Posted at 6:22 a.m., Sunday, October 21, 2007
Autos: Bourdais captures race, Champ Car drivers' title
By DENNIS PASSA
AP Sports Writer
Bourdais took the lead for good with 20 minutes left in the 1 hour, 45-minute timed race and became the first driver to win the race twice in its 17-year history. Bourdais, who has clinched the driver' championship in Australia the last three years, also won the Surfers race in 2005.
"I can't be any happier," Bourdais said. "I pushed really, really hard to get there."
The 28-year-old, who will drive for the Toro Rosso team in F1 next year, held a 58-point lead over Justin Wilson going into Sunday's race. There is one event left in the Champ Car season — Nov. 11 in Mexico City.
Wilson led for several laps while Bourdais pitted but finished second, 6.776 seconds behind Bourdais on the 12-turn, 2.8 mile temporary street course.
Bruno Junquiera, despite stalling at the standing start in his 100th Champ Car race, was third, followed by Dutch rookie Robert Doornbos.
Bourdais completed 61 laps of the circuit under sunny skies and in perfect racing conditions. While his pit crew hugged each other on the warmdown lap, Bourdais stopped to do several doughnuts on the track surface before being sprayed with champagne when he returned to the garage.
"Sebastien did a wonderful job today, he deserves everything he gets," team co-owner Carl Haas said minutes afer Bourdais crossed the finish line.
Leading the field, pole sitter Will Power of Team Australia sped ahead on the first lap, extending his lead to nearly two seconds at one stage over fellow front rower Oriol Servia.
On his first pit during a course yellow flag, Power hit the back of David Martinez's car while coming out of the pits, falling back to 15th place with 20 minutes gone in the race.
He went out of the race on the 18th lap after colliding with Katherine Legge. The Australian driver tried to cut inside Legge, hit the side of her car and careened backwards into the wall.
Power's demise continued a trend in the Australian race — only three pole sitters have won in its 17-year history — Nigel Mansell in 1993, Jimmy Vasser in 1996 and Dario Franchitti in 1999.
The Australian also won the pole in 2006 but crashed out.
"I can't believe it, two years in a row," Power said. "All we can do is come back next year and try it again."
The two American drivers in the field, both rookies, finished in the back of the field.
Newman Haas Lanigan team member Graham Rahal, the 18-year-old son of three-time series champion Bobby Rahal, was 11th of 17 drivers. Alex Figge, a former Champ Car Atlantic driver now with the Pacific Coast Motorsports, finished 13th.
