CTE Racing HVM drivers Nelson Philippe and Dan Clarke finished ninth and 14th at this afternoon's Grand Prix of Edmonton that saw 45 degrees Celsius heat on the track. source: champcarworldseries.com Nelson Philippe (#4 CTE Racing HVM/Ford-Cosworth/Lola) made a great effort by running the majority of the race between sixth and seventh. However, he lost a position at his first pit stop when Legge spun in front of him causing him precious time and a position to Power. With 15 minutes to go and on a re-start, Philippe attempted turn one with the crowded field but ended up in the tire wall ending his run early and leaving him in 14th position. Philippe celebrated his birthday this morning with a team paddock party at CTE-HVM to ring in his big 2-0. Philippe plans to bounce back for a strong finish next weekend at San Jose, which is one of the Frenchman's favourite tracks. "We were having a fairly good race running sixth until my first pit stop when Legge spun out in front of me causing me to lose a bunch of time and lost me a position to Power. On the last re-start, I passed Power but he went wide and the rest of the field seemed to be all over the place, so I just lost it and hit the tire wall. I take full responsibility for the crash and I feel really bad for my team as they worked so hard this weekend. I know that we will bounce back at San Jose, which is one of my favourite tracks." Rookie Dan Clarke (#14 CTE Racing HVM/Ford-Cosworth/Lola) had an unfortunate day as he started from 17th on the grid, but worked his way up to 12th on the first lap of the race. Contact in turn 11 with Heylen on lap 10 caused Clarke a drive-through pit penalty, which cost him three positions. On lap 46, Clarke pitted for a front wing change due to minor contact with Tagliani. The Englishman fought his way back up the field to finish ninth and earn himself some valuable points for the championship standing. "I think I've shown this weekend that I can race hard, fight back when the chips are down, and stick with it through the good times and the bad. It was a tough race, but ultimately rewarding. It's always made more difficult if you're not on the lead lap and on a different race strategy, but I learn from these experiences. Today we came away with valuable championship points as well. My congratulations go to my fellow Brit, Justin Wilson, for a great win." CTE-HVM team co-owner Keith Wiggins comments: "I am disappointed on both counts today as we had two fast cars out there but weren't able to get the results. We need to work on our qualifying efforts and come back strong and show our full potential in San Jose next weekend."
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