August 2, 2007

From worst to first

Robert Doorndos takes checkered flag at third annual San Jose
Grand Prix after lap one crash nearly ends his day

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

A near race-ending collision on Robert Doornbos’ first lap of the third annual San Jose Grand Prix didn’t end up ruining the Champ Car rookie’s day.

Robert Doornbos (center) picked up his second Champ Car win at the third annual San Jose Grand Prix on July 29 despite falling into last place after a crash on lap one of the race. Neel Jani (left) placed second in the race, while Oriol Servia (right) placed third. The win boosted Boorndos just 10 points behind Sebastien Bourdais in the 2007 Champ Car points standings. Photo by Dan Miranda

Instead, the Minardi Team USA driver recovered by taking advantage of other drivers’ mistakes and managed to get a bit of luck along the way en route to earning his second win of the season in San Jose on July 29. The win put Doorndos just 10 points behind 2007 Champ Car points standings leader Sebastien Bourdais (Newman Haas Lanigan Racing). Doorndos also picked up an extra point in the standings for picking up the most positions in the race. Neel Jani (PKV Racing), who led the race for 30 laps before being passed by Boorndos on lap 96 at the hairpin, finished second, better than six seconds behind Boorndos. Oriol Servia (Forsythe Champion-ship Racing) placed third after leading the race for 42 laps.

“It's a dream come true,” said Doorndos, a native of the Netherlands. “I mean, I'm still in my first year in the series, and all the circuits are new. It's just a great way. I'm really enjoying myself racing here. The team is just getting stronger every weekend.”

At first, it appeared Doorndos’ day was over before he even finished his first lap. On the first lap at turn 1, the hairpin, Doorndos ran into the back of Jan Heylen’s car, snapping off the rookie driver’s front wing and bringing out a full course yellow flag. Doorndos, who started the race in 15th place on the starting grid, was then towed to restart his car before entering the pits for repairs. By the time he emerged from the pits, Doorndos found himself in last place.

Still, Doorndos managed to bounce back from the early mishap, pitting out of sequence at lap 16 when Katherine Legge (Dale Coyne Racing) slammed into the wall at turn 2 to force another yellow flag. Doorndos eventually climbed into third place before Alex Tagliani, who picked up the lead one lap earlier, pitted, allowing Doorndos to jump out in front of the pack in first place.

San Jose Grand Prix winner Robert Doornbos picked up his second win of the season by taking the checkered flag on July 29. Boorndos moved 10 points behind Sebastien Bourdais in the 2007 Champ Car points standings with the win. Photo by Dwayne Woods

Doorndos held his lead before pitting on lap 54, reentering the track in third place as Jani picked up the lead. Then, on lap 76, luck turned Doorndos’ way, as Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing), ran out of fuel just short of pit road, forcing another yellow flag and prompting the entire field to pit. Doorndos wasted little time, jumping out in front of the pack coming out of the pits for the lead, followed by Jani and Servia. Jani ended up passing Doorndos on lap 84 at the hairpin, allowing the eventual second place finisher to hold the lead for 12 laps. Finally, on lap 96, Doorndos regained his lead over Jani, passing the PKV Racing rookie at the hairpin before building up better than a six-second gap for the win.

“You should never give up,” said Doorndos. “I mean, the race is so long, it's the longest I've done in my career. I raced in F1, I raced in junior formulas in Europe. 1 hour 45 (minutes) is really, really long. Anything can happen. Street circuits are physically and mentally very demanding so you can wait for other people to make mistakes.”

Other drivers weren’t as lucky as Doorndos. Justin Wilson (CDW-RSPORTS) held pole position for the third annual San Jose Grand Prix but finished 20 laps behind after Dan Clarke (Minardi Team USA), who started on the grid in third, rear-ended the CDW-RSPORTS race car under a yellow flag during the fourth lap. Wilson ended up in pit road for extensive repairs on his drive shaft and rear suspension and promptly fell 21 laps behind before reentering the track. Wilson finished the day in 13th place.

Robert Doornbos celebrates his win at the third annual San Jose Grand Prix on July 29. Doornbos picked up the second win of his rookie season in Champ Car, finishing 6.145 seconds ahead of Neel Jani. Photo by Dan Miranda

“I hadn't even gotten to the exit of turn 6 and I got rammed from behind,” Wilson said. “I do not know what Dan (Clarke) was thinking, he must not have been paying attention and just came flying into the back of me.”

Clarke, on the other hand, was finished by lap 6, getting a damaged front wing replaced in the pits following his collision with Wilson, before losing his nose a second time in a collision with Legge.

Two-time San Jose Grand Prix winner Bourdais also fell on hard times. After briefly taking the lead on the first lap by passing Wilson at the hairpin turn, Bourdais inadvertently stalled his car during the first yellow flag – Boorndos’ accident – causing the Frenchman to fall back into eighth place. Bourdais ended up finishing fifth, holding onto a slim 10-point lead in the Champ Car standings over Boorndos.

“During the yellow I got a little greedy I guess,” Bourdais said. “I just tried to save too much fuel and tried seventh gear with low revs at the hairpin and when I released the clutch the car died. It was a tough day for the McDonald's team.”

Doorndos said one of the key differences in the win was his use of the regular black-walled Bridgestone tires, while Jani opted for the alternate Bridgestone red tires.

Champ Car rookie Neel Jani finished second at the third annual San Jose Grand Prix on July 29. Jani led the race for 12 laps before Robert Doornbos passed him at the hairpin turn on lap 96. Photo by Dwayne Woods

“Coming into the last 20 laps of the race, I saw Neel on the reds and I was thinking, ‘Man, you have the wrong choice of tires because the reds didn't work for me,’” Doorndos said.

Jani noted that his choice of the red tires ended up making a difference as well.

“In the end, the reds were just way too bad and they went on me big time, just under steer then over steer,” Jani said. “It was hard to keep Robert. In the end, he had a good run and he was so quick in the end. I was just looking that I could maybe keep Oriol behind me. Definitely, I'm disappointed after leading so many laps.”

“I saw him going sideways a bit,” Doorndos added, in recalling his pass of Jani on lap 96. “I just lined them up, fair and square going into the hairpin, then I just pulled away. The team was sort of trying to calm me down, like, ‘bring it home, bring it home.’ You know, the minutes couldn't go quicker. It's just a great way to finish the weekend.”