2007 Steelback Grand Prix

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.

2007 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto
Race details
Race 7 of 14 in the 2007 Champ Car season
Exhibition Place track layout
DateJuly 8, 2007
Official nameSteelback Grand Prix of Toronto
LocationExhibition Place
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
CourseTemporary Street Course
1.755 mi / 2.824 km
Distance73 laps
128.115 mi / 206.181 km
WeatherRain/Overcast with temperatures reaching up to 30.9 °C (87.6 °F)
Pole position
DriverSébastien Bourdais (N/H/L Racing)
Time58.288
Fastest lap
DriverSébastien Bourdais (N/H/L Racing)
Time1:00.083 (on lap 34 of 73)
Podium
FirstWill Power (Team Australia)
SecondNeel Jani (PKV Racing)
ThirdJustin Wilson (RSPORTS)

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

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
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

LapsCause
1-7Tracy (3)/Legge (11)/Figge (29)/Gommendy (22)/Rahal (2)/Heylen (34) crash
14-16Debris on track
39-42Servia (7)/Tagliani (8) spin/stall
45-48Clarke (4) crash
53-56Rahal (2) crash
58-61Servia (7) crash
68-70Bourdais (1)/Doornbos (14) crash

Notes

LapsLeader
1-34Oriol Servia
35-35Sébastien Bourdais
36-36Will Power
37-37Simon Pagenaud
38-38Alex Tagliani
39-40Robert Doornbos
41-56Ryan Dalziel
57-73Will Power
 
DriverLaps led
Oriol Servia34
Will Power18
Ryan Dalziel16
Robert Doornbos2
Simon Pagenaud1
Alex Tagliani1
Sébastien Bourdais1

Championship standings after the race

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