FORMER TEAM MATES IN HOT PURSUIT OF FLYING FRENCHMAN
A pair of former team mates Justin Wilson and A.J Allmendinger are leading the pursuit for runaway series leader Sebastien Bourdais as the Champ Car World Series hits round six this weekend in Cleveland, Ohio.
Last week, Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing) had his four-race winning streak halted by both US pilot Allmendinger (Forsythe Championship Racing) and Briton Wilson (RuSPORT) in Portland to keep their championship aspirations well alive.
Allmendinger scored his first win in his burgeoning Champ Car career in what was his first race with new team Forsythe Championship Racing.
Prior to that Allmendinger was the team mate of Wilson at RuSPORT, including last year when he finished second in the Cleveland race.
The longest-running temporary circuit event on the Champ Car schedule, the Grand Prix of Cleveland provides one of the best settings on the circuit for spectators as fans can see nearly all of the 2.104-mile layout from their front-stretch grandstand seats.
“I really enjoy Cleveland,” said Allmendinger. “I enjoy it for the fans because the fans seem to love the race so much. For the fans, they can see the whole race track from anywhere in the seats.”
Bourdais’ third place finish last weekend in Portland still has him 30 points ahead of Wilson in the standings coming into this weekend’s 25th running of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland, with another 30 points back to Allmendinger.
Wilson, searching for his first 2006 win after four runner-up finishes in five starts, is the only driver in the series that could take the series lead from Bourdais in Cleveland.
“I expect it to be a tough race,” said Wilson. “It should also be very competitive with Sebastien, Paul, A.J. and Cristiano.
“I think they’re all going to be quick, and I hope that the CDW team can do a better job and come out on top.”
Both Bourdais and defending race winner Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) have a chance this weekend to inscribe their names even more prominently into the Cleveland annals, as they look to join Emerson Fittipaldi and Danny Sullivan as the only three-time winners of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland.
Tracy won from pole in Cleveland a year ago, taking advantage of his second consecutive Cleveland pole to lead 45 of 91 laps en route to his 30th career win.
Team Australia’s Alex Tagliani is still clinging to a top-10 spot in the points despite having to miss the Milwaukee event, and comes to Cleveland with a string of five consecutive top-10 finishes on the 2.104-mile street circuit.
Queensland team mate Will Power lost his lead in the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year at the previous round but is poised to make amends in Cleveland.
Englishman Dan Clarke (CTE Racing) used the best weekend of his Champ Car career to vault into the rookie lead, with a sixth-place finish enabling him to overtake Power and Englishwoman Katherine Legge (PKV Racing) in the standings.
Clarke’s run promoted him to the first spot where he holds a one-point lead over Legge, while Power - who ran the fastest lap of the race in Portland - is now four points behind Clarke in third.
“I look very forward to Cleveland - this will be my first time to race at this track,” said Power. “Cleveland is a lot faster, and a lot bumpier circuit, which is good for me because I normally do well on faster tracks.
“My number 5 Team Australia crew has put in a lot of effort to prepare my car for Cleveland. They all have lots of race experience and know a lot about the track which has been very helpful in preparing for the weekend.
We were quick there last year, so I’m really confident that this weekend will be a successful one for us.”
Round six of the Champ Car World Series in Cleveland will start with practice and qualifying sessions tomorrow and Saturday, and then the 97-lap race on Sunday.
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.