2007 CCWS Rd. 7--Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto

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Who will win the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto?

Poll ended at Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:11 am

Sebastien Bourdais
1
33%
Paul Tracy
1
33%
Will Power
0
No votes
Robert Doornbos
1
33%
none of the above
0
No votes
none of the above
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 3

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2007 CCWS Rd. 7--Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto

Post by mlittle » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:11 am

On the ChampCar schedule, there are a couple of "crown jewel" events, Long Beach, Surfers Paradise and, since 1986, the Exhibition Place-street circuit in Toronto, in the shadow of the Prince's Gate. Some of the best drivers in NA motorsports history have won on this 1.755-mile street course...................

Bobby Rahal, 1986(1)
Emerson Fittipaldi, 1987(1)
Al Unser, Jr., 1988 & 1990(2)
Michael Andretti, 1989, 1991-92, 1994-95, 2000-01(7)
*Paul Tracy, 1993, 2003(2)
Adrian Fernandez, 1996(1)
Mark Blundell, 1997(1)
Alex Zanardi, 1998(1)
**Dario Franchitti, 1999(1)
Cristiano da Matta, 2002(1)
*Sebastien Bourdais, 2004(1)
*Justin Wilson, 2005(1)
A.J. Allmendinger, 2006(1)
*--active driver in the ChampCar series
**--active driver in the IRL IndyCar series

Who will add their name to that winners' list? Could we see a repeat win from a past winner(PT, SeaBass, Wilson) or a rookie in Doornbos or Pagenaud add their name to the above, or could we a son(G. Rahal) join his father as winners in Toronto?

Here is the event schedule for the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto.......

Friday Practice..................9:30 am, 6 July 2007
Friday QS-1......................1:15 pm, 6 July 2007*
Saturday Practice..............9:30 am, 7 July 2007
Saturday QS-2..................1:15 pm, 7 July 2007*
Warm-Up..........................9 am, 8 July 2007
Race................................1 pm, 8 July 2007, live on ESPN and Global TV
*--includes a 15-minute practice session prior to qualifying
Last edited by mlittle on Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Toronto Fast Facts................

Post by mlittle » Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:54 pm

Event: Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto
When: 1 pm, 8 July 2007, ESPN(United States) and Global TV(Canada)
Race Distance: 1 hr., 45 min. timed event
Track Length: 1.755-mile temporary street circuit

Entry List...........................
Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's
(R)Graham Rahal, #2 Medi/Zone
Paul Tracy, #3 Indeck/Monster Energy Drink
Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Power
Will Power, #5 Aussie Vineyards
Oriol Servia, #7 Indeck/Forsythe
Alex Tagliani, #8 Wal Mart Canada
Justin Wilson, #9 CDW Canada
Katherine Legge, #11 i-Rise/AMR
(R)Robert Doornbos, #14 Muermans/Jumbo/OzJet
(R)Simon Pagenaud, #15 Aussie Vineyards
Bruno Junquiera, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ
(R)Neel Jani, #21 Red Bull/Gulfstream
(R)Tristan Gommendy, #22 Pay by Touch/Megaspirea
(R)Ryan Dalziel, #28 Ironclad/The SUN Newspapers
(R)Alex Figge, #29 Molecule Labs/The SUN Newspapers
Jan Heylen, #34 Grand Prix of Belgium 2007
Last edited by mlittle on Sat Jul 07, 2007 10:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:25 am

Toronto Practice Session #1 top-5.....................

1st} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing..............................1:00.055 sec/105.204 mph
2nd} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing................................1:00.391 sec/104.618 mph
3rd} Oriol Servia, Forsythe Champ. Racing.....................1:00.401 sec/104.601 mph
4th} Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports.....................................1:00.420 sec/104.568 mph
5th} Will Power, Team Australia.....................................1:00.557 sec/104.331 mph
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:28 am

Toronto Practice Session #2 top-5...................

1st} Will Power, Team Australia.....................................59.281 sec/106.577 mph
2nd} Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports....................................59.812 sec/105.613 mph
3rd} Dan Clarke, Minardi Team USA..............................59.962 sec/105.367 mph
4th} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing.............................59.993 sec/105.312 mph
5th}(R)Robert Doornbos, Minardi Team USA..................1:00.011 sec/105.281 mph
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SeaBass on provisional point..........

Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 07, 2007 10:50 am

With two last-minute flying laps, NHL's Sebastien Bourdais wrested the provisional pole in Friday's QS-1 session, taking the provisional pole for Sunday's Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto............here are the provisional top-5:

1st} Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's.................................58.753 sec
2nd} Oriol Servia, #7 Indeck/Forsythe...................................58.801 sec
3rd} Justin Wilson, #9 CDW Canada.......................................59.099 sec
4th}(R)Robert Doornbos, #14 Muermans/Jumbo/OzJet.............59.132 sec
5th} Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Power...................59.288 sec
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Friday Notebook..........

