Sebastien Bourdais: “We had a good lap on the first run and that is what put us on provisional pole”
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Aug 11, 2007
Newman Haas
1st: Sebastien Bourdais 1:42.385 / 144.333 mph (earned 1 point & guaranteed front row start)
11th: Graham Rahal 1:43.732 / 140.485 mph
Sebastien Bourdais, No. 1 McDonald’s Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone:
“We came here prepared to not have our good advantage but it looks like we have the set up figured out. I’m very happy for the McDonald’s team; they did a great job to give me a great car. It wasn’t easy out there (in qualifying) and I’m actually very surprised we went that fast. A 2.3 on day 1 with a fairly green track makes me happy. With qualifying being as late as it was today and it being cooler and with tomorrow going back to the normal schedule (2 p. m.) in warmer conditions, we were thinking it would be a quicker session today. We didn’t get a better lap time on the second run which is normally when you do it. We made a little adjustment and it didn’t go the right way so too bad. But we had a good lap on the first run and that is what put us on provisional pole. ”
· FAST FACTS: Leads the point standings by 11 points over Doornbos (216-206)…Will be his fourth race here. In 2006, he finished third despite having a dominant car all weekend. Was fastest in practice sessions run in the dry but both qualifying sessions were dictated by strategy in the rain. Set the fastest lap in Saturday’s wet qualifying to earn a second place start. Led 28 laps and built two 12+ and 15+ second leads over second place and set the fastest lap of the race (repeatedly) but race strategy limited him to a third place finish. Started from pole and led 13 laps in 2004 but a miscue on the restart that had the pace car in the middle of the track, the timing of the caution flags and fuel strategy (3 mandatory green flag stops) dictated the outcome and he finished third. He had been in the lead before the ragged restart and dropped to third as a result. Started and finished second to teammate Junqueira in 2003…He has the rare opportunity to win four consecutive championships this year if he can again capture the Vanderbilt Cup, which would extend his run that began in 2004. Bourdais would be making history as no Champ Car driver has ever won four straight championships. Four in a row is very rare in professional sports in fact it has never been done in either NASCAR or NFL and it hasn’t been accomplished in the last twenty years in the NBA, NHL or MLB.
Graham Rahal, No. 2 Medi | Zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone:
“The session wasn’t too bad for the Medi | Zone team. Three-tenths of a second would put us third. It’s close other than Sebastien’s time. I think we were on the wrong end of the lap. The track was definitely getting quicker. We put the reds on and I don’t think it was the way to go and it hurt us a bit. I don’t think we’re too far off though. We need to find some speed but we’ll be there tomorrow. ”
· FAST FACTS: Will be his fourth race here and first in a Champ Car. Finished runner-up to the champion in the Atlantic standings in 2006 after the fight went to the Road America finale and he retired in 20th due to an electrical failure after starting third. Also competed in two Formula BMW events here in 2004 and once in Start Mazda in 2005…Finished second in the Champ Car Atlantic championship after a title hunt that concluded in the season finale. Led 129 laps to champion Pagenaud’s 31. He earned a series-high five wins (42 percent), four poles (33 percent) and six podium finishes (50 percent) in the 12 events and at 17 years old was the youngest race winner in series history (Monterrey, Mexico on 5-21-06).
