dale Coyne Racing 1:09.971 101.253 162.951 1.114 0.113
8 J. Wilson 9 RSPORTS 1:09.984 101.235 162.922 1.127 0.013
9 N. Jani 21 PKV Racing 1:09.985 101.233 162.918 1.128 0.001
10 T. Gommendy 22 PKV Racing 1:10.139 101.011 162.561 1.282 0.154
11 R. Doornbos 14 Minardi Team USA 1:10.497 100.498 161.735 1.640 0.358
12 G. Rahal 2 Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 1:10.520 100.465 161.682 1.663 0.023
13 M. Halliday 42 Conquest Racing 1:10.604 100.346 161.491 1.747 0.084
14 K. Legge 11 Dale Coyne Racing 1:10.780 100.096 161.088 1.923 0.176
15 R. Dalziel 28 Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:10.848 100.000 160.934 1.991 0.068
16 D. Clarke 4 Minardi Team USA 1:10.974 99.822 160.648 2.117 0.126
17 A. Figge 29 Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:11.068 99.690 160.435 2.211 0.094
The Saint - April 14, 2007 06:34 PM (GMT)
Power grabs provisional pole
(from Autosport)
Will Power headed a Team Australia 1-3 qualifying performance at Long Beach by beating Sebastien Bourdais with his final qualifying run.
The Australian, who won the opening race of the season in Las Vegas last week, proved his mastery of the world famous 1.968-mile course by using the harder compound black tyres to chalk up a 1:07.920 lap at an average speed of 104.311mph.
"On my first run I was finding it really hard to get a handling balance on the car," Power said, "and although I knew I could improve my time, at that point Sebastien was half a second up on us, I expected him to improve.
"But right at the end I found a clear lap and it was good enough."
Triple champion Bourdais, bouncing back from bad weekend in Vegas, was reasonably happy with his run, despite losing out at the final gasp to the championship leader.
The Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing pilot said: "It was a good session. We really needed to get it back together after our time in Las Vegas, and we did a good job. But well done, good job to Team Australia."
Bourdais' compatriot and Power's teammate Simon Pagenaud finished an impressive third after putting on red soft compound tyres.
"I only did two laps on the tyres, and there was more to come," The reigning Atlantic champion said.
"Even though I know this circuit, I still need to be careful in the first few laps because obviously the weight of the car and the speed you're taking into corners is very different.
"I will get better better, but it's still good to be here. And although I put on reds to try and take pole, it was interesting to do that because that means I have some feedback on the soft tyres to give Will and to use myself in final qualifying tomorrow."
Alex Tagliani of RSPORTS continued his strong start to the season with the fourth fastest time, but fellow Canadian Paul Tracy was gutted to miss out on the final run with a transmission failure.
Nonetheless, Tracy's fastest time was enough to leave him fifth, with Forsythe Championship Racing teammate Mario Dominguez starting alongside in sixth.
Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing ended within 0.7 seconds of team leader Bruno Junqueira, while Alex Figge - a rookie driver with a rookie team - put the Pacific Coast Motorsports car into 11th.
Matos on Atlantics Pole
Meanwhile, earlier this afternoon, Las Vegas race winner Raphael Matos put his Sierra Sierra car on provisional pole for the Atlantic race.
Matos was followed by Californian Jonathan Bomarito of PR1 Motorsports, and the remarkable Alan Sciuto, who is running his own car, having been deserted at the eleventh hour pre-season by the demise of Gelles Racing's Atlantic squad.
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, qualifying 1 results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Will Power Team Australia 1:07.920
2. Sebastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:07.970 + 0.050
3. Simon Pagenaud Team Australia 1:08.200 + 0.280
4. Alex Tagliani RSPORTS 1:08.304 + 0.384
5. Paul Tracy Forsythe Championship 1:08.573 + 0.653
6. Mario Dominguez Forsythe Championship 1:08.708 + 0.788
7. Tristan Gommendy PKV 1:08.823 + 0.903
8. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:09.063 + 1.143
9. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:09.099 + 1.179
10. Justin Wilson RSPORTS 1:09.553 + 1.633
11. Alex Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:09.585 + 1.665
12. Katherine Legge Dale Coyne 1:09.766 + 1.846
13. Dan Clarke Minardi Team USA 1:09.773 + 1.853
14. Ryan Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:09.790 + 1.870
15. Robert Doornbos Minardi Team USA 1:09.865 + 1.945
16. Neel Jani PKV 1:09.991 + 2.071
17. Matthew Halliday Conquest 1:10.155 + 2.235
Justin Wilson seems to be having a difficult year. Only he and AJ Almendinger took the fight to Bordais last season. I was hoping that he would secure a drive for Forsythe this season, I think RuSPort are less than his worth.
