2008 Rexhall Champ Car Grand Prix of Edmonton Race:
The 9th round of the Champ Car World Series was at Edmonton today for the Rexhall Champ Car Grand Prix of Edmonton, and it was another unpredictable, action packed, Champ Car race. But what made is unpredictable was the fact that the race was completely caution free. Zero safety car sessions were waved during the 1 hour and 45 minute race.
It was Paul Tracy’s streak on the line and he failed as the race was Tagliani’s to loose. Starting from the pole, he proceeded to run over the rest of the field pulling out a 3 and a half second lead over second place Neel Jani. Then came the pit stops. Tagliani’s Team Australia crew put Tag out in only 5.5 seconds, pushing him back to 13th overall. He proceeded to work his way back to the front, regaining the lead from Dan Clarke as he stayed out longer than the rest, before making his first pit stop. From then on, Tagliani stayed out front, pulling out a 5 second lead over Justin Wilson, before the pit stops started all over again. This time Tag came out in only 9th and took the lead 4 laps later when the other leaders pitted. Then on Tagliani kept the lead to score his second career Champ Car World Series victory, and his first since Road America, 2004.
“The race was amazing. The car was fast, the pit crew was fast, we all worked together to get the win. Only time we didn’t lead was during the pit stop sequences and if it wasn’t for Justin (Wilson), we’d have won the race by a long margin. This is for Aussie Vineyards, Derek Walker, Craig Gore, and the guys at Walker Racing.”
Taking second place was, as mentioned, Justin Wilson. Starting 3rd, he took second from Paul Tracy and fought with Tagliani for the lead and did lead during the first pit sequence. Wilson fell back to 16th during the first sequence after stalling his car, but he fought his way back to the 2nd spot in only 17 laps, also setting the fastest lap of the race.
“Ah, the race was tough. The McDonalds car was very quick, but we just didn’t have the pace, as did rest of the field to fight Alex (Tagliani) for the win. But I am happy with the podium.”
Taking third place was the Swiss driver Neel Jani, taking his second career podium, and his first of the year. It also was only Neel’s second race of the season for the Rocketsport squad, which makes this very impressive. Jani was fast during the race, but he also had trouble keeping consistency, running the race inside the top 10, but running between the 2nd and 9th spots.
“Paul said if we worked together he’d give me a podium car, and he was right. The guys at Red Bull who helped me get this ride were amazing. The car had great grip, and while we did fall back to 9th, we still felt we had a fast car. I am very happy and very thankful for Paul and the team.”
Finishing out the top 5 was Paul Tracy and Robert Doornbos. Tracy was also victim of the races only spin, losing it in the hairpin, but he restarted and lost only 7 spots on the field. Doornbos ran a clean race as well, starting from the third row, the Dutchman held strong and admittedly relaxed and did not push the car.
“We knew we didn’t have a car that could win the race after morning warmup, but we tried to finish in the top 5, and on the podium, which we did. This was a great result for the team, and almost a victory, as we have been fast all season, but only two podiums all year have been disappointing.”
The race saw only 4 retirements, all coming in the first 40 mintutes of the race. There was controversy in the first two retirements, both coming from the PKV Racing entries, as they both retired on lap 5. Tony Cotman has a meeting with the officials at PKV, and penalties might come from the retirements.
The race saw some other great performances. Ryan Dalziel started in 19th, but blasted through the field, running a different pit sequence than the field, and moved his way to 9th. Adam Carroll stalled in pit lane and fell to 17th, but worked his way to 11th in the finish. Dan Clarke took the lead during the second pit sequence and went on to finish 10th.
The other two retirements were from EJ Viso, who was parked by Champ Car Director of Race Operations for not keeping up the pace with the rest of the field. The final retirement came from the series points leader, Franck Montagny, who lost first and second gear on the start of the race, and dropped out only two laps later. Franck sounded quite angry at himself for the retirement.
