November 4, 2004 - Highlight

Will Power has finished 9th fastest in Friday Qualifying today in Mexico in what is his second ever Champ Car race weekend, and first time at the track. Power's provisional qualifying slot sees him line up as the second Rookie behind Canadian Andrew Ranger.
The session was an incident-packed one, with two red flags when Glock and Ranger spun respectively and stalled on track. Will ran 8 laps in the 35min session and posted a best time of 1min29.445sec. Team-mate Alex Tagliani only managed 4 laps and set the 11th fastest time, while Toyota Atlantic Champion Charles Zwolsman who is running Team Australia's third car this weekend, was 18th fastest. AJ Allmendinger takes provisional pole which assures him a front row start for Sunday's race.

November 5, 2005 - Highlight

In a scene reminiscent of Sufer's Paradise qualifying two weeks ago, Will Power will line up as the second fastest Rookie after Timo Glock, only two places behind team-mate Alex Tagliani.
The Queenlander compeleted 11 laps in the 36 minute session and posted a time of 1min28.195sec to be 13th fastest. Power was lying in 10th spot when a Red Flag was brought out after fellow Team Australia entrant, Charles Zwolsman spun and stalled on track.
Will had only exited the pits 2 minutes before the Red Flag after a scheduled stop so his second stint was effictively cut short. Four and a half minutes remained as the track went green again and although Will betterd his time, after he hit the chequered flag he was demoted by Nelson Philippe (10th), Tagliani (11th) and Glock (12th) respectively.
Toyota Atlantic Champion Zwolsman, will grid up in P18.

November 6, 2005

Team Australia's Will Power finished 10th in the final Champ Car race of 2005 in Mexico City today, the thrid rookie after Timo Glock in 5th and Andrew Ranger in 9th, and only two spots behind team-mate Alex Tagliani who finished in 8th place.

The 70 lap race was slowed three times by full caution yellow's, first Ronnie Bremer crashed heavily on lap 20 and then later on lap 56 Timo Glock and Mario Dominguez came together when battling for 4th.ÿ The final incident happened shortly after on lap 61; Cristiano da Matta was hit from behind by Champion Sebastion Bourdais when he locked up while battling with the Brazilian at the re-start.ÿ Bourdais had been consistently making his way back through the field after engine problems earlier in the race forced him to pit out of sequence.

After Bremer’s heavy crash the pit lane was closed until lap 21 when, apart from Rodolfo Lavin and Paul Tracy (who had run into trouble in the opening laps and had already made stops), the rest of the field pitted.ÿ Will’s stop went longer than expected and he dropped down to 17th place, following his team-mate Charles Zwolsman out of the pit lane.

The Queenslander passed Zwolsman at the restart and moved up to 14th place (Lavin and Bourdais were forced to pit again under yellow pushing them to the rear of the field), but he was quickly demoted to 15th when Tracy began his charge back to the front after serving a drive-though for blocking at the re-start.ÿ Power was stuck behind Ricardo Sperifico for the whole of his second stint, consistently posting faster times than the Brazilian, but unable to pass and make any progress.

As the second pit-stop window opened on lap 44, the number 5 car stayed out longer than most having saved his fuel wisely – but crucially, not long enough to jump Sperifico who also pitted on lap 49.ÿ Will re-joined in 15th however on lap 50 he finally got ahead of Sperifico when he pitted again after only completing a lap!ÿ

Now chasing down Michael McDowell, Power put in two fast laps in the low 1min30’sÿ while in clean air, keen to make up for the time he had lost behind Sperifico during his second stint.ÿ He reached the back of McDowell on lap 55 and passed the fellow rookie (who’s first Champ Car race was also in Australia), for 13th a lap later – moments before the second full caution yellows were brought out.

However, it was the next set of yellows that benefited the young Australian the most when he was promoted to 10th place by the loss of da Matta and Bourdais.ÿ Power closely chased the back of Ranger for the remaining 6 laps and crossed the line in a solid 10th for his first ever Champ Car finish.

Ends//

07/11/2005

- Team News

The Aussie Vineyards Team Australia squad has completed its debut season in the Champ Car World Series by scoring a pair of top ten finishes in the final round of the 2005 Championship in Mexico City today.

