Will Power Reigns Supreme in Champ Car's Final Contest... Ever
By Anne Proffit
Will Power cruises home on the final lap of the Long Beach Grand Prix. His name will be listed as the driver to win the final Champ Car World Series race.... ever. Credit: PaddockTalk/Anne Proffit
It was a great Sunday drive for Will Power at the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, winning the final, 452nd CART/Champ Car World Series race. He led all but two laps during pit stop shuffling en route to a dominant victory.
The Australian, driving a Panoz/Cosworth/Bridgestone entry a final occasion for KV Racing Technologies defeated rookie Franck Montagny by 5.094 seconds, the Frenchman making a one-off appearance for Forsythe-Pettit Racing. Mario Dominguez finished third for Pacific Coast Motorsports, 15.516 seconds in arrears.
“Three years ago I was given this great opportunity by Craig Gore (owner of Aussie Vineyards). I love Champ Car racing, I love the cars and the engines. It’s great to win Long Beach, the last Champ Car race,” Power said. In taking his third Champ Car victory, Power noted he had problem throughout the weekend and didn’t get the most out of his car in practice and qualifying. It all came good in the race, however.
“I knew I had to get a good start,” and he powered by pole man Justin Wilson to take the lead. “We had a good middle sector, saved a lot of fuel and for the last 15-20 laps just cruised home. I knew Franck was catching me but I kept a good gap,” even as the margin fell from seven to five seconds. “I’m really happy for the team and now I’ve got fifth place in IndyCar Series points. I look forward to the road and street courses,” but he still has a lot to learn about the ovals.
Champ Car World Series has partnered with the production house, Traveling Light, to produce new television advertising for the 2007 season.
The new campaign is entitled "Quotes," and ties print, television and internet advertising to famous historical quotes such as Ralph Waldo Emerson's "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave longer."
American Idol Star Michael Johns In Victory Lane With Team Australia In Long Beach
Australian singing sensation Michael Johns might not win the current series of American Idol, but he was in “Victory Lane” at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in California today.
Johns turned out to be the perfect “Good luck” charm for fellow Australian Will Power who drove his Aussie Vineyards-backed car to a win in the final Champ Car race ever on one of the world’s most famous street courses.
Power, who was born and bred in Toowoomba, Queensland, led the race from start to finish and Johns watched the entire race from the team’s pit box as guests of team owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Craig Gore.
Will Power got the jump on the entire field Sunday, vaulting from fourth to first at the start of the race, and never looked back as he cruised to victory in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the final race in Champ Car World Series history.
The 20-car field used a standing start for the first time in the history of the race, and Power rocketed to the front immediately. Power maneuvered the No. 8 Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia car to the outside of the track to immediately pass Alex Tagliani, who started second. Power then went side by side with polesitter Justin Wilson down the front straightaway, taking the lead in Turn 1.
•This is Will Power’s first victory in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. His previous best finish was third in 2007.
•Will Power won from the fourth starting position. The last driver to win the Toyota Long Beach of Grand Prix from fourth was Sebastien Bourdais in 2005. Bourdais won from the pole in 2006 and 2007.
WILL POWER (winner): (About start): I just got a good start. I hooked it up. I did plenty of practice starts in the morning warmup. We got a good start." (What does it mean for you to win the last Champ Car race?): "It means a lot. We were looking to win this championship this year, and then suddenly the series changed. This is a great way to finish off Champ Car."
Quote from Juho Annala about his incident during the morning warmup:
JUHO ANNALA: “Basically I was on cold tires and had a full tank of fuel. I was just cruising around, and got on the throttle too hard in Turn 9 and lost the rear straightaway. So mentally it is very difficult for me. I continue to learn, but these are the types of things that don't help, especially right before the race. I know the Rocketsports crew is capable of getting the car back together for the race, I am just sorry they have to work so hard this morning to repair the damage."
Q&A: Former Champ Car Co-Owner Kevin Kalkhoven Talks About the End Of The Series
Mr. Kevin Kalkhoven former co-owner of the Champ Car World Series answered questions following the Long Beach Grand Prix.
Q. Can you just give us some reflections on the final Champ Car race?
KEVIN KALKHOVEN: The good news is it's not the final Long Beach Grand Prix because, of course, the Council has just extended it for another 10 years. During that period there have been different technologies involved, and obviously with mixed emotions today. I mean, I'm very proud of the DP 01, but I'm also looking forward to the future which is the future of open-wheel motorsport here in North America.
