Thursday, July 26, 2007

2007 San Jose Grand Prix

Press Release

Provisional Qualifying: Friday, July 27, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. PT
Final Qualifying: Saturday, July 28, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. PT
Race: Sunday, July 29, 3:00 p.m. PT
TV Broadcast: ESPN2, Sunday, July 29, 6:00 p.m. ET

SAN JOSE, California (July 25, 2007) – RSPORTS gear up for their return to the United States after a month of Champ Car racing north of the border as they head to northern California for some more street-racing action in this weekend’s San Jose Grand Prix.

What a better place to showcase the speed and technology of Champ Car racing than in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley on the streets of downtown San Jose? The grand prix is more then just a race; it is a week-long festival of speed on and off the track. Initially the track was designed to encompass the HP Pavilion, however, due to higher then expected costs for the street repairs and improvements, race organizers moved to a course running directly through downtown. The downtown location has provided a beautiful setting for the past three years with an abundance of hotels, restaurants, night clubs and, of course, great racing. In 2006, the track was reconfigured providing a wider racing track for increased passing, better viewing areas, more pedestrian bridges and smoothing out the VTA light rail crossings, that in 2005 caused the Champ Car to become airborne, “jumping” the tracks at 130 mph.

Driver of the #9 CDW/RSPORTS Champ Car is on a roll lately, finishing the last five events in the top five. He comes to San Jose with two most recent podium finishes, a third-place result on the streets of Toronto and a second-place finish on the airport circuit of Edmonton. The streets of San Jose just might be the place that will see the Englishman grab his first victory of the season, if he and his #9 CDW crew can keep up the positive momentum.

Teammate, Alex Tagliani, has not had his share of good luck in these last few races. Looking for the tides to turn for him behind the wheel of the #8 RSPORTS Champ Car, he returns to the streets that saw him run competitively in 2006 before the infamous contact with Paul Tracy ended his solid run. Knowing that he is capable of being a top competitor here in San Jose, the French-Canadian looks to change his bad luck around and find his way to the podium this weekend.

The racing festivities will kick-off on Friday morning, as the Champ Car will head out on-track for their first practice session in preparation for Sunday’s race. The first round of qualifying will take place that afternoon at 2:00 p.m. local time. Final qualifying will be contested on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. PT. Round 9 of the 2007 Champ Car World Series will take the green light on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. PT. The race can be seen live on ESPN2 with coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. Fans can also follow the RSPORTS team on the internet by logging onto www.champcar.ws and signing up for Race Director.

Fast Facts

  1. Both RSPORTS drivers currently rank in the top six of the 2007 Champ Car World Series championship. Justin Wilson currently sits fourth in the Champ Car 2007 championship standings with a total of 165 points. He sits only nine points out of second. Alex Tagliani currently sits sixth, with a total of 134 points.
  2. Alex Tagliani, driver of the #8 RSPORTS Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone, started his Champ Car career in 2000. This season marks his eighth year of competition. He will attempt to make his 126th start this weekend when he takes the Green Flag in San Jose. He has recorded one win, five poles, and 14 podiums.
  3. Tagliani’s best start this season is fourth, which he has accomplished three times this season after seven events. Tagliani has finished in the top ten in seven events, with his best finish of 4th in Las Vegas.
  4. In two starts on the streets of San Jose, Tagliani’s runs have not been of good fortune. During his most recent visit in 2006, Tagliani was on course for a podium result before he became a victim of an incident on lap 52 with Paul Tracy. Tracy overshot the Turn Six right hander and went straight ahead down the escape road. He rejoined the circuit, speeding straight into the side of Tagliani, who was running in fourth at the time. The incident robbed Tagliani of what was shaping as yet another comeback after Tagliani crashed in the final practice on Saturday, which forced the veteran to miss final qualifying and start 13th. In 2005, Tagliani started from 17th on the grid after mechanical problems in qualifying and then lost three laps in the race because of a broken push rod on his Champ Car Lola, but still managed to score some points and finish ninth.
  5. There have been eight events up to this point in the 2007 Champ Car World Series and RSPORTS driver Tagliani was the only Champ Car driver this season that has finished every race in the top ten. He broke that streak last weekend in Edmonton when bad luck and contact saw his race ended on Lap 69 of 96 after contact with Robert Doornbos left him with a broken left front suspension.
  6. Justin Wilson, driver of the #9 CDW Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone, started his Champ Car career in 2004. This season marks his fourth year of competition in the US-based series. In 47 Champ Car starts, Wilson has earned three wins, five poles, and 13 podiums. Wilson was the runner-up in the 2006 Champ Car championship standings, finishing second, and was the 2006 recipient of Champ Car’s prestigious Greg Moore Legacy Award that recognizes success and sportsmanship on and off the race track.
  7. Wilson’s best start of the season was the pole in Portland, Oregon, in addition to his most recent front row start in Toronto where he qualified 2nd. The Englishman has qualifying in the top eight in each event this year, and has finished in the top five in five in the last five events. Wilson has earned three podiums (Portland – 2nd; Toronto – 3rd; Edmonton – 2nd) this season.
  8. The San Jose track has not been one that has seen Wilson qualifying well at. In 2005, he started 9th and in 2006 he sat 12th on the grid.
  9. Despite bad qualifying positions, Wilson demonstrated his street course racing skills. After starting 9th in 2005, he obtained five spots to finish fourth. In 2006, he gained an impressive nine spots earning a point for being the most improved car of the race and finished 3rd.
  10. Wilson is on a top-five streak. In his last five events, he has finish in the top five or better. His last two races saw him finish third, second, so could there possibly be a pattern going on with the driver of the #9 CDW car, does San Jose mean he could possibly earn his first win in 2007?
  11. Last year, RuSPORT drivers Cristiano Da Matta and Justin Wilson were able to capture two places on the podium with a second and third place result, respectively. Hopefully that momentum can carry over for the team seeing Wilson and Tagliani finish in the top-three, as RuSPORT is in a technical merger with Rocketsports Racing this season and running under the banner name of RSPORTS.
  12. The team has several team members that were born in California, throughout the Silicon Valley area. Dan Pettit, RSPORTS team co-owner, currently resides in the area.