Balaclava Image Deep Throttle Logo
Auto Racing History Image
HOME THOUGHTS ESSAYS RANKINGS HISTORY
About Us
Russell's Ramblings
IMSA Thoughts
Photos
F1 Schedule
Master Schedule
Debunking Myths
News Links
Shopping
Ed Donath Archive
Guestbook
In Association with Amazon.com

2005 Portland Thoughts

RACE: With some rare (and memorable) exceptions, Portland is not known for exciting races. However, we understand there's a very strong future for urban street races, but at the end of the day, road racing is where it's at. We hope a successful event such as this one will help bring back some of our favorites, such as Road America, Laguna Seca, and Mid-Ohio.

TRACK: The Festival Curves remake did its job.

DA MATTA: Da man is back! Cristiano stands tall again.

PKV RACING: Kalkhoven received a much deserved first race win along with co-owners Vasser and Pettit.

BOURDAIS: A strong second gives Sebastien a firmer lead in the points race.

TRACY: For a guy whose car was never quite right all weekend, he didn't look so bad standing up there with other series champions.

ALLMENDINGER: He showed maturity in going for the points and a fifth place when nearly every racer wants to go for the win and be damned.

VASSER: We've said it before. We love to watch Jimmy race, but his best days may be behind him. Sixth is decent, but he was never really a factor in the race.

RANGER: He continues to outperform many of the highly touted European rookies by just being consistently good. So there.

BREMER: Today's race clearly favored the veterans, but Ronnie kept his nose clean and didn't block anyone.

GLOCK: Ditto, Timo.

VALIENTE: Good to see Michael get his shot. Now, hopefully the Coyne team won't ruin that shot.

PHILIPPE: We still wonder what Nelson is doing in Champ Car.

MARSHALL: He's really new, but we really wonder about him, too.

SPERAFICO: We thought Ricardo was the talented Sperafico... He did actually get the eighth fastest lap of the race, but he blocks.

RUSPORT: If you want a case study on how to build up a new team, RuSport is it. Now, they need to execute next time they are so close to winning.

ROCKETSPORTS: The complete opposite -- a case study on how not to build up a new team. By far one of the biggest disappointments in recent Champ Car history. This team could end up...

HUNTER-REAY: ...destroying Ryan's career. If Rocketsports can't deliver him a decent ride, for goodness sakes, let him move on. This is painful to watch.

TAGLIANI: It's obvious Tags is doing better overall with Derrick Walker than he did with Paul Gentilozzi. However, we would never go to the craps table with Alex.

WILSON: Dominate the whole weekend, a Justin victory looked like the surest bet of the weekend. We would never go anywhere near a casino with Justin. This guy can't buy a race. Yet, he handled his disappointment with class and no tantrums.

SERVIA: Not much of a factor this time around.

USGP: The mass withdrawal by the Michelin teams was a true blow to open wheel racing in the U.S., and a textbook case for how rampant egos can create such utter disaster. It also makes the case about why neither Tony George nor Bernie Ecclestone should have any leadership role in our sport, no matter the series.

FIA: Now stands for F------ International Auto racing for 100 years.

GEORGE: Only the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley, Michelin, and all the other Euroweenies can actually make Deep Throttle side with Tony George.

MONTEIRO: Tiago, do realize how much of a dork you were up on the podium? While the Ferrari drivers rightfully left the podium with no reaction, you made a complete ass of yourself. Do you actually believe you accomplished something?!

COULTHARD: David is a real fans' driver, and thus one of our favorites anywhere in the world. This guy understands what the sport is really supposed to be about. He is someone we would love to have a beer with, unlike Michael Schumacher.

KRISTENSEN: Sadly (or typically), the F1 farce overshadowed the real international racing story of the weekend -- Mr. Le Mans and his astounding seventh victory (and even more remarkable sixth straight) at Le Sarthe.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Sunny.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 6 vs. 18 -- as in the number of cars that started the USGP versus the Portland Champ Car race.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Way back in 1909, Portland emulated this year's USGP by starting six cars in the stock class, costing $1600 or under. Howard Covey won the three-lap race around the 43.8-mile road course. Only the second place driver also completed all three laps. The other four cars never made it one time around.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Sebastien Bourdais on the popular victory by Cristiano da Matta, "He went through a lot of political crap in Formula One, so it's good to see him back on top of a real racing series."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Kevin Kalkhoven on his definition of a perfect weekend, "What more can I ask for? Attendance was up, the sun was out, and we won."

SCHEDULE: All you USGP ticket holders, take Champ Car up on its offer at Cleveland, and watch how a real open wheel race is put on.

