Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 81

3 0 THURSDAY; JULV 142005 i 2005 torA'iyp rixo ytoToi EDMONTON JOURNAL EDMONTON JOURNAE, 2 0 0 RWD 'PRfX flEHW ttlY 1 0 JULK 14', 7093 11T Champs, chumps so far Young guns putting the pedal to the metal i jsamJL. fir zcAtO i Glock, Ranger lead a talented rookie class fighting for recognition SSrisS? -wurnw" j-j i r-: 1 r7l -w- fp MB -A 4 JOANNE IRELAND Journal Sports Writer EDMONTON SCOTT PETERS F.N Journal S'iorfs Writer The West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix of Edmonton represents the halfway mark in a season-long Champ Car soap opera. The two major protagonists Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais and Toronto's Paul Tracy are set to continue their duel for the lead in the drivers standings this weekend. Here's a summary of how the season has gone so far: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 10 The season kicked off with Bourdais edging Tracy at the finish line, a definite harbinger of things to come. Bourdais, the reigning series points champion, passed Tracy on No.

38 of 81 laps and held on late. Tracy was the two-time defending champion at the event. Brazilian Bruno Junqucira slid into third spot. Canadians Alex Tagliani, of Lachenaie, and Andrew Ranger, of Roxton Pond, didn't finish the race and took 15th and 17th places respectively. Monterrey Grand Prix, May 22 The race was in Mexico but the podium had a distinctly Canadian feel to it.

The 18-year-old Ranger managed a second-place finish to capture everyone's attention in his rookie season and become the youngest podium finisher in Champ Car history. He charged from 14th on the starting grid to the runner-up position. Junqueira took the victory and Tagliani took third. Bourdais finished fifth. Tracy crashed and finished down in 15th place.

Road Runner 225 at the Milwaukee Mile, June 4 Tracy passed pole-sitter Jimmy Vasser on the outside on Lap 19 of the 221-lap race and never looked back to take the checkered flag. 2004 rookie of the year A J. All-mendinger charged hard to take second, while Spain's Oriol Servia finished third after taking over from Junqueira on the NewmanHaas team. Junqueira was injured in the Indy 500 and is not expected back this season. Tagliani finished 10th and Ranger 16th after a collision.

Grand Prix of Portland, June 19 Cristiano da Matta won his first race in three years. The Brazilian won the series championship in 2002 before embarking on an unsuccessful foray into Formula One. Bourdais edged Tracy for second to maintain his series points lead. Ranger finished seventh and Tagliani placed 18th with early mechanical problems. Vancouver's Michael Valiante, driving for Dale Coyne Racing, finished 11th.

Grand Prix of Cleveland, June 26 Tracy collected his 30th career Champ Car win and first in Cleveland since 1993. It leap-frogged him past Bourdais for the points lead. Servia collected another podium finish in second and Allmendinger managed to take third despite a THE fMNtbtAN PRESS Paul Tracy, above, races without a front wing after a collision with chief rival Sebastien Bourdais last Sunday in the Molson Indy Toronto. Tracy was forced out of the race after running out of gas. Bourdais finished THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

FILE Timo Glock speeds away after a pit stop during provisional qualifying for the Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland last month. crash in qualifying the day before that left him dazed. Bourdais finished fifth, one spot behind Tagliani. Rookie Ranger ended up in eighth. Molson Indy Toronto, July 10 Tracy led the points standings by one over Bourdais heading into the race, but trailed the Frenchman by 15 after it.

A miscalculation by Tra cy's Forsythe team cost him. He led after 57 laps, but was left without enough fuel to continue when a caution flag came out. Tracy and Bourdais clashed after coming out of the pits on Lap 34, leaving Tracy with a broken wing and Bourdais with a punctured tire. Britain's Justin Wilson took his first-ever Champ Car win. Servia came in second.

Tagliani collected his second podium finish of the year, finishing third. There Smited parking at the Vtest Edmonton Mai Grand Prut of Edmonton. St Albert Trans i operate a Park Ride semce to the event on Saturday. July 16 and Sunday, Jufy 17. Pickup and Drop Off Location St Albert Alberta Gaming Liquor Cwnmission Budding, Campbell Business Park, 50 Corriveau Avenue, St Afcert Parking at rear ofbuiifing.

GrPrteStoprto.8rmrGater.3attrn(endof 121 Street There rsrrirrkiirg at this location. clean conscience SWI3T I0MONION NAU (3rF1NO rTix' EDMONTON Fares (Cash Only) Adult S6 Round Trip. Concession (Age 5-11 and 65): $4 Round Trip. Pay Ml fare when departing St Albert Time Frequency Services starts Saturday at 7:30 a and Sunday at 6:30 a Services finish when the races are complete. Cwttnuous service as necessary.

5 Every time Timo Glock lines up in the grid, there are past champions to contend with. Sebastien Bourdais, who was the top driver in 2004, Paul Tracy, who was the winner theyear before. Then there's 2002 champ Cristiano Da Matta and the veteran of the group, Jimmy Vasser, who claimed the title in 1996. But there is also a crop of younger, ambititous drivers making their way through the Champ Car field, drivers like Andrew Ranger, the 18-year-old Canadian rookie, and Bjorn Wirdheim, the 2003 FIA International F3000 champion. "Everybody has the same car in Champ Car so everybody is closer together.

You have to fight all weekend to be in the top five, you have to be consistent. You can't make any mistakes in the race," said Glock. "That's difficult to learn to be that competitive all weekend." Glock, Ranger, Wirdheim, Marcus Marshall and Ricardo Sperafico are among those in this season's rookie class and all are pushing to make inroads. Not all arrived via the same route. Glock, drove for Jordan in Formula One for a chunk of last season, Wirdheim was a test driver in Jaguar's F-l program, while Ranger moved up from the the Toyota Atlantic series, but all are eligible for rookie-of-the-yeartide, Glock and Ranger are currently running first and second, respectively, in the season's rookie race.

"We have new guys coming through, moving up from Europe and the States. We've also got some of the guys who were here last year, and some of the old pros," said Justin Wilson, in his second season. "That's what makes the championship so good." Talent alone isn't enough however. Danish driver Ronnie Bremer, who was another of the freshmen, had driven the No. 55 car for the HVMteamforthefirstfive races, posting three top-10 finishes.

He flew to Toronto for last week's Indy ranked 13th overall and sits third behind Glock and Ranger in the rookie race. Like Ranger, Bremer made the jump from Toyota Atlantic this season and had the ability. What he didn't have was enough money from personal sponsorships. Teams spend a minimum of $2 million US to get into the series. The top teams will fork out $5 to $10 million annually.

Personal sponsorships can offset those costs. "It is (a distraction) because you don't know if you're in the next race or not," Bremer said. "This is my dream (but) if you get out of the car, you might never get in it again. They might forget about you." Bremer was in Toronto last week but was bumped from the car when the HMVteam elected to go with Brazilian driver Alex Sperafico. It's a scenario that being played out in Formula SL L'-1- ifjC-t n-Jj (...

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