James Hinchcliffe opened his title bid for the 2007 Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda by steering his way to a fourth place finish on Sunday (8th April) in the inaugural 'Vegas Grand Prix'. source: hinchtown.com Round 1's action on the 2.44-mile Las Vegas street circuit was tempered by a total of four caution periods, the stop-start nature of the racing hampering Hinchcliffe's efforts having started the 50-minute race on the front-row alongside fellow-Canadian and pole-sitter Robert Wickens. James' sophomore Atlantic campaign got off to a strong start on Friday afternoon, the 20-year-old from Toronto sealing provisional pole and a guaranteed front-row start for Sunday's race by powering his way to the top of the timesheets in first qualifying. 'Hinch', competing in the #9 NOCO-ProWorks entry for Sierra Sierra Enterprises, lapped the temporary street course in 1m32.410 (95.055mph) to lead the 27-car field at the end of the first day's running in Las Vegas. Saturday's second qualifying session proved to be a frustrating affair for the Canadian as he looked to build on Friday's efforts and capture pole for the season opener. Contact with the wall at the Turn 11 tunnel brought James' challenge to an abrupt end early in the session, his best lap time on Saturday still comfortably inside the top-ten runners. Despite the obvious disappointment of crashing out, Hinchcliffe's Friday success ensured he'd take the standing start for Sunday's race on the front-row with Forsythe Racing's Robert Wickens capturing pole on Saturday with a flying lap of 1m30.934s (96.598mph). Following an entertaining Champ Car World Series debut race in Vegas, the Champ Car Atlantic field took to the grid for their own crack at entertaining the residents and race fans of 'Sin City'. The all-Canadian front-row rocketed off the line to herald the start of what would be an incident filled event with no fewer than 15 cars set to retire as the race unfolded. It was the first of four caution periods that allowed Hinchcliffe to grab the lead from Wickens as he got the jump on his rookie rival into the first turn at the re-start. It proved to be short-lived however as a second caution period followed with Wickens turning the tables on Hinchcliffe at the next re-start. Despite having a competitive car, James' attempts to unlock its full potential were continually hampered by the number of laps turned under yellows and he eventually lost second place to his team-mate and eventual race winner, Brazil's Raphael Matos, at the third re-start on lap 14.
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