2007 Vegas Grand Prix

The 2007 Las Vegas Grand Prix was the first round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season, held on April 8 on the streets of Las Vegas, Nevada.

2007 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Race details
Race 1 of 14 in the 2007 Champ Car season
DateApril 8, 2007
Official nameXI Vegas Grand Prix
LocationVegas Grand Prix
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
CourseTemporary street circuit
2.440 mi / 3.927 km
Distance68 laps
165.920 mi / 267.036 km
WeatherSunny with temperatures reaching up to 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds approaching 17.1 miles per hour (27.5 km/h)[1]
Pole position
DriverWill Power (Team Australia)
Time1:17.629
Fastest lap
DriverWill Power (Team Australia)
Time1:19.934 (on lap 44 of 68)
Podium
FirstWill Power (Team Australia)
SecondRobert Doornbos (Minardi Team USA)
ThirdPaul Tracy (Forsythe Racing)

Qualifying results
Pos Nat Name Team Qual 1 Qual 2 Best
1 Will Power Team Australia 1:21.007 1:17.629 1:17.629
2 Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing 1:19.784 1:19.625 1:19.625*
3 Robert Doornbos Minardi Team USA 1:20.991 1:18.515 1:18.515
4 Alex Tagliani RSPORTS 1:20.437 1:18.850 1:18.850
5 Simon Pagenaud Team Australia 1:19.998 1:18.961 1:18.961
6 Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing - 1:19.102 1:19.102
7 Mario Dominguez Forsythe Racing 1:22.384 1:19.156 1:19.156
8 Justin Wilson RSPORTS 1:20.310 1:19.269 1:19.269
9 Neel Jani PKV Racing 1:21.618 1:19.360 1:19.360
10 Graham Rahal N/H/L Racing 1:23.307 1:19.710 1:19.710
11 Tristan Gommendy PKV Racing 1:21.565 1:19.784 1:19.784
12 Dan Clarke Minardi Team USA 1:22.123 1:19.814 1:19.814
13 Katherine Legge Dale Coyne Racing 1:22.420 1:20.104 1:20.104
14 Matt Halliday Conquest Racing 13:20.444 1:20.122 1:20.122
15 Ryan Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:22.202 1:20.128 1:20.128
16 Sébastien Bourdais N/H/L Racing 1:20.197 - 1:20.197
17 Alex Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports 1:22.788 1:20.313 1:20.313
  • Tracy awarded 2nd on the starting grid for gaining provisional pole position.

Grid
Row Inside Outside
1 5 Will Power 3 Paul Tracy
2 14 Robert Doornbos 8 Alex Tagliani
3 15 Simon Pagenaud 19 Bruno Junqueira
4 7 Mario Dominguez 9 Justin Wilson
5 21 Neel Jani 2 Graham Rahal
6 22 Tristan Gommendy 4 Dan Clarke
7 11 Katherine Legge 42 Matt Halliday
8 28 Ryan Dalziel 1 Sébastien Bourdais
9 29 Alex Figge

Race

The race was a fresh start for the Champ Car World Series. With a new car (Panoz DP01), new rules, including timed races and staggered starts, new teams like Pacific Coast Motorsports, a different season opener on a new track, and an eventual return to ABC/ESPN later in the year, all were the big stories of the day. The race would be one of survival of the fittest as many drivers were taken out by either crashes or mechanical failures. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing would not have a good day as 3-time champion Sébastien Bourdais was hampered by numerous tire problems and rookie Graham Rahal was taken out on the first lap. Will Power had the dominant car all day long, only being challenged consistently by Paul Tracy, who many saw as the man to unseat Bourdais as the face of Champ Car. In the end, the race would all come down to fuel mileage. Tracy's car struggled with taking a full load of fuel preventing him from snapping his winless streak. Will Power outlasted the field to take his first career victory, which was also the first Champ Car victory by an Australian, in a dominant fashion.

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 5 Will Power Team Australia 68 1:45:13.637 1 34
2 14 Robert Doornbos Minardi Team USA 68 +16.789 3 27
3 3 Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing 68 +27.356 2 27
4 8 Alex Tagliani RSPORTS 68 +48.981 4 24
5 22 Tristan Gommendy PKV Racing 68 +1:10.396 11 21
6 11 Katherine Legge Dale Coyne Racing 68 +1:21.261 13 20
7 19 Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing 66 + 1 Lap 6 18
8 29 Alex Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports 63 + 5 Laps 17 15
9 7 Mario Dominguez Forsythe Racing 57 + 11 Laps 7 13
10 21 Neel Jani PKV Racing 56 Mechanical 9 11
11 28 Ryan Dalziel Pacific Coast Motorsports 52 + 16 Laps 15 10
12 15 Simon Pagenaud Team Australia 47 Engine 5 9
13 1 Sébastien Bourdais N/H/L Racing 30 Accident 16 8
14 9 Justin Wilson RSPORTS 20 Input shaft 8 7
15 4 Dan Clarke Minardi Team USA 13 Accident 12 6
16 42 Matt Halliday Conquest Racing 3 Accident 14 5
17 2 Graham Rahal N/H/L Racing 1 Accident 10 4

Caution flags
LapsCause
1Yellow Start
2-5Rahal/Halliday crash
6-7Figge stalled
14-17Clarke crash

Notes
LapsLeader
1Will Power
2-10Paul Tracy
11-27Will Power
28-38Alex Tagliani
39-45Will Power
46-48Bruno Junqueira
49-55Paul Tracy
56-68Will Power
  
DriverLaps led
Will Power38
Paul Tracy16
Alex Tagliani11
Bruno Junqueira3
  • This was not only Will Power's first victory, but also the first victory for an Australian in Champ Car.
  • The win was also the first for Team Australia owner Derrick Walker since 1999.

Attendance

Attendance at the inaugural 2007 event was estimated to be 40,000 fans on race day. This surpassed the number of seats available on the course's temporary grandstands facilitating an expansion for the 2008 season.[2][3]

Future of the Race

This was the third race for Champ Car in Las Vegas, but the only one held on a downtown street course. Two oval Grands Prix had taken place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway: the 2004 Bridgestone 400 and the 2005 Hurricane Relief 400. The planned 2008 race was removed from the calendar due to Champ Car's merge with the Indy Racing League (IRL).

IRL returned to Las Vegas in 2011, however the return was at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, rather than to a downtown street course.

gollark: Also some bismuth, a microbit, an old hardware radio, a RTL-SDR, a Rubik's cube I have NEVER used, a spare USB charger, a printed TIS-100 manual, and some rubber bands.
gollark: Although I do have £10.05 on my desk.
gollark: NONE of you have the money for that.
gollark: You don't have that much money.
gollark: Not really.

References
  1. "2007 Vegas Grand Prix". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  2. ESPN - Vegas gamble pays off for Champ Car World Series - Open-Wheel
  3. ReviewJournal.com - News - GRAND PRIX'S TWIN SPIN
Previous race:
2006 Gran Premio de México
Previous Season		 Champ Car World Series
2007 season		 Next race:
2007 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Previous race:
2005 Hurricane Relief 400
(Las Vegas Motor Speedway)		 Champ Car in Las Vegas Next race:
2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship
(Las Vegas Motor Speedway; IndyCar Series event)
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