Despite being a challenging year for the Rocketsports Racing team, the season finale in Mexico City gives the team one last opportunity to end 2006 on a good note and demonstrate their ability to be a top competitor as they return south of the border with famed-Mexican driver Mario Dominguez and Former-Formula One driver Antonio Pizzonia. source: champcarworldseries.com This will be the fourth time that the Rocketsports team will head to Mexico City to compete in a Champ Car event. Last year saw 2005 Rookie-of-the-Year, Timo Glock, make a good run for the team when he started 12th on the grid and recorded the team's best finish of fifth at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. Pizzonia will be returning to the Champ Car paddock this weekend with Rocketsports Racing as he will continue to pilot the #18 Lexington Energy Services/Rocketsports Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone for the Gran Premio Telmex Presentado Por Banamex. This will be the first time that Pizzonia races in Mexico City with a Champ Car, and when he takes the green flag on Sunday, race day, he will be making his fourth Champ Car start. In 2004, A.J. Allmendinger finished third as a rookie, while in 2003 Sebastien Bourdais finished second during his rookie campaign. Pizzonia's odds as a rookie are not bad in terms of finishing in the top five, especially being with a team that had a rookie finish there last year. However, his odds of earning the pole and/or winning the race are pretty high, as no Champ Car driver has earned either honor during their rookie season. The Brazilian has a chance to change those stats and become the first rookie to really excel at the Mexico City venue after six Champ Car events have been held against those odds. After making his Champ Car debut in Long Beach this season behind the wheel of the #8 Rocketsports car, Pizzonia managed a tenth place finish after starting 11th. The Brazilian made his second Champ Car start in Montreal driving the #18 entry for Rocketsports Racing with the team, starting 13th and finishing 11th after struggling throughout the race with a radio failure. His third start came in Australia behind the wheel of the #18 car with new sponsor Vancouver-based Lexington Energy Services. He provisionally qualified 13th on Friday, and after running fifth quickest in the morning practice session on Saturday, it was hopeful that he would better his grid position. Brake issues and contact ultimately affected a better spot in the starting lineup; therefore Pizzonia had to settle for the 13th spot on the grid. From there, he made his way to the top leading the race for 8 laps, but finished 10th when a gamble taken did not pay off. His talent and precision continues to showcase and this weekend only promises more good things to come from the 26-year-old driver.
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