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Team Australia drivers Simon Pagenaud and Will Power will start the Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix from fifth and eighth respectively after final qualifying in Assen, Holland today.
Pagenaud earned his fifth top five starting position for the season in the #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 at Assen, continuing the strong form that saw the Frenchman run second fastest in opening qualifying on Friday.
Power was unable to produce his usual qualifying form and will start Round 11 of the Champ Car World Series from eighth place in the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01. Power was only four tenths of a second slower than the second fastest time of the day, an indication of how close the field is at Assen this weekend.
The weather at the Assen circuit today was drier than yesterday, meaning that times were significantly faster in final qualifying. Unfortunately both Aussie Vineyards cars were hampered by slower cars on their fastest laps, preventing either from challenging for pole.
Sebastien Bourdais will start the Bavaria Champ Car Grand Prix from pole position ahead of Justin Wilson and Tristan Gommendy.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY …
Will Power – #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01
“It’s just one of those weekends where it’s tough to have anything go right for you,” said Power.
“We caught a little bit of traffic in qualifying. We only needed one tenth to move four spots. We definitely had the speed today.
“The Aussie Vineyards car handled great and was really nice. There were probably a few adjustments we could have made, but overall the guys gave me a great car.”
Simon Pagenaud – #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01
“It was a good session overall,” said Pagenaud.
“I think we used our first set of Bridgestone ‘red’ tyres well. We gained a little bit of time on our second set of ‘reds’, but I was expecting gain more.
“I don’t think we could have done pole, because 1:18.765 was a little too fast, but we certainly could have done P2.
“Honestly, I’m very happy it’s a pretty good recovery from the last race. I think we can have a great race, do good fuel save and get up on the podium.
“I’m glad that Craig Gore is here and hopefully I can show the Aussie Vineyards colours up front tomorrow and get a podium in front of him.”
Derrick Walker – Team Australia Co-Owner
“Finally the weather sorted itself out where we had one continuous session where we were able to work on our dry set-up,” said Walker.
“Simon really had a pretty good car, got traffic and would have been potentially a top three car, so he’s really in good shape.
“Will, we were catching up with the set-up for him, getting it closer to what he needed and got real close, but with traffic we lost a couple of laps with cars that came out of the pits and we didn’t maximise that. I think we still have some work left to be done on Will’s car.
“It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow with the weather conditions being as changeable as they have been so far, it will be anybody’s race.”
Craig Gore – Team Australia Co-Owner
“The guys gave it their all today but unfortunately we are a little further back than usual,” said Gore.
“We have strong Aussie Vineyards cars but today things didn’t go our way. We can move our way forwards tomorrow with car speed and pit strategy, so we are certainly not done with yet.
“Look for the green and gold cars to come on strong on race day.”
RESULTS: Final Qualifying
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 1:18.765
2. #9 Justin Wilson 1:19.710*
3. #22 Tristan Gommendy 1:19.025
4. #21 Neel Jani 1:19.302
5. #15 Simon Pagenaud 1:19.353
6. #2 Graham Rahal 1:19.373
7. #34 Jan Heylen 1:19.412
8. #5 Will Power 1:19.415
9. #14 Robert Doornbos 1:19.612
10. #4 Dan Clarke 1:19.718
*Wilson starts second after winning provisional pole on Friday
2007 Champ Car World Series Points Standings
After Round 11 of 14
1. #1 Sebastien Bourdais 284
2. #14 Robert Doornbos 230
3. #5 Will Power 221
4. #9 Justin Wilson 212
5. #2 Graham Rahal 196
6. #3 Oriol Servia 189
7. #21 Neel Jani 182
8. #8 Alex Tagliani 174
9. #15 Simon Pagenaud 173
10. #19 Bruno Junqueira 16! 5
2007 Roshfrans Champ Car Rookie of the Year
After Round 11 of 14
1. #14 Robert Doornbos 230
2. #2 Graham Rahal 196
3. #21 Neel Jani 182
4. #15 Simon Pagenaud 173
5. #22 Tristan Gommendy 117
6. #28 Ryan Dalziel 105
7. #29 Alex Figge 72
8. #42 Matt Halliday 18
Phanos European Team Cup Standings
1. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 104.5
2. Team Australia 92
3. Rocketsports/RuSport 80.5
4. PKV Racing 73
5. Forsythe Championship Racing 71
6. Dale Coyne Racing 68
7. Minardi Team USA 59.5
8. Conquest Racing 52
9. Pacific Coast Motorsports 37.5
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