Champ Car World Series: Gran Premio Tecate Presented by Banamex

Topics:  Gran Premio Tecate Presented by Banamex

Sebastien Bourdais
Will Power
Justin Wilson
November 9, 2007

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

THE MODERATOR: Will, why don't you tell us what happened at Surfers Paradise with your wrist, how it feels and if you were able to drive today.
WILL POWER: Yeah, fortunately when I crashed out at Surfers I still had my hand on the wheel when I hit and I cracked a couple of bones, so it's pretty sore this weekend. Before qualifying I took off the strapping and it hurt it a little bit more. The thing is I've just got to deal with it and do like Justin did last year and deal with the pain and get it done.
THE MODERATOR: Did you have to wear a brace or no brace today?
WILL POWER: No, in practice we had it strapped on really tightly. The brace is too restrictive. You get your hand jammed up and you can't turn. I opted to get it strapped up, and it's doing a good job.
THE MODERATOR: Second today with the second fastest time, Mr. Justin Wilson. Obviously a very eventful race last year. Tell us about how you're going to reverse your fortunes this year.
JUSTIN WILSON: I think it was a similar order last year, and Friday went a similar way. We just missed pole. I'm hoping it is going to turn out a similar race. We'll be pushing hard and trying to finish the season off with a win. It would be great for myself but mainly for my team, RuSPORT. Everybody has done a great job. Obviously there's some uncertainty about the future, which is not good. So I'd just like to thank them for your efforts and continue to push hard and work hard and prepare a great race car. Hopefully we can finish on top.
THE MODERATOR: You're looking to win the race, the competition for second place with Doornbos. Are you going to be looking out for him as well during the race?
JUSTIN WILSON: Yeah, it's something I can't forget about. As much as I want to win the race, I've got to think about that. I was in the same position last year. A.J. wasn't actually in the race, but I had to score points to finish ahead of him in the championship. It's very similar. I'm just going to try and concentrate on my job, try and get the pole tomorrow, and after that it's much easier to go out there and win.
THE MODERATOR: Sebastien, how did it feel to get back out on the track in Mexico City?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: It feels really good. The car was very competitive on the track. My team did a great job again. No surprise there. It's a place we've been pretty solid here in Mexico City, pretty competitive and solid at the front. Everything is going according to plan.
Just made a couple of mistakes on the second run on the options, which definitely were quite a bit better, so expecting a little bit more out of the car tomorrow and hopefully we can stay on top and have a great weekend again.
THE MODERATOR: How does the track feel and what's it like getting back to Mexico City?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Well, if it's dumping oil like I think it is right now tomorrow is going to be bad (laughter). You know, it's pretty usual. I think a lot of turns are very close to what they were last year, a bit quicker. The style seems to be easier to deal with on road courses, which I think is mainly a thing of the added downforce and the shorter wheel base. I like it, and just hope to keep it on the asphalt and have a great race on Sunday.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open up to questions. Feel free to ask questions in English or Spanish.

Q. Will, you didn't run great today, did you? Do you feel the half second gap is something you can make up tomorrow?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think so. You're getting a lot out of the race here. I believe you're you can gain anywhere between a half a second and a second. We're looking pretty good for tomorrow. We didn't have a good first run so I wasn't confident enough to progress. I'm thinking it's better tomorrow when we can run two sets.

Q. Sebastien, if you win on Sunday it'll be your 31st win for Newman/Haas which would tie Michael Andretti for the team record. Has the team said anything about that to you, and tying that mark, what would it mean to you?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don't know, I've never really given too much importance to records or anything like that. We're just trying to do our job and enjoy it, and we do just that. Hopefully it would be awesome, not to set a record but finish on a high and have a great weekend because as successful as that group has been, obviously you don't really want to leave with a bad day. It's racing; you never control hardly anything, but for sure it would be a lot better this way.

Q. Sebastien, is it in some ways hard to focus on this weekend sort of knowing that this is Champ Car World Series is sort of in your past and as you said you have a Formula 1 test next week? Is it a little hard not to be looking forward to that?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: No, I think it would be completely disrespectful to my team to project myself already on next season this weekend. My Champ Car career will be over on Sunday night and not before that.
So no, I know I'm not going to win any races any time soon in Formula 1. I'll try and get better and better and be competitive and run out there and do the best we can, but I'm not expecting to win races next season at all. I really want to enjoy myself as much as I can and would love to enjoy myself in different ways in the near future. So we'll see how it goes.

Q. (Inaudible).
JUSTIN WILSON: Yeah, my previous to last lap I made a mistake, so my last lap, I think it was a lap too late on the tires, but I had to go for it. I got within -- I got to about a tenth of the way and that was about as much as I could get, and I tried a little bit too hard and slid wide in a couple of corners so I just had to not do anything stupid and try and get the best time I could.

