Mexico City 2007
USUALLY, MEXICO CITY PRODUCES EXCITING RACING BUT THIS YEAR ALL THE ACTION TOOK PLACE AT THE START WITH A BRIEF FLURRY LATE ON. THE CHAMPIONSHIP HAD ALREADY BEEN DECIDED, WHICH MAY HAVE HAD SOME EFFECT, AND THE MAIN BATTLE WAS LIKELY TO BE BETWEEN JUSTIN WILSON AND ROBERT DOORNBOS FOR 2ND PLACE OVERALL. DOORNBOS HAD WON THE ROOKIE TITLE BUT WAS TRAILING WILSON BY 8 POINTS SO HE COULD OVERTAKE THE ENGLISHMAN. WILL POWER COULD MATHEMATICALLY CATCH THE DUTCHMAN BUT TO DO IT HE WOULD HAVE TO TAKE MAXIMUM POINTS, WITH DOORNBOS NOT SCORING.
THE START WAS CHAOTIC - 3 CARS STALLED ON THE GRID (ORIOL SERVIA, ALEX TAGLIANI AND NELSON PHILIPPE) AND SIMON PAGENAUD PERFORMED AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE IN AVOIDING SERVIA'S STATIONERY CAR AND SQUEEZING IN BETWEEN THE CAR AND THE BARRIER AT THE SIDE AND ALL THIS WITHOUT LOSING PLACES. HE GOT SO CLOSE TO THE BARRIER THAT HIS CAR RIPPED SOME OF THE ADVERTISING BANNERS OFF! BEFORE THE FIRST LAP ENDED, DAN CLARKE'S MINARDI HAD COASTED TO A HALT WITH WHAT TURNED OUT TO BE A CLUTCH PROBLEM. WHEN THE RE-START OCCURRED, WILL POWER EASILY MAINTAINED HIS LEAD OVER SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS BUT THE REMAINING MINARDI OF DOORNBOS SLOWED DOWN, JUSTIN WILSON PASSED HIM AND ROBERT CRAWLED ROUND TO THE PITS WITH WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN IDENTICAL CLUTCH PROBLEM. JUSTIN SUFFERED FUEL PICK-UP PROBLEMS SHORTLY AFTERWARDS THAT STAYED WITH HIM UNTIL THE END.
DOORNBOS'S RACE WAS OVER BUT, WITH WILL POWER IN THE LEAD, THE TEAM SET TO AND WORKED ON THE CAR TO GET HIM BACK OUT. THIS THEY ACHIEVED AFTER SOME 30+ LAPS AND HE THEN PUT IN A SINGLE FLYING LAP TO TAKE THE FASTEST LAP OF THE RACE, BY SOME MARGIN, AND THUS ENSURE THAT WILL POWER'S MATHEMATICAL CHANCE DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY. IN THE END THEY NEEDN'T HAVE BOTHERED BECAUSE SEBASTIEN TOOK THE LEAD FROM POWER AND HELD IT TO THE END DESPITE A LATE YELLOW FLAG THAT ALLOWED POWER TO CLOSE BACK UP BUT SEBASTIEN GOT THE DROP ON HIM AT THE RE-START WITH ONLY 7 MINUTES LEFT AND THAT WAS THAT.
SEBASTIEN TOOK HIS 4TH SUCCESSIVE WINSTON CUP AND NOW GOES OFF TO FORMULA 1, JUSTIN TOOK 2ND OVERALL AND RUMOURS SUGGEST HE MAY REPLACE SEBASTIEN AT NEWMAN-HAAS-LANIGAN, AND ROBERT TOOK 3RD OVERALL AND THE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. WHAT WILL 2008 BRING?
STARTING GRID
| |
| 1.
|
Will Power
|
| 2.
|
Sebastien Bourdais
|
| 3.
|
Robert Doornbos
|
| 4.
|
Oriol Servia
|
| 5.
|
Justin Wilson
|
| 6.
|
Simon Pagenaud
|
| 7.
|
Graham Rahal
|
| 8.
|
Paul Tracy
|
| 9.
|
Dan Clarke
|
| 10.
|
David Martinez
|
| 11.
|
Neel Jani
|
| 12.
|
Bruno Junqueira
|
| 13.
|
Nelson Philippe
|
| 14.
|
Alex Tagliani
|
| 15.
|
Mario Dominguez
|
| 16.
|
Katherine Legge
|
| 17.
|
Alex Figge
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Sebastien Bourdais
|
| 2.
|
Will Power
|
| 3.
|
Oriol Servia
|
| 4.
|
Graham Rahal
|
| 5.
|
Paul Tracy
|
| 6.
|
Simon Pagenaud
|
| 7.
|
Mario Dominguez
|
| 8.
|
Bruno Junqueira
|
| 9.
|
Neel Jani
|
| 10.
|
Justin Wilson
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers :
| |
| Sebastien Bourdais
| 364
|
| Justin Wilson
| 281
|
| Robert Doornbos
| 268
|
| Will Power
| 262
|
| Graham Rahal
| 243
|
| Oriol Servia
| 237
|
| Bruno Junqueira
| 233
|
| Simon Pagenaud
| 232
|
| Neel Jani
| 231
|
| Alex Tagliani
| 205
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
12th November 2007
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