(from Autosport)
Will Power headed a Team Australia 1-3 qualifying performance at Long Beach by beating Sebastien Bourdais with his final qualifying run.
The Australian, who won the opening race of the season in Las Vegas last week, proved his mastery of the world famous 1.968-mile course by using the harder compound black tyres to chalk up a 1:07.920 lap at an average speed of 104.311mph.
"On my first run I was finding it really hard to get a handling balance on the car," Power said, "and although I knew I could improve my time, at that point Sebastien was half a second up on us, I expected him to improve.
"But right at the end I found a clear lap and it was good enough."
Triple champion Bourdais, bouncing back from bad weekend in Vegas, was reasonably happy with his run, despite losing out at the final gasp to the championship leader.
The Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing pilot said: "It was a good session. We really needed to get it back together after our time in Las Vegas, and we did a good job. But well done, good job to Team Australia."
Bourdais' compatriot and Power's teammate Simon Pagenaud finished an impressive third after putting on red soft compound tyres.
"I only did two laps on the tyres, and there was more to come," The reigning Atlantic champion said.
"Even though I know this circuit, I still need to be careful in the first few laps because obviously the weight of the car and the speed you're taking into corners is very different.
"I will get better better, but it's still good to be here. And although I put on reds to try and take pole, it was interesting to do that because that means I have some feedback on the soft tyres to give Will and to use myself in final qualifying tomorrow."
Alex Tagliani of RSPORTS continued his strong start to the season with the fourth fastest time, but fellow Canadian Paul Tracy was gutted to miss out on the final run with a transmission failure.
Nonetheless, Tracy's fastest time was enough to leave him fifth, with Forsythe Championship Racing teammate Mario Dominguez starting alongside in sixth.
Katherine Legge of Dale Coyne Racing ended within 0.7 seconds of team leader Bruno Junqueira, while Alex Figge - a rookie driver with a rookie team - put the Pacific Coast Motorsports car into 11th.
Matos on Atlantics Pole
Meanwhile, earlier this afternoon, Las Vegas race winner Raphael Matos put his Sierra Sierra car on provisional pole for the Atlantic race.
Matos was followed by Californian Jonathan Bomarito of PR1 Motorsports, and the remarkable Alan Sciuto, who is running his own car, having been deserted at the eleventh hour pre-season by the demise of Gelles Racing's Atlantic squad.
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, qualifying 1 results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Will Power Team Australia 1:07.920
2. Sebastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:07.970 + 0.050
3. Simon Pagenaud Team Australia 1:08.200 + 0.280
4. Alex Tagliani RSPORTS 1:08.304 + 0.384
5. Paul Tracy Forsythe Championship 1:08.573 + 0.653
6. Mario Dominguez Forsythe Championship 1:08.708 + 0.788
7. Tristan Gommendy PKV 1:08.823 + 0.903
8. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:09.063 + 1.143
9. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne 1:09.099 + 1.179
10. Justin Wilson RSPORTS 1:09.553 + 1.633
11. Alex Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:09.585 + 1.665
12. Katherine Legge Dale Coyne 1:09.766 + 1.846
13. Dan Clarke Minardi Team USA 1:09.773 + 1.853
14. Ryan Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:09.790 + 1.870
15. Robert Doornbos Minardi Team USA 1:09.865 + 1.945
16. Neel Jani PKV 1:09.991 + 2.071
17. Matthew Halliday Conquest 1:10.155 + 2.235
Justin Wilson seems to be having a difficult year. Only he and AJ Almendinger took the fight to Bordais last season. I was hoping that he would secure a drive for Forsythe this season, I think RuSPort are less than his worth.
stradlin22 - April 15, 2007 12:22 AM (GMT)
Paul Tracy will miss this weekends race with compression injury to his back after a bad crash
Oriol Servia will replace him, who ironically was talking about trying to get a race seat when he was commentating on Eurosport last week
Oriol Servia will replace him, who ironically was talking about trying to get a race seat when he was commentating on Eurosport last week
The Saint - April 15, 2007 03:24 AM (GMT)
Bourdais takes Long Beach pole
From Autosport
Sebastien Bourdais continued his strong form at Long Beach to take pole position ahead of Team Australia's Will Power.
Through morning practice, the Frenchman had appeared to turn the tables on Power's supreme pace from Friday, and the Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver confirmed that by beating the Australian by 0.15 seconds
It was his second pole at Long Beach and his team's tenth at the circuit regarded as the jewel in Champ Car's crown.
His rookie teammate Graham Rahal also improved enormously on his performance from Las Vegas, as he placed his car in fifth position with a time 0.624 seconds adrift of his team leader.
However, the American will still start behind the man who beat him to the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic crown, as Simon Pagenaud will start third in the second Team Australia car.
