2007 Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing // Press Release

Sunday, July 22, 2007
Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton –
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Round 8 of 14 in the Champ Car World Series 2007 Season

McDONALD’S ® DRIVER BOURDAIS WON THE REXALL GRAND PRIX OF EDMONTON AND RECLAIMED THE SERIES POINTS LEAD; MEDI | ZONE DRIVER RAHAL FINISHED THIRD

McDonald’s® driver Sebastien Bourdais won from a second place start in the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton and set the fastest race lap en route to reclaiming the series points lead with a 20-point margin over Robert Doornbos (194-174) after Round 8 of 14. He led for the first stint and had built a 10-second lead before a caution for debris bunched the field for the first round of stops. Unfortunately Bourdais was held up leaving his pit box due to last place Katherine Legge attempting to enter her box in the next space. Bourdais dropped to third but conserved fuel behind second place Wilson. Race leader Will Power’s car appeared to go away and Wilson and Bourdais closed on the Aussie. Bourdais was able to run two laps further than Power and Wilson on the second stop and recovered the lead which he held until the third and final pit stop under caution for contact between previous series points leader Robert Doornbos and Alex Tagliani. He built a six second lead over second place Wilson and held it until the checkered flag. He earned 31 points for his win and one for setting the fastest race lap. Following are his post race comments:

“We had a decent lead on the first stint and when the yellow came out it bunched everyone up and we were a victim of our results in Toronto and had a bad pit box here,” said Bourdais. “We overcame that and it was an awesome job from everybody from the McDonald’s team. We stuck together and said ‘Its not over.’ We kept plugging away and it worked out and I couldn’t be any happier. It is pretty spectacular to get the lead we have leaving here. We’ll take it.”

Medi | Zone driver Graham Rahal drove to his second podium result of his Champ Car career when he finished third in the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton after starting fourth. On the start he dropped to fifth place after fifth place starter Neel Jani passed him for position. He settled into a fuel conservation strategy and held the position until his first pit stop on Lap 20 under caution for debris. He returned to the track in fourth place behind teammate Bourdais who lost the lead due to being held up trying to leave his pit and dropped to third. The location of the NHLR pits also added an additional challenge for frontrunner Rahal. He again conserved fuel and held fourth behind leader Will Power, Justin Wilson and Bourdais until the second round of stops began and he stayed on track two laps longer than Power and one lap longer than Wilson and moved up to second place before he pitted on Lap 51 which enabled him to move ahead of Power and into third. He trailed Bourdais, who regained the lead due with the help of fuel conservation, and Wilson, whom he trailed by under two seconds. On Lap 57 he set what was then the fastest lap of the race and closed to within one second of Wilson but wasn’t able to get close enough to attempt a pass in the closing stages and finished third. He earned 25 points for his finish and moved from ninth to eighth in the standings with a total of 126. Following are his post race comments:

“It was a good job by the whole Medi | Zone team,” said Rahal. “It was a tough race, I lost radio contact and it was a bit difficult in that aspect but certainly we performed well. During the second stint we were really fast and caught up with the leaders easily. At the end I just didn’t have enough for Justin but I’m happy to take a third. To come off of Toronto where neither of our cars finished and come here and be first and third is great. Hopefully we can keep building the momentum in San Jose.”

The Champ Car World Series will travel to San Jose next weekend for the San Jose Grand Prix, round 9 of 14. Bourdais has won both races held on the street course.