A newly-reconfigured layout greeted the Champ Car stars for the first round of qualifying around the 2.774-mile Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Friday afternoon. source: paddocktalk.com But while the track was new, the result was old hat to those that follow the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald's Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) used his red-walled alternate Bridgestone Potenzas to lead the first day of qualifying for Sunday's Gran Premio Telmex Presentado por Banamex, stopping the clocks at 1:25.449 (116.870 mph) to earn a new track record. Canadians Andrew Ranger was ninth and Alex Tagliani could not do better than 14th. The layout that had previously wound through the outfield of the on-site baseball stadium, now features a scaled-down version of the fabled Peraltada as well as a sharp chicane that leads into the long, sweeping right-hand Peraltada. The new circuit proved a challenge for drivers and made for one of the most entertaining sessions of the year, as Bourdais' vault to the top of the time sheets on his seventh lap was the 13th lead change of the 30-minute outing. Bourdais, who clinched his record-tying third consecutive championship two weeks ago in Surfers Paradise, earned his seventh consecutive front row start by leading Friday's qualifying. The Frenchman started in the front row once before in Mexico City, that coming in 2004 when he rolled from pole in a race that he went on to win in wire-to-wire fashion. Bourdais' run overshadowed a gutty performance by 2005 Mexico City winner Justin Wilson (#9 CDW Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), who returned to the cockpit of his RuSPORT Champ Car two weeks after suffering a broken wrist that kept him out of the Australia event.
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