Graham Rahal is eager to put the disappointment of his debut in the Champ Car World Series firmly behind him this weekend as the championship heads to Long Beach for the second event of the season. source: crash.net The Newman Haas Lanigan Racing driver saw his debut on the streets of Las Vegas come to an early end when he was forced out on the opening lap by an accident and the teenager will now be looking to make amends at Long Beach - the circuit which traditionally hosts the season opening race. Long Beach marked Rahal's debut in the Atlantic series last season, with a fifth place finish, and he said he was looking to use his past experience to qualify well and then fight for a place on the podium. "I've put the Las Vegas weekend behind me now, but I will be using the experience and lessons that we learned to have a better race," he said. "The goal will be to qualify up the front so that there's less chance of getting caught up in any first lap incidents. I am familiar with the track layout although I've driven it in the less powerful Atlantic car and I'm sure it will be quite different in the Champ Car.'' '' It's a mix of tight corners and long straights, but with the track usually being used for road cars it tends to be fairly bumpy and the surface changes over the course of the lap, so the grip varies too. '' "The best thing is that there's little time after the Vegas race, so everything's fresh in your mind and we can continue to gain competitive experience. I'm hungry to show that Vegas was just a blip in our season; we are definite podium contenders."
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