Team Australia drivers Will Power and Simon Pagenaud have both scored solid results to retain their respective championship positions in the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Raceway in Oregon. source: teamaustraliamotorsport.com Power remains second in the championship standings after finishing fourth in Portland, while his rookie team-mate Pagenaud retains 10th spot in the overall points after a solid eighth place run in today's Round 4 of the Champ Car World Series. Today's race was the first with a standing start and it was Power who perfected the art better than most, achieving a great start to jump from seventh to fourth before the first corner. Entering the final stages of the race the Australian was in third position and eyeing his third podium result for the season in the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01. But in the final round of pit stops Robert Doornbos passed Power and the Toowoomba-born driver was unable to catch and pass the Dutchman around the 1.964-mile (3.161-kilometre) road course. Power encountered radio problems in the second half of the race, allowing Doornbos to beat Power on strategy, as Power and the Team Australia team were unable to communicate. Pagenaud started from sixth and finished a credible eighth in the #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01, winning a late-race battle with rookie rival Graham Rahal. Pagenaud's chances of a second-consecutive top five finish were dashed at the first corner when Dan Clarke made an ambitious move down the inside of the Frenchman, forcing Pagenaud to negotiate the escape road to avoid contact. Defending Champ Car champ Sebastien Bourdais extended his series lead by winning today's race at Portland, with Britain's Justin Wilson second and Minardi Team USA driver Doornbos third, just ahead of Power. Round 5 of the Champ Car World Series will be staged in Clevelend, Ohio on June 22-24 on the Burke Lakefront Airport circuit. WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY ... Will Power - #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 "We obviously got a pretty good start off the line," said Power. "I think a couple of people were bogged down, so that helped. From then on it was just trying to keep Sebastian behind, which we did successfully. "After that the radio went down and that basically cost us the podium, because we didn't really know to save fuel or what to do. Now we just have to get on that, but apart from that it was a great race and a good battle in the start. "I just have to thank the Team Australia guys, they did a fantastic job and I wouldn't have been able to battle if it weren't for them. "Now we just need to keep the pace up and go for it in Cleveland."
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