I think it's been great to see some of these Champ Car drivers like Will. Will got second place in qualifying at Homestead and then completely screwed up because of the rain. No, we screwed up his entire strategy (laughing).
You know, it's mixed emotions, but we look forward, and it's been a great, great weekend. The crowds have been fantastic. You ladies and gentlemen of the press have been incredibly warm and generous to both our team and to the series, so I want to thank you.
Long Beach: Champ Car Post-Race Podium Press Conference - Power, Montagny, Dominguez
THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everybody, to the final press conference for the Champ Car World Series. It's fitting to start off with one of the great drivers in Champ Car World Series history, Mr. Mario Dominguez, who finished third, earning the first-ever podium finish for Pacific Coast Motorsports, who were a team that started with the Champ Car World Series last season.
Mario, obviously it must have been gratifying to have such a great performance. Tell us a little bit about how you turned it on there the last few laps.
MARIO DOMINGUEZ: Good afternoon, everybody. It was an amazing race. Everybody was racing really, really hard.
At the beginning, I lost a couple positions. Then I started passing people. The team gave me a great – pretty much feedback on how much fuel I had to save, and I think I did pretty good also saving fuel.
Will Power Reigns Supreme in Champ Car's Final Contest... Ever
By Anne Proffit
Will Power cruises home on the final lap of the Long Beach Grand Prix. His name will be listed as the driver to win the final Champ Car World Series race.... ever. Credit: PaddockTalk/Anne Proffit
It was a great Sunday drive for Will Power at the 34th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, winning the final, 452nd CART/Champ Car World Series race. He led all but two laps during pit stop shuffling en route to a dominant victory.
The Australian, driving a Panoz/Cosworth/Bridgestone entry a final occasion for KV Racing Technologies defeated rookie Franck Montagny by 5.094 seconds, the Frenchman making a one-off appearance for Forsythe-Pettit Racing. Mario Dominguez finished third for Pacific Coast Motorsports, 15.516 seconds in arrears.
“Three years ago I was given this great opportunity by Craig Gore (owner of Aussie Vineyards). I love Champ Car racing, I love the cars and the engines. It’s great to win Long Beach, the last Champ Car race,” Power said. In taking his third Champ Car victory, Power noted he had problem throughout the weekend and didn’t get the most out of his car in practice and qualifying. It all came good in the race, however.
“I knew I had to get a good start,” and he powered by pole man Justin Wilson to take the lead. “We had a good middle sector, saved a lot of fuel and for the last 15-20 laps just cruised home. I knew Franck was catching me but I kept a good gap,” even as the margin fell from seven to five seconds. “I’m really happy for the team and now I’ve got fifth place in IndyCar Series points. I look forward to the road and street courses,” but he still has a lot to learn about the ovals.
De Silvestro Becomes Second Woman to Win in Atlantic Championship Competition
Less than 24 hours after Atlantic Championship graduate Danica Patrick earned her first career Indy Racing League IndyCar Series victory in Japan, second-year Swiss driver Simona De Silvestro became the second woman in the 34-year history of the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda to win a race with her victory in the Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach.
After starting from the front row for the first time in her Atlantic career, De Silvestro took the lead from polesitter Jonathan Bomarito on Lap 24 of what would be a 38-lap race when gearbox issues forced Bomarito into an off-course excursion in Turn 1 at the end of the Shoreline Drive straightaway. The race’s only full-course caution period for debris set the stage for second-place running Alan Sciuto to challenge for the lead on the restart, but De Silvestro pulled confidently away at the drop of the green flag and went on to win by 1.285 seconds.
Hinchcliffe Takes Tenth in Atlantics Season Opener
James Hinchcliffe opened the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season with a tenth place finish on the streets of Long Beach, California on Sunday – the 21-year-old Canadian a victim of the nature of street racing following a frustrating final qualifying session the day before.
Piloting the #3 INDECK/Tire Rack Swift Mazda-Cosworth for Forsythe Pettit Racing, Hinchcliffe’s return to the 1.968-mile temporary street circuit looked promising as he set the fastest time in Friday’s opening practice for the Indianapolis-based squad. Back at the track where he scored a third place podium finish on his series debut in 2006, James topped the 23-car field with a lap time of 1m16.7266s, two tenths clear of America’s Jonathan Bomarito for Mathiasen Motorsports.
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