McDONALD’S DRIVER BOURDAIS AIMS TO LOCK UP HISTORY MAKING FOURTH CONSECUTIVE TITLE AT THIS WEEKEND’S LEXMARK INDY 300 IN AUSTRALIA; MEDI | ZONE DRIVER RAHAL HOPES TO BECOME 17TH DIFFERENT WINNER IN AUSTRALIA SURFERS PARADISE, Queensland, Australia (October 16, 2007) --- Although Australia could be the site of something that has never been done before in a top American racing series – four consecutive titles by one driver -- Sebastien Bourdais is focused on another achievement some might consider a lesser feat. Bourdais, driver of the McDonald’s entry, will remain consistent to his practice of taking it one race at a time and he is focused on aiming to be the first repeat winner in 16-year Lexmark Indy 300 history. He figures that if he can do that the rest will take care of itself. He holds a 58 point advantage (301-243) over Justin Wilson and the worst case scenario calls for a 14th place finish or better to clinch the title. Four championships in a row are 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. Never one to be achieve great heights in order to see his name in records books, his motive has always been to get the most out of the situation and also reward the hard work of those who helped put him in the position to do so and this weekend is no different. “Obviously the McDonald’s team has had some great races and not so great races in Surfers Paradise,” said Bourdais who has started no lower than second in his previous four races on the 2.795-mile ocean side street course. “We’ve won once (2005) but last year was a bit of a disaster, a bit of a shame. But historically we’ve been very fast as a team and I’ve been feeling good there so we’re looking for a nice weekend again under the Surfers Paradise sunshine. Obviously it will be my last race in Surfers Paradise but not my last race in Australia. I’ll just try to enjoy myself as much as possible and give the McDonald’s team the best result possible. They really deserve it.” Bourdais had hoped to become the first repeat winner here in 2006 after clinching his second Champ Car title in Australia with a win in 2005 but the race did not go as planned. He again clinched the series title but, ever the sportsmen, he and the team were disappointed with the end result of eighth place after a rare mistake by the Frenchman that also altered local favorite Will Power’s race. “Last year we were trying to go one lap further than Will and at some point when A.J. (Allmendinger) made a mistake and was out of contention for the title I knew the championship was in the pocket and we could get a little more racy,” said Bourdais. “I tried to pass Will and the maneuver didn’t go right and we touched. It was a real shame for both of us. These things happen when you try to pass someone. It doesn’t always go right.” To date, Bourdais has earned 31 career poles and 29 wins. His 31st pole came in the previous race held in the Netherlands and it put him sixth on the all time career pole position list. With two races left in the season he has the opportunity to match former NHR driver Michael Andretti who has 32. Mario Andretti, who earned the first title for NHR holds the record with 67. He is eighth on the all time race winner list with 29, for a 40 percent average in 71 starts and a 60 percent average for podium finishes. Despite his success Bourdais is the first to admit it has never been a walk in the park and this weekend is no different, in fact it is considered the most challenging street course of the season. “The race is always very intense,” said Bourdais. “It’s a big strategy race and in the meantime it’s super easy to make a mistake because the track is pretty bumpy and the chicanes are unforgiving. The slightest mistake will take you out of the race so it’s always tense. You end the race with your nerves quite worn out.” Medi | Zone driver Graham Rahal hasn’t raced in Surfers Paradise before but he has seen the races on TV and even came here once when he was 9 years old. That inexperience on this track might prove a benefit and aid him in keeping the 16-year, no repeat winner streak intact. “I’m looking forward to getting back to Surfers Paradise,” said Rahal, 18. “I went in either 1997 or 1998, one of the last years my dad was racing. It is a great place; absolutely beautiful! I was only 9 or 10 so I missed the best part which is the girls. I wasn’t paying attention to them then. My dad was knocked out right away so I didn’t see much of the race. I went back to the hotel and jumped in the pool. I’m looking forward to seeing the entire race from the cockpit of my Medi | Zone car this year though.” With two races left this season, Rahal has his sights set on retaining his current fifth place rank. He became the youngest podium finisher with a second place on the streets of Houston but he really excelled on the tracks with more wide open spaces such as Edmonton, Elkhart Lake and