Team Australia star Will Power will continue his battle with rival Sebastien Bourdais as the Champ Car World Series resumes with Round 4 at the Mazda Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland at Portland International Speedway in Oregon this weekend. source: teamaustraliamotorsport.com The Australian driver has set his sights on championship success after a stellar start to the season, winning the opening race of the season in Las Vegas and qualifying on the front row of the grid for all three races at the start of this season. Power, who earned pole for the races in Las Vegas and Houston and started from second at Long Beach, currently sits second in the championship standings, only five points behind defending champ Bourdais. After a six-week break between races, Power and the Aussie Vineyards-backed team are ready to reassert their presence on the opposition at the first permanent road course event of the season, a style of circuit that both Power and Team Australia see as their strongest discipline. Power's team-mate Simon Pagenaud has proved very impressive in the first part of the season, qualifying in the top seven at each of the three races. Luck did not always fall the Frenchman's way in the opening races, but the speed shown by Pagenaud has made him one of the favourites for this year's Roshfrans Rookie of the Year title, a crown team-mate Power claimed last year. The reigning Champ Car Atlantic champion sits 10th in the series standings, but it was his outstanding fifth place finish in the latest round at Houston that gave a better indication of his speed. Power and Pagenaud have kept busy during the break, both attending Champ Car media tours, Power in Toronto, Canada and Pagenaud in Europe. Pagenaud twice tested the #15 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01, once at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course and then joined Power in a two-day test with other Champ Car teams at the Mont Tremblant circuit in Quebec, Canada. Team Australia's drivers have also kept up their rigorous training and fitness regime, preferring to train alongside each other to push each other and continually raise their level of fitness. Portland holds special significance for Team Australia and Power. It was the venue for Power's first Champ Car test in late 2005 with Team Australia, ahead of his Champ Car debut at the Lexmark Indy 300. It was at this test that Team Australia saw the skill and potential of the young man from Toowoomba, Queensland and this weekend, a year and a half later, Power looks to put the #5 Aussie Vineyards Team Australia DP01 back on top of the Champ Car World Series standings.
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