Justin Wilson and his #9/CDW/RuSPORT car missed securing a spot on the front row of Sunday’s Gran Premio Tecate presented by Banamex race by just .127/1000th of a second. Justin has always run well on the 2.77 mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, scoring a dominating win in 2005 and leading the 2006 race with a broken wrist, only to lose the lead with a six turns left on the last lap.
After a hectic Friday morning practice session that saw Justin and his #9/CDW team struggle with a multitude of issues, including a frightening lack of grip on a very dirty track, altitude-related engine problems and sick team members, they were able to pull it together and end the morning’s practice session in the first position.
"The track was so dirty this morning that trying to put down a good lap was nearly impossible until the last several minutes of the session," remarked Justin. "While we were in the pits sorting out our engine problems, the track kept getting better, so by the time we went out again, we went straight to P1, which is a good feeling heading into qualifying."
Through Friday afternoon’s qualifying, the #9/CDW car hovered in the top five, with Wilson, Sebastien Bourdais (#1/McDonald’s/Newman Haas Lanigan Racing) and Will Power (#5/Aussie Vineyards/Team Australia) trading the top three spots until Bourdais put down his best lap of 1m 24.698s. When the checkered flag dropped on the session, only Wilson was out on track in his last chance to better Bourdais’ time. A slight mistake in Turn 6 cost Wilson the pole and a guaranteed spot on the front row for Sunday’s race.
"Today is almost a replay of last year [Mexico City 2006] where we nearly had the pole, but just missed it," said Justin. "I was doing everything I could and slid wide in a couple of corners and made a small mistake in Turn 6 and I think it cost me the pole, but we will try again tomorrow.
When you start out front it’s much easier to focus on the job of winning. Hopefully the rest of the weekend will playout the same way and we can go out with a win."
ROCKETSPORTS MEXICO CITY NOTES & QUOTE – FRIDAY
After a good morning session in Mexico City, Alex Tagliani and his Rocketsports team worked hard to improve the car for the first round of qualifying, however, things did not go very well for the team and has left them scratching their heads looking for answers.
Tagliani ran ten laps this morning ... mehr
Event: The Grand Premio Tecate Presentado Por Banamex
Round: 14 of 14 in the 2007 Champ Car World Series
Where: Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City, Mexico – 2.774 permanent road course
TV: ESPN 2 at 2:00 pm ET November 11th
Hometown Hero: Recently honored with the title "The Official Driver of Mexico City" by mayor Marcelo Eb ... mehr
Pacific Coast Motorsports is proud to announce their partnership with TECATE for this weekend’s Gran Premio TECATE Presentado Por Banamex, the final round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series.
TECATE will be the primary sponsor of the #28 TECATE/Cosworth/Bridgestone driven by Mexican Superstar, Mario Dominguez. Team mate Alex Figge will also carry TECATE branding a ... mehr
Rocketsports Mexico City preview
Gran Premio Tecate Presented by Banamex
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico
Round 14 of 14 – Champ Car World Series
November 9-11, 2007
Prov. Qualifying: Friday, Novemb ... mehr
Graham Rahal has only one goal for the Champ Car World Series finale in Mexico City – victory. His rookie season of racing with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team, driving the Medi | Zone car has already produced four podium finishes and the elusive win is the aim for teenage racer, Rahal.
The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, named after Mexico’s most famous motor racing sons, Ri ... mehr
David Martinez and Ricardo Aladro
David Martinez announced today at a press conference held in Mexico City that AXTEL, a leading Mexican telecommunications company, will be an official sponsor of his Forsythe Racing’s #7 Champ Car at the Gran Premio Tecate, ... mehr
Nelson’s Momentum driving him to the top
After a top-six finish in his first race of the season, Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Soul / Opes Prime / Cosworth / DP01 / Bridgestone), is looking forward to a strong finish to the 2007 Champ Car World Series season ... mehr
With only one race remaining on the 2007 Champ Car World Series schedule, Minardi Team USA drivers Robert Doornbos and ‘Speedy’ Dan Clarke intend to end the year with a bang – the good kind, hopefully - and bring home another trophy.
Rookie Robert Doornbos finished a strong fourth in Surfers Paradise. Despite starting fourteenth, he made up ten positions and nearly scored ... mehr
Pacific Coast Motorsports, a two-car team in the Champ Car World Series will be featured on the January 14, 2008 episode of The History Channel’s "Modern Marvels."
