Servia and Dominguez finish 4th and 6th in GP of Houston

[NickHolt]

For Immediate Release

 

Toni Calderon – Champ Car Media Relations

Forsythe Racing, Inc.

Cell (512) 699-6260

tcalderon@forsythe-racing.com

1111 S. Willis Avenue, Wheeling IL 60090

Joe Kirklin – Atlantic Media Relations

Forsythe Racing, Inc.

Cell (530) 415-9213

joe@forsythe-racing.com

520 Olive Street, Suite C, Marysville CA 95901

 

Servia and Dominguez Avoid Pit Contact, Finish Fourth and Sixth in Houston

 

HOUSTON, Texas – April 22nd, 2007 – Forsythe Championship Racing and the Champ Car World Series completed today its third race in as many weekends at the 2007 Grand Prix of Houston at JAGflo Speedway at Reliant Park. After a disappointing qualifying session, the Forsythe duo of Oriol Servia and Mario Dominguez had a strong showing which ironically was affected by a near miss between the two teammates in the pit lane, forcing them to settle with the fourth and sixth positions.

 

Servia, who joined the Forsythe Team only a week ago replacing the injured Paul Tracy, continued with his strong performance in the #3 INDECK car. During his first stint the Spaniard concentrated on saving fuel and keeping in touch with the leaders, this strategy paid off by allowing him to load less fuel that his competitors and having a quicker pit stop, after the pit stop shuffle he found himself in the second position following the leader by only 1 second. Servia was able to comfortably hold the second position and was looking to repeat his Long Beach podium finish until his second pit stop where he had to delay his launch in order to avoid a collision with teammate Dominguez who was coming into his pit stall at the same time. The time lost in the pits cost Servia two positions on the track dropping him to the fourth position.

 

For Mario Dominguez the Houston race has special meaning as last year he came within a few laps from winning from his first career pole position start until an off track excursion dropped him to third. Dominguez started today from the ninth position and also immediately managed to save fuel but at the same time turn in very competitive laps. He used his expert knowledge of this bumpy temporary street circuit to pick up positions on the track and was headed for a top five finish until a near miss with Servia in the pits caused him to come in at an awkward angle into his pit stall loosing valuable time. The Mexican driver had to settle for a sixth place finish.

 

Oriol Servia #3 Indeck Cosworth/Bridgestone/DP01

Finished 4th

Sixth in Championship with 51 points

 

“That was a good race! I still think we needed a little more speed to keep up with Sebastien (Bourdais) but we were very close. At the beginning of the race I was just saving fuel and I could tell that I was doing a better job at it than the guys in front of me, so I knew that our pit stop would probably be quicker and we could pick up a few positions. Just as expected we the Forsythe Team gave me a great pit stop and we came out right behind Sebastien. During our second pit stop we had a problem; I was getting ready to leave just as Mario (Dominguez) was coming in and I had to wait to avoid hitting and that definitely cost us the podium. But overall I’m very happy, the Forsythe Team gave me a great car and we were so close to having another great finish.”

 

Mario Dominguez #7 Telmex/Banca Mifel Cosworth/Bridgestone/DP01

Finished 6th

12th in Championship with 36 points

 

“We didn’t have the best car out there but I still managed to save a lot of fuel and pick up some positions on the track. The Forsythe Team did a great job today and we were moving up through the field, the problem during the second pit stop obviously cost us a lot of time which is a shame, but overall I think it was a good race. I wish Paul Tracy a quick recovery, I know him well and I know that he will do everything it takes to get back in the car as soon as possible. I’m going to work very hard during the next few weeks to be able to secure the support I need to be able to finish out the year.”

 

After a busy three weeks the Forsythe Team now returns to its Indianapolis headquarters for a well deserved break in the schedule, the next round of the 2007 Champ Car World Series will take place June 8 – 10 at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. You can tune in to Race Director, available through the Champ Car website, for live coverage of the race and many practice and qualifying sessions with multiple channels of live video, audio, timing, telemetry and commentary. Visit http://www.champcar.ws and www.forsythe-racing.com for more information.