Alongside him on the grid will be Alex Tagliani, who for the second consecutive race placed his RSPORTS car fourth fastest, again ahead of teammate Justin Wilson.
Wilson nonetheless improved on his performance from yesterday though, and clocked seventh best time.
Top of the rookies who have never visited this circuit before was Robert Doornbos who recovered from a difficult start to the weekend to take sixth place on the grid.
Bruno Junqueira was eighth fastest for Dale Coyne Racing, but his teammate Katherine Legge ruined the climax of the session by spinning with less than three minutes to go, bringing out the red flag. The Briton will start last.
Her former teammate Oriol Servia predictably struggled to show his best in his first drive of a Champ Car for two months as he adapted to a car built around the injured Paul Tracy.
He will start 14th, but he is within half a second of his Forsythe teammate Mario Dominguez who is 10th.
Earlier in the day Atlantic championship leader Raphael Matos (Sierra Sierra Enterprises) took pole for this weekend's race, beating impressive rookie Frank Perera of Condor Motorsports, and local hero Jonathan Bomarito of PR1 Motorsports.
Qualifying results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. S. Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:07.546
2. W. Power Team Australia + 0.149
3. S. Pagenaud Team Australia + 0.337
4. A. Tagliani RSPORTS + 0.501
5. G. Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 0.624
6. R. Doornbos Minardi Team USA + 0.637
7. J. Wilson RSPORTS + 0.654
8. B. Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing + 0.884
9. T. Gommendy PKV Racing + 0.981
10. M. Dominguez Forsythe Championship + 1.008
11. N. Jani PKV Racing + 1.063
12. M. Halliday Conquest Racing + 1.318
13. D. Clarke Minardi Team USA + 1.344
14. O. Servia Forsythe Championship + 1.376
15. R. Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports + 1.524
16. A. Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports + 1.605
17. K. Legge Dale Coyne Racing + 2.872
From Autosport
Sebastien Bourdais continued his strong form at Long Beach to take pole position ahead of Team Australia's Will Power.
Through morning practice, the Frenchman had appeared to turn the tables on Power's supreme pace from Friday, and the Newman/Haas/Lanigan driver confirmed that by beating the Australian by 0.15 seconds
It was his second pole at Long Beach and his team's tenth at the circuit regarded as the jewel in Champ Car's crown.
His rookie teammate Graham Rahal also improved enormously on his performance from Las Vegas, as he placed his car in fifth position with a time 0.624 seconds adrift of his team leader.
However, the American will still start behind the man who beat him to the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic crown, as Simon Pagenaud will start third in the second Team Australia car.
Alongside him on the grid will be Alex Tagliani, who for the second consecutive race placed his RSPORTS car fourth fastest, again ahead of teammate Justin Wilson.
Wilson nonetheless improved on his performance from yesterday though, and clocked seventh best time.
Top of the rookies who have never visited this circuit before was Robert Doornbos who recovered from a difficult start to the weekend to take sixth place on the grid.
Bruno Junqueira was eighth fastest for Dale Coyne Racing, but his teammate Katherine Legge ruined the climax of the session by spinning with less than three minutes to go, bringing out the red flag. The Briton will start last.
Her former teammate Oriol Servia predictably struggled to show his best in his first drive of a Champ Car for two months as he adapted to a car built around the injured Paul Tracy.
He will start 14th, but he is within half a second of his Forsythe teammate Mario Dominguez who is 10th.
Earlier in the day Atlantic championship leader Raphael Matos (Sierra Sierra Enterprises) took pole for this weekend's race, beating impressive rookie Frank Perera of Condor Motorsports, and local hero Jonathan Bomarito of PR1 Motorsports.
Qualifying results:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. S. Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan 1:07.546
2. W. Power Team Australia + 0.149
3. S. Pagenaud Team Australia + 0.337
4. A. Tagliani RSPORTS + 0.501
5. G. Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 0.624
6. R. Doornbos Minardi Team USA + 0.637
7. J. Wilson RSPORTS + 0.654
8. B. Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing + 0.884
9. T. Gommendy PKV Racing + 0.981
10. M. Dominguez Forsythe Championship + 1.008
11. N. Jani PKV Racing + 1.063
12. M. Halliday Conquest Racing + 1.318
13. D. Clarke Minardi Team USA + 1.344
14. O. Servia Forsythe Championship + 1.376
15. R. Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports + 1.524
16. A. Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports + 1.605
17. K. Legge Dale Coyne Racing + 2.872
stradlin22 - April 15, 2007 10:38 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (The Saint @ Apr 14 2007, 07:34 PM) |
| and the remarkable Alan Sciuto, who is running his own car, having been deserted at the eleventh hour pre-season by the demise of Gelles Racing's Atlantic squad. |
Gelles Racing, who are running just a one car team this season in Atlantics, actually intended in moving up to Champ Car this season and went as far as ordering some DP01 chassis'
however everything fell through and the order was cancelled and they almost shut down completley
i think they lost alot of money over it all
Kevin Kalkhoven expected them to be on the grid aswell as a two car effort from Polestar Motorsports
stradlin22 - April 15, 2007 08:04 PM (GMT)
The race is about to start!
