Alex Tagliani, driver of the #33 Johnson Controls Lola finished eighth in the
22nd Annual Cleveland Grand Prix and came away impressed with the first-ever
Champ Car night race on a road course. Tagliani started seventh and claimed his
sixth top-ten finish in nine starts, including two podiums, for Rocketsports
Racing. Tagliani earned five race points and remains in ninth position in the
series standings with a total of 51 points.
"I'm proud of the Rocketsports team because they gave me a very good
car," said Tagliani. "I was trying to pass Carpentier at the start
and I guess Dominguez didn't see me. We made contact in my front end and
damaged the suspension. The car was very difficult to manage; especially turning
right, after the tow-link was damaged. I came into the pits and my crew chief,
Tom Howatt, even jumped on it to try and straighten it out, but it was damaged,
so I did my best with it. The car was unbelievable though. Even with the broken
tow-link dragging me down, we were fourth quickest at one point,"
explained Tagliani.
"Later in the race, I hoped to catch Servia and Jourdain, but couldn't
get passed Papis, who was already lapped. That was very frustrating for me and
other drivers who were blocked as well," said Tagliani. "Overall it
was a good race. Without losing our ground, I think we could have had a top-four
finish."