Somewhere Ted Horn is smiling source: paddocktalk.com Two-time defending Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford champion Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) followed in Horn's prodigious footsteps today, sweeping the maximum number of series points available in the season-opening Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend. Bourdais dominated the 74-lap affair in front of a massive crowd today, storming to his 17th career victory as he looks to join Horn as the only men ever to win three consecutive Champ Car titles. Bourdais led 70 of 74 laps on a sunny Long Beach Sunday, beating Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) to the line by 14.096 seconds to earn the first victory of the year. The Newman/Haas Racing driver also posted the fastest lap of the day, taking the maximum 35 points available to a driver over a Champ Car weekend. His effort earned him an eight-point lead over Wilson and a ten-point advantage over Alex Tagliani (#15 Aussie Vineyards Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), who scored a podium finish for Team Australia with his third-place run. Of historical significance also in the race was the fact that Katherine Legge (#20 Optium/Bell Micro Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) scored an eighth-place finish in her debut, marking the highest-ever Champ Car finish for a female driver. Things got a little easier for Bourdais on the very first lap of the day as four of the top-eight qualifiers were cleaned out in a first-turn melee. Paul Tracy (#3 Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), A.J. Allmendinger (#10 RuSPORT Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), Oriol Servia (#6 Gulfstream/Bell Micro Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Bruno Junqueira (#2 Hole In The Wall Camps Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) had their days ended by early contact. Tracy came up the inside of Turn One at the start and looked to gain a spot, but was bumped by teammate Mario Dominguez (#7 Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), who was able to continue from the incident. Tracy's car bounced off the inside wall and back toward the onrushing field, triggering the fracas that sidelined the four title contenders.
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