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Champ Car - Mazda GP of Portland
Topic Started: Jun 7 2007, 02:48 PM (421 Views)
The Saint
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The Champ Car series returns after a lengthy break.

Track details here

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Event/Tracks.asp?ID=8


Sorry, thats the best I can do for now.

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stradlin24
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it seems like Champ Car has been away for ages....


doesn't really help the momentum of the series

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The Saint
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I dont understand why they had a break of over a month, though I suspect it was because they took a race out of the calender and probably the Colorado one in Denver.
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stradlin24
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The Saint,Jun 7 2007
05:24 PM
I dont understand why they had a break of over a month, though I suspect it was because they took a race out of the calender and probably the Colorado one in Denver.

the break in the schedule allowed Robin Miller to shout his mouth off about the IRL again

he's always good for a laugh nowadays is Robin, or should that be good to laugh at!

he used to make some very points but now he is just a boring reporter with a chip on his shoulder

Of the race....

Newman Haas do you think?
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The Saint
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After the huge 6 week break I can see little changing from the last race.

Champ Car has been a major dissapointment for me this year, the huge budget advantage of the Newman/Haas cars will allow them to dominate once again, and when Rahal finds his feet, I feel we will see many Newman/Haas 1,2's.

I hope I am wrong about this, but cant see any other outcome than Bordais winning again.

Hurrah for IRL.

So what has Robin Miller been saying this time?



_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CHAMP CAR GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND
PRESENTED BYJOE'S
PROGRAM OF EVENTS
PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
The Champ Car World Series - CHAMP CAR
Champ Car Atlantic Championship - Atlantic
Formula Drift Championship Series - Drifting
Mazda Mx-5 Cup - Mazda Mx-5
Star Mazda Championship - Star Mazda
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Facilty Open to Champ Car Team Hospitality
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Facility Open to CHAMP CAR/Atlantic Team Transporters (Parking Only)
Thursday, June 7, 2007
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM CHAMP CAR/Atlantic Paddocks Open to All Participants
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM CHAMP CAR Technical Inspection
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Atlantic Technical Inspection
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Champ Car Registration Open (EXPO Center – Hall D, Room 204)
12:00 PM Fueling of Pit Fuel Storage Tanks
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Champ Car "VIP" On Track Activity (Tentative)
3:00 PM Atlantic Team Managers Meeting (Atlantic Series Operations Transporter)
3:00 PM - 4:30 PM CCWS/Atlantic On Track Orientation (Walking, Golf Carts and Bicycles Only)
Friday, June 8, 2007
6:00 AM Facility Open to Registered Participants
6:30 AM - 3:00 PM Atlantic Technical Inspection
7:00 AM - 3:00 PM Champ Car Registration Open
7:45 AM - 4:30 PM CHAMP CAR Technical Inspection
8:00 AM - 8:25 AM Mazda Mx-5 Practice
8:45 AM - 9:30 AM Atlantic Practice
9:45 AM - 10:10 AM Champ Car "VIP" On Track Activity
10:15 AM - 11:30 AM CHAMP CAR PRACTICE
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM Star Mazda Practice
12:35 PM - 1:10 PM Atlantic Qualifying # 1
1:25 PM - 1:50 PM Champ Car "VIP" On Track Activity
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CHAMP CAR QUALIFYING
3:15 PM Atlantic Driver/Team Manager Meeting (Drivers Meeting Room)
3:45 PM - 4:15 PM Atlantic Drivers Autograph Session (Cooper Tire Display)
3:20 PM - 3:50 PM Mazda Mx-5 Practice
4:00 PM Champ Car Team Logistics Meeting (Drivers Meeting Room)
4:10 PM - 5:10 PM Star Mazda Practice
4:15 PM - 5:15 PM CHAMP CAR Fan Apprecation Activity - All Driver Autograph
Session (Infield Chalet East of the Bridge)
5:15 PM - 5:25 PM Drifting Team Competition
5:30 PM - 6:00 PM Mazda Mx-5 Practice
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timmadigan
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The Saint,Jun 7 2007
12:24 PM
I dont understand why they had a break of over a month, though I suspect it was because they took a race out of the calender and probably the Colorado one in Denver.

They took the time off to allow the drivers to race in the Indy500 - and then the teams had contract restrictions to prevent the drivers from doing so
<doh> <doh> <doh>
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The Saint
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JUSTIN WILSON MAKES SPECTACULAR RUN TO PROVISIONAL POLE IN PORTLAND

Story from www.champcar.com

Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) continued his dominance at Portland International Raceway, pacing the field during Friday's first round of qualifying for the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoor. Under blue skies with the mercury in the thermometer rising to 70 degrees, Wilson negotiated the slippery 1.964-mile road course in 58.000 seconds (121.903 mph) to earn a championship point and a front row starting spot for Sunday's race.

Rookie sensation and Roshfrans Rookie of the Year leader Robert Doornbos (#14 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) made his best qualifying effort of the year, earning the second fastest time during the session with a lap of 58.214 seconds (121.455 mph). Doornbos has raised many eyebrows in the Champ Car paddock, earning two podium finishes in his first three career starts.