“It was 100% my fault. I didn’t start off the grid like I should have and I knew first broke, but when I shifted to second at the red line, I felt second break. I drove around in third and the upper gears, but knew I could not keep pace, so I pulled in and retired. It is a disappointment for me and especially the team. Sorry to the guys, as we felt we had a fast car.”
Official Race Results:
1.Alex Tagliani -- 97 laps (91 led)
2.Justin Wilson -- (- 3.21s)
3.Neel Jani -- (- 7.69s) (3 led)
4.Paul Tracy -- (- 9.87s)
5.Robert Doornbos -- (13.12s)
6.Nelson Philippe -- (- 16.93s)
7.Will Power -- (- 22.23s)
8.Bruno Junquiera -- (- 24.87s)
9.Ryan Dalziel -- (- 26.72s)
10.Dan Clarke -- (-29.01s) (3 led)
11.Adam Carroll -- (-34.23s)
12.Graham Rahal -- (-38.32s)
13.Simon Pagenaud -- (- 40.66s)
14.Franck Perera -- (- 1 lap)
15.Mario Dominguez -- (- 1 lap)
16.Tomas Scheckter -- (-1 lap)
17.David Martinez -- (- 2 laps)
18.Franck Montagny -- (Ret. Lap 11 Gearbox)
19.EJ Viso -- (Ret. Lap 9 Unable to Keep Up Pace)
DSQ. Oriol Servia -- (Ret. Lap 5 Handling)
DSQ. Raphael Matos -- (Ret. Lap 5 Handling)
Fast Lap: Justin Wilson - 59.012
Hard Charger: Ryan Dalziel - 10 spots
Champ Car World Series Point Standings
1. Alex Tagliani -- Team Australia Walker Racing -- 209 pts.
2. Paul Tracy -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 202 pts.
3. Robert Doornbos -- Team Minardi USA -- 195 pts.
4. Nelson Philippe -- Team Minardi USA -- 189 pts.
5. Justin Wilson -- Newman Haas Lanigan Racing -- 187 pts.
6. Franck Montagny ® -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 184 pts.
7. Will Power -- Team Australia USA -- 177 pts.
8. Graham Rahal -- Newman Haas Lanigan Racing -- 129 pts.
9. Bruno Junquiera -- Dale Coyne Racing -- 118 pts.
10. Oriol Servia -- PKV Racing -- 112 pts.
11. Franck Perera ® -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 88 pts.
12. Simon Pagenaud -- Conquest Racing -- 86 pts.
13. Raphael Matos ® -- PKV Racing -- 72 pts.
14. David Martinez ® -- Forsythe Petitt Racing -- 66 pts.
15. Mario Dominguez -- Pacific Coast Motorsports -- 48 pts.
16. Dan Clarke -- Pacific Coast Motorsports -- 47 pts.
17. Neel Jani -- Rocketsport -- 44 pts.
18. Enrique Bernoldi ® -- 43 pts.
19. EJ Viso ® -- Rocketsport -- 39 pts.
20. Tomas Scheckter ® -- Dale Coyne Racing -- 37 pts.
21. Antonio Pizzonia ® -- 33 pts.
22. Ryan Dalziel -- Carlin Motorsports -- 20 pts.
23. Alex Figge -- 18 pts
24. Adam Carroll -- Conquest Racing -- 10 pts.
25. Jos Verstappen ® -- 9 pts.
26. Giorgio Pantano -- 5 pts.
27. Mario Moraes ® -- 2 pts.
Notes following the race:
PKV Racing was disqualified and will loose it’s point scored this weekend following there retirements from the race. They were deemed detrimental for the sport and placed on probation for the rest of the season. But rumors suggest this was the last race, and Kevin Kalkhoven would not comment. Jimmy Vasser has left the team and could not be reached either. Sources from inside the team saw that the team will not return to the series and has ended the contract of Oriol Servia, but will take their other driver, Raphael Matos to the IRL, where they hope to run August 31st in Detroit.
Also, following the race, we learned the contract of Rocketsport driver EJ Viso will be terminated, making way for Formula One test driver Anthony Davidson to take the spot.