Copyright © 2005 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.


Agree with Deep Throttle? Disagree? Let others know what your Portland thoughts are by visiting the Forums.



Courtesy of the Champ Car World Series

RACE RESULTS
  Driver Laps
1. da Matta 105
2. Bourdais 105
3. Tracy 105
4. Dominguez 105
5. Allmendinger 105
6. Vasser 105
7. Ranger(R) 105
8. Bremer(R) 104
9. Wirdheim(R) 104
10. Glock(R) 104
11. Valiante(R) 104
12. Philippe 104
13. Sperafico(R) 104
14. Marshall(R) 103
15. Hunter-Reay 103
16. Servia 79
17. Wilson 45
18. Tagliani 8

Time of Race
1:51:51.404

Winner's Speed
110.616 mph

Margin of Victory
10.128 sec.

Caution Flags
1 for 5 laps

Lead Changes
8 among 4 drivers

Lap Leaders
Cristiano da Matta, Justin Wilson, Sebastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy

Fastest Race Lap
Sebastien Bourdais

Most Positions Improved
Cristiano da Matta

Friday Pole
Justin Wilson

Saturday Pole
Justin Wilson

CURRENT STANDINGS
  Driver Pts.
1. Bourdais 106
2. Tracy 95
3. Wilson 77
4. Allmendinger 74
5. da Matta 73
6. Dominguez 71
7. Vasser 63
8. Junqueira 59
9. Ranger(R) 54
  Glock(R) 54
11. Servia 53
12. Bremer(R) 52
13. Tagliani 45
14. Wirdheim(R) 44
15. Hunter-Reay 35
16. Philippe 31
17. Marshall(R) 27
18. Sperafico(R) 21
19. Valiante(R) 10
20. del Monte(R) 5
21. Goeters(R) 3
 
 
2008 Thoughts
Long Beach

2007 Thoughts
Preseason Las Vegas Long Beach Houston
Portland Cleveland Mont Tremblant Toronto
Edmonton San Jose Road America Belgium
Holland Surfers Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2006 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Houston Monterrey
Milwaukee Portland Cleveland Toronto
Edmonton San Jose Denver Montreal
Road America Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2005 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Monterrey Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Toronto Edmonton
San Jose Denver Montreal Las Vegas
Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2004 Thoughts
Preseason Long Beach Monterrey Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Toronto Vancouver
Road America Denver Montreal Laguna Seca
Las Vegas Surfer's Paradise Mexico City Postseason

2003 Thoughts
Preseason St. Petersburg Monterrey Long Beach
Brands Hatch Germany Milwaukee Laguna Seca
Portland Cleveland Toronto Vancouver
Road America Mid-Ohio Montreal Denver
Miami Mexico City Surfer's Paradise Postseason

2002 Thoughts
Preseason Monterrey Long Beach Japan
Milwaukee Laguna Seca Portland Chicago
Toronto Cleveland Vancouver Mid-Ohio
Road America Montreal Denver
England Miami Surfer's Paradise
Fontana Mexico City Postseason

2001 Thoughts
Preseason Mexico Long Beach Nazareth
Japan Milwaukee Detroit Portland
Cleveland Toronto Michigan Chicago
Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver German
England Houston Laguna Seca
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

2000 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Long Beach Brazil
Japan Nazareth Milwaukee Detroit
Portland Cleveland Toronto Michigan
Chicago Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver
Laguna Seca Gateway USGP Houston
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

1999 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Japan Long Beach
Nazareth Brazil Gateway Milwaukee
Portland Cleveland Road America Toronto
U.S. 500 Detroit Mid-Ohio Chicago
Vancouver Laguna Seca Houston
Surfer's Paradise Fontana Postseason

1998 Thoughts
Preseason Miami Japan Long Beach
Nazareth Brazil Gateway Milwaukee
Detroit Portland Cleveland Toronto
U.S. 500 Mid-Ohio Road America Vancouver
Laguna Seca Houston Surfer's Paradise Fontana

1997 Thoughts
Miami Surfer's Paradise Long Beach Nazareth
Brazil Gateway Milwaukee Detroit
Portland Cleveland Toronto
U.S. 500 Mid-Ohio Road America
Vancouver Laguna Seca Fontana
Site Index | Search | Contacts | Ad Rates |


Copyright © 1999-2024 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.
The names, logos, and taglines identifying Deep Throttle are proprietary marks of Deep Throttle. All other trademarks and service marks are property of their respective owners. Deep Throttle is an independent electronic publication and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any series, team, driver, or sponsor. Privacy Policy.