Three-time defending Champ Car titlist Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) was third fastest in the qualifying session as the changing track conditions kept the McDonald's driver off the front row. Bourdais turned a best lap of 58.308 seconds (121.260 mph) just edging RSPORTS driver Alex Tagliani (#8 LXN2 Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone). The veteran Canadian set the early pace and was able to adapt to the slippery circuit with a lap of 58.363 seconds (121.145 mph).

A pair of rookies were fifth and sixth on the speed charts as Frenchman Tristan Gommendy (#22 Pay By Touch-Megaspiera Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) and Simon Pagenaud (#15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) qualified within one-half of a second of Wilson. Pagenaud's Team Australia stablemate Will Power (#5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) was seventh.

Graham Rahal (#2 Medi|Zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) set the eighth fastest time of the day with Minardi Team USA's Dan Clarke (#4 Minardi Team USA Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) ninth and PKV Racing's Neel Jani (#21 RedBull Gulfstream Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) 10th.

Paul Tracy (#3 Indeck Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone) the 2003 Series Champion, struggled in his return after missing the last two races due to injury. The Canadian failed to complete a lap in the morning session after making contact with the wall. The Forsythe Championship Racing crew was forced to go to its backup car for qualifying and Tracy was only able to muster the 13th best time.

Final qualifying for the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland Presented by Joe's Sports and Outdoor will begin at 2:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. Eastern) on Saturday. With the race scheduled for Sunday, June 10 at 1:00 p.m. local (4:00 p.m. ET) and can be seen live on ABC Sports. Fans can also follow all of the action via the official website of the Champ Car World Series, www.champcar.ws.

For free video content from Champ Car World Series, please log on to www.thenewsmarket.com/ChampCar to preview and request video. You can receive broadcast-standard video digitally or by tape from this site. Registration and video is free to the media.

QUOTES FROM THE TOP THREE FRIDAY QUALIFIERS

Sebastien Bourdais: "We don't exactly know what happened, but for some reason the car went from acceptable to pretty bad in the second run and couldn't really improve. It was a little disappointing. I think we got a downshift issue. Again, should I say, with the strategy on the paddle shift in the first run, that really ruined the first run. I thought there was a lot more in the car. Then we put the reds on, made a little adjustment, went back out, and the whole thing was gone. There was no grip any more, so I hope we're going to find something on the setup because otherwise I have no idea what happened.

Robert Doornbos: "Well, it's fun to drive again on a normal circuit. About the car, we had upshift problems as well. It's just a disaster. We just can't seem to get rid of it. It takes time away from you. I just tried to drive around it and focus on a good lap, and we did it. We managed a good time. Hopefully it rains tomorrow and then we can practice that a little about it for Sunday as well. It's not a great car, to be honest, if you look on the paper, but it worked for the lap time. We might do something special again, and maybe find a bit of more time."

Justin Wilson: "Everything went quite well. We're pleased with the performance. I'm very happy with the way the whole team has been working and improving. We're just getting stronger and stronger and learning all the time. The lap itself was feeling quite good. We kept working away at it. I got a little bit of traffic on a few laps, but managed to put one lap together and it felt good. The option tires just added more grip. We didn't actually touch the setup between the two runs. We just put tires on. It worked very well. We're quite pleased. We feel like we've got some more in reserve for tomorrow if it does stay dry. Other than that, you know, we're quite happy."

er Team Time
1. Justin Wilson RSPORTS 1:11.065
2. Sebastien Bourdais Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan 1:11.210 + 0.145
3. Neel Jani PKV Racing 1:11.398 + 0.333
4. Tristan Gommendy PKV Racing 1:11.619 + 0.554
5. Graham Rahal Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan 1:11.877 + 0.812
6. Robert Doornbos Minardi Team USA 1:12.031 + 0.966
7. Will Power Team Australia 1:12.136 + 1.071
8. Simon Pagenaud Team Australia 1:12.350 + 1.285
9. Jan Heylen Conquest Racing 1:12.375 + 1.310
10. Alex Tagliani RSPORTS 1:12.515 + 1.450
11. Dan Clarke Minardi Team USA 1:12.542 + 1.477
12. Paul Tracy Forsythe Championship 1:12.564 + 1.499
13. Oriol Servia Forsythe Championship 1:12.634 + 1.569
14. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing 1:12.809 + 1.744
15. Katherine Legge Dale Coyne Racing 1:13.083 + 2.018
16. Alex Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:13.132 + 2.067
17. Ryan Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:14.751 + 3.686
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The Saint
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1 J. Wilson 9 RSPORTS 58.000 121.903 196.183

