September 2, 2007 – Team Australia driver Will Power has endured a frustrating day while rookie team-mate Simon Pagenaud claimed an impressive sixth place finish in the Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix in Assen, Holland today.

Pagenaud held off series leader and fellow Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in the closing stages, the result elevating him to eighth place in the series standings.

The 2006 Atlantic Champion started from fifth position but fell to 11th after pitting for fuel and tyres on lap 31. Pagenaud kept pushing hard in the #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 and in the final stages of the race passed Bourdais and kept his rival at bay to collect sixth place.

Power had a day to forget in the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 at Assen, finishing in 14th position and falling to fourth in the series standings with two rounds remaining.

The Australian started from eighth and worked his way forward to fifth place after the first round of pit stops on lap 31. On his last pit stop Power's car was so low on fuel that it stalled in the pit lane, dropping him down to 14th where he eventually finished.

Justin Wilson won today's Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix ahead of Jan Heylen and Bruno Junqueira.

Team Australia will be keen to bounce back at it's home event for the next round of the championship with the Lexmark Indy 300 on Australia's Gold Coast the host of the penultimate round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series on October 18-21.

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WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY...
Will Power – "Well it was a very disappointing weekend overall for us," said Power. "We were running well in the race and had a great Aussie Vineyards car, but unfortunately came across some bad luck. After our third pit stop it really went downhill from there. That's racing. The boys did a great job. Now we move on and gear up for Australia. I'm ready to go home and give them a great show."

Simon Pagenaud – "Assen is a fantastic track, but we had to fuel save the whole race and to be honest it's not that fun to drive when you have to save fuel," said Pagenaud. "The upside is that we got decent pace saving that much fuel and that is a pretty good thing for us. I want to thank all of Team Australia, they did a fantastic job and gave me a great Aussie Vineyards car all weekend. We weren't top three, but top six is good for us and it feels good to be in the top 10 again. I'm disappointed for Will, he had a good chance in the championship with this race and it didn't end well for him. We are going to work hard and get a great pace for the Aussie fans for Australia."

Derrick Walker – "Definitely from a Team Australia standpoint it was a very mixed weekend," said Walker. "Simon and the #15 crew did a fantastic job all weekend and were on the pace. Unfortunately we never got Will's car the way we needed it and I gambled in the race and we didn't get the yellows that we needed to make that strategy work and so it was pretty much a case of hanging on. Some days are like that, you have to take the good with the bad and I guess today we have to suck it up."

Craig Gore – "Nothing went right for Will all weekend and understandably he's bitterly disappointed," said Gore. "We now have a major goal for Will and the #5 Aussie Vineyards car – a win on the streets of Surfers Paradise at the next event back home in Australia. If Will can push for wins in the final two races, the points situation will take care of itself. Simon has driven very well over these past two races on his home turf in Europe. He put in another good performance today and was impressive in keeping Bourdais behind him at the end to hang onto sixth. I'm looking forward to seeing the look on Simon's face when he gets to the Gold Coast and sees what it's like to race for the home team in that great event. The Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast cannot come soon enough for Team Australia."

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RESULTS: Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix at TT Assen Circuit
Round 12 of the 2007 Champ Car World Series
1. #9 Justin Wilson 69 laps
2. #34 Jan Heylen
3. #19 Bruno Junqueira
4. #22 Tristan Gommendy
5. #21 Neel Jani
6. #15 Simon Pagenaud
7. #1 Sebastien Bourdais
8. #3 Oriol Servia
9. #2 Graham Rahal
10. #28 Ryan Dalziel
14. #5 Will Power

RESULTS: Final Qualifying
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 1:18.765
2. #9 Justin Wilson 1:19.710*
3. #22 Tristan Gommendy 1:19.025
4. #21 Neel Jani 1:19.302
5. #15 Simon Pagenaud 1:19.353
6. #2 Graham Rahal 1:19.373
7. #34 Jan Heylen 1:19.412
8. #5 Will Power 1:19.415
9. #14 Robert Doornbos 1:19.612
10. #4 Dan Clarke 1:19.718
*Wilson starts second after winning provisional pole on Friday

2007 Champ Car World Series Points Standings - After Round 12 of 14
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 301
2. #9 Justin Wilson 243
3. #14 Robert Doornbos 238
4. #5 Will Power 228
5. #2 Graham Rahal 209
6. #3 Oriol Servia 204
7. #21 Neel Jani 203
8. #15 Simon Pagenaud 192
9. #8 Alex Tagliani 191
10. #19 Bruno Junqueira 180

2007 Roshfrans Champ Car Rookie of the Year - After Round 12 of 14
1. #14 Robert Doornbos 238
2. #2 Graham Rahal 209
3. #21 Neel Jani 203
4. #15 Simon Pagenaud 192
5. #22 Tristan Gommendy 140
6. #28 Ryan Dalziel 116
7. #29 Alex Figge 77
8. #42 Matt Halliday 18

Phanos European Team Cup – Final Standings
1. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 130.5
2. Team Australia 114
3. Rocketsports/RuSport 106.6
4. PKV Racing 106
5. Dale Coyne Racing 95
6. Conquest Racing 90
7. Forsythe Championship Racing 88
8. Minardi Team USA 77.5
9. Pacific Coast Motorsports 53.5