Team Playes driver Paul Tracy set the pace in the first qualifying session of the second consecutive Canadian stop of the 2003 Champ Car World Series. For his effort, the Canadian driver took the provisional pole, earning another championship point and a guaranteed spot on the front row for Sundas Molson Indy Vancouver.
Racing on the 1.781 mile temporary street course, Tracy clocked a hot lap of one minute, 1.706 seconds (167.219 km/hour). With only two minutes remaining in the session, Bruno Junquiera squeaked by his teammate Sebastien Bourdain to take the second spot, clocking a fast lap of one minute, 1.845 seconds (166.844 km/hour), a scant 0.76 seconds ahead of Bourdais time of one minute, 1.921 seconds (166.639 km/hour). Canadian Alex Tagliani had the fourth fastest time, of one minute, 2.032 seconds (166.341 km/hour). Tracs Team Playes teammate Patrick Carpentier also qualified in the top ten, his fast lap time of one minute, 2.348 seconds (165.833) earning him the eighth spot.
Is very important in Vancouver to set the fastest time in Friday qualifying said Tracy, who currently leads the point standings with a 15-point lead over his closest competitionThis gives us the leeway in the second qualifying. Team Playes can now either concentrate on race set up or save tires for the race. But, I think that we will attack again, and I hope we can get into a good rhythm for the second session, and get more laps in, as well. The red flag threw everything out of whack, and at the end it was difficult to get a quick lap
Tracs teammate agreedAt the end, it was really tough to get a clear lap with everybody out. There was a lot of traffic but it was the same for everyone, really said Patrick CarpentierThings did not work out the way I would have liked today. On my first run the car was under-steering. Then on my second run, I flat-spotted my tires so the Playes car couldt turn left Carpentier remains optimistic for the rest of the weekend, howeverThe car is much better than what the results show he addedAt the start of the session, I sincerely believed that we would do much better than we did. We have to do better tomorrow, we must move up on the final grid as there are too many turns on this course to make our way up during the race
Racing fans can follow Team Playes progress at Molson Indy Vancouver throughout the weekend by logging on to the teas web site. They can also watch the race live on the Global network at 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Virtual Cockpit on www.teamplayers.ca
On race day, theVirtual Cockpi on www.teamplayers.ca offers fans an insides look into the world of auto racing with real time telemetry and in-car audio. Is the closest thing to being in the drives seat. From RPM, throttle and steering input displays to the current speed, track position and lap times, the data is coming straight from the engineer computers on pit row!
