Friday, June 8, 2007 Mazda Grand Prix of Portland – Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon Round 4 of 14 in the Champ Car World Series 2007 Season
McDONALD’S ® DRIVER BOURDAIS THIRD IN PROVISIONAL QUALIFYING FOR THE MAZDA GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND; MEDI | ZONE DRIVER RAHAL EIGHTH
Sebastien Bourdais, No. 1 McDonald’s Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone: “We don't exactly know what happened. But for some reason the car went from acceptable to pretty bad in the second run and we couldn't really improve. It was a little disappointing. I think we have a downshift issue. Again, I should say. The paddle shift in the first run, that really ruined our 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 the McDonald’s team is going to find something on the setup because otherwise I have no idea what happened.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his fifth race here. Attempt to earn a record setting fifth consecutive win here last year was hindered by a ragged start. He started third but dropped to seventh on the second attempt to start the race and recovered to finish third. Started fifth in 2005 after losing his fastest laps in Fri. & Sat.’s qualifying sessions. Led seven laps but finished second. Started on pole, led 85 laps and won here in 2004. Started fourth in 2003 but a tire pressure problem dropped him to 18th place. He fought back into third before his rear wing failed and ended his day...Became the first open wheel driver to win three consecutive championships since Ted Horn accomplished the feat from 1946-1948 and only the second in the 98 year history of the sport…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: "We’re lost right now. We are over one second slower than we were at the test. Doornbos is a perfect example. We were one second faster than he was at the test and he may have found something to improve a little but one second quicker is a lot of time to pick up so I think we missed something. I don’t really understand why. We can’t seem to get a grip on the car right now; we’re just missing it. We don’t know what to change to make it better but the Medi | Zone team is going to keep working at it and try to improve for tomorrow. The forecast isn’t great but we’ll deal with what comes our way.”
FAST FACTS: Will be his third race here and first in a Champ Car. Started from pole in the Atlantics race here in 2006 but was hit by Simon Pagenaud on Lap 1 and finished 27th. Earned his first professional win here in the Star Mazda race in 2005 after starting fourth and winning by a margin of .0317 seconds. Graham’s father Bobby won at this track twenty years ago (June 14, 1987) after starting third…Rahal finished second in the 2006 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).
NHLR /NHLR FAST FACTS: The team has earned 235 top-three finishes (1st - 99, 2nd – 76, 3rd - 60) and 101 poles and is attempting to win their 100th race. SEVEN WINS & 15 PODIUM FINISHES IN 23 RACES IN PORTLAND: NHLR has won SEVEN races at this track (Bourdais 2004; da Matta 2002; Michael Andretti 1992, 1991, 1990; Mario Andretti 1986, 1985) and FIVE poles (Junqueira 2006, Bourdais 2004, da Matta 2002, Mansell 1993, Ma. Andretti 1984). They have earned a total of 15 podium finishes (2nd – Bourdais 2005, Junqueira 2004, Mansell 1993, Ma. Andretti 1990; 3rd – Bourdais 2006, Fittipaldi 2001, 2000, 1996). 2006 IN PORTLAND: Botched start limited Bourdais’ chance to earn a record five straight wins. Started third but dropped back to seventh on the start and finished third. Junqueira started from pole but finished fourth after the second attempt to start the race..
The morning practice session will take place from 10:15-11:30 AM PT while final qualifying will take place from 2:00-3:00 PM PT.
