2007 Steelback Grand Prix

  2007 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto

Race details
Race 7 of 14 in the 2007 Champ Car season
Exhibition Place track layout
Date	July 8, 2007
Official name	Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto
Location	Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Course	Temporary Street Course 1.755 mi / 2.824 km
Distance	73 laps, 128.115 mi / 206.181 km
Weather	Rain/Overcast with temperatures reaching up to 30.9 °C (87.6 °F)
Pole position
Driver	Sébastien Bourdais	N/H/L Racing
Time	58.288
Fastest lap
Driver	Sébastien Bourdais	N/H/L Racing
Time	1:00.083 (on lap 34 of 73)
Podium
First	Will Power	Team Australia
Second	Neel Jani	PKV Racing
Third	Justin Wilson	RSPORTS

The 2007 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto is the seventh round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season. It was held on July 8 at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Will Power won the race, followed by Neel Jani and Justin Wilson.

Qualifying results

Pos	Nat	Name	Team	Qual 1	Qual 2	Best
1		Sébastien Bourdais	N/H/L Racing	58.783	58.288	58.288
2		Justin Wilson	RSPORTS	59.099	58.299	58.299
3		Oriol Servia	Forsythe Racing	58.801	58.661	58.661
4		Simon Pagenaud	Team Australia	59.341	58.664	58.664
5		Bruno Junqueira	Dale Coyne Racing	59.547	58.675	58.675
6		Alex Tagliani	RSPORTS	59.737	58.779	58.779
7		Will Power	Team Australia	1:01.040	58.790	58.790
8		Jan Heylen	Conquest Racing	59.813	58.816	58.816
9		Neel Jani	PKV Racing	1:00.123	58.834	58.834
10		Paul Tracy	Forsythe Racing	59.368	58.882	58.882
11		Ryan Dalziel	Pacific Coast Motorsports	59.880	58.912	58.912
12		Robert Doornbos	Minardi Team USA	59.132	59.024	59.024
13		Dan Clarke	Minardi Team USA	59.288	59.263	59.263
14		Tristan Gommendy	PKV Racing	59.624	59.265	59.265
15		Graham Rahal	N/H/L Racing	59.456	59.384	59.384
16		Katherine Legge	Dale Coyne Racing	59.520	59.562	59.520
17		Alex Figge	Pacific Coast Motorsports	1:00.880	59.973	59.973

Sébastien Bourdais led both the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions to win his 28th career Champ Car pole position. On Saturday Bourdais and Justin Wilson traded the fast lap three times in the final minutes, with Wilson coming up only .011 second short at the end after he brushed the wall on his last lap.

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Will Power	Team Australia	73	1:45:58.568	7	31
2	21	Neel Jani	PKV Racing	73	+2.972	9	28
3	9	Justin Wilson	RSPORTS	73	+3.480	2	25
4	15	Simon Pagenaud	Team Australia	73	+5.643	4	23
5	19	Bruno Junqueira	Dale Coyne Racing	73	+20.738	5	21
6	14	Robert Doornbos	Minardi Team USA	72	+ 1 Lap	12	19
7	28	Ryan Dalziel	Pacific Coast Motorsports	72	+ 1 Lap	11	17
8	8	Alex Tagliani	RSPORTS	71	+ 2 Laps	6	15
9	1	Sébastien Bourdais	N/H/L Racing	67	Contact	1	16
10	7	Oriol Servia	Forsythe Racing	56	Contact	3	11
11	2	Graham Rahal	N/H/L Racing	52	Contact	15	10
12	4	Dan Clarke	Minardi Team USA	43	Contact	13	9
13	34	Jan Heylen	Conquest Racing	1	Contact	8	8
14	3	Paul Tracy	Forsythe Racing	0	Contact	10	7
15	22	Tristan Gommendy	PKV Racing	0	Contact	14	6
16	11	Katherine Legge	Dale Coyne Racing	0	Contact	16	5
17	29	Alex Figge	Pacific Coast Motorsports	0	Contact	17	4

For the second race in a row rain had a major impact on the proceedings. The race began under cloudy skies and on a track that was still partially damp after heavy rains earlier in the day. Oriol Servia got the best start from the second row and led into the first corner. Trouble began as the cars funneled through turn 3 for the first time. Alex Tagliani contacted Simon Pagenaud, knocking the front wing off Pagenaud's car. Paul Tracy collected the wing but could not see that it remained stuck under his own front wing. Coming out of the fast turn 7 the errant wing began to interfere with Tracy's steering and he hit the outside wall. This set off a chain reaction of carnage behind him as cars behind him rounded the blind turn and were not able thread through the mess. In the end, Tracy, Katherine Legge, Alex Figge, and Tristan Gommendy all ended their races immediately, with Gommendy almost flipping up the back of Jan Heylen, catching air. Heylen was able to limp back to the pits, only to retire (his fourth consecutive retirement since returning to the series), while Graham Rahal was able to return to the race with a new front wing.

Servia held the lead until he pitted for fuel and a fresh set of slick tires on lap 34. Rain began to fall soon after. On lap 38, Ryan Dalziel and Neel Jani came out of the pits on rain tires. It turned out to be the correct decision. Servia and Tagliani tangled at the slippery turn 3 on lap 39. Both cars were able to continue but a yellow flag was brought out. Except for Dan Clarke, the rest of the field pitted for rain tires during the caution.

Dan Clarke lasted only 3 green flag laps on dry weather tires before finding the wall and ending his day. Meanwhile Ryan Dalziel led a Champ Car race for the first time in his career. They were also the first laps in the lead for the Pacific Coast Motorsports team.

After a caution period for a spin and crash by Graham Rahal, Will Power got around Dalziel on the restart on lap 56 and took the lead which he would not relinquish for the rest of the race. Dalziel was dropped to third by Jani on the next restart on lap 62. With 3 laps to go, Dalziel's hopes for a podium were dashed when Justin Wilson bounced him into the tires as he made the pass for third place.

In the end Will Power cruised to his second career Champ Car race win. Meanwhile, Sébastien Bourdais' 9th place finish cost him the championship lead. Entering the second half of the season a close three-way battle has developed. Robert Doornbos now leads the championship with 164 points, followed closely by Power with 162 and Bourdais with 161.

Caution flags

Notes

• Fastest Lap Sébastien Bourdais: 1:00.083 (Lap 34)
• New Race Record Will Power : 1:45:58.568
• Average Speed 72.534 mph

Attendance

Race attendance numbers were not released for the 2007 Steelback Grand Prix. However the race reportedly had a 12% attendance increase over the 2006 race weekend. However number may be released at a later date as they do exist and are currently being used in sponsor negotiations for 2008.^[1]

References

1. ↑ TheStar.com | Sports | T.O. Grand Prix sponsor hopes to extend contract

External links

• Full Weekend Times & Results
• Weather Information