2 R. Doornbos 14 Minardi Team USA 58.214 121.455 195.462 0.214

3 S. Bourdais 1 Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 58.308 121.260 195.149 0.308 0.094

4 A. Tagliani 8 RSPORTS 58.363 121.145 194.963 0.363 0.055

5 T. Gommendy 22 PKV Racing 58.399 121.071 194.844 0.399 0.036


6 S. Pagenaud 15 Team Australia 58.448 120.969 194.680 0.448 0.049

7 W. Power 5 Team Australia 58.469 120.926 194.611 0.469 0.021

8 G. Rahal 2 Newman/ Haas/ Lanigan Racing 58.639 120.575 194.046 0.639 0.170

9 D. Clarke 4 Minardi Team USA 58.692 120.466 193.871 0.692 0.053

10 N. Jani 21 PKV Racing 58.805 120.235 193.499 0.805 0.113


11 O. Servia 7 Forsythe Championship Racing 58.926 119.988 193.101 0.926 0.121

12 J. Heylen 34 Conquest Racing 59.181 119.471 192.269 1.181 0.255

13 P. Tracy 3 Forsythe Championship Racing 59.418 118.994 191.502 1.418 0.237

14 B. Junqueira 19 Dale Coyne Racing 59.696 118.440 190.610 1.696 0.278

15 A. Figge 29 Pacific Coast Motorsports 59.708 118.416 190.572 1.708 0.012


16 K. Legge 11 Dale Coyne Racing 1:00.421 117.019 188.323 2.421 0.713

17 R. Dalziel 28 Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:04.275 110.002 177.031 6.275 3.854
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The Saint
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STANDING STARTS IN PORTLAND

From www.autosport.com

This weekend's Champ Car race in Portland will begin with a standing start, in a major break from series tradition.

The 17-car field will start in a staggered two-by-two formation, primarily for reasons of entertainment, according to Tony Cotman, Champ Car's VP of Operations.

He said: "It has been very successful in the Champ Car Atlantics and we believe it has been far better for the spectators. If we want Atlantics to be a proper training ground for drivers coming into Champ Cars, the two series need to be doing the same thing.

"Additionally it means the cars are arriving at Turn 1 with less speed than they would after a rolling start, so there is more chance of the whole field getting through Turn 1."

In the off-season, the original plan was for standing starts to commence with the season-opener in Las Vegas but engine-mapping issues, discovered in preseason tests at MSR Houston and Laguna Seca pushed the deadline back.

However, in the seven-week gap between rounds three and four, Cotman reasserted his plan and told the teams to 'test like hell.'

"I believe the engine mapping problems have been resolved. We have done a thorough job of running through software, and there is a choice of mapping for teams and drivers. We're comfortable enough to say 'OK, let's do it.

"Are there going to be issues arising? Yes, because it is tricky to get a turbocharged car off the line. We have a launch aid, but not a launch control, and of course we have no traction control. It will be demanding.

"But in fact, not all the drivers want to use the launch aid, and are quite comfortable with doing the job themselves."

RSPORTS' Justin Wilson described the problem thus: "At 50 per cent throttle, we don't have enough power to get off the line so we stall. At 52 per cent, it's too much power, the waste-gate dumps, and we stall. So it's not yet a precise technique.

"We're relying on lights - it's not like we have a rev counter - so it's not precise, and I'd say we're stalling one time in four.

"On the other hand, I like standing starts, it's a good build up, and it's great for the fans. Also, you don't get the bunching you get on a rolling start, where you have one group, then a gap, and then a second group who get overambitious and use up the space in front of them and cause accidents. I think standing starts will keep everyone more evenly spread."

Reigning champion Sebastien Bourdais is unhappy. "I think it's dangerous because of the risk of stalling. Hopefully it will be okay. I just hope nobody gets hurt out of it. I guess I'm talking as the safety representative.

"But, you know, that's all I can say. For the other drivers, I just hope nobody stalls at the front because obviously by the time the back markers get to you, it could be a potentially pretty ugly crash."

Cotman has explained that at least one of the safety trucks will follow the grid on the warm-up lap to pull-start any stalled cars.

"The other thing we have got to train the drivers on is the time it takes between the pole-sitter taking his spot and the last qualifier to line up.

"We don't want cars overheating, and so I'm aiming for between a minute and a minute and 15sec to for the pole sitter to be in place before throwing the green lights."
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wickedwitch
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The standing start is going to be very interesting isn't it?

I've just heard on Globecast radio that it's the first time in history that there's been a standing start - is that right?
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The Saint
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im not sure of champ car history, but that seems to be the case
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timmadigan
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wickedwitch,Jun 10 2007
06:44 AM
The standing start is going to be very interesting isn't it?

I've just heard on Globecast radio that it's the first time in history that there's been a standing start - is that right?

I believe so, yes. I've been watching CART / ChampCars since the end of the 1970's and I don't ever remember them doing a standing start.

It should be interesting. And Seb, if you want to race F1, you've got to get use to the idea of standing starts, not rolling starts. He's probably scared he'll stall and have to work his way through the field instead of just leading the whole race.
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wickedwitch
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timmadigan,Jun 10 2007
04:12 PM

I believe so, yes. I've been watching CART / ChampCars since the end of the 1970's and I don't ever remember them doing a standing start.

It should be interesting. And Seb, if you want to race F1, you've got to get use to the idea of standing starts, not rolling starts. He's probably scared he'll stall and have to work his way through the field instead of just leading the whole race.

I've been watching for a few years too, but is this the first time ever?
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wickedwitch
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Well that worked OK but I did feel they held them too long before the lights went on
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stradlin24
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this track looks awful

looks like someones back garden
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