Elkhart Lake, Wis. (August 3, 2006) – For the second day in a row, Sebastien Bourdais (#1 McDonald’s Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) topped the speed charts at the 4.048-mile Road America as the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford wrapped up testing today. Bourdais lapped the scenic road course in 1:42.185 (142.612 mph) running an impressive 63 laps during the final afternoon session and an equally impressive 122 laps during the two-day test.

“It was a tough day, our thoughts were with Cristiano all day today,” said two-time Champ Car titlist Sebastien Bourdais. “The McDonald’s team worked really hard and there were a lot of things we wanted to test. We were able to get through our list but it was a really difficult day.”

Oriol Servia (#6 Gulfstream Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) was second fastest during the test with a lap at 1:42.685 and Nelson Philippe (#4 CTE Racing HVM Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) was third fastest with a lap at 1:43.273 (141.109 mph.) Bourdais’ Newman/Haas teammate Bruno Junqueira (#2 Hole in the Wall Camps Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) was fourth fastest and Dan Clarke (#14 CTE-HVM Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) was fifth fastest. Enrico Toccacelo (#27 Mi-Jack/Conquest Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) made his Champ Car debut today testing for the Mi-Jack/Conquest team. Toccacelo previously raced in the F3000 as well as the A1Gp series and as a test driver for the Minardi Formula 1 team.

Toccacelo wasn’t the only driver making their first appearance in a Champ Car at Road America. Rookies Dan Clarke, Jan Heylen (#11 Muermans Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), Tonis Kasemets (#18 Flex-o-vit Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone), Katherine Legge (#20 Bell Micro Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) Nicky Pastorelli (#8 Bavaria City Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Charles Zwolsman (#34 Mi-Jack/Conquest Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) along with third-year driver Nelson Philippe along were able to see first-hand one of the best road courses in North America.

“I really like the track here at Road America,” said Legge. “This is my first time running here in a Champ Car and it is a lot different than the Atlantic car. The straights seem a lot shorter now. We are finding our way and the car is running well.”

Road America hosted a fan appreciation day during the test with an afternoon autograph session in promotion for its Octoberfast Weekend, when the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford returns to Road America September 22-24.

[Champ Car]

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