Q. Could each of you talk about having the extra horsepower for the Push-to-Pass, what that's going to be like to go up to 100 horsepower? I heard something about 75 seconds total. I know in the past here you've had 180 seconds, so if you could maybe describe what that's like for the race.
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Well, it's going to be wild but not for too long. You'll have to use it when it's time. You obviously only know that -- you're always a lot smarter after the race than when it starts, so you get five or six shots depending upon how you use it, and it's not easy. If some yellows come out at the end of the race, you really don't want to run out before it's over, so it's tough. I'm not too big a fan of it, but I'm sure the crowd will love it because you're going to see a lot of passing and a lot of action.

Q. Will, do you want to answer that?
WILL POWER: I think everyone is going to say the same. I'm not sure it's going to make any difference because on some of the taxis it going to reply with the hits. It'll be interesting. If someone runs out at the end of the race, for sure there will be some pretty good passing. I think it will be good test to see if they'll use it next year.
JUSTIN WILSON: Yeah, it'll be interesting, but this morning I didn't use it because I had an engine problem. I don't know what kind of -- how it will feel. It'll be interesting.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)
JUSTIN WILSON: Well, obviously it makes life a lot harder driving with one hand (laughter). It's possible, as Will is finding out. But it's strange because I remember last year on the Friday morning I ran with the brakes and everything felt okay. I felt the brakes were a bit too clumsy, so I decided to take it out for qualifying. I went out and I hurt my wrist in qualifying, just like Will did today.
The pattern is quite interesting. The trainer saw, that we all go to, he said once it feels good, I can run without it. You go out there and you clip a curb or get sideways and it strains it again. I'm sure tomorrow Will will have the brace back on, slightly modified, and it will be working just fine. I've still got my old one; do you want to have a look at it (laughter)?

Q. At the end of the championship can you tell us, we are nosy like a young girl, can you tell us which in your opinion are the three most important in the world of racing that you won this year?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don't know, it's tough to map things out like that without any time to look over it. Obviously we had a successful season again and won a bunch of races. I think winning Australia obviously and to wrap up the championship with a win is always very special. We got some help obviously. I'm not for sure I would have done it if Will had not run into some problems. Part of racing, sometimes you miss out on some races you really deserve and sometimes you win some that were not for you. And this year I think it was great to bounce back the way we did in Long Beach because after such a miserable weekend in Vegas, just making pretty much every mistake possible out there. Now that will probably remain one of the best of the season.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)
JUSTIN WILSON: I'm very honored to be nominated or be in line for it, the Greg Moore Trophy, again. I won it last year, and it means a lot to me. Greg was a great driver and somebody that I loved to watch. Unfortunately I never got the chance to meet him or to know him, but I know quite a few people in the paddock who do and speak very highly of him. It's one of those added bonuses that we have an opportunity to win each year, and it would be great to win it a second time.

End of FastScripts
THE MODERATOR: Will, why don't you tell us what happened at Surfers Paradise with your wrist, how it feels and if you were able to drive today.
WILL POWER: Yeah, fortunately when I crashed out at Surfers I still had my hand on the wheel when I hit and I cracked a couple of bones, so it's pretty sore this weekend. Before qualifying I took off the strapping and it hurt it a little bit more. The thing is I've just got to deal with it and do like Justin did last year and deal with the pain and get it done.
THE MODERATOR: Did you have to wear a brace or no brace today?
WILL POWER: No, in practice we had it strapped on really tightly. The brace is too restrictive. You get your hand jammed up and you can't turn. I opted to get it strapped up, and it's doing a good job.
THE MODERATOR: Second today with the second fastest time, Mr. Justin Wilson. Obviously a very eventful race last year. Tell us about how you're going to reverse your fortunes this year.
JUSTIN WILSON: I think it was a similar order last year, and Friday went a similar way. We just missed pole. I'm hoping it is going to turn out a similar race. We'll be pushing hard and trying to finish the season off with a win. It would be great for myself but mainly for my team, RuSPORT. Everybody has done a great job. Obviously there's some uncertainty about the future, which is not good. So I'd just like to thank them for your efforts and continue to push hard and work hard and prepare a great race car. Hopefully we can finish on top.
THE MODERATOR: You're looking to win the race, the competition for second place with Doornbos. Are you going to be looking out for him as well during the race?
JUSTIN WILSON: Yeah, it's something I can't forget about. As much as I want to win the race, I've got to think about that. I was in the same position last year. A.J. wasn't actually in the race, but I had to score points to finish ahead of him in the championship. It's very similar. I'm just going to try and concentrate on my job, try and get the pole tomorrow, and after that it's much easier to go out there and win.
THE MODERATOR: Sebastien, how did it feel to get back out on the track in Mexico City?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: It feels really good. The car was very competitive on the track. My team did a great job again. No surprise there. It's a place we've been pretty solid here in Mexico City, pretty competitive and solid at the front. Everything is going according to plan.
Just made a couple of mistakes on the second run on the options, which definitely were quite a bit better, so expecting a little bit more out of the car tomorrow and hopefully we can stay on top and have a great weekend again.
THE MODERATOR: How does the track feel and what's it like getting back to Mexico City?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Well, if it's dumping oil like I think it is right now tomorrow is going to be bad (laughter). You know, it's pretty usual. I think a lot of turns are very close to what they were last year, a bit quicker. The style seems to be easier to deal with on road courses, which I think is mainly a thing of the added downforce and the shorter wheel base. I like it, and just hope to keep it on the asphalt and have a great race on Sunday.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open up to questions. Feel free to ask questions in English or Spanish.