The episode which was filmed Monday at the team’s Oxnard, California headquarters will be titled "Carbon" and will prominently feature PCM’s DP01 Champ Cars, team and corporate partners. The film crew for the h ... mehr
For the Team Australia, the Surfers Paradise rendezvous in Australia turned out to be special. Even if the team comes from Indianapolis (USA), its main sponsor Aussie Vineyards and one of the drivers are Australians. It increased the stakes and the pressure of the last but one r ... mehr
Pacific Coast Motorsports will test Atlantic standout Carl Skerlong in the #29 PCM/DP01/Cosworth/Bridgestone Champ Car at Buttownwillow Raceway on November 28th.
Skerlong’s rookie season featured two podium finishes en-route to his to ... mehr
Armed with a competitive car, Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Soul / Cosworth / DP01 / Bridgestone) was not ready to sit back and accept his 13th starting position on the grid. He knew this was going to be a difficult first race back in the Champ Car World Series, but he was able to take advantage of his previous race experience and success at the difficult Surfers Paradise circuit ... mehr
David Martinez proved today that he is ready to compete at the front in Champ Car regardless of the lack of experience that he has compared to the rest of the field and the fact that he hadn’t been in a race car for a year.
In what is considered the toughest track of the season, Martinez completed a successful race in which he managed to pick up many positions and finish ... mehr
Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Justin and the #9/CDW/RuSPORT team took home a well-earned second place in the Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Brisbane, Australia today. Sebastien Bourdais (Newman/Haas/Lanigan) claimed the victory and his fourth Champ Car Drivers Championship, while Bruno Junqueira, more than 40 seconds be ... mehr
SERVIA 14TH
SURFERS PARADISE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2007 -- Round #13 – 2007 Champ Car World Series season – PKV Racing finishes in eighth place with Neel Jani, while his team mate Oriol Servia finished 14th today in the Lexmark Indy 300 Champ Car Grand Prix on the 2.795-mile, 12-turn street course in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, A ... mehr
It was another exciting race in Surfers today for the 2007 Lexmark Indy 300, and despite starting the race at the back of the grid (in 14th), Minardi Team USA driver Robert Doornbos rebounded to score a top-four finish. He nearly came home with another podium but in the end finished fourth. For team-mate ‘Speedy’ Dan Clarke, his race began very well, moving up from tenth to eight ... mehr
Figge Hangs on for 13th without Brakes
The Lexmark Indy 300 - Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Alex Figge #29 Conrad Jupiters/DP01/Cosworth/Bridgestone
Started: 15th Finished: 13th Highest Race Position: 8th
Alex on the race: "I am a bit disappointed in ... mehr
It was a long weekend for the Rocketsports Racing team, and a long race today in Surfers Paradise, Australia that almost saw Alex Tagliani salvage a top-five finish, but team will take a top-ten result knowing they worked very hard to deserve it.
During the Warm Up session, Tagliani demonstrated that the team was ready to fight in today’s Lexmark Indy, by finish ... mehr
Surfers Paradise, Qld Australia (October 20, 2007) - After two days of re-familiarization with the Champ Car World Series and coming to grips with the new DP01, Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Soul / Cosworth / DP01 / Bridgestone) will start 13th on the grid for tomorrow’s Lexmark Indy 300. He and Conquest will be working to improve the package overnight and be looking forward to a ... mehr
NEEL JANI EIGHTH
Round #13 – 2007 Champ Car World Series season – PKV Racing qualified on the front row with Oriol Servia starting in second place while teammate Neel Jani places eighth for tomorrow’s Lexmark Indy 300 Champ Car Grand Prix in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.
Servia, #22 Pay By Touch PKV Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone car, q ... mehr
David Martinez completed the second day of activities for the Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise by qualifying on the ninth row for Sunday’s race. After being off the race tracks for almost a year, Martinez has used this race weekend to adapt to the 750 horsepower Champ ... mehr
After little, to almost no, time on track during Friday’s kick-off Champ Car activities for the Lexmark Indy 300, Rocketsports Racing was able to rebound by getting in quality track time and a suitable car for the final round of qualifying today in Surfers Paradise, Australia. ... mehr
The Lexmark Indy 300 - Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Alex Figge #29 Conrad Jupiters/DP01/Cosworth/Bridgestone
Saturday AM Practice 15th 1:33.519 107.593
Pre-Qual Warm-Up 9th 1:34.770 106.173
Saturday Qual ... mehr
It was not the best result for Minardi Team USA drivers Robert Doornbos and ‘Speedy’ Dan Clarke in today’s second round of qualifications at the Lexmark Indy 300 but both are looking to the race tomorrow, in which anything can happen. Dan will start the race in tenth position, ... mehr
Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
After their strong showing at Surfers Paradise on Friday, Justin and the #9/CDW/RuSPORT team continued to run competitively on Saturday, but didn’t have the results they hoped for. Justin was third quickest in morning p ... mehr
Justin and the #9/CDW/RuSPORT team made a fantastic start towards Sunday’s Lexmark Indy 300 in Surfers Paradise, Australia by topping the timesheets during both of Friday’s sessions. With Justin’s win at the last round in Assen, Holland, the #9/CDW team secured the first pitlane spot, just several yards from pit exit. Being the first car out on the very busy and often treacherous ... mehr
Alter almost a year Mexican driver David Martinez finally returned to Champ Car and completed his first laps around the tricky and complicated 2.795 mile temporary street circuit at Surfers Paradise, Australia.
