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[Senna]

Allmendinger leads RuSport 1-2 sweep
Edmonton - Champ Car - Qualifying 1


Press release
Champ Car World Series


Tracy third in first qualifying session


A near-capacity crowd streamed through the gates for the first day of Champ Car action of the inaugural West Edmonton Mall Champ Car Grand Prix of Edmonton, as racing fans from throughout Northwest Canada took the opportunity to get their first up-close look at the cars and stars of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.

To commemorate the occasion, young American star A.J. Allmendinger (#10 Western Union Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) decided to show the huge throng something that no other Champ Car fans had even seen. The precocious Champ Car Rookie-of-the-Year slapped down the fastest lap of the day around the 1.973-mile Finning International Speedway, leading a Champ Car qualifying session for the first time in his young career.

Allmendinger led a 1-2 RuSPORT sweep by putting up a track-record time of 58.628 seconds (121.150 mph), securing a front-row starting spot for Sunday’s Champ Car debut in Edmonton, and earning a championship point for his effort. His chart-topping run was made even more impressive by the fact that he started his qualifying session with a bit of trouble, suffering slight contact that sent him limping down Pit Lane with a flat tire.



He recovered and returned to the track with five minutes remaining in the session, coming back on track with a fresh set of the red-walled alternate Bridgestone Potenzas. He wasted no time in using those softer tires to full advantage, climbing to second on his first flying lap, and then posting his eventual pole-winning lap just three passes later.

His time knocked teammate Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Ford- Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) off the top spot and into the second position on the day, creating the second 1-2 RuSPORT qualifying sweep of the season. Wilson, who comes to Edmonton on the heels of scoring his first Champ Car win just one week ago, joined Allmendinger as the only two drivers to run less than 59 seconds, with Wilson posting a lap of 58.954 seconds (120.480 mph). The two RuSPORT drivers were joined on the first-day rostrum by local favorite Paul Tracy (#3 Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), who took third on a cloudy Friday with a best time of 59.497 seconds (119.381 mph).

Wilson wasted no time in throwing down the challenge to the rest of the field, storming to the top of the charts just 10 minutes into the session. Wilson’s opening salvo left him a full half-second ahead of everyone else in the field as series points leader Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald’s Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), Cristiano da Matta (#21 Bell Micro Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Oriol Servia (#2 PacifiCare Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) stayed in close pursuit.

The majority of the teams greeted the session’s halfway point from Pit Lane, having completed their first qualifying stint, but Timo Glock (#8 DHL Global Mail Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Bourdais took advantage of some clear track to try and make some headway. Glock used his time well, moving into the top five before eventually settling for ninth, while Bourdais appeared to be following suit before contact in Turn Seven ended his day. The points leader suffered contact in Turn Seven, folding up his left-front suspension and forcing him to head for a safe haven on the track as to not bring out the red flag and lose his fastest lap. He would end up 10th on the day with final qualifying set for tomorrow.

Wilson and Tracy rolled back on course directly after Bourdais had his incident and immediately started their climb back up the order. Wilson appeared to solidify his hold on the pole with another quick lap, but was forced to watch the remainder of the festivities from Pit Lane, after running all of his allotted 15 qualifying laps. His seat on the pit wall afforded him a great view of his teammate’s exploits as the young Californian got the job done on his 12th lap. Tracy used his very last lap of the day to vault into third, dropping Servia back to fourth on his final trip around the temporary airport circuit.

Servia ended up fourth while da Matta rounded out the top five with a clocking of 59.769 seconds (118.838 mph). Alex Tagliani (#15 Aussie Vineyards Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) closed his day in the sixth spot, ending up sixth after quick reflexes allowed him to recover from a 360-degree spin. Tagliani spun coming out of Turn 10, looping his Team Australia car directly in front of a pack of three cars that were on flying laps. Tagliani righted the ship in a cloud of tire smoke and got off the course, allowing the session to stay green and preserve the end of the session for those looking to move up in their last laps.

