Rahal tops Saturday morning practice

Road America may hold some bittersweet memories for Champ Car rookie Graham Rahal, since it was the place where he lost the Champ Car Atlantic title last year. This morning he took a step towards improving his memories of the picturesque Wisconsin course by leading the Saturday morning practice session in his Medi|Zone racing machine recording a top time of 1:43.099 (141.348 mph).

Showing his skill on the Elkhart Lake track Alex Tagliani posted the second best time of the session with a lap of 1:43.783 (140.416 mph). The RSPORTS driver is one of the pilots to watch this weekend since reuniting with the crew that helped him earn his first Champ Car World Series win at Road America in 2004. Will Power who qualified second yesterday was third in the session in his Aussie Vineyards racing machine, while Tristan Gommendy and Justin Wilson rounded out the top five in the session.

This morning’s session was disappointing for provisional polesitter Sebastien Bourdais in his McDonald’s car as he brought out one of three red flags that flew during the session. The first was caused by Paul Tracy who spun in Turn 5 and got two wheels into the gravel trap requiring the aide of the Holmatro Safety Team to pull him out. The second was brought out by Bourdais who came to a stop at the entry to pit road after having some mechanical issues with the car. The Frenchman did not return to the track after the incident logging only six laps during the session.

The final red flag period was caused by rookie Ryan Dalziel who lost control in the last turn, sliding into the gravel trap. The final round of qualifying for the Champ Car Generac Grand Prix at Road America will take the green flag at 2:10 pm central time.

Pos Driver Lap Time Gap
1 S. Bourdais 1:43.027
2 G. Rahal 1:43.099 0.072
3 A. Tagliani 1:43.783 0.756
4 W. Power 1:43.798 0.771
5 T. Gommendy 1:43.851 0.824
6 J. Wilson 1:43.882 0.855
7 S. Pagenaud 1:43.917 0.890
8 D. Clarke 1:44.259 1.232
9 R. Doornbos 1:44.338 1.311
10 N. Jani 1:44.637 1.610
11 J. Heylen 1:44.783 1.756
12 R. Dalziel 1:44.852 1.825
13 B. Junqueira 1:44.888 1.861
14 O. Servia 1:45.146 2.119
15 A. Figge 1:45.587 2.560
16 P. Tracy 1:46.222 3.195
17 K. Legge 1:46.697 3.670