Paul Tracy's three-race winning streak came to an end on
Monday as the Team Player's driver was forced out of the London Champ Car Trophy
race by a mechanical failure on lap 119 of the 165-lap event.
source: Team Players
While Tracy was shut out of the points, his teammate Patrick
Carpentier produced his best finish of the Champ Car World Series season with a
fifth-place effort, up four spots from his position on the starting grid.
Rookie Sebastien Bourdais of France, who qualified on the front row alongside
the pole-sitting Tracy, won the race for his first career victory in the Champ
Car series, while Bourdais' teammate, Brazilian Bruno Junqueira, was second and
Mexico's Mario Dominguez took third for his second career podium. Canadian Alex
Tagliani, who led some laps in the latter stages of the race before having to
pit, finished eighth.
The outcome of this fourth race of the season tightened the drivers' standings,
as Tracy saw his lead over Junqueira, his closest pursuer, cut to 11 points
(65-54). Carpentier continued his climb up the standings, moving into fifth with
28 points, while Tagliani stands ninth with 22 points.
Tracy, seeking to win his fourth straight race and equal a feat achieved by only
three other drivers since the inception of the Champ Car series in 1979, led for
the first 54 laps, before his first pit stop. Bourdais, who pitted a lap later,
assumed the lead when he returned and dominated for the rest of the race. Tracy
was still running second after his second pit stop, but plumes of smoke appeared
from the back of the car as he started getting up to speed after pitting.