By snoadmin
Australian Will Power won the final Champ Car race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday. Simona De Silvestro of Switzerland took first place in the Atlantic Championship.
This was the first time Power, who races for Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia, has won in Long Beach. He led in 81 of 83 laps in Sunday’s race, and the win moves Power to fifth place in the IndyCar Series. He earned 53 points Sunday giving him a total of 87.
“I just got a good start,” Power said.
De Silvestro, who races for Nuclear Clean Air Energy-Newman Wachs Racing, was the first woman to win the Atlantic Championship since 2006.
De Silvestro said she was pleased with her performance in her second year at the Atlantic Championship.
“Last year I raced with Walker racing, I had a great year,” De Silvestro said. “I learned from my mistakes and I think that’s what’s showing today; that I can be competitive and consistent on the race track.”
The main event was the Champ Car series, an open wheel race. This is the last year for the Champ Car World Series, as it has merged with the Indy Racing League (IRL).
At the start of the Champ Car series, cars No. 5 and No. 29, driven by Oriol Servia and Alex Figge respectively, stalled on the grid. Figge was able to get away from Servia and re-enter the pace lap, but Servia required a tow-start from an emergency vehicle.
No. 8 Power took the lead from No. 02 Justin Wilson, who took the place of three-time winner Sebastian Bourdais, early in turn one. Power passed Wilson on the inside of the turn. Wilson started in the first position and Power started in fourth.
In lap 13, Wilson had a mechanical problem. Wilson, who also took the pole Saturday when he placed first in the qualifiers, was unable to finish the race.
In lap 43, car No. 10, driven by Juho Annala for Rocketsports, took to the pit because of a problem with the car’s breaks. Annala was unable to finish the race.
A fireworks display at about 3 p.m. celebrated in the end of the Champ Car race; Power took first, with rookie Franck Montagny in second and Mario Dominguez in third.
Earlier in the morning, the Atlantic Championship race took place. There were 25 drivers in this race, 11 of which were rookies.
The top five qualifiers were Jonathan Bomarito, De Silvestro, Carl Skerlong, Alan Sciuto and Kevin Lacroix. Four out of the five remained in the top five for most of the race.
Skerlong hit the wall off the start and had to return to the pit to have the nose cones on his car replaced. He returned while the other drivers were on lap three and remained one lap down the entire race, finishing last with only 37 laps.
Bomarito, the top qualifier with a time of 1:15.947, held first place for most of the race. He had a significant lead over the position two qualifier, De Silvestro.
Bomarito went into the run-off in turn one on lap 24, which allowed De Silvestro to move into first place and take the win.
De Silvestro commented on her win over Bomarito.
“Bomarito was very quick … he has so much experience, it’s his third year so I knew he was going to maybe pull off in the beginning,” De Silvestro said. “So I thought, ‘Oh second place is also great,’ so I just kept driving and being consistent. And then he did a mistake so I was very happy … so it’s awesome for me to have this win today.”
Finishing second behind De Silvestro was Sciuto, and Lacroix took third.
