Team Australia star Will Power had a clear goal at the beginning of the 2006 Champ Car World Series - to become the first Australian driver to win the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year award. source: teamaustraliamotorsport.com The Toowoomba-born driver has had a strong first season in Champ Car this season and enters Mexico lying eighth in the overall championship, coming off the back of a breakthrough weekend at his home event, the Lexmark Indy 300 on Australia's spectacular Gold Coast. Power became the first Australian to win pole position for a Champ Car race since 1993 Le Mans 24 Hour winner Geoff Brabham claimed the pole at Riverside, California on the 30th of August in 1981. The Australian driver was in the best position of his young Champ Car career in the early stages of the race until being the innocent victim of a clash with Sebastien Bourdais, damaging the #5 Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Lola and ruining any chance of not only clinching his Champ Car podium and perhaps victory, but also capturing the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year title on home soil. Next weekend in Mexico City, Power will aim to etch his name into the Champ Car history books yet again, aiming to become the first Australian driver to win the Roshfrans Champ Car Rookie of the Year title in its 28-year history. "It's been typical of a rookie season in a lot of ways," says Power. "We've been in some bad situations this year that have cost us results and in some ways I should have had the rookie title wrapped up by now. Some of them were things that occured while I was learning in the early part of the season, but being crashed out in the last two races has been none of our fault. "Despite everything that's happened we go into Mexico with a 15 point lead in the rookie standings and we are going back to a track that I have raced at before. That will help a little and I think we will definitely have a better set-up than last year at Mexico City because I have a year's racing in Champ Car under my belt and the team has been very strong on road courses all year.
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