Champ Car put on a HOT race at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant. It was cold and wet, but the race was clean, very aggressive and fast, seeing zero yellows, and only 2 cars failed to finish.
Sadly one of those cars that retired was the car piloted by the points leader Franck Montagny, whose Forsythe entry had a turbo charge failure only 9 laps into the race.
That failure by Montagny gave way to the other Forsythe Petitt Racing car of Paul Tracy, to play with the rest of the field. Leading from the start, Tracy was challenged by Montagny, until he retired. From then on, Tracy was unchallenged, even managing a green flag pit stop without losing his lead.
During the first stop on lap 19, Tracy did lose the lead to Robert Doornbos (the second place finisher), who lead for only 3 laps before pitting himself.
Behind Tracy though, where many on track stories. Franck Perera, who emerged here last season in Atlantics as a title contender, scored his first career podium. Taking the second step on the podium was Alex Tagliani, who also set the races fastest lap .
The race proved to be a challenge for Newman Haas Lanigan drivers Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal. Rahal was the only other driver to retire after getting his car off course and hitting a tire barrier. Justin Wilson also struggled. After stalling on the pits, he spun 3 laps later on lap 24. But Wilson did fight his way into the top 5 to finish 5th.
Official Results:
1.Paul Tracy -- (69 laps) (67 led)
2.Alex Tagliani -- (-13.56s)
3.Franck Perera -- (-17.32s)
4.Robert Doornbos -- (-21.89s) (2 led)
5.Nelson Philippe -- (-23.02s)
6.Will Power -- (-31.67s)
7.Dan Clarke -- (-37.12s)
8.Bruno Junquiera -- (-39.04s)
9.Oriol Servia -- (-42.12s)
10.Justin Wilson -- (-46.04s)
11.Simon Pagenaud -- (-49.23s)
12.David Martinez -- (-58.32s)
13.Tomas Scheckter -- (-1 lap)
14.Raphael Matos -- (-1 Lap)
15.Enrique Bernoldi -- (-1 Lap)
16.Giorgio Pantano -- (-1 Lap)
17.Mario Dominguez -- (-2 laps)
18,EJ Viso -- (-7 laps)
19.Graham Rahal -- (Ret. Accident Lap 39)
20.Franck Montagny -- (Ret. Mechanical Lap 9)
Fast Lap: Alex Tagliani -- (1:15.89)
Hard Charger: Dan Clarke -- (4 positions, tied with Matos, but higher finishing position)
CCWS Points Standing
1. Robert Doornbos -- Team Minardi USA -- 157 pts.
2. Franck Montagny ® -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 156 pts.
3. Alex Tagliani -- Team Australia Walker Racing -- 153 pts.
4. Nelson Philippe -- Team Minardi USA -- 149 pts.
5. Paul Tracy -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 146 pts.
6. Justin Wilson -- Newman Haas Lanigan Racing -- 144 pts.
7. Will Power -- Team Australia USA -- 133 pts.
8. Graham Rahal -- Newman Haas Lanigan Racing -- 107 pts.
9. Oriol Servia -- PKV Racing -- 103 pts.
10. Bruno Junquiera -- Dale Coyne Racing -- 96 pts.
11. Franck Perera ® -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 71 pts.
12. Simon Pagenaud -- Conquest Racing -- 69 pts.
13. Raphael Matos ® -- PKV Racing -- 68 pts.
14. David Martinez ® -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 57 pts.
15. Enrique Bernoldi ® -- Conquest Racing -- 43 pts.
16. Mario Dominguez -- Pacific Coast Motorsports -- 41 pts.
17. EJ Viso ® -- Rocketsport -- 35 pts.
18. Antonio Pizzonia ® -- 33 pts.
19. Tomas Scheckter ® -- Dale Coyne Racing -- 29 pts.
20. Dan Clarke -- Pacific Coast Motorsports -- 25 pts..
21. Alex Figge -- 18 pts
22. Jos Verstappen ® -- 9 pts.
23. Giorgio Pantano -- Carlin Motorsports -- 5 pts.
24. Mario Moraes ® -- 2 pts.
Rocketsport announced this morning they will be looking for a driver for the number 88 and hope to have a driver ready by Friday. No names were mentioned, but the name of Atlantics front runner, Jonathon Bomarito was mentioned by Paul Gentoliozzi, Saturday night while at the bar.
Renault F1 also announced Wednesday that they no longer require the services of Will Power. The Australian driver didn’t seem to worry though.
“I love Champ Car and am fine racing here. F1 is always seemed like a cold place for me. Here in Champ Car, we can walk right into another team’s tent and talk. In F1 that would be unheard of. I have a great team in Walker Racing, and a great crew.”
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