Sebring testing
wrap-up Tagliani
lights it up
March 29, 2004
Tagliani Battles Back – A spin and
light contact with the frontstretch wall with 30 minutes to go in Friday’s final
session prevented the three days of Champ Car testing from being incident-free,
but Alex Tagliani (#8 Johnson Controls Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone) and his
Rocketsports team didn’t let a little thing like a broken front wing end their
day.
The team bolted a new wing section on its 750hp Champ Car and the veteran
Tagliani immediately went back to work as the sun slipped out of site. Still on
course as the 6:30 end-of-day time approached, Tagliani and Rocketsports used
the last remaining bits of daylight to post the best time of the weekend
according to unofficial timing from Cosworth Racing. Tagliani stopped the
watches at 50.25 on one of his final laps to eclipse Sebastien Bourdais’ 50.55
from Thursday as the best time of the week.
Servia Still Searching – Former Patrick Racing driver Oriol Servia completed the
most successful Champ Car season of his four-year career in 2003 but when
Patrick Racing went out of business in the off-season, Servia found himself
prowling the pits in search of a seat for the 2004 season. The Spaniard, who
scored three podium finishes including runner-up placements at Milwaukee and
Montreal, spent all three days in Sebring, alternating between talking to teams
and training on his bicycle.
“I’ve got a couple things that look like they might work out,” Servia said. “I’m
just trying everything I can, talking to teams and seeing what we can work out
because this is where I want to be.”
Philippe Pushes – Nelson Philippe has one of the slickest rides of any 17-year
old when he is on the track, as he straps into the #17 Lease Plan
Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone to do battle in the Champ Car World Series. But
off the track, his ride is equally impressive as the youngster showed when he
made the run from his Miami home to Sebring in his dark-green Hummer.
There was plenty of parking room for the military-based vehicle in the vast
parking lots of Sebring but Philippe ruefully admits that space can be a concern
on the streets.
“I have trouble finding parking spots at home,” he grinned. “Sometimes I have to
park halfway on the curb, but sometimes I have to push another car a little bit
to make some room. Nothing damaging, just finding a little space.”
Michel Hunter-Allmendinger? – When Michel Jourdain Jr. took over testing chores
for RuSPORT Friday, replacing the ailing A.J. Allmendinger, he had to beg and
borrow some gear in order to get the job done.
Jourdain had come to Sebring to see some friends when he was enlisted into duty
due to the bursitis in Allmendinger’s right arm. The emergency call forced
Jourdain to borrow one of Allmendinger’s race helmets, but the Mexican had to go
elsewhere for a race suit. New Herdez pilot Ryan Hunter-Reay came to the rescue,
loaning Jourdain a suit he carried with him from his Toyota Atlantic days,
meaning that those fans and media that came to the test had no idea who was in
the bright yellow RuSPORT machine until the end of the day when Jourdain climbed
out.
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