Q. Will, you didn't run great today, did you? Do you feel the half second gap is something you can make up tomorrow?
WILL POWER: Yeah, I think so. You're getting a lot out of the race here. I believe you're you can gain anywhere between a half a second and a second. We're looking pretty good for tomorrow. We didn't have a good first run so I wasn't confident enough to progress. I'm thinking it's better tomorrow when we can run two sets.

Q. Sebastien, if you win on Sunday it'll be your 31st win for Newman/Haas which would tie Michael Andretti for the team record. Has the team said anything about that to you, and tying that mark, what would it mean to you?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don't know, I've never really given too much importance to records or anything like that. We're just trying to do our job and enjoy it, and we do just that. Hopefully it would be awesome, not to set a record but finish on a high and have a great weekend because as successful as that group has been, obviously you don't really want to leave with a bad day. It's racing; you never control hardly anything, but for sure it would be a lot better this way.

Q. Sebastien, is it in some ways hard to focus on this weekend sort of knowing that this is Champ Car World Series is sort of in your past and as you said you have a Formula 1 test next week? Is it a little hard not to be looking forward to that?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: No, I think it would be completely disrespectful to my team to project myself already on next season this weekend. My Champ Car career will be over on Sunday night and not before that.
So no, I know I'm not going to win any races any time soon in Formula 1. I'll try and get better and better and be competitive and run out there and do the best we can, but I'm not expecting to win races next season at all. I really want to enjoy myself as much as I can and would love to enjoy myself in different ways in the near future. So we'll see how it goes.

Q. (Inaudible).
JUSTIN WILSON: Yeah, my previous to last lap I made a mistake, so my last lap, I think it was a lap too late on the tires, but I had to go for it. I got within -- I got to about a tenth of the way and that was about as much as I could get, and I tried a little bit too hard and slid wide in a couple of corners so I just had to not do anything stupid and try and get the best time I could.

Q. Could each of you talk about having the extra horsepower for the Push-to-Pass, what that's going to be like to go up to 100 horsepower? I heard something about 75 seconds total. I know in the past here you've had 180 seconds, so if you could maybe describe what that's like for the race.
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Well, it's going to be wild but not for too long. You'll have to use it when it's time. You obviously only know that -- you're always a lot smarter after the race than when it starts, so you get five or six shots depending upon how you use it, and it's not easy. If some yellows come out at the end of the race, you really don't want to run out before it's over, so it's tough. I'm not too big a fan of it, but I'm sure the crowd will love it because you're going to see a lot of passing and a lot of action.

Q. Will, do you want to answer that?
WILL POWER: I think everyone is going to say the same. I'm not sure it's going to make any difference because on some of the taxis it going to reply with the hits. It'll be interesting. If someone runs out at the end of the race, for sure there will be some pretty good passing. I think it will be good test to see if they'll use it next year.
JUSTIN WILSON: Yeah, it'll be interesting, but this morning I didn't use it because I had an engine problem. I don't know what kind of -- how it will feel. It'll be interesting.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)
JUSTIN WILSON: Well, obviously it makes life a lot harder driving with one hand (laughter). It's possible, as Will is finding out. But it's strange because I remember last year on the Friday morning I ran with the brakes and everything felt okay. I felt the brakes were a bit too clumsy, so I decided to take it out for qualifying. I went out and I hurt my wrist in qualifying, just like Will did today.
The pattern is quite interesting. The trainer saw, that we all go to, he said once it feels good, I can run without it. You go out there and you clip a curb or get sideways and it strains it again. I'm sure tomorrow Will will have the brace back on, slightly modified, and it will be working just fine. I've still got my old one; do you want to have a look at it (laughter)?

Q. At the end of the championship can you tell us, we are nosy like a young girl, can you tell us which in your opinion are the three most important in the world of racing that you won this year?
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don't know, it's tough to map things out like that without any time to look over it. Obviously we had a successful season again and won a bunch of races. I think winning Australia obviously and to wrap up the championship with a win is always very special. We got some help obviously. I'm not for sure I would have done it if Will had not run into some problems. Part of racing, sometimes you miss out on some races you really deserve and sometimes you win some that were not for you. And this year I think it was great to bounce back the way we did in Long Beach because after such a miserable weekend in Vegas, just making pretty much every mistake possible out there. Now that will probably remain one of the best of the season.

Q. (Question in Spanish.)
JUSTIN WILSON: I'm very honored to be nominated or be in line for it, the Greg Moore Trophy, again. I won it last year, and it means a lot to me. Greg was a great driver and somebody that I loved to watch. Unfortunately I never got the chance to meet him or to know him, but I know quite a few people in the paddock who do and speak very highly of him. It's one of those added bonuses that we have an opportunity to win each year, and it would be great to win it a second time.