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2007 Generac Grand Prix


Country = USA

The 2007 Champ Car Generac Grand Prix at Road America was the tenth round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season. It was held on August 12 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Qualifying results

PosNatNameTeamQual 1Qual 2Best1234567891011121314151617
FranceSébastien BourdaisN/H/L Racing1:42.3851:41.5351:41.535
AUSWill PowerTeam Australia1:43.1161:43.5951:43.116
NEDRobert DoornbosMinardi Team USA1:43.6191:43.1341:43.134
USGraham RahalN/H/L Racing1:43.7321:43.1621:43.162
BrazilBruno JunqueiraDale Coyne Racing1:44.3261:43.2011:43.201
CanadaAlex TaglianiRSPORTS1:43.6891:43.3741:43.374
SwitzerlandNeel JaniPKV Racing1:43.4171:44.2961:43.417
UKDan ClarkeMinardi Team USA1:43.4391:43.8531:43.439
BelgiumJan HeylenConquest Racing1:44.2951:43.5231:43.523
UKJustin WilsonRSPORTS1:43.5251:44.0501:43.525
FranceTristan GommendyPKV Racing1:44.0321:43.5651:43.565
FranceSimon PagenaudTeam Australia1:43.6371:43.5811:43.581
UKRyan DalzielPacific Coast Motorsports1:43.6111:43.7951:43.611
SpainOriol ServiàForsythe Racing1:43.710no time1:43.710
USAlex FiggePacific Coast Motorsports1:45.4321:44.0271:44.027
CanadaPaul TracyForsythe Racing1:44.7161:47.1321:44.716
UKKatherine LeggeDale Coyne Racing1:46.9011:47.2711:46.901

Sébastien Bourdais, fresh off signing his name to a 2008 contract with Formula 1's Scuderia Toro Rosso, dominated both qualifying sessions, finishing Saturday with a best lap a second and a half clear of his closest competitor. Will Power was best of the rest to secure the other front row starting spot next to Bourdais on Sunday.

Race

After dominating qualifying, Sébastien Bourdais led away from the starting grid. Will Power, the other front row starter, dropped back with bad handling while Robert Doornbos was able to provide Bourdais a certain amount of pressure after starting third on the grid, staying within two seconds of the Frenchman.

Unfortunately for Doornbos the set of tires he switched to after his first pit stop did not prove to his liking and he began losing large chunks of time as Bourdais continued in the lead.

Meanwhile, Doornbos' teammate Dan Clarke was putting on a show. Slow away from the grid thanks to a bad clutch, Clarke took advantage of the yellow flag on the opening lap by pitting and setting off an alternate strategy. When the rest of the field pitted on lap 14, Clarke found himself in the lead and made the most of the open track in front of him and came out in second place in front of Doornbos and Graham Rahal after he emerged from his pit stop on lap 16.

With Doornbos struggling on his tires, Rahal got around Doornbos in turn 3 on lap 24. Doornbos' race then went completely wrong on the next lap as Clarke cut in front of him on the approach to turn 5. Doornbos' front wing was knocked off and his suspension was damaged. He was forced to limp back to the pits, his race ruined, though he was able to return to the fight albeit four laps down. Clarke was apologetic after the race, but Doornbos accused the Englishman of brake checking him.

Clarke got around Rahal after his second pit stop, gaining further benefit from his alternate pit stop strategy while Bourdais continued to easily lead the field. The race would finish up in that order. Surprisingly, the win was the first for Bourdais in four attempts at the scenic Wisconsin circuit. With Will Power ending up in 16th place with a broken gearbox, Doornbos' accident-marred 14th-place finish and Justin Wilson, best amongst the rest of the point challengers managing only an eighth place, Bourdais took a stranglehold on the season championship.

This race marked the final race on US soil for the Champ Car Series as a separate entity from the IndyCar Series, before the merger of the two in early 2008.

Box Score

PosNatNameTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints13422732542452161971781591310111110129138147156165174
FranceSébastien BourdaisN/H/L Racing531:40:58.5961
UKDan ClarkeMinardi Team USA53+9.8 secs8
USGraham RahalN/H/L Racing53+12.2 secs4
SpainOriol ServiàForsythe Racing53+20.9 secs14
CanadaAlex TaglianiRSPORTS53+50.7 secs6
BelgiumJan HeylenConquest Racing53+1:00.19
FranceTristan GommendyPKV Racing53+1:02.311
UKJustin WilsonRSPORTS53+1:03.010
BrazilBruno JunqueiraDale Coyne Racing53+1:04.55
SwitzerlandNeel JaniPKV Racing53+1:13.07
FranceSimon PagenaudTeam Australia53+1:28.912
CanadaPaul TracyForsythe Racing53+1:35.116
USAlex FiggePacific Coast Motorsports52+ 1 Lap15
NEDRobert DoornbosMinardi Team USA49+ 4 Laps3
UKKatherine LeggeDale Coyne Racing36Mechanical17
AUSWill PowerTeam Australia25Mechanical2
UKRyan DalzielPacific Coast Motorsports15Collision13

Caution flags

LapsCause
1-3Tracy (3)/Pagenaud (15)/Dalziel (28) Collision

Notes

LapsLeader
1-14Sébastien Bourdais
15-16Dan Clarke
17-53Sébastien Bourdais
DriverLaps led
Sébastien Bourdais51
Dan Clarke2

|}

  • New Race Record Sébastien Bourdais : 1:40:58.596
  • Average Speed 127.481 mph

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

PosDriverPoints
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]1FRA Sébastien Bourdais
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]2Netherlands Robert Doornbos
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]3AUS Will Power
[[File:1rightarrow_blue.svg10px]]4UK Justin Wilson
[[File:1uparrow green.svg10px]] 35US Graham Rahal
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included.

Attendance

Attendance at the 2007 Generac Grand Prix was over 100,000 people during the 4 day race weekend. Race coordinators were pleased with this result as this was the highest attendance the race had garnered since the heyday of CART racing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

References

References

  1. "The Sheboygan Press - the article requested can not be found! Please refresh your browser or go back. (U0,20070813,SHE02,708130554,AR).".
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