MILWAUKEE (May 31, 2003 Michel Jourdain Jr. (#9 Gigante Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) had his first career win cruelly ripped away from him in Long Beach when his transmission seized with seven laps to run after the Team Rahal driver had dominated all day long.
Under Saturdas moonlit sky in Milwaukee, Jourdain made sure that the Fates had made their last meal of him, leading a CART Champ Car race record 233 laps of the 1.032-mile Milwaukee Mile and holding off late charges from Oriol Servia (#20 Visteon Patrick Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Patrick Carpentier (#32 Playes/Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) to claim the first win of his eight-year CART Champ Car career in front of a hardy group of 34,712 race fans.
Jourdain was clearly the class of the field on a cool Milwaukee night that saw the cars of the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series run under the lights for the first time in its 25-year history. Jourdain stormed to the lead on the first green-flag lap, sweeping around polesitter Alex Tagliani (#33 Johnson Controls Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and would hold the point for the next 57 circuits. After giving up the lead to Carpentier on Lap 60, Jourdain came back and took command, claiming a lead that he would not relinquish of the last 177 laps as he roared to his first win.
I mean, it's perfect and Long Beach where I thought I had it won and didn't, so just so many things can go wrong; especially in a short oval Jourdain saidIt was just so many things that can go wrong in the pit like in Long Beach so just had to always be careful. The car was so fast and we wanted to finish. Then after the last restart, I just wanted to go fast as possible just enough to keep them behind me. I didn't want to catch any traffic because that would be another thing that could stall us. So it just went perfect
But the win was not as easy as it appeared to be on the stat sheet. Fierce battles raged behind Jourdain as Servia, Carpentier and Paul Tracy (#3 Playes/Indeck Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) went side-by-side early and often in their fight for a Milwaukee podium. Servia and Tracy would swap the second spot on five occasions, Servia sweeping inside of the points co-leader in Turn One on Lap 30 to start the festivities, while Tracy would return the favor on at least two restarts.
Paul Tracy taught me a few things on restarts tonight Servia saidEach time on the restarts, I would tell myself that this would be the time that he would not get me, but I would see his nose in my mirrors coming out of Turn Three. But we had a great car and were able to run him down
But running down Jourdain was a different matter as the Team Rahal driver would build a 10-second lead on the field at one point, but caution periods would eliminate his large advantages throughout the evening. He had an 8.2-second lead eradicated by Ryan Hunter-Reas (#31 American Spirit Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) crash in Turn Two on Lap 86, and had another large lead erased when Joel Camathias (#19 Dale Coyne Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) crashed in Turn Two.
Jourdain would have to fend off the field on a pair of late-race restarts, the first caused when Tracs team failed to get his left rear wheel secured during a pit stop that saw the team drop the car off the air jack. Tracs wheel became detached on his out lap and brought out a caution with 214 laps to go, a caution that was extended when Rodolfo Lavin (#5 Corona Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) crashed on the restart lap and set the yellow warning lights ablaze for the next 13 laps.
Servia and Carpentier chased Jourdain to the flag on Lap 238 but would have to do it twice as starter J.D. Wilbur would wave off the restart and force the field to form up again when the green flag was waved with 11 laps to go. Servia stayed within reach of Jourdain at the drop of the flag with Carpentier giving tight chase as the final orbits clicked by. Servia closed to within a half-second of the leader with five laps to go, and Carpentier turned the fastest lap of the race with two laps to run, but Jourdain would hold off the pack and beat Servia to the line by .468 seconds.
The runner-up position was a career-best for Servia and marks the first time in his career that he has compiled top-five finishes in three consecutive events. The run vaulted Servia into seventh place in the points, moving him up four spots in the standings.
Carpentier earned his first podium of the season by finishing just .704 seconds behind Jourdain, marking the second consecutive race in which the top three finishers have been within one second of each other. He would move into the top five in the season point standings by earning his 14th career Champ Car podium and his second at the Milwaukee mile.
I really loved it. It was a great race. I had some good passes, but I had the best seat, I was behind Paul and Oriol and I could see these guys battling it out on the restarts Carpentier saidI really enjoyed it, this race I have enjoyed on oval the most in quite a few years. CART made a lot of changes to a lot of things for this weekend and we have new wings, more downforce, and Bridgestone came up with the right set of tires, and everything was really good. Often CART gets criticized about decisions they make, but tonight they made all the right decisions
Rookie Darren Manning (#15 Walker Racing Ford-Cosworth/Reynard/Bridgestone) was just 1.104 seconds behind Jourdain in posting his best-ever CART Champ Car finish, improving a race-best seven spots from his grid position to take top rookie honors as well as being the top-finishing Reynard in the 250-lap event. Polesitter Tagliani would round out the top five with Adrian Fernandez (#51 Tecate/Quaker State/Telmex Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) coming home in sixth.
The race would run 17 of the first 18 laps under caution, two when CART Race Control decided to start the race under a yellow flag in order to help the cars get some heat in their Bridgestone tires. On the first green flag lap, Bruno Junqueira (#1 PacifiCare Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) got loose in Turn Two and spun into the wall, collecting the cars of Patrick Lemarie (#27 Scientific Atlanta Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Roberto Moreno (#4 Herdez Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone). Junqueira was transported to Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital for precautionary x-rays and a CAT scan, both of which came up negative. He will fly home to Miami on Sunday and will undergo a precautionary examination by CART Medical Director Dr. Steve Olvey.
Mario Dominguez (#55 Herdez Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) would finish eight while rookies Sebastien Bourdais (#2 Lilly Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and Tiago Monteiro (#7 Fittipaldi-Dingman Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) rounded out the top 10. The series will have a week off before heading to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the June 15 Grand Prix of Monterrey.
Top Three Finisher Quotes
MICHEL JOURDAIN JR.
ORIOL SERVIA
PATRICK CARPENTIER
Michel Jourdain leaves Milwaukee with the points lead for the second consecutive year, but leaves this time with his biggest-ever advantage, as he will carry a 10-point lead to Laguna Seca. He set a CART race record for most laps led in a race, eclipsing the previous mark of 222 led by Nigel Mansell in Michigan 1995.
Sebastien Bourdais maintained his lead in the Rookie-of-the-Year standings with a ninth-place finish, but had his advantage whittled down by Darren Manning. Bourdais will carry a 19-point lead into Laguna Seca. Saturdas race was the first that Bourdais has not led during the 2003 season.
Jourdain has taken the series points lead in laps led with 282, while Carpentier takes the series lead in laps completed, having run 845 of the 849 laps this year. Carpentier is the only driver to have finished every race this season.
Courtesy of CART.comNoteworthy:
