source: champcarworldseries.com

Alex Tagliani and Memo Gidley added to the collection of solid finishes for Rocketsports Racing in Round Seven of the Champ Car World Series, set in Vancouver, British Columbia. Making his 84th Champ Car start and his 45th career top-ten finish, Tagliani was ninth on the grid in the No. 8 Rocketsports Johnson Controls Lola, and finished seventh. In his second start for Rocketsports, Memo Gidley started fifth, and claimed the highest qualifying position for the No. 17 Rocketsports car to date. Gidley finished 11th in the No. 17 Rocketsports Air Force Reserve Lola.

Tagliani quickly rose up the field, rising as high as fourth after passing the series' point-leader, Sebastien Bourdais. Following his second pit stop, Tagliani re-entered the battle on track in seventh spot, his ultimate top-ten finish position. He's fifth in the Champ Car World Series standings with 120 points.

"The Johnson Controls team gave me a fast car," said Tagliani. "The No.8 Rocketsports Johnson Controls Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone was great in the straightaway, at high speeds, and in the chicane. I was consistent in the first stint and managed to move ahead a few positions.

"Once the tires wore in the second stint, after my second pit, I struggled with push and we concentrated on adjusting tire pressures," he continued. "There's always a lot of action and usually more yellows on the Vancouver course. Strategy is important and it's hard to predict what may happen. We did our best. The Rocketsports guys worked hard and made a great effort with good pit stops. We scored some points, and hope to keep moving ahead in the standings."

Lead Engineer Brian Ma described the progress of the second year Rocketsports team and the challenges of engineering the Ford-Cosworth powered Lolas. "Rocketsports is very competitive for such a young team, and we're determined to learn and improve," claimed Ma. "Alex's feedback is valuable and helps us learn through our experiences on the track. We're always trying to improve our mechanical and aerodynamic package to gain the maximum potential out of the Bridgestone Potenza tires, to get better grip and go faster. "