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2005 CHAMP CARS - TORONTO

COURSE:

• TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
• street course
• 1.755 mile per lap
• 95 lap race
• 2004 winner: Sebastien Bourdais , Newman/Haas
• 2003 winner: Paul Tracy
• 2002 winner: C Da Matta
• 2001 winner: M Andretti
• 2000 winner: M Andretti
• 2004 RACE RESULT:
• 1 Sebastien Bourdais , Newman/Haas , 84 laps
• 2 Jimmy Vasser +1.3
• 3 Patrick Carpentier +6.7
• 4 Mario Haberfeld
• 5 Paul Tracy
• 6 Gaston Mazzacane

• 1 Justin Wilson, RuSPORT
  "I'm very excited for RuSPORT. I'm very excited for myself. You know, I think this is something that's been on the cards for the last couple of races and we can move forward from here now."
• 2 Oriol Servia, Newman/Haas Racing +0.73
  "I feel very happy. I didn't lie when I said that every session we are one step closer to the win. I mean, if it's just one more step, I guess must be next race"
• 3 Alex Tagliani, Team Australia Racing +1.6
  "It was great. I'm really very happy about the team. They did a great job on the stops. The big turnaround of our race was on the first stint. We had a pretty bad set of tires. I was not very fast. To keep my position, I had to use a lot of 'push to pass'. After that, when the car was running at its best, I think we were really doing quite quick lap times on the second stint"
• 4 Jimmy Vasser +1.8
• 5 Sebastien Bourdais +2.5 *** contact with Tracy; Bourdais sufferd flat tyre; Tracy had broken left wing ***
  "car was very, very good and it's a shame that we didn't get the result we were capable of again. The race started well; I did what I had to do and that was save fuel and still keep the lead. The car was good and I was pretty happy with how the race was going. I might have been able to work harder and save more fuel than I did because PT made the same as us so I might have been able to do better. The race was going alright and I was pulling a lead on him and it was looking good but before the pit stop I caught traffic and he caught back up to me. On the stop, I'm pretty sure they watched us fuel and then pulled when we did so he could try to get ahead of us. We got a run leaving the pits but he stayed there and I had to keep two wheels under the line and he stayed there too and we touched. He probably didn't realize that I was not going to be able to move to the left otherwise I would have been penalized. It was a racing incident but it was frustrating because this year when we seem to have a real chance to win the race but we don't."
• 6 Ryan Hunter-Reay +3.2
• 7 Timo Glock*
• 8 Alex Sperafico
• 9 Ryan Dalziel
• 10 Nelson Philippe
• DNF: Tracy, Ranger*, Allmendinger, Marshall*, Wirdheim*, da Matta, Ricardo Sperafico
• *rookie

• BOURDAIS: "We've had two very different races in Toronto. McDonald's wasn't involved with us the first season in Toronto and we didn't really succeed all that well there. We finished fifth; we had a tough day, it was just difficult. Last year we had a great event; we unloaded the McDonald's car and it was balanced and I was feeling comfortable. We were flying all weekend and the McDonald's car won the race and it was my first street course win so I was very happy with the things went last year. Last year there was lots of devastation going on behind me on track. It was crazy; I don't know what happened. I guess everybody got really excited. It was the first time with Ford's Push to Pass button in Toronto with the big back straight and everybody was trying hard, perhaps a bit too hard, and it put on a really awesome show for the fans but a lot of cars were stuffed in the walls for sure.
• "The season has been so-so, so far. We had an okay start to the season. We had an okay pace in Long Beach but we marched forward and the race came to us and we got a nice win for Newman/Haas after not winning there for 18 years. We had the speed in Mexico and then had a bit of ups and downs throughout the race. We really deserved to win this year after running so well all weekend but at least having a Newman/Haas car win with Bruno was good. Then in Milwaukee we had a good race going but I made a mistake and it limited our finish. We had a brake failure and I didn't pump the brakes entering the pits for the last stop and got a penalty for speeding. It was frustrating to give away more points after having run second. In Portland, we had a great race after a tough weekend. We had some setbacks on Friday and Saturday with losing our best lap times but kept our heads down and kept working and ultimately we set the fastest race lap and got some important points for second place. When we got to Cleveland, it seemed that the competition got even tougher. We were in position for a podium finish but the race got away from us. Championship-wise it was an okay start but it is not really satisfying for the McDonald's team. We will continue to work hard to get back on top beginning in Toronto."
• "I think the races in Canada are successful because the Canadian fans are really knowledgeable and they always show up in big numbers. It's always awesome. We've got three Canadian races. The Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal races were awesome. Now Edmonton is replacing Vancouver since we can't race there due to construction, and I'm sure it's going to be a great race too."
• RuSPORT PREVIEW:
  The RuSPORT duo of A.J. Allmendinger and Justin Wilson continue on the charge for that first Champ Car victory. Allmendinger has seen the second step on the podium twice already this season and is ready to make that final jump up to #1. Wilson earned his first career pole position in Portland and had his first win in sights before an engine failure sidelined the #9 car. The pair have also racked up 4 front- row starts between them this year. The front of the grid is good, but now they are hungrier than ever.
• Consistently running in the front has given RuSPORT a very strong start to the 2005 Champ Car World Series season. With Justin's Portland engine failure DNF aside, the pair have finished in the top- ten at every round. The effort has paid off with Allmendinger currently sitting 3rd in the overall Drivers Championship and Justin is in 4th.
• Both A.J. and Justin are looking for a better result than last year as they raced through the streets of downtown Toronto. Despite each of them qualifying in the top-ten (Justin 5th, A.J. 8th), the tough circuit took its toll and Allmendinger finished 11th and Wilson was just behind in 12th. A.J. has had success here in the past; he led from pole to win here in 2003 on his way to clinching the Toyota Atlantic Series title.
• The Toronto Champ Car event will be a special race for several RuSPORT team members as it will be their "home" event. Among those hailing from or near Toronto are team president Jeremy Dale, race engineer for car #9 Todd Malloy, and shock technician Alex Michie.
• WILSON: Justin confident of strong result in Toronto
  After a challenging weekend a fortnight ago in Cleveland Justin is keen to get back in the car for this weekend's Molson Indy Toronto, regain his early season form and settle some unfinished business from last year.
• The 1.8 mile temporary street circuit around Exhibition Place presents a tough challenge. It's a tight track with few overtaking spots and most of the action has historically been at Turn 3. It was here in 2004 that Justin was shunted out of the race by an aggressive overtaking move while running in the top 3 and he ended up in 12th. Justin's and RuSPORT's knowledge of the track from last year should stand them in good stead and they're looking for a strong result.
• VASSER: "I am very curious to see how the PKV Racing team does on a true street circuit. This is the first street circuit we have raced on since Long Beach where we did not fair as well as we had hoped. I think it will be a good challenge for the team and a good barometer of where we are as a team."
• DA MATTA: "I think the Toronto race is going to be a very good test for the PKV Racing team. The last two races we have been running really well, but the Toronto circuit is different from Portland and Cleveland. The last two circuits are more flowing. Now, we are going to a true street course where there is more hard braking and you have to be able to put the power down in the corners. I am confident that the PKV Racing team will get the setup correct and that will be key to having a good weekend."

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