The 2007

2007 Champ Car World Series Season

The 2007 Champ Car season was the 29th and final season of the Champ Car World Series, however only its fourth season under the Champ Car title. It began on April 8, 2007 and ended on November 11 after 14 races...

 Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto is the seventh round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series Season

2007 Champ Car World Series Season

The 2007 Champ Car season was the 29th and final season of the Champ Car World Series, however only its fourth season under the Champ Car title. It began on April 8, 2007 and ended on November 11 after 14 races...

. It was held on July 8 at Exhibition Place

Exhibition Place

Exhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...

 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. Will Power

Will Power

William Steven Power is an Australian motorsport driver, who currently competes in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske.-Australian Racing:...

 won the race, followed by Neel Jani

Neel Jani

Neel Jani is a Swiss race car driver of Indian origin. He has achieved his greatest success driving for A1 Team Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix, helping them win the 2007-2008 title and finishing runner-up in 2005-06 and 2008-09. He has been also a GP2 Series race-winner and Formula One tester...

 and Justin Wilson.

Qualifying results

Pos	Nat	Name	Team	Qual 1	Qual 2	Best
1		Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais is a French race car driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series, having won four successive championships from 2004 to 2007....	N/H/L Racing	58.783	58.288	58.288
2		Justin Wilson	RSPORTS RSPORTS RSPORTS was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series. It was founded officially in 2007 as a technological partnership, but started out originally as two different teams owned by former race car drivers Carl Russo, who owned RuSPORT, and Paul Gentilozzi who founded...	59.099	58.299	58.299
3		Oriol Servia Oriol Servia Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:...	Forsythe Racing	58.801	58.661	58.661
4		Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud is a French race car driver born in Poitiers. He currently races in the IZOD IndyCar Series with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.-Career:...	Team Australia Team Australia Team Australia was an Auto racing team competing in the V8 Supercars and Champ Car World Series. It was created in early 2005 when two Australian businessmen bought into Derrick Walker's Walker Racing operation...	59.341	58.664	58.664
5		Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira is a Brazilian race car driver that most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.-Early career:...	Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No...	59.547	58.675	58.675
6		Alex Tagliani Alex Tagliani Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...	RSPORTS RSPORTS RSPORTS was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series. It was founded officially in 2007 as a technological partnership, but started out originally as two different teams owned by former race car drivers Carl Russo, who owned RuSPORT, and Paul Gentilozzi who founded...	59.737	58.779	58.779
7		Will Power Will Power William Steven Power is an Australian motorsport driver, who currently competes in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske.-Australian Racing:...	Team Australia Team Australia Team Australia was an Auto racing team competing in the V8 Supercars and Champ Car World Series. It was created in early 2005 when two Australian businessmen bought into Derrick Walker's Walker Racing operation...	1:01.040	58.790	58.790
8		Jan Heylen Jan Heylen Jan Heylen is a Belgian racing driver who most notably competed in the Champ Car World Series.-Early career and F3000:...	Conquest Racing	59.813	58.816	58.816
9		Neel Jani Neel Jani Neel Jani is a Swiss race car driver of Indian origin. He has achieved his greatest success driving for A1 Team Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix, helping them win the 2007-2008 title and finishing runner-up in 2005-06 and 2008-09. He has been also a GP2 Series race-winner and Formula One tester...	PKV Racing PKV Racing KV Racing Technology – Lotus is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pollock from the remnants of the PacWest team.The team has...	1:00.123	58.834	58.834
10		Paul Tracy Paul Tracy Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...	Forsythe Racing	59.368	58.882	58.882
11		Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel , is a Scottish race car driver. He spent three years in the Toyota Atlantic championship, finishing runner-up twice, before moving to the American Le Mans series in 2005. He also contested one Champ Car race for Dale Coyne Racing at Toronto, finishing 9th. In 2006, he drove a...	Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports was a racing team owned by Tyler Tadevic. It was founded by Tadevic in 2003 and has competed in the American Le Mans Series, Champ Car Atlantic Series, and Rolex Grand-Am series. In 2007 it moved to the Champ Car World Series, one of America's premier open-wheel racing...	59.880	58.912	58.912
12		Robert Doornbos Robert Doornbos Robert Michael Doornbos is a Dutch racing driver. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in 2005 and 2006. Doornbos then drove for Minardi Team USA in the 2007 and final season of the Champ Car...	Minardi Team USA	59.132	59.024	59.024
13		Dan Clarke Dan Clarke Dan Clarke is a British auto racing driver born 4 October 1983 in Mexborough, most recently competing in the Firestone Indy Lights series with Walker Racing, having previously competed in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and the Champ Car World Series...	Minardi Team USA	59.288	59.263	59.263
14		Tristan Gommendy Tristan Gommendy Tristan Gommendy is a race car driver. He won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2002. In 2006 Gommendy drove briefly in the GP2 Series for the iSport International team....	PKV Racing PKV Racing KV Racing Technology – Lotus is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pollock from the remnants of the PacWest team.The team has...	59.624	59.265	59.265
15		Graham Rahal Graham Rahal Graham Rahal is an American race car driver. He currently participates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal.-Early racing:...	N/H/L Racing	59.456	59.384	59.384
16		Katherine Legge Katherine Legge Katherine Legge is a British auto racing driver, formerly racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.-Early racing and Atlantics:Prior to joining the Toyota Atlantic series, she raced in several developmental open-wheel series in Britain, including Formula Three, Formula Renault and Formula Ford....	Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No...	59.520	59.562	59.520
17		Alex Figge Alex Figge Alex Figge is an American race car driver born in Boulder, Colorado. He started racing professionally in the Star Mazda Championship, capturing one victory at Portland International Raceway in 2000 while driving for World Speed Motorsports.He competed in the US Formula Ford 2000 championship in...	Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports was a racing team owned by Tyler Tadevic. It was founded by Tadevic in 2003 and has competed in the American Le Mans Series, Champ Car Atlantic Series, and Rolex Grand-Am series. In 2007 it moved to the Champ Car World Series, one of America's premier open-wheel racing...	1:00.880	59.973	59.973

Sébastien Bourdais led both the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions to win his 28th career Champ Car

Champ Car

Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...

 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 Will Power William Steven Power is an Australian motorsport driver, who currently competes in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske.-Australian Racing:...	Team Australia Team Australia Team Australia was an Auto racing team competing in the V8 Supercars and Champ Car World Series. It was created in early 2005 when two Australian businessmen bought into Derrick Walker's Walker Racing operation...	73	1:45:58.568	7	31
2	21	Neel Jani Neel Jani Neel Jani is a Swiss race car driver of Indian origin. He has achieved his greatest success driving for A1 Team Switzerland in A1 Grand Prix, helping them win the 2007-2008 title and finishing runner-up in 2005-06 and 2008-09. He has been also a GP2 Series race-winner and Formula One tester...	PKV Racing PKV Racing KV Racing Technology – Lotus is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pollock from the remnants of the PacWest team.The team has...	73	+2.972	9	28
3	9	Justin Wilson	RSPORTS RSPORTS RSPORTS was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series. It was founded officially in 2007 as a technological partnership, but started out originally as two different teams owned by former race car drivers Carl Russo, who owned RuSPORT, and Paul Gentilozzi who founded...	73	+3.480	2	25
4	15	Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud is a French race car driver born in Poitiers. He currently races in the IZOD IndyCar Series with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.-Career:...	Team Australia Team Australia Team Australia was an Auto racing team competing in the V8 Supercars and Champ Car World Series. It was created in early 2005 when two Australian businessmen bought into Derrick Walker's Walker Racing operation...	73	+5.643	4	23
5	19	Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira Bruno Junqueira is a Brazilian race car driver that most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.-Early career:...	Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No...	73	+20.738	5	21
6	14	Robert Doornbos Robert Doornbos Robert Michael Doornbos is a Dutch racing driver. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in 2005 and 2006. Doornbos then drove for Minardi Team USA in the 2007 and final season of the Champ Car...	Minardi Team USA	72	+ 1 Lap	12	19
7	28	Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel Ryan Dalziel , is a Scottish race car driver. He spent three years in the Toyota Atlantic championship, finishing runner-up twice, before moving to the American Le Mans series in 2005. He also contested one Champ Car race for Dale Coyne Racing at Toronto, finishing 9th. In 2006, he drove a...	Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports was a racing team owned by Tyler Tadevic. It was founded by Tadevic in 2003 and has competed in the American Le Mans Series, Champ Car Atlantic Series, and Rolex Grand-Am series. In 2007 it moved to the Champ Car World Series, one of America's premier open-wheel racing...	72	+ 1 Lap	11	17
8	8	Alex Tagliani Alex Tagliani Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...	RSPORTS RSPORTS RSPORTS was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series. It was founded officially in 2007 as a technological partnership, but started out originally as two different teams owned by former race car drivers Carl Russo, who owned RuSPORT, and Paul Gentilozzi who founded...	71	+ 2 Laps	6	15
9	1	Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais is a French race car driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series, having won four successive championships from 2004 to 2007....	N/H/L Racing	67	Contact	1	16
10	7	Oriol Servia Oriol Servia Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:...	Forsythe Racing	56	Contact	3	11
11	2	Graham Rahal Graham Rahal Graham Rahal is an American race car driver. He currently participates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal.-Early racing:...	N/H/L Racing	52	Contact	15	10
12	4	Dan Clarke Dan Clarke Dan Clarke is a British auto racing driver born 4 October 1983 in Mexborough, most recently competing in the Firestone Indy Lights series with Walker Racing, having previously competed in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and the Champ Car World Series...	Minardi Team USA	43	Contact	13	9
13	34	Jan Heylen Jan Heylen Jan Heylen is a Belgian racing driver who most notably competed in the Champ Car World Series.-Early career and F3000:...	Conquest Racing	1	Contact	8	8
14	3	Paul Tracy Paul Tracy Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...	Forsythe Racing	0	Contact	10	7
15	22	Tristan Gommendy Tristan Gommendy Tristan Gommendy is a race car driver. He won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2002. In 2006 Gommendy drove briefly in the GP2 Series for the iSport International team....	PKV Racing PKV Racing KV Racing Technology – Lotus is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pollock from the remnants of the PacWest team.The team has...	0	Contact	14	6
16	11	Katherine Legge Katherine Legge Katherine Legge is a British auto racing driver, formerly racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.-Early racing and Atlantics:Prior to joining the Toyota Atlantic series, she raced in several developmental open-wheel series in Britain, including Formula Three, Formula Renault and Formula Ford....	Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No...	0	Contact	16	5
17	29	Alex Figge Alex Figge Alex Figge is an American race car driver born in Boulder, Colorado. He started racing professionally in the Star Mazda Championship, capturing one victory at Portland International Raceway in 2000 while driving for World Speed Motorsports.He competed in the US Formula Ford 2000 championship in...	Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports Pacific Coast Motorsports was a racing team owned by Tyler Tadevic. It was founded by Tadevic in 2003 and has competed in the American Le Mans Series, Champ Car Atlantic Series, and Rolex Grand-Am series. In 2007 it moved to the Champ Car World Series, one of America's premier open-wheel racing...	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

