August 24, 2007 – Australian driver Will Power has qualified on provisional pole position in opening qualifying for the Belgium Champ Car Grand Prix at the Zolder Circuit in Belgium this weekend.

Power set the fastest time in the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 around the 2.622-mile (4.220-kilometre) circuit to guarantee himself a front-row grid position for Sunday's race. Under Champ Car rules the fastest driver in each of the two qualifying sessions held is guaranteed a front row start.

Power earns a championship point for setting the fastest time today and believes there is more speed left in his car ahead of tomorrow's final qualifying.

It was an outstanding day for Team Australia at the Zolder circuit, with Power's rookie team-mate third fastest in opening qualifying in the #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01.

Pagenaud was the fastest rookie in qualifying today and was only 0.007 seconds behind countryman and series leader Sebasiten Bourdais, who was second fastest behind Power.

It was a dominant day for Team Australia, with Power also topping practice earlier in the day while Pagenaud was fifth fastest in opening practice.

------------------------------

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY...

Will Power – "It is really good to get a point, but the best thing about qualifying on the front row today is we can concentrate on fine tuning the set up for the race in tomorrow's session," said Power. "On the first run on new tyres, I really didn't get a good lap at all and my tyres weren't up to temperature. The Aussie Vineyards car was good on the second set, I did one lap, it wasn't that neat and the balance wasn't what I would have liked but it was good enough to get on the front row and I'm very glad about that."

Simon Pagenaud – "We had a good session this morning trying to get used to the track," said Pagenaud. "I do know the circuit from back in 2005 when I did World Series by Renault so I have some experience here. It's great to be back at Zolder. We worked this morning on the balance to make sure we had a good set-up for qualifying. We put new tyres on for qualifying and everything went well so it's great to have both of us up here."

Derrick Walker – "Today was a great qualifying session for Team Australia," said Walker. "All of the boys worked really well together and it was a well deserved result. Will and Simon put together some really good laps and certainly got great first day qualifying results in their Aussie Vineyards cars."

Craig Gore – "Mission accomplished for Will and Team Australia today in Belgium," said Gore. "The guaranteed front row start is so valuable. The entire Aussie Vineyards team is still going to be pushing in final qualifying tomorrow, but to have that up our sleeve for the race is important. To have both our cars in the top three is a great effort by Will, Simon and the entire crew. There is still some improvement in our cars so let's hope this momentum continues in final qualifying tomorrow."

--------------------------------

RESULTS: Provisional Qualifying
1. #5 Will Power 1:13.810
2. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 1:14.023
3. #15 Simon Pagenaud 1:14.030
4. #2 Graham Rahal 1:14.224
5. #19 Bruno Junqueira 1:14.433
6. #22 Tristan Gommendy 1:14.590
7. #7 Oriol Servia 1:14.812
8. #21 Neel Jani 1:14.823
9. #3 Paul Tracy 1:14.829
10. #8 Alex Tagliani 1:14.960

2007 Champ Car World Series Points Standings - After Round 10 of 16
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 250
2. #14 Robert Doornbos 213
3. #5 Will Power 198
4. #9 Justin Wilson 190
5. #2 Graham Rahal 170
6. #3 Oriol Servia 170
7. #21 Neel Jani 167
6. #15 Simon Pagenaud 164
9. #8 Alex Tagliani 161
10. #19 Bruno Junqueira 138

2007 Roshfrans Champ Car Rookie of the Year - After Round 10 of 16
1. #14 Robert Doornbos 213
2. #2 Graham Rahal 170
3. #21 Neel Jani 167
4. #15 Simon Pagenaud 164
5. #22 Tristan Gommendy 112
6. #28 Ryan Dalziel 99
7. #29 Alex Figge 65
8. #42 Matt Halliday 18

---------------------------------

UNITED STATES TIMES
US Eastern Times
Practice 2
Saturday 25 August 2007
4:40am – 5:55am

Qualifying 2
Saturday 25 August 2007
8:30am – 9:30am

Warm-Up
Sunday 26 August 2007
4:30am – 5:00am

Race
Sunday 26 August 2007
8:00am – 10:00am

----------------------------

UNITED STATES TV SCHEDULE
Sunday 26 August 2007
ESPN Classic
8:00am US Eastern

-----------------------------

ABOUT ZOLDER CIRCUIT
Location: Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Circuit Type: Permanent Road Course
First Champ Car Event: 2007
Track Length: 2.622 miles (4.220 kilometres)