Source: Champcarworldseries.com
This could be the story about two teams that decided to become one team, but with each team going its own way late in the season, it seems only fitting to treat each team as a separate entity. Regardless of the arrangement, Rocketsport Racing's Tagliani began his eighth season of Champ Car competition in fine fashion. He started fourth and finished fourth at Las Vegas, leading 11 laps along the way. He qualified fourth and finished fifth at Long Beach to move into second place in the point standings.
"It was disappointing to lose a podium at the end," Tagliani said. "What is important is that we left this weekend second in the championship standings. We earned more valuable points and that is what we are striving for. Our goal is to win races, but most importantly to win the championship, so obtaining as many points as we can each weekend is the key. We were able to do that once again, and I think we are on the road to a great season." Tagliani finished ninth at Houston, which dropped him in the points somewhat, but he rebounded to place fifth at Portland after starting fourth. At Cleveland, he started ninth and finished sixth, and remained fourth in the point standings. He finished eighth at Mont-Tremblant and Toronto where he briefly led and had his first DNF of the season at Edmonton where contact on Lap 69 with Robert Doornbos relegated him to 14th position. Tagliani suffered his second straight DNF at San Jose, this time courtesy of mechanical problems that negated a strong qualifying effort. He retired on Lap 83 after starting seventh and finished 15th. At Road America, site of his only Champ Car victory (2004), he returned to the top 10 with another solid weekend. From sixth starting position, he wound up fifth. He finished both European races, but based on earlier results, he had to be disappointed with the ninth at Zolder and the 15th at Assen. Tagliani finished seventh at Surfers Paradise to ensure he would end up in the top 10 in the points and he finished the season with a 14th-place result in Mexico City. In 14 starts, he had been in the top 10 on 10 occasions and also qualified in the top 10 in 10 different races. He had been consistent, but consistency wasn't what he was looking for. At season's end, he reflected on 2007. "So, it is a season filled with great potential, but with a couple of bad lucks that kept us from finishing on the podium and higher up in the championship," Tagliani said. "Overall, the team has been trying very hard all season, and I would like to thank them for all their hard work and dedication. Now we just have to look at the future." Photos: Champ Car World Series
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