Laps	Cause
1-7	Tracy (3) Paul Tracy Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series... /Legge (11) Katherine Legge Katherine Legge is a British auto racing driver, formerly racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.-Early racing and Atlantics:Prior to joining the Toyota Atlantic series, she raced in several developmental open-wheel series in Britain, including Formula Three, Formula Renault and Formula Ford.... /Figge (29) Alex Figge Alex Figge is an American race car driver born in Boulder, Colorado. He started racing professionally in the Star Mazda Championship, capturing one victory at Portland International Raceway in 2000 while driving for World Speed Motorsports.He competed in the US Formula Ford 2000 championship in... /Gommendy (22) Tristan Gommendy Tristan Gommendy is a race car driver. He won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2002. In 2006 Gommendy drove briefly in the GP2 Series for the iSport International team.... /Rahal (2) Graham Rahal Graham Rahal is an American race car driver. He currently participates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal.-Early racing:... /Heylen (34) Jan Heylen Jan Heylen is a Belgian racing driver who most notably competed in the Champ Car World Series.-Early career and F3000:...  crash
14-16	Debris on track
39-42	Servia (7) Oriol Servia Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:... /Tagliani (8) Alex Tagliani Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...  spin/stall
45-48	Clarke (4) Dan Clarke Dan Clarke is a British auto racing driver born 4 October 1983 in Mexborough, most recently competing in the Firestone Indy Lights series with Walker Racing, having previously competed in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and the Champ Car World Series...  crash
53-56	Rahal (2) Graham Rahal Graham Rahal is an American race car driver. He currently participates in the IZOD IndyCar Series. He is the son of 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal.-Early racing:...  crash
58-61	Servia (7) Oriol Servia Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:...  crash
68-70	Bourdais (1) Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais is a French race car driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Champ Car World Series, having won four successive championships from 2004 to 2007.... /Doornbos (14) Robert Doornbos Robert Michael Doornbos is a Dutch racing driver. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Minardi and Red Bull Racing in 2005 and 2006. Doornbos then drove for Minardi Team USA in the 2007 and final season of the Champ Car...  crash

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.

External links

• Full Weekend Times & Results