stradlin22 - April 15, 2007 08:17 PM (GMT)
well thats Dominguez done for the day!
stradlin22 - April 15, 2007 09:50 PM (GMT)
back to the norm!
a win for Seb
a win for Seb
wickedwitch - April 15, 2007 09:58 PM (GMT)
A superb drive by Servia I thought, Justin did as well as could be expected under the circumstances. Hope Figge is not too badly hurt after what looked like a very nasty accident.
The Saint - April 16, 2007 03:09 PM (GMT)
I am sorry, I was way too busy to report anything yesterday. I managed to watch the race in the evening and that is it.
The race was boring, boring, boring. The track was too narrow with few overtaking spots. So what we had was lots of cars running in line and hoping to get past the guys in front during the pit stops.
Bordais ran away with the race and never looked as though anyone would challenge him.
The gaps are flattering to the other drivers, Bordais would have had a gap of over a minute to no.2 if there had been no pace cars.
Snoozyworthy indeed.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Bourdais Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 1h40:43.975
2. Servia Forsythe Championship Racing + 2.614
3. Power Team Australia + 3.866
4. Wilson RSPORTS + 5.325
5. Tagliani RSPORTS + 6.179
6. Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing + 6.394
7. Jani PKV Racing + 7.710
8. Rahal Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing + 8.267
9. Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports + 8.962
10. Legge Dale Coyne Racing + 9.886
11. Gommendy PKV Racing + 10.335
12. Clarke Minardi Team USA + 1 Lap
13. Doornbos Minardi Team USA + 4 Laps
14. Pagenaud Team Australia + 5 Laps
15. Halliday Conquest Racing + 6 Laps
16. Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports + 9 Laps
17. Dominguez Forsythe Championship Racing + 69 Laps
The race was boring, boring, boring. The track was too narrow with few overtaking spots. So what we had was lots of cars running in line and hoping to get past the guys in front during the pit stops.
Bordais ran away with the race and never looked as though anyone would challenge him.
The gaps are flattering to the other drivers, Bordais would have had a gap of over a minute to no.2 if there had been no pace cars.
Snoozyworthy indeed.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Bourdais Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 1h40:43.975
2. Servia Forsythe Championship Racing + 2.614
3. Power Team Australia + 3.866
4. Wilson RSPORTS + 5.325
5. Tagliani RSPORTS + 6.179
6. Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing + 6.394
7. Jani PKV Racing + 7.710
8. Rahal Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing + 8.267
9. Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports + 8.962
10. Legge Dale Coyne Racing + 9.886
11. Gommendy PKV Racing + 10.335
12. Clarke Minardi Team USA + 1 Lap
13. Doornbos Minardi Team USA + 4 Laps
14. Pagenaud Team Australia + 5 Laps
15. Halliday Conquest Racing + 6 Laps
16. Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports + 9 Laps
17. Dominguez Forsythe Championship Racing + 69 Laps
stradlin22 - April 16, 2007 05:20 PM (GMT)
i thought the race was pretty bad aswell
didn't keep me entertained at all
didn't keep me entertained at all
The Saint - April 16, 2007 05:32 PM (GMT)
yup, lets hope Texas is more fun next week!
timmadigan - April 17, 2007 12:24 AM (GMT)
I didn't think it was that bad but Sebastian just dominated. You had some good fights in places and some passing at times, especially near the end.
I did love watching Seb follow Gommendy for a while and getting madder and madder he didn't just let him go by. Even his crew chief was bitching that all it was doing was wearing down Seb's tires (as if the other's cared ;) )
Overall, it was better than Vegas but that doesn't say much. Am definately looking forward to Houston (and am p1ssed at myself for not getting down there for the race - I had a wedding marked for the wrong weekend and didn't get cheap plane tickets on time :( )
I did love watching Seb follow Gommendy for a while and getting madder and madder he didn't just let him go by. Even his crew chief was bitching that all it was doing was wearing down Seb's tires (as if the other's cared ;) )
Overall, it was better than Vegas but that doesn't say much. Am definately looking forward to Houston (and am p1ssed at myself for not getting down there for the race - I had a wedding marked for the wrong weekend and didn't get cheap plane tickets on time :( )
Speedworx - April 17, 2007 10:11 PM (GMT)
Finally watched Long Beach. Much better than Vegas was.
Shame to see Paul get injured, but great to see Servia do so well.
Shame to see Paul get injured, but great to see Servia do so well.