With six front row starts in the first eight rounds of the 2006 Yokohama Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season, it was only a matter of time before French racer Simon Pagenaud converted his blistering qualifying speed into a race victory. source: simon-pagenaud.com Indeed, Pagenaud's time came last weekend in the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Presented by The Brick, as he crossed the finish line more than ten seconds ahead of fellow championship contender Graham Rahal to score his first Atlantic victory and grow his lead in the championship standings. "This feels fantastic," said Pagenaud. "My car was the strongest this weekend and I wanted to win because it's not every weekend you can have this kind of car. I am very happy for Team Australia and of course this is very good for the championship." Pagenaud put an exclamation point on his first win by setting the fastest lap of the race and scoring an extra championship point for the feat. "I want to thank Derrick Walker and everyone with Team Australia who is working so hard on this program, because everyone from the mechanics to the engineers to the team manager is giving all their effort," said Pagenaud. "We are a strong team and everyone here is determined to win the championship." The Team Australia pilot once again impressed on a track that he'd never seen before, scoring his forth Friday pole of the season on the fast Edmonton layout to secure a front-row starting position. Pagenaud got a good jump at the start, and was in the right place at the right time as he pressured race-leader Raphael Matos into a mistake to take the lead. "I couldn't really pass Matos," said Pagenaud. "I was trying and I was damaging my front tires. So, I backed up a little bit and I set the fastest lap at this time. I tried to push him a little bit more and he made this mistake. I was not expecting this mistake at this time, but it was good for me because I was able to go even faster when he was not in front of me."
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