McDONALD’S® DRIVER BOURDAIS HOPES TO REGAIN GROUND IN TITLE FIGHT AFTER RUNNING STRONG AT THE TEST FOR THIS WEEKEND’S CHAMP CAR MONT-TREMBLANT; MEDI | ZONE DRIVER RAHAL PLANS TO CONTINUE GAINING MOMENTUM MONT-TREMBLANT, Quebec, Canada (June 27, 2007) --- McDonald’s driver Sebastien Bourdais saw his advantage over second place in the quest for an unprecedented fourth straight title take a hit at the previous race in Cleveland when he retired with engine failure while second. Bourdais went from a pre-race advantage of 11 points to a mere three ahead of Robert Doornbos, who took over second with his fourth podium finish in five events. Bourdais has won five out of the last seven inaugural events on the Champ Car schedule and set the fastest lap at a test here in May so the team is hoping for a strong finish at this weekend’s inaugural Champ Car Mont-Tremblant, the 400th event for the newly-renamed Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. “The McDonald’s and Medi | Zone cars were probably the best two cars at the test,” said Bourdais, of the test at the 2.65-mile Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant permanent road course. “On our side we had a very productive test session. The track is beautiful. It’s a natural race track with big elevation changes. It’s blindingly fast but the only downside is that there is a possibility of big wrecks. It should be a great show for the fans for sure.” The inaugural Champ Car Mont-Tremblant race takes place in the heart of the Laurentians this weekend and will mark the official return of Champ Cars to the 2.65-mile natural road course since before the CART / Champ Car era, 39 years ago. The series last visited Le Circuit in 1968 when Mario Andretti won from the pole position. The circuit, a fast, 15 turn mix of up hills, down hills and blind corners, is known as one of the most demanding in the world and was highly rated from all the Champ Car drivers who tested there in May. For the past five years prior to coming to Mont-Tremblant, the series has competed at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve approximately one hour away in Montreal. Bourdais won the Montreal event last year from pole and brought the team its third win at the track, fourth pole and fourth podium finish. Champ Car has many dedicated fans in this part of the country and Bourdais hopes to see many of them this weekend. “Even though it’s not in Montreal, and a drive from there, I think the fans should come because the show is going to be awesome, probably even better than it was in Montreal,” said Bourdais who will see more of Canada while driving his motorhome 400 miles between Mont-Tremblant and the next race in Toronto. “Mont Tremblant is a much nicer track to drive but it’s a little farther for the fans that live in Montreal. It’s going to take a little bit of effort from the fans to come out but in the meantime it’s not a bad place to spend a weekend. Hopefully the fans will come out.” So far this season Bourdais has won all three of the five races he finished. He retired after contact in the season-opener in Las Vegas and suffered his first race car related retirement in 49 races in Cleveland. He enters Round 6 of 14 with a three point lead over Doornbos (117-114), 12 over third place Will Power (117-105) and only 25 over fifth place Justin Wilson (92) while a race win pays 31 points. Frenchman Bourdais, who hails from Le Mans, and just returned from a quick trip to France after the Cleveland race for a Tag Heuer appearance, should feel that he never left his homeland. “It (Mont-Tremblant) is a little like home,” said Bourdais who is one of eight drivers competing this weekend who speak French. “The French Canadians have different expressions and different accents but the language is still French. It’s nice to get there; it feels a little like home. The little town feels very much like a ski resort and I like those sorts of places since I’m a big fanatic about skiing.” Medi | Zone driver Graham Rahal is also a ski fanatic and is not only looking forward to spending time in the area but also continuing to make progress and carry on the momentum that saw him lead his first Champ Car race at his home event in Cleveland last weekend. “I think the Medi | Zone team will be very competitive in Mont Tremblant,” said Rahal who drove here from his home in Ohio and will stay at his mother’s family home in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada before traveling to Toronto for the next event. “I think we have begun to find a setup that I truly love driving, and it should be applicable to the upcoming events. I believe with all the momentum this team has going forward, we should be among the front runners this weekend.” Le Circuit consists of a 15-corner design which utilizes the natural topography of the land and is considered one of the finest and most demanding circuits in the world. The hillsides around the track provide natural grandstands affording spectators with magnificent elevated vantage points. The first event was held on August 3, 1964, on the short 12-turn North Loop. In 1965 the circuit was expanded to its current 2.65-mile layout. Famous names like Villeneuve, Andretti, Stewart, Moss and Graham’s father, Bobby Rahal, have all raced here on what Michael Schumacher described as the Little Nurburgring. Rahal is currently tied with former Atlantic rival Simon Pagenaud for seventh place in the overall point standings as well as for second in the Rookie of the Year battle. Both drivers have 74 points to leader Bourdais’ 117 and rookie leader Doornbos’ 114. As a rookie, every mile of testing is beneficial and Rahal believes the progress made since testing here will show this weekend. “The test was very helpful for us, especially at learning