Post by mlittle » Sat Jul 07, 2007 4:52 pm

Let's see........Julian's somewhere around the Steelback hospitality tents; T-K's flying the Cessna somewhere over Toronto(that's why they're having UFO sightings...... :wink: :lol: :lol: :lol: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: ) and I'm standing near the Prince's Gate typing this......oh well, such is the life. Here's the Friday notebook................

~~Way to go, Champ Car! It looks as though the "law of unintended consequences" has struck once again. When the new Panoz DP01 racecar had its' fueling issues in Vegas, ChampCar's solution(besides ordering new fuel cells) was to shrink the fuelcell size from 35 gallons to 32 gallons......which in turn makes some of the races 3-or-4-stoppers rathan than 2-3 stoppers, which in turn puts a premium on tire usage.........isn't it great to watch no one on-track for a good part of the first practice? :evil: :evil:

~~Change of fortune for Gerry's boys....last week at Mt. Tremblant, it seemed nothing could go right for either Oriol Servia or Paul Tracy; both finished towards the back of the field(who could forget seeing the Cosworth in PT's car BBQ itself on TV! :shock: :shock: :shock: ). Well.....this week could be a bit different; at the end of the QS-1 session, Servia missed provisional pole by less than .02 seconds, while PT was a hair or two out of 5th. Word in the paddock is that this is a race both drivers have to do well in--Servia reportedly is still on a race-by-race deal with Forsythe, and this is PT's home race, so he definitely will be "on it" all weekend.

~~No power for Power...........From the :wtf: category.........looking down at the QS-1 charts, it was a shock(a/k/a :shock2: :shock2: ) to see Will Power dead last on the chart in 17th w/no time posted.....the reason: electrical problems caused by a wiring loop failure prevented Power from posting a time in the session. Well, there's always the QS-2 session..... :shock: :shock: :shock:


Now............does anyone know where that Steelback hospitality tent is? :cheers: :cheers: :drink: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :shock: :shock:
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Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:56 am

Toronto Practice Session #3 top-5.......................

1st} Justin Wilson, RuSport Racing.........................................59.018 sec/107.052 mph
2nd} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing.....................................59.137 sec/106.837 mph
3rd} Paul Tracy, Forsythe Champ. Racing...............................59.342 sec/106.468 mph
4th} Bruno Junquiera, Dale Coyne Racing...............................59.375 sec/106.408 mph
5th} Oriol Servia, Forsythe Champ. Racing..............................59.414 sec/106.339 mph
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Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 08, 2007 7:59 am

Toronto Practice Session #4 top-5....................

1st} Sebastien Bourdais, NHL Racing..................................58.559 sec/107.891 mph
2nd} Will Power, Team Australia........................................59.172 sec/106.773 mph
3rd}(R)Robert Doornbos, Minardi Team USA.......................59.283 sec/106.574 mph
4th} Oriol Servia, Forsythe Champ. Racing.........................59.300 sec/106.543 mph
5th} Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports........................................59.329 sec/106.491 mph
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Post by mlittle » Sun Jul 08, 2007 2:42 pm

Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto Starting Grid...................

1st} Sebastien Bourdais, #1 McDonald's..............................58.288 sec
2nd} Justin Wilson, #9 CDW Canada...................................58.299 sec

3rd} Oriol Servia, #7 Indeck/Forsythe.................................58.661 sec
4th}(R)Simon Pagenaud, #15 Aussie Vineyards....................58.664 sec

5th} Bruno Junquiera, #19 Sonny's Real Pit BBQ...................58.675 sec
6th} Alex Tagliani, #8 Wal-Mart Canada...............................58.779 sec

7th} Will Power, #5 Aussie Vineyards...................................58.790 sec
8th} Jan Heylen, #34 Grand Prix of Belgium 2007..................58.816 sec

9th}(R)Neel Jani, #21 Red Bull/Gulfstream............................58.834 sec
10th} Paul Tracy, #3 Indeck/Monster Energy Drink................58.882 sec

11th}(R)Ryan Dalziel, #28 Ironclad/The SUN Newspapers.......58.912 sec
12th}(R)Robert Doornbos, #14 Muermans/Jumbo/OzJet..........59.024 sec

13th} Dan Clarke, #4 Ticketmaster/Synapse Power................59.263 sec
14th}(R)Tristan Gommendy, #22 Pay by Touch/Megaspiera.....59.265 sec

15th}(R)Graham Rahal, #2 Medi/Zone...................................59.384 sec
16th} Katherine Legge, #11 i-Rise/AMR..................................59.520 sec

17th}(R)Alex Figge, #29 Molecule Labs/The SUN Newspapers...59.973 sec
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Power wins in the rain at Toronto.............