Zolder where he earned third place finishes. He is expecting a challenge weekend on the street course. “It will be a tough race for me,” said Rahal. “I hope not but I think it will. I’ve never been a guy that has been fast over curbs and chicanes and half of the Surfers layout is hitting curbs and chicanes as hard as you can. I hope the Medi | Zone team can be competitive and we can keep the string of new winners going there but it will be a tough weekend.” The Lexmark Indy 300 gets underway on Friday with the first round of qualifying at 1:55 p.m. local time. The final grid will be set on Saturday at 2:00 pm local time and the race will go green Sunday at 1:30 pm local time and will be broadcast on a tape delay basis on ESPN2 in the United States. COULD CLINCH HISTORY MAKING FOURTH TITLE IN AUSTRALIA: Will be his fifth race here. Clinched his third consecutive title here last year with an eighth place finish after starting second but the euphoria was lessened by contact on Lap 28/58 while attempting to pass second place Will Power. Power would have reclaimed the lead two laps later when temporary leader Zwolsman pit, but he ultimately retired from the race after contact with both Paul Tracy (pits) and Bourdais, who dropped to 10th. In 2005, he could have clinched his second consecutive series title by finishing last (19th) here but earned it with a win from second place after he led 38 of 57 laps. Stayed on track one lap longer than then-leader Tracy for his first pit stop to take the race lead and held it until the checkered flag. In 2004, he could have clinched title here if he gained an additional seven points over his teammate Junqueira (total of 35). Was the provisional polesitter which allowed him to increase his lead to 28 points over second. Set the third fastest time in final qualifying but started second based on his prov. pole. Junqueira was able to gain a position on him after his second stop and he ultimately finished second and lost ground in the points lead (335-313)…Started on pole in 2003 but finished 17th. He and Paul Tracy made contact early in the race but he held second place until he lost control of his race car and crashed when rain began to fall, followed by hail and a temporary halt to the event. LEADS 2007 POINT STANDINGS BY 58 PTS: 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 pit again. Returned to the race in 11th place but contact in Turn 4 on the 31st of 68 laps ended his race…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…He started from pole and set the fastest race lap in Cleveland but lost ground in the point standings due to an engine failure after leading 27 laps ended his race while second …Qualified third in Mont Tremblant and took the lead on the first lap when polesitter Gommendy’s car wouldn’t start and second place Power stalled. Led the first 27 laps but spun on the wet track on slick tires and dropped back to 11th but recovered to finish second to Robert Doornbos…Earned both points for fastest qualifier in Toronto to start the race from pole with a two-point lead over Doornbos but was hit by him with five laps to go while fifth and retired in ninth place. Doornbos was able to continue to finish sixth and take over the points by two over Power and three over Bourdais…Qualified second in Edmonton but took the lead at the start and led until his first stop when he dropped to third to avoid a car while trying to leave his pits. Ran two laps longer and regained the lead after the second stop to win after setting the fastest race lap…Was the provisional polesitter in San Jose and started second but took the lead going into Turn 1 although Wilson regained the position a few turns later. Bourdais stalled the car under the first caution while trying to save fuel and dropped to eighth but regained a few spots to finish fifth while race winner Doornbos closed to within 10 points…Earned the max. points at Road America with pole on Friday & Saturday, set the fastest race lap and won to increase his lead over second place to 37 points…Started from pole, led 51/71 laps and won the Belgium race by 13.5 seconds as well as set the fastest race lap…Started from pole in Holland but his attempt to utilize P2P to regain the lead from Wilson on Lap 1 dropped him to 5th due to a glitch. P2P was banned later in the race for safety reasons. Stalled in the pits and finished seventh for a 58 point lead over second place Wilson (301-243). 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. 29 WINS IN 71 RACES (40.8 percent): (’03 – three wins; ’04 – seven wins; ’05 – six wins; ’06 – seven wins; ’07 Long Beach, Houston, Portland, Edmonton, Elkhart Lake, Belgium). He earned his 20th victory in his 49th start with a win in Milwaukee which beats the former record of 79 starts to reach 20 wins, held by Foyt. Mario Andretti (80), T. Bettenhausen (96) & R. Mears (97) are the only other drivers to reach 20 wins in 100 starts. 