Champ Car: Power Becomes First Aussie to Win Champ Car Race

Defending champion, Sebastien Bourdais, crashed out on lap 30 of the 68-lap race.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

LAS VEGAS - Team Australia's Will Power has become the first Australian to win a round of the Champ Car World Series after clinching the Las Vegas Grand Prix in Nevada this morning.

Power, who started from pole, dominated the race in his Aussie Vineyards-backed machine to clinch the win from Dutch rookie Robert Doombas and Champ Car veteran Paul Tracy.

Other former Australian podium winners have included Geoff Brabham and former F1 world champion Alan Jones, but Power, who won last year's "Rookie of the Year" title, is the first Australian to stand on the top step.

Power was born and bred in Toowoomba, Queensland, and currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, close to the team.

Team Australia is owned by Queensland businessman Craig Gore and US racing legend Derrick Walker.

Defending champion and Power's main rival for this year's title, Sebastien Bourdais, crashed out on lap 30 of the 68-lap race.

Power's teammate Simon Pagenaud also showed good speed through the weekend and looked a top three threat before he suffered engine problems and withdrew after 47 laps.

VEGAS GRAND PRIX - CHAMP CAR DRIVER RACE QUOTES

Will Power

"It feels really good. This is the first of a long marathon 'cause, you know, we really want to win this championship. But I lost the start to Paul. I was a bit worried about it because we were on the dusty side. You know, I was sort of expecting to get wheel spin, and he got me there. Then, like he said, he made a bit of a mistake in the chicane. I got a good run on him with 'push to pass', passed him. He pretty much pressured me all the way to the pit stop, especially at the end when my tires went off. I struggled with the rear tires. I expected him to come out behind me. But I think he had a bit of a problem in the pits. After that, I mean, I was pretty much alone. I caught Katherine Legge for a while, she held me up. But after that, it was a pretty cruisy race really. We had a good car. It handled well all day. The only issue I had was a really long brake pedal at the end of the race. But we had an 18-second lead, so we just brought it home and brought Derrick Walker his second win since '99. It's his birthday. So a pole and a win, I think that's a pretty good present for him."

Robert Doornbos

"I really enjoyed it. A great start to the weekend. Already yesterday to have qualified in the top three, we couldn't have dreamed of a better start really. Was a bit worried this morning because it's a different routine that you have than in European racing with these rolling starts. At the end of the day, I thought it was more like a safety car start. It did cut me out a little bit in turn one when I saw Junqueira with I think a smoked wheel coming on the inside. I thought, I want to have a long afternoon, so I let him go. I got him back in the end. It took me a couple of laps. It was quite tough on these red tires. We had no idea how long they would last. The pit stops went well. A very long one, the second one, because we had a different strategy. Then I had to save fuel, which is also a new thing for me because he kept telling me, You have to save more fuel, more fuel. I was like, I'm racing, what do you want me to do Valet parking or something? I'm so pleased for everybody, especially for my sponsors here, they come all the way from Holland. It's been a long winter. Really a good decision to go racing in Champ Car."

Paul Tracy

"It went really well. Obviously, to lead the beginning of the race, I made a good start, was able to get by Will on the start. We spent a lot of the first part of the race under yellow. Then once we got going, I made a small mistake, hit the curb, the chicane, bounced up high off the ground. Will really capitalized off that, drafted up on me. I got a slow entry onto the straightaway. Really couldn't put up much of a fight about it. Really, I just sat in behind him saving fuel. Came to the first stop glued to the back of him. We came in and did our first pit stop. The car didn't take any fuel for us. We spent 15 seconds and ended up getting like four laps of fuel. So that was a bit frustrating. We came back out and chased, then had to come straight back in and take fuel again. That really took the fight out of the race I think for Will. I think we could have put a lot of pressure on him. Obviously, by then we were 45, 50 seconds behind him after doing another stop. We just had to fight, push hard all day, continue to catch people up, get by them. It was a good day for the Forsythe team and Monster Energy."

Alex Tagliani

"I am very happy with our overall results this first race. The LXN2 guys did a fantastic job for me all weekend and I want to thank them for all their hard work. We had little issues throughout the race, but we were able to finish in one piece. We came in early for our first pit stop, but that strategy ended up blocking us for a better finish as we had to stop three times, while others only made two stops. We definitely had a P2 car, we could have beaten (Paul) Tracy on strategy and Robert Doornbos on speed. But we will take a fourth place finish; it is a great way to start the season. Our goal is to win the Championship, and what is important is that we obtain as many points as we can. We have started out the season on a positive note and I think that this will be a great season for the entire RSPORTS team."

Tristan Gommendy

"First of all it was a very, very long race. An hour and 45 minutes is incredible long. The length of the race is new for me, the refueling is new. But, I knew from the beginning the main thing was to stay on the track. Jimmy (Vasser) told me before the race that if I finished the race I would place in the top-five and he was right. This was a fantastic day for me. Champ Car is fantastic, my engineer and crew are fantastic and it was fantastic to finish in the top-five in my first Champ Car race. It is a dream for me to be here. I am really happy for everybody, the team, the sponsors, Pay By Touch and MegaSpirea, and I just want to thank Mr. Kalkhoven for giving me this opportunity."

Katherine Legge

"I am very happy with a sixth place finish, especially it being my first with Dale Coyne Racing. The tires seemed to go off quick today. Overall it is a good start to the season."

Bruno Junqueira

"Everyone did a good job today. I know we can be on pace next week at Long Beach."

LAS VEGAS GRAND PRIX RESULTS:

1. Will Power Running

2. Robert Doornbos Running

3. Paul Tracy Running

4. Alex Tagliani Running

5. Tristan Gommendy Running

6. Katherine Legge Running

7. Bruno Junqueira Running

8. Alex Figge Running

9. Mario Dominguez Running

10. Neel Jani Mechanical

11. Ryan Dalziel Running

12. Simon Pagenaud Mechanical

13. Sebastien Bourdais Accident

14. Justin Wilson Mechanical

15. Dan Clarke Accident

16. Matt Halliday Accident

17. Graham Rahal Accident

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