CCWS Feature - Panoz Pays Off
21/05/2007
There was a general thumbs up from the Champ Car World Series drivers after the first race with the Panoz DP01 at Las Vegas.
Despite an unusually high attrition rate that almost halved the number of runners at the finish, leading drivers agreed that that was what you have to expect with a brand new package.
And if that wasn’t enough of a challenge, teams had two more races the following two weekends – also on street courses – at Long Beach and Houston. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end…
Several cars suffered mechanical problems during the opening race weekend, and many drivers' races were spoilt by issues with the refuelling system. And a lot of observers predicted that that was the tip of the iceberg.
With a handful of days to make a fix for the grid, and another demanding track, it didn’t look good. But, the fix worked, and the drivers were happy.
But Paul Tracy - who lost a chance of victory in Las Vegas when his car was among those that failed to take on fuel - was sanguine about the problems, saying they were an inevitable part of introducing a new car.
"Back in '99, '98, '97, we had a new car every year," he said.
"We'd have these niggling problems every year. You would have a gearbox issue, you would have this problem, wheel bearing problems, all kinds of things that you'd have to work your way through.
"It’s part and parcel with working with a brand new car.
"Obviously we've been able to get our car figured out for the most part mechanically. It's just in the race our fuel rig didn't want to put the fuel in the car. That's just one of those things that we need to work on."
Race winner Will Power (above) was also confident that the problems would rapidly be overcome.
"There's always going to be problems," he said. "All in all, it's pretty good. It was surprising how little problems there are. I think after how the first three races went, I'd be surprised if anyone has any problems.
"I really enjoy driving the car,” he added. “It's a really nicely balanced car when you get it set up. I think Panoz did a real good job."
Tracy believes that the new car has also made overtaking easier. "With the Lola on a track like Las Vegas, where the corners are all kind of medium speed and aerodynamics are important, I don't think you could run as closely as Will and I ran together in the beginning of the race without really hurting your tires and disturbing the car a lot," he said.
"When Will made the pass on me, we came out of the tunnel and through a fifth-gear, 160mph blind sweeper corner that's pretty tough to do flat when you're in the front.
"He was tucked right up behind my gearbox. That's the benefit of having the ground effects, the tunnel, doing the work, instead of all the wings. "I think it's created much better racing."