Despite suffering from a lack of outright pace, Team Australia’s three drivers Alex Tagliani, Will Power and Charles Zwolsman all kept their head as leading rivals including former champ Cristiano da Matta and 2004 & 05 series champion Sebastien Bourdais crashed out.

Tagliani finished 8th today to complete the 2005 championship in 7th place – equalling his best ever season performance in the Champ Car World Series.

New team-mate, Australian Will Power also impressed to record his first race finish. Power battled back from a poor pit stop to grab 10th place at the chequered flag.

New Toyota Atlantic champion Charles Zwolsman also earned a race finish in his Champ Car debut. Zwolsman made his debut as a reward from Champ Car for winning this year’s Atlantic series. The Dutchman made the most progress of any of the Team Australia entries – moving from 18th on the grid to a 13th place finish.

Today’s race was won by Brit Justin Wilson – his second win of the 2005 season.


ALEX TAGLIANI – CAR #15
START: 11th
FINISH: 8th
“We were a little bit lucky today to finish where we did but I’m not complaining. It was a great effort from the team to run the Lola chassis for the first time this year.
“Team Australia has shown a lot of potential and we are fighting in the championship with some pretty strong teams and it is definitely not an easy competition.
“This first year was a real learning year. We know we have some work to do on straight line speed and dampers to come on strong in 2006.
“The most important thing for me today was to try to keep out of trouble and that’s how we ended up with a solid top ten result.”
“Next season starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to working with Will – I am sure we are going to make a great combination.”


WILL POWER – CAR #5
START: 12th
FINISH: 10th
“It was great to today to get a full race under my belt. The first yellow flag messed up my race a bit because my fuel economy was excellent and I probably could have gone two or three laps further than anybody. My pit stop got a bit messed up as well because I nearly pulled into the wrong Team Australia pit – it was a bit confusing.
“From then on it was a bit of a struggle because I was stuck in traffic. I had a really good car but getting through the traffic was pretty tough.
“Especially at the end the Aussie Vineyards car was excellent – it was very strong.
“Looking forward to next year it will be great to enter my first full rookie season with two races already under my belt.
“Today was certainly the longest race I have done in an open wheel car and it was tough at times, but physically I felt really strong at the end.”


CHARLES ZWOLSMAN – CAR #25
START: 18th
TIME: 13th
“I am definitely pleased to get through to the finish in my first ever Champ Car race. I worked hard in the first two stints to try and save fuel and I made a mistake on my second stop when I came in one lap too early.
“I learnt a lot today – the race was really good. Physically it was a lot tougher than an Atlantic race, especially when they put on the red Bridgestone tires – the extra grip made the steering really heavy.
“This is my first ever race with pit stops was it was a great experience for me. I really have to thank Champ Car, the Atlantic series and Team Australia for this opportunity. The guys did a great job for me – they didn’t rush me at all and helped me a great deal throughout the weekend.”


DERRICK WALKER – CO-OWNER TEAM AUSTRALIA
“It has been a fantastic season for our first year as Team Australia. The team did a fantastic job and the drivers drove their heart out all year.
“We ended up with a very respectable first year. We still have a lot to build on for next year but we have at least laid the foundations to continue to move forward. I am very happy.
“Team Australia has a tremendous group of guys who work exceptionally have and I think we have a great driver talent in the team as well.
“We just have to do our homework, get our cars engineered a little better, learn a little more about the Lola and I think we will be back on the podium very soon.”


CRAIG GORE – CO-OWNER TEAM AUSTRALIA
“It does only seem like yesterday we were at Long Beach but it is very gratifying to finishing with two cars in the top ten at the final race of the year. To see what we have done this year with the cars, the team and what we have achieved for Australia is fantastic.
“We didn’t have any pace today and that really damaged us today. However, the guys kept their noses clean and did a fantastic job.
“I am very proud of the Aussie Vineyards crew, we have pulled off miracles to run three cars at the final two races.
“When you look at what we have been able to achieve this year to represent Australia and provide our sponsors with outstanding marketing opportunities in the North American market – it really is pleasing.”


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