Post by mlittle » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:42 am

In a race that turned every which way because of rain, Team Australia's Will Power notched his second win of the 2007 ChampCar season and vaulted himself into the heart of the battle for the 2007 Vanderbilt Cup. But it wasn't as easy as it sounds...................

At the drop of the lights, it was Forsythe's Oriol Servia who got the drop on polesitter Sebastien Bourdais, taking the lead through the first couple of turns......then it got interesting. :shock: :shock: Trying to avoid the rear wing of Jan Heylen, Paul Tracy smacked the concrete barriers; their days; were done. In trying to avoid that wreck, PKV's Tristan Gommendy runs over the right-rear of PT's car and nearly cartwheels down to turn 8.....then Katherine Legge and Alex Figge, trying to avoid the first two incidents, crash and are knocked out of the race.....in short order, five of the 17 drivers who started the race were out. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

After a lengthy caution to clean up debris, the race finally got underway.and it, as street races in Toronto go, was pretty interesting......then it started to rain. :shock:

Several drivers benefitted from the rains, notably Robert Doornbos and Ryan Dalziel; Dalziel, in fact, led for a good portion of the race, only to fade late and finsh 7th. Doornbos ran strong all race long, only to see a podium finish go right out the windown when he almost ran over Bourdais with about 7 minutes left, sending both of them into the turn 3 tirewalls; Bourdais' race was over, but Doornbos soldiered on to a 6th-place finish.

In the end, though, it was Aussie Will Power who captured his second career ChampCar victory and is now in the middle of the championship fight......here are the top-10 from a still soggy Toronto:

1st} #5 Will Power..............................................73 laps
2nd}(R)#21 Neel Jani..........................................-2.972 sec
3rd} #9 Justin Wilson..........................................-3.480 sec
4th}(R)#15 Simon Pagenaud...............................-5.643 sec
5th} #19 Bruno Junquiera...................................-20.738 sec
6th}(R)#14 Robert Doornbos..............................-1 lap
7th}(R)#28 Ryan Dalziel.....................................-1 lap
8th} #8 Alex Tagliani..........................................-2 laps
9th} #1 Sebastien Bourdais.................................contact(lap 67)
10th} #7 Oriol Servia..........................................contact(lap 56)
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Re: Power wins in the rain at Toronto.............

Post by RE30B#16 » Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:54 am

mlittle wrote:...then it got interesting. :shock: :shock: Trying to avoid the rear wing of Jan Heylen, Paul Tracy smacked the concrete barriers; their days; were done. In trying to avoid that wreck, PKV's Tristan Gommendy runs over the right-rear of PT's car and nearly cartwheels down to turn 8.....then Katherine Legge and Alex Figge, trying to avoid the first two incidents, crash and are knocked out of the race...
Actually, PT didn't try to avoid that wing. It lodged under his front wing. I'm not sure if he noticed it although it was plain to see on his in-car camera. He continued to drive at top speed pushing on as if he didn't realize he had debris lodged in his front wing. When he came around right-hand turn 7, the wing debris shifted and cut his left front tire which sent him into the barrier. The car directly behind him (I'm guessing it was Graham Rahal) dropped speed abruptly in the middle of the blind curve and was clouted by Gommendy who briefly took to the air. A third driver overreacted and crashed into the wall subsequently collecting Tracy's crippled car. Legge and Figge crashed trying to avoid all of that mess.

:?
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Re: Power wins in the rain at Toronto.............

Post by mlittle » Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:19 am

RE30B#16 wrote:
mlittle wrote:...then it got interesting. :shock: :shock: Trying to avoid the rear wing of Jan Heylen, Paul Tracy smacked the concrete barriers; their days; were done. In trying to avoid that wreck, PKV's Tristan Gommendy runs over the right-rear of PT's car and nearly cartwheels down to turn 8.....then Katherine Legge and Alex Figge, trying to avoid the first two incidents, crash and are knocked out of the race...
Actually, PT didn't try to avoid that wing. It lodged under his front wing. I'm not sure if he noticed it although it was plain to see on his in-car camera. He continued to drive at top speed pushing on as if he didn't realize he had debris lodged in his front wing. When he came around right-hand turn 7, the wing debris shifted and cut his left front tire which sent him into the barrier. The car directly behind him (I'm guessing it was Graham Rahal) dropped speed abruptly in the middle of the blind curve and was clouted by Gommendy who briefly took to the air. A third driver overreacted and crashed into the wall subsequently collecting Tracy's crippled car. Legge and Figge crashed trying to avoid all of that mess.

:?
Thanks, RE; I stand corrected...... :oops: :oops: (Note to self.....make sure to check as many highlights as possible before posting the review...... :bang: :bang: :shock: )
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