The 18th annual Molson Indy Toronto proved to be a roller
coaster of a ride for Rocketsports driver Alex Tagliani
source: Rocketsports - Nadia Petrossi
Alex was excited about qualifying fourth, making it his
best of four starts on the Toronto street course. Tagliani added to the thrills
with some clever maneuvers in the # 33 Johnson Controls Lola at the race start,
which were among the most dramatic of the day. This momentum came to a halt when
seemingly slight contact with the # 1 Newman/Haas car forced Tagliani to retire
for the day and accept a 17th place finish.
Minutes after the start of the 112 lap race Tagliani shot into second position
behind the leader, Paul Tracy. Tagliani stayed in pursuit of the lead for 28
laps until contact with Bruno Junqueira resulted in a bent upright. This brought
a frustrating premature end to the first of three Canadian races on the Champ
Car schedule for Tagliani.
'' I moved quickly into second place after a great start," said Tagliani.
"I had a lot of push in the front of the car and a lot of understeer. I
expected to add more front wing in my next pit, but had to push it until
then."
"I felt Bruno hit me from behind on the right and the car was croocked
right away. I knew the suspension was off and I couldn't drive the car. It is
frustrating, but we are getting closer and success will come," said
Tagliani, who remains in ninth position in the Champ Car World Series
championship standings with 51 points.
Start: 4th
Finish: 17th (DNF)
Laps Completed: 28
Position in Standings: 9th
Championship Points: 51