BOURDAIS AIMS FOR FOURTH CROWN IN ASSEN
Three-time Champ Car World Series Champion Sebastien Bourdais
has his sights set on claiming a fourth crown - a feat he
could achieve at this weekend's Bavaria Beer Champ Car Grand
Prix of Holland presented by Audi, Gant, Hertz, Jumbo and
Pioneer.
Bourdais was joined in Assen today by fellow championship
contenders Robert Doornbos and Justin Wilson, plus Paul Tracy,
Katherine Legge and Jan Heylen at a pre-event press conference.
With three races remaining in the championship, Bourdais
has to leave Holland with a 68 point lead to claim the title
this weekend. He currently leads Doornbos by 53 points.
"Obviously it would be awesome to capture the championship
this weekend – the sooner the better," Bourdais
said.
"The most important thing is to stay focussed, enjoy
the weekend and keep approaching races one by one –
that's the way we have done it since I joined the Champ Car
World Series.
"The McDonald's team has done really well this year
again and hopefully the hard work is going to pay off.
"I think we are going to have a great race here. It
is a fantastic race track at Assen with a lot of excitement
about the event."
His Dutch rival however will be keen to perform well on home
soil and stop Bourdais from taking a clean sweep of the two
European events.
A TASTE OF HOLLAND FOR CHAMP CAR STARS IN ASSEN
The six Champ Car World Series stars attending today's press
conference took the chance to meet some of the young Dutch
stars of tomorrow as well as experiencing some unique Dutch
culture.
Bourdais, Doornbos, Wilson, Tracy, Heylen and Legge were
on hand as local school children raced around a temporary
circuit in the middle of Assen.
Always ready to compete, Heylen took the chance to try his
skills against one of the young children – only to be
soundly beaten!
Despite being one the smallest drivers in the Champ Car World
Series, power to weight wasn't on his side on this occasion.
Bourdais and Doornbos also took to the track to do battle
– Bourdais claiming the victory. Doornbos will be out
for revenge at Assen this weekend.
Prior to the press conference the six drivers from the Series
went from handling 750 horsepower to trying to reign in 400
woolpower as the group visited a sheep farm just outside of
Assen.
It seems being herded from one media event to another has
paid off for them, as they did a spectacular job, aided by
a well-trained sheep dog, in getting the entire flock out
into the field.
FANS READY TO SEE THE UNIQUE ASPECTS OF CHAMP CAR
While many European fans are familiar with watching Formula
1, Champ Car World Series ace Justin Wilson believes the fans
are in for a unique treat this weekend in Assen.
Wilson is well positioned to compare the two championships,
having competed in Formula 1 in 2003 before switching to Champ
Car in 2004.
"The main differences between Champ Car and Formula
1 is the fact we have the same equipment, we all have the
DP01 chassis, while in Formula 1 everybody builds their own
car," Wilson said.
"That results in closer racing because we all have the
same engines, same tires and same chassis so it is down to
the team and the drivers to work together.
"There are a few smaller differences like the fact the
F1 car is lighter and uses grooved tires compared to our slick
tires and slightly heavier chassis.
"The main difference is at the circuit we are much more
accessible. We don't fence off the paddock like they do in
F1 so the fans and the supporters can get closer.
"It is quite an experience being back in Europe and
showing the fans here that they can get to see the cars up
close, see the people working on them and meet the drivers."
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