CCWS Feature - Power Makes It Two Out Of Two
09/07/2007
Will Power scored his second win of the season in Champ Car's second consecutive wet-dry thriller, this time on the streets of Toronto.
Just a week after the race at Mont-Tremblant, rain forced the Champ Car teams and drivers to test their Bridgestone Potenza tyres to the limit in ever-changing conditions.
Power beat PKV Racing's Neel Jani and RSPORTS driver Justin Wilson to the chequered flag. The Team Australia driver remained composed while all around him there was carnage and a plethora of full-course cautions.
With Sebastien Bourdais failing to finish, Power has launched himself firmly back into the championship frame.
Bourdais was punted into the tyre wall by new nemesis Robert Doornbos of Minardi Team USA as they fought over fifth place. The weekend before, Bourdais was outspoken over his Dutch rival’s blocking moves.
Ironically, Doornbos now leads the title chase, although he did make a complete apology straight after the race. “It was wet, and I was on the concrete, and just locked up,” said Doornbos. “It certainly wasn’t intentional.”
Two accidents at the start eliminated Paul Tracy of Forsythe Championship Racing, Tristan Gommendy of PKV, Jan Heylen's Conquest car and Katherine Legge's Dale Coyne entry.
Oriol Servia looked set to uphold Forsythe honor as he was leading Bourdais and Wilson until he started to run low on fuel on his last lap before the restart. He would later join the long list of casualties.
Ryan Dalziel, who had pitted for wet tyres and fuel at exactly the right time as the rain started coming down harder, then led for much of the race, and on the penultimate restart the Pacific Coast Motorsports driver had given up places only to Power and Jani.
However, the young Scot had Wilson slide up the inside of him, and the RSPORTS car's rear drifted wide pushing the Pacific Coast car into the tyres terminally.
That allowed Simon Pagenaud, whose broken front wing had caused the original shunt at the start of the race into fourth place, with Bruno Junqueira nabbing fifth for Dale Coyne Racing.
Doornbos, following his clash with Bourdais, was able to pit for a front wing and return to action to claim sixth. The third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown takes place at Edmonton on July 22.