the circuit,” said Rahal. “It is a very difficult place to learn, and getting to understand all of the elevation changes was quite interesting. I think on the setup front we have learned a lot recently -- post Mont Tremblant test, that will help us there but to return with the baseline we found in testing should also be advantageous to us.” “The track is awesome; it’s very fast and the drivers have to be extremely brave,” added Rahal. “I think it will host a great event and hopefully we’ll get a lot of fans at the event. The area is beautiful. I’m a skier so I love going to places like Mont Tremblant. It’s a beautiful area with a lot of beautiful scenery. The track is in the perfect location. Hopefully, if all the wildlife stays away it will be exciting and in a pretty setting.” The first round of qualifying will take place at 2:15 p.m. Friday while the starting line-up for the Champ Car Mont-Tremblant race will be set at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 30. Round 6 on the 2007 Champ Car World Series schedule will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 1 and will be broadcast live on ESPN in the United States and on Global TV in Canada (all times eastern). 2006 WINNER IN NEARBY MONTREAL: Will be his first race here but competed at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal from 2003-2006. Started from pole on Sunday in 2006 and led a total of 38 laps to win the event that was postponed to Monday due to standing water on the track. Started from pole in 2005 and led the first 59/79 laps but failed to match a series record fourth consecutive victory due to a problem on his final pit stop which led to a fourth place finish. Started from pole in 2004 and led 26 laps before contact with A.J. Allmendinger caused him to retire from the race in 15th place…Started sixth and finished 19th in 2003 due to differential failure. SO FAR IN 2007: Crashed in final qualifying in Las Vegas season-opener and started 16th in the 17 car field. Overcame two unscheduled stops for punctured tires and charged into third place but brushed a wall and had to make another pit stop. Returned to the race in 11th place but his day ended when he made contact in Turn 4 on the 31st of 68 laps…Led 58 laps and won from pole in Long Beach to rebound to a third place rank…Was the provisional polesitter in Houston and set the fastest lap time in final qualifying but CCWS ruled he had interfered with the lap time of Power and took away that lap. He started second but took the lead at the start by cutting the chicane and was told to give the position up to Wilson on the next lap but regained the lead on Lap 14 and only relinquished it after pit stops. Set the fastest race lap en route to victory…Started third in Portland and brought the team their 100th victory in dominating fashion. After his third place start he temporarily dropped to fifth but stretched his fuel two laps longer than race leader Wilson on the first stint and closed an +18-second deficit to take over the leader after the second stop, which he held through his third and won by a 13.5 second margin over Wilson…His 11 point, pre-race lead over second in the standings was reduced to three after he did not finish the Cleveland event due to engine failure after leading 27 laps and running second at the time. He also started from pole and set the fastest race lap….Holds a three point lead over Robert Doornbos (117-114) and 12 points over Power, 105. 2007 24 HOURS OF LE MANS: Teamed with Pedro Lamy and Stephane Sarrazin at Peugeot in his first effort with a factory team and finished second overall despite the program only being six months old. Set the fastest lap (3:26.707, a new lap record) in the pre-race test on June 3 and was 1.5 seconds faster than Pirro in the lead Audi that won last year. Started from pole. HISTORY MAKING THIRD CONSECUTIVE TITLE IN 2006: 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. Both Horn and Bourdais clinched their titles in the penultimate event but Horn was unable to attempt four after he died in a crash in the season finale…Bourdais earned seven wins, seven poles and finished on the podium 11 times in 14 races. FOUR IN A ROW RARE IN SPORTS: Bourdais has the rare opportunity to win four consecutive championships this year if he can again capture the Vanderbilt Cup for the fourth time since 2004. No Champ Car driver has ever won four straight titles. 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. - FOX SPORTS BEST NON AMERICAN ATHLETES: Recently made a list complied by Fox Sports of the 10 best non American athletes. Others on the list include reigning F 1 champ Fernando Alonso, Brazilian soccer stars Ronaldinho and Adriano, golf stars Luke Donald (England) and Padraig Harrington (Ireland) as well as four others. 26 WINS IN 64 RACES (40.6 percent): (’03 – England, Germany & Cleveland; ’04 – Monterrey, Portland, Cleveland, Toronto, Denver, Las Vegas, Mexico City; ’05 – Long Beach, Edmonton, San Jose, Denver, Las Vegas, Australia; ’06 Long Beach, Houston, Monterrey, Milwaukee, San Jose, Montreal, Mexico City; ’07 Long Beach, Houston, Portland). He earned his 20th career victory in just his 49th start with a win in Milwaukee. The feat obliterates the former record of 79 starts to reach 20 wins, held by A.J. Foyt. Mario Andretti (80), Tony Bettenhausen (96) and Rick Mears (97) as the only other drivers to reach 20 wins in 100 starts. 26 CCWS POLES IN 64 RACES (42 percent): (’03 – St. Pete, Monterrey, Germany, Cleveland, Australia; ’04 – Monterrey, Portland, Toronto, Elkhart Lake, Denver, Montreal, Laguna Seca, Mexico City; ’05 – Monterrey, Toronto, San Jose, Montreal, Las Vegas; ’06 – Long Beach, Monterrey, Milwaukee, Edmonton, San Jose, Denver, Montreal; ’07 Long Beach). Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald’s Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone: “The McDonald’s and Medi | Zone cars were probably the best two cars at the test. On our side we had a very productive test session. The track is beautiful. It’s a natural race track with big elevation changes. It’s blindingly fast but the only downside is that there is a possibility of big wrecks. It’s a shame but it should be a great show for the fans for sure. Even though it’s not in Montreal, and a drive from there, I think the fans should come because the show is going to be awesome, probably even better than it was in Montreal. Mont Tremblant is a much nicer track to drive but it’s a little farther for the fans that live in Montreal. It’s going to take a little bit of effort from the fans to come out but in the meantime it’s not a bad place to spend a weekend. Hopefully the fans will come out. “It is a little like home. The French Canadians have different expressions and different accents but the language is still French. It’s nice to get there; it feels a little like home. The little town feels very much like a ski resort and I like those sorts of places since I’m a big fanatic about skiing.” 1 WIN IN NEARBY MONTREAL: Will be his first race here and sixth overall in a Champ Car. Competed at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in the Atlantic series in 2006 where he started third, led 21 laps and won his fifth race of the season. SO FAR IN 2007: Had an electrical problem in Friday’s qualifying in the season-opening race in Las Vegas and had to qualifying his backup car on Saturday due to crashing in the morning practice. Started 10th but had to make an evasive move to avoid a swerving Dan Clarke who hit him prior to Turn 1 on the first racing lap. Retired in 17th place… Qualified fifth in Long Beach but pit strategy of others and slow fuel flow on two pit stops led to an eighth place finish…Started sixth in Houston and finished second to bring the team it’s first 1-2 finish since Las Vegas in 2005…Started eighth in Portland but struggled to pass Dan Clarke and went off course twice while trying and ultimately finished ninth…Earned his highest start of fourth in his home race in Cleveland but a battle with Doornbos for position led to being hit from behind by Tracy and he went off course and subsequently to the rear of the field. Came back to lead four laps for the first time in his Champ Car career and had a late race battle with leader Tracy but had to pit for five gallons of fuel and finished eighth…Is tied for 7th in the standings with Simon Pagenaud at 74 points. ALSO IN 2007: Rahal competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona (water pump failure) and 12 Hours of Sebring (battled back from opening lap crash to finish sixth in GT2 class). RUNNER-UP TO 2006 ATLANTIC CHAMPION: 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)…He led the most laps (129, 32 percent) and set a series-high five fastest race laps …He was awarded the BBS of America Rising Star Award. DID YOU KNOW: Graham Robert Rahal, 18, was born in Columbus, Ohio on 1-4-1989 and resides in New Albany, Ohio…The 6’2” driver is one of four children of Bobby Rahal, three-time open wheel champion, Indy 500 winner and Hall of Fame race car driver…Has two sisters (Michaela and Samantha) and one brother (Jarrad)…He graduated from New Albany High School with a 3.8 GPA on June 3, 2007…When he is not racing he likes to work on cars, hang out with friends and family or play other sports for fun…To prepare for the physicality of racing he spends many hours doing cardiovascular training and weightlifting, skiing, running or bicycling…He drives a 2007 Atomic Orange Corvette Z06 and his favorite type of clothing is anything made by Puma…His favorite food is sushi and his weaknesses are ice cream and white chocolate mocha drinks at Starbucks…His favorite books are those written by Lance Armstrong (and anything he reads other than for school)…His favorite thing to watch on TV is any Ohio State Buckeye game, his favorite actor/actress are Owen Wilson and Eva Longoria and favorite movie is “Wedding Crashers.” ABOUT MEDI | ZONE: MEDI | ZONE is a leader of medically supervised weight loss, weight maintenance, wellness and performance programs, products, and services as well as the exclusive provider of the leading cutting edge health, wellness and performance systems by Dr. Barry Sears, the best selling author of the Zone Diet series. MEDI | ZONE owns and operates medically supervised weight loss, weight maintenance, wellness, and performance centers. Graham Rahal, #2 Medi | Zone Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone: “I think the Medi | Zone team will be very competitive in Mont Tremblant. I think we have begun to find a setup that I truly love driving, and it should be applicable to the upcoming events. I believe with all the momentum this team has going forward, we should be among the front runners this weekend. “The test was very helpful for us, especially at learning the circuit. It is a very difficult place to learn, and getting to understand all of the elevation changes was quite interesting. I think on the setup front we have learned a lot recently -- post Mont Tremblant test, that will help us there but to return with the baseline we found in testing should also be advantageous to us. “The track is awesome; it’s very fast and the drivers have to be extremely brave. I think it will host a great event and hopefully we’ll get a lot of fans at the event. The area is beautiful. I’m a skier so I love going to places like Mont Tremblant. It’s a beautiful area with a lot of beautiful scenery. The track is in the perfect location. Hopefully, if all the wildlife stays away it will be exciting and in a pretty setting.”