Jimmy Vasser (#12 Gulfstream Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) ended his day in the seventh spot, just one week after earning a season- best fourth-place finish in Toronto. Mario Dominguez (#7 Indeck Ford- Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and his Forsythe Championship Racing squad recovered from a crash at the end of morning practice to get into the eighth spot ahead of Glock and Bourdais.

The final grid for Sunday’s 88-lap West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix of Edmonton will be set by Saturday’s final qualifying session, a session that will begin at 2 p.m. Mountain Time.

Quotes from the top-three qualifiers

A.J. Allmendinger
“The team did a great job to get the car back together. I mean, luckily it was only a flat tire. But I thought for how hard I hit, there was going to be more damage. Got the car back together. You know, my teammate keeps making it hard on me. I did a couple of laps that were a few 10ths off of him, and I didn't know if there was much left. Just kind of closed my eyes and hung on for a lap, and luckily got the pole.”

Justin Wilson
“Obviously, I think RuSPORT came here with a good setup and we've just been able to work on that and get quicker as the day progressed. We're both very excited about the prospects of having a good race here. It's just getting used to the track and understanding what this circuit requires. So far we're very pleased, and hopefully we can be up there tomorrow.”

Paul Tracy
“Well, it's fast. It's all momentum and high speed. If your car is not perfectly balanced and settled, you don't have confidence in it, then it's really hard to push lap times to where AJ is. Obviously, they have their car working well. He can commit to these fast corners because it's so high speed. You know, we'll try to get our car there tomorrow.”

[nojvnof1]

RuSport have been in a class of their own all weekend. They should dominate the race.

[Senna]

What a race!  Both RuSport drivers looked set to finish on the podium, possibly even a 1-2, then both made silly errors.  It was a really stupid mistake from Justin Wilson, after being really competitive, but he recovered well to finish down in 4th place 0.3 sec behind P.T.

[pumpdoc]

You had to feel for AJ as he had the race in the bag before taged the wall, as for Justin--oh! my! what a bonehead move.......................

[Senna]

pumpdoc, on Jul 18 2005, 02:39 AM, said:

You had to feel for AJ as he had the race in the bag before taged the wall, as for Justin--oh! my! what a bonehead move.......................

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They were both bad mistakes in my mind although yes, Justin’s was worse!

[YHR]

I know a lot of people on this forum don't think Champ car counts for much in a drivers stats, but I have to think after watching the race yesterday, how much more entertaining it was then a normal F1 race.  Passing for the lead, pit drama, young exciting rookies racing against seasoned pros.

CART is a spec series, no doubt about it, but I think it is a series that really allows the drivers to determine the outcome of a race.

I understand this Edmonton event was a real success.  The stands were almost full, in the rain, for qualifying.  Edmonton used to be on the Can Am series back in the early 70's, when Bruce McClaren, Dennis Holmes, Peter Revson, Jackie stewart, Jim Hall  all raced in the Big Block series, which featured cars from Lola, McClaren, Chaparral and Ferrari..

It has been a long drought for the Western Canadian fans in that region.  Track looked a little rough but it was a nice layout that gave some real good passing opportunities.  Stands were full and the crowded roared with approval for the on track action.

As Paul Newman stated after the race.  The fans will be back next year, that is for sure.

I also see a couple of Potential F1 pilots in the field.  Both Wilson, and AJ seem to be quick.  Both made big mistakes, but had the pace to be in front.

[pumpdoc]

Yes it was a good race and a excelent crowd and don't forget the true female star of tomorrow K. Legge won the support race for the second time this year (Long Beach the other) where as "Danica " never came better than second in the same series..............................

[nojvnof1]

fortunate win for Bourdais, but he made some good passes early on and was patient. Bad luck for both RuSport boys although they both were very stupid mistakes. Sad that Ranger got hit on the first lap and couldn't resume, but Tracy did well to get P3 after flat spotting one of his tyres in his second stint. A fantastic race though and the crowd was awesome!!!

[pumpdoc]

Yes SeaBass was in the right place at the right time for sure...................