Race debuts for Wirdheim, Glock and young canadian Andrew Ranger
source:
f1.racing-live.com
The 14-round 2005 Champ Car World Series kicks off this weekend around the
streets of Long Beach. The 2005 driver roster has four drivers that have recent
experience in Formula One including newcomers Timo Glock (Jordan, 2004), Bjorn
Wirdheim (Jaguar, 2004) and Cristiano da Matta (Toyota, 2003-04). In addition,
the series features four former FIA International F3000 champions (Justin
Wilson, Sebastien Bourdais, Bruno Junqueira, Wirdheim), who have proven
themselves in one of the top open-wheel feeder series in the world.
This year's campaign also features four drivers that have captured Champ Car
titles in their illustrious careers, one of which has four Long Beach wins under
his belt. But the battle for Long Beach won't be determined just among those
drivers with championship pedigrees as the 2005 Champ Car lineup features a
number of drivers and teams that will figure prominently in how the weekend -
and the championship - is decided.
Paul Tracy is the double defending winner at Long Beach and has four total Long
Beach victories on his resume. Tracy stormed to the front on the first lap in
2004, using the push-to-pass feature on his Cosworth XFE engine to move up from
his third-place starting spot, and led 78 of the day's 81 laps to score the win.
"Long Beach is a special place for me," Tracy said. "It was my first Champ Car
event, I've won here four times and I'm defending champion after a nice effort
by the Forsythe team last year. I'm looking forward to this weekend would be an
understatement. I really want that fifth win this year."