August 11, 2007 – Will Power will start tomorrow's Generac Grand Prix of Road America from the front row of the grid after securing the second starting spot in final qualifying at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin today.
Power will start alongside championship leader Sebastien Bourdais for the start of Round 10 of the Champ Car World Series around the spectacular 4.048-mile (6.515 kilometre) circuit.
Power could not better his time of 1m43.116secs from yesterday's qualifying session in the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01, but his time was enough for him to remain second fastest behind Bourdais.
Simon Pagenaud will start the #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 from 12th on the grid after a tough day for the Frenchman.
The Champ Car rookie is confident that he will be back in more familiar surroundings challenging for a top five position in tomorrow's race.
It was the top three drivers that are fighting for the championship that secured the first three spots on the grid in Elkhart Lake today, with Bourdais on pole from Power and Dutchman Robert Doornbos third.
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WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY...
Will Power – "It's great to be starting on the front row, of course," said Power. "But, you know, with Sebastien's time, I think we're all a little bit concerned. But, you know, you've seen what happens in races: anything can happen. You know, we're going to give it our best shot. I have to stay in qualifying, we really struggled on the reds. I made a late call to go on blacks, but it was too late, so I had to run the red tyres. Yeah, we didn't improve. It was really tough to get a lap."
Simon Pagenaud – "Well we did improve the Aussie Vineyards car a lot, but we found this morning the set of tyres that we used yesterday just weren't working properly," said Pagenaud. "We came back on the pace and were pretty fast today. The car is not bad and we will see in the race, we can take the draft and pass people, so we will see. We can come back."
Derrick Walker – "Strange day, we have two really good Aussie Vineyards cars, but it didn't make much more of an improvement on yesterday's times and it's strange to say the least," said Walker. "Overall we've got a good race car and the boys will get around the computers tonight and dream up a better car or tomorrow. Great team effort all the way around."
Craig Gore – "Will is where he needs to be to challenge Sebastien in tomorrow's race," said Gore. "Will has got the Aussie Vineyards car off to some great starts this season and we all hope that he has another one up his sleeve for tomorrow. Simon is a little further down the grid that we would all like but he is a very mature, consistent racer and I'm confident he will be up there when in counts tomorrow afternoon."
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RESULTS: Final Qualifying (Combined)
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 1:41.535
2. #5 Will Power 1:43.116
3. #14 Robert Doornbos 1:43.134
4. #2 Graham Rahal 1:43.162
5. #19 Bruno Junqueira 1:43.201
6. #8 Alex Tagliani 1:43.374
7. #21 Neel Jani 1:43.417
8. #4 Dan Clarke 1:43.439
9. #34 Jan Heylen 1:43.523
10. #9 Justin Wilson 1:43.525
12. #15 Simon Pagenaud 1:43.581
2007 Champ Car World Series Points Standings - After Round 9 of 16
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 218
2. #14 Robert Doornbos 206
3. #5 Will Power 192
4. #9 Justin Wilson 175
5. #21 Neel Jani 156
6. #15 Simon Pagenaud 154
7. #3 Oriol Servia 146
8. #2 Graham Rahal 145
9. #8 Alex Tagliani 140
10. #19 Bruno Junqueira 125
2007 Roshfrans Champ Car Rookie of the Year - After Round 9 of 16
1. #14 Robert Doornbos 206
2. #21 Neel Jani 156
3. #15 Simon Pagenaud 154
4. #2 Graham Rahal 145
5. #28 Ryan Dalziel 95
6. #22 Tristan Gommendy 95
7. #29 Alex Figge 57
8. #42 Matt Halliday 18
RACE SCHEDULE
Local Wisconsin (US Central) Times
Warm-Up
Sunday 12 August 2007
9:45am – 10:15am
Race
Sunday 12 August 2007
2:00pm – 4:00pm
UNITED STATES TV SCHEDULE
Sunday 12 August 2007
ABC
3:00pm US Eastern
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ABOUT ROAD AMERICA
Location: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA
Circuit Type: Permanent Road Course
First Champ Car Event: 1982
Track Length: 4.048 miles (6.515 kilometres)
CHAMP CAR RECORD BOOK
Defending Champ Car Race Winner: AJ Allmendinger
Defending Champ Car Polesitter: Dan Clarke
2006 RESULTS
Will Power – #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia Champ Car
Qualified: Seventh
Finished: 13th
Simon Pagenaud – #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia Champ Car Atlantic
Qualified: Second
Finished: 17th |