31 CCWS POLES IN 71 RACES (43.6 percent): (’03 – five poles; ’04 – eight poles; ’05 – five poles; ’06 – seven poles; ’07-- Long Beach, Cleveland, Toronto, Elkhart Lake, Belgium, Holland). Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald’s Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone: “Obviously the McDonald’s team has had some great races and not so great races in Surfers Paradise. We’ve won once (2005) but last year was a bit of a disaster, a bit of a shame. But historically we’ve been very fast as a team and I’ve been feeling good there so we’re looking for a nice weekend again under the Surfers Paradise sunshine. “Last year we were trying to go one lap further than Will and at some point when A.J. (Allmendinger) made a mistake and was out of contention for the title I knew the championship was in the pocket and we could get a little more racy. I tried to pass Will and the maneuver didn’t go right and we touched. It was a real shame for both of us. These things happen when you try to pass someone. It doesn’t always go right. The race is always very intense. It’s a big strategy race and in the meantime it’s super easy to make a mistake because the track is pretty bumpy and the chicanes are unforgiving. The slightest mistake will take you out of the race so it’s always tense. You end the race with your nerves quite worn out. “Obviously it will be my last race in Surfers Paradise but not my last race in Australia. I’ll just try to enjoy myself as much as possible and give the McDonald’s team the best result possible. They really deserve it. ” IN AUSTRALIA: Will be his first Champ Car race in Australia. RANKED 5TH SO FAR IN 2007: Had an electrical problem in Friday’s qualifying 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 and hit the wall 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 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 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…Started ninth in Mont Tremblant, pitted for his last stop after he led seven laps but a shifting problem led to a stalled car and he rejoined the field 10th. Finished seventh to tie with Oriol Servia for eighth place…He started 15th in Toronto but an evasive move to avoid a pile up on Lap 1 led to him hitting the wall and a subsequent stop for a new front wing. Had to pit again for another front wing later in the race after running as high as second. Retired in 11th place after he made contact for the third time due to a broken steering rack…Started fourth and finished third in Edmonton…Started sixth, ran as high as fourth and finished sixth in San Jose after he charged back from a problem (stalled) on his first pit stop that dropped him to 13th…Started fourth, ran as high as second and finished third in Elkhart Lake to move from eighth to fifth in the point standings…Had a lap quick enough for P2 in qualifying but had to abort it and started 13th in Belgium. Different strategy saw him lead seven laps and finish 3rd…Started sixth in Holland, ran as high as fourth and finished ninth after two off-course excursions. Is ranked fifth with 209 points. ALSO IN 2007: Rahal competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petite Le Mans. Drove a Lexus Riley for Southard Motorsports in the 24 hour race. The team retired 28th in class after a water pump failure…He competed for his father’s team Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR) for the first time in Sebring. The team started eighth in the GT2 class and battled back to a sixth place finish after damage from an opening lap incident dropped them to 18th…Ran the Petite Le Mans for RLR in the GT2 class. Team started 4th and finished 3rd despite three flats and a final lap spin by Milner. 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’m looking forward to getting back to Surfers Paradise. I went in either 1997 or 1998, one of the last years my dad was racing. It is a great place; absolutely beautiful! I was only 9 or 10 so I missed the best part which is the girls. I wasn’t paying attention to them then. My dad was knocked out right away so I didn’t see much of the race. I went back to the hotel and jumped in the pool. I’m looking forward to seeing the entire race from the cockpit of my Medi | Zone car this year though. “It will be a tough race for me. I hope not but I think it will. I’ve never been a guy that has been fast over curbs and chicanes and half of the Surfers layout is hitting curbs and chicanes as hard as you can. I hope the Medi | Zone team can be competitive and we can keep the string of new winners going there but it will be a tough weekend. “I’m pretty lucky with jetlag being young. Some people say the older you get, the harder it is to deal with jetlag. For me it has never been an issue. I can make myself fall asleep when I need to and I can wake up whenever so I’m pretty lucky that way.”