The priority today for the Monterrey native was to complete as many laps as possible in order to familiarize himself with the track and even though he only manage ... mehr
An Unforgiving Track and New Rule Cause a Rough Start for Rocketsports Racing’s Tagliani Down Under
The Surfers Paradise, Australia street circuit is one of the most challenging and unforgiving tracks on the Champ Car World Series schedule, add that with a new Champ Car Friday-qualifying rule, and that equals a bad day for Rocketsports Racing and driver Al ... mehr
...Champ Car Grand Prix at Surfers Paradise (Australia)
JANI QUALIFIES 5TH
SURFERS PARADISE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -- FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2007 -- Round #13 – 2007 Champ Car World Series season – PKV Racing’s Oriol Servia has provisionally qualified in pole position today securing him a front row grid spot. His teammate Neel ... mehr
.. Effort for the Provisional Qualifying in Surfers Paradise
In his first qualifying session of the 2007 season, Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Soul / Cosworth / DP01 / Bridgestone) turned in a respectable top-ten qualifying time at today’s provisional session. His progression was slowed by the two red flags during the qualifying session but he was able to ta ... mehr
It was the first day on track at the beautiful Surfers Paradise circuit and Minardi Team USA drivers Robert Doornbos and ‘Speedy’ Dan Clarke were glad to be behind the wheel of their DP01s again for the first time in several weeks. With a messy qualifying session for some of their competitors, Robert and Dan ended up sixth and eleventh, respectively.
Doornbos sits third ... mehr
The Lexmark Indy 300 - Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Alex Figge #29 PCM/DP01/Cosworth/Bridgestone
Friday Practice 16th 1:36.580 104.183
Pre-Qual Warm-Up 16th 1:35.539 105.318
Friday qualifying 15th 1:44.381 96.397
Alex on qualifying: "Wow, the circuit here is awesome and the event is non-stop ... mehr
Graham Rahal has been nominated for the prestigious Autosport magazine ‘Rookie of the Year’ award, as voted for by Autosport.com readers.
Rahal is currently in his debut year of the Champ Car World Series with the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team, driving the Medi | Zone entry. The candidates for the award have been revealed today, with ten drivers from seven different ch ... mehr
SERVIA AND JANI BOTH ATTEMPTING TO MOVE INTO TOP-FIVE IN STANDINGS
With just two races remaining in the 2007 Champ Car World Series season, PKV Racing drivers Oriol Servia and Neel Jani will both be looking to maximize points at this weekend’s Lexmark I ... mehr
Event: The Lexmark Indy 300, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Round: 13 of 14 in the 2007 Champ Car World Series
Where: Streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia – 2.795 mile temporary street circuit
TV: ESPN Classic 11:30 pm October 20th
Racing to Repeat: Mario Dominguez scored his first Champ Car win on the streets of S ... mehr
Podium Potential for Rocketsports Down Under As Team Prepares to Finish 2007 Champ Car Season on a High Note
Lexmark Indy 300 Streets of Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
Round 13 of 14 – Champ Car World Series
October 19 – 21, 2007
Provisional Qualifying: Friday, October 19, 1:55 p.m. Australian EST (1 ... mehr
Graham Rahal arrived in the Australian playground of Surfers Paradise today ahead of this weekend’s Lexmark 300, the street race on the Gold Coast that has established itself as one of the top sporting occasions in the country. Eighteen-year-old Rahal will be debuting at the event this season in his first year of running with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in the Champ Car World Seri ... mehr
Nelson’s Adopted Hometown
While he may credit Valence, France as his hometown, Nelson Philippe (#34 Juniper Group/Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) has recently adopted Surfers Paradise as his new residence. He has been living in the seaside town with ... mehr
... for the 2008 Champ Car Atlantic Championship Season
At a news conference in his hometown, Mexican rising star David Garza today announced that he will join the Forsythe Championship Racing Team for the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season.
Garza, who will turn 20 years of age midway through the 20 ... mehr
