2005 CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES

R1 of 14, April 10, 2005: Long Beach

• 1 Sebastien Bourdais , Newman/Haas 81 laps
• 2 Paul Tracy , Forsythe Racing +4.1s
  "We're right there" said Tracy (#3 Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/ Bridgestone). "I've raced a lot here at Long Beach and that was one of the most hard-fought races I've ever run. We saw some lead changes and lots of passing, and this isn't the easiest place in the world to pass. We were fast on the first stint but for some reason as the race wore on we didn't get faster as the track came in and got more rubber on it. I also accidentally pushed the pit speed limiter coming out of the hairpin when Bruno (Junqueira) got by me, but I used Push to Pass on the restart later and got him back. Finishing 2nd is a little disappointing after starting from the pole but we're definitely on the pace this year and things look good for the rest of season. "
• 3 Bruno Junqueira , Newman/Haas +5.4
  "The day went ok. At the start of the race the PacifiCare car was running real well. I was just running behind PT (Paul Tracy) and trying to save fuel. I got lots of miles out of the car today. When I had a free track at the end of the race, the car was running real well, but it was not as good as it had been running all weekend. It was good enough to get around (Mario) Dominguez at the end of the race and finish third. I am happy with the result today, I think it was a good race for the fans "
• 4 Justin Wilson , RuSport +6.2
  "The whole crew did a great job all weekend and today, Todd (Malloy, Race Engineer #9) did a great job calling the race and the crew gave me great pit stops. We were just a fraction of a second from 2nd-place out of my last stop. We fell back and battled for 3rd. Bruno (Junqueira) went sliding wide, and I almost had him. Today is a good start, but next time, we plan on getting those Newman-Haas guys!"
• 5 Mario Dominguez , Forsythe Racing +7.9
  "I'm satisfied, but not super happy. We got some good points but the brakes weren't working as well as I would like and I used all my Push-to-Pass early in the race so when Bruno (Junqueira) made a run on me at the next-to-last restart there was nothing I could do. Then Justin (Wilson) got by after I made a small mistake. I only had one day of testing in the off-season (with his previous team) so I'm still a bit rusty. But the team has been great and with the really deep field we have this year consistency is going to be very important."
• 6 *Timo Glock
  "It was really tricky for me at the beginning. The start was not too bad but Alex (Tagliani) took me out on the third lap. Then ten laps into the stint the rear tires starting going off and I was losing time to Wilson because I had too much understeer. Our first pitstop was really good but my timing was bad on the out laps because I pushed too hard on the second lap and the front tires weren't up to temperature and I lost two-or-three seconds and then I was behind Tagliani again. At the end the car was really good and I was able to overtake some guys and I was having a really good time at the end."
• 7 *Ronnie Bremer
  "HVM did a great job all weekend; they made my job a bit easier. I led a few laps, I suppose for a rookie that is not too bad for my first race! There were no big dramas out there for me today; I just tried to push as hard as I could. Unfortunately (Timo) Glock passed me when I exited the pits and I was on cold tires while he was hot. The pit stops were great, a bit nerve-racking, as you don't want to make any mistakes, but a lot of fun. I am pleased with the entire weekend and certainly looking forward to Mexico."
• 8 A.J. Allmendinger
• 9 Jimmy Vasser *** 198th consecutive RACE ***
  "I think the biggest thing that the PKV Racing team takes away from this weekend is that we have to come off the truck quicker and qualify better. We had high expectations for our team after pre- season testing, but things didn't work out, so I am obviously disappointed. We brought in a lot of new programs and faces at PKV Racing so that things would get better...and they will get better. It is a team effort and we just have to keep working at it as a team. Fortunately, we have a long break before the next race, so we can sit down and analyze what we need to do and make the changes that are necessary."
• 10 Cristiano da Matta
  "It was a difficult weekend for the PKV Racing team and that caught us by surprise. Our pre-season testing went very well and at the last test, with most of the teams there, we were always in the top- five, so we expected better this weekend. But, it is the first race of season and our first race together, so we can't let this one race get us down. We just have to keep working at it. All the ingredients are here it is just a matter of us having some more time to work together. I think based on how the PKV Racing car was coming off the truck we did a very good job in qualifying. I think we qualified better than the car was. In the race we struggled with the same problems we had all weekend, so we tired to do some things with strategy hoping for a yellow, but things just didn't work out for us."
• 11 Servia 12 Wirdheim 13 Hunter-Reay 14 *Marshall 15 Tagliani 16 *Del Monte 17 *Ranger 18 Philippe 19 Sperafico
• *rookie

QUALIFYING:

• 1 Bruno Junqueira , Newman/Haas 1m 8.342s, 103.667 mph
  "It feels really good. Long Beach always is a very good track for me. Very happy too, after a long off-season, being so close to winning the championship, I know that this year I have to do better than last year. So I feel really good."
• 2 Paul Tracy , Forsythe Racing +0.15s
• 3 Sebastien Bourdais , Newman/Haas +0.39
• 4 Justin Wilson
• 5 Alex Tagliani
• 6 M. Dominguez
• 7 *A. Ranger
• 8 A. Allmendinger
• 9 *R. Bremer
• 10 *B. Wirdheim
• 11 da Matta 12 *Glock 13 Vasser 14 Hunter-Reay 15 Servia16 Philippe 17 Sperafico 18 *Marshall 19 Del Monte
• *rookie driver

RACE PREVIEW: