It is time to go Champ Car racing again as Rocketsports Racing prepares for the final two races of the 2007 Champ Car World Series season. Next up after a few weeks off, is the most anticipated event on the Champ Car calendar, the Lexmark Indy 300 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia, October 19-21, 2007.  

The Lexmark Indy is four days, four nights of pure power Down Under. It is a race, a party, an eye full and an ear full. With the Champ Cars and Australia’s V8 Supercars, and ninety-six hours of on-and-off track entertainment in one of the world’s most famous beach cities, this is the event that everyone in the Champ Car paddock looks forward to each year.  While the sights are beautiful, the track is one of the most challenging streets courses the Champ Car drivers face.

The 2.795-mile temporary street course consists of 12 turns and is the longest street course on the schedule, making it very demanding for these superstar racers. Alex Tagliani, Rocketsports driver of the #8 PBS Equities/Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone, knows this all too well and has spent the last month training extra hard for this event.  This is a track that has a bit of unique history in the Champ Car World Series. A series record of sixteen different drivers have visited victory lane in the 16 years Champ Car has raced in Australia.

While no driver has won twice at this event, Tagliani has finished on the podium in two of seven appearances. Most recently he finished third after starting ninth on the grid in 2006, which matched his best finish on the streets of the Gold Coast after previously recording a third-place result in 2001.   The Rocketsports team also makes its return to Oz after recording a second-place result in 2006 with Mario Dominguez. The team is hoping that the double podium momentum at this venue, with its past result and current driver Tagliani’s, will lead to a positive top three finish together.  The team arrived in Australia on Tuesday morning. While the driver has been busy participating in a lot of PR activities for the event, the team has unpacked and begun preparations to head out on track this Friday. The Lexmark Indy 300 weekend officially kicks off for the Champ Cars on Friday, October 19 with a morning practice session.

The first round of qualifying will take place that afternoon at 1:55 p.m. Australian EST time (11:55 p.m. Thursday, USA ET). Following another morning practice session on Saturday will be the final round of qualifying at 1:55 p.m. (11:55 p.m. Friday, USA ET). The Lexmark Indy 300 will take the green flag on Sunday, October 21, at 1:35 p.m. local time (11:35 p.m. Saturday, USA ET). The race can be seen live in the United States on ESPN Classic with coverage from the Gold Coast, Australia beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 20. A tape-delayed broadcast can be seen on ESPN2 at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 21. Fans can also follow the Rocketsports team on the internet by logging onto www.champcar.ws and signing up for Race Director. . 

Fast Facts

• Rocketsports Racing has made seven starts in the past four years of competition on the streets of Surfers Paradise. 2006 was their highlight year at this event, as both entries driven by Mario Dominguez and Antonio Pizzonia finished in the top ten. Dominguez brought the #8 squad to the podium with a second place result. He led one race lap and was rewarded a point for being the most improved car in the race after starting tenth on the grid. Pizzonia also paced the field, taking the led for 8 of the 59 laps in last year’s Lexmark Indy 300.
  
• Rocketsports has recorded seven starts; four of those were inside the top ten. The best start was recorded with Alex Tagliani back in 2003, the team’s rookie season, when he earned a grid position of fourth for the Australia event. From seven starts, the team has finished in running status six times, earning five top-ten finishes. The team has completed 354 out of 393 laps possible over the last four years.
• Alex Tagliani, driver of the #8 Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone, started his Champ Car career in 2000. This season marks his eighth year of competition. He will attempt to make his 130^th start when he takes the Green Flag in Australia. He has recorded one win, five poles, and 14 podiums throughout his Champ Car career.
  
• This year’s event marks the third time that Tagliani will run with the East Lansing, Michigan-based squad on the streets of Surfers Paradise.

• Tagliani has made seven starts in Australia. Five of those where inside of the top ten, with his best start of fourth in 2003. Despite contact in 2004 and a mechanical failure in 2000, he has finished five events all in the top ten. He has paced the field twice in his seven runs, finishing on the podium in the third spot most recently in 2006 and also in 2001.

• Tagliani has special ties to Australia. Back in 2001, Tagliani met the beautiful Australian Bronte Kok while participating in the Bartercard Miss Indy functions. The Bartercard Miss Indy of 2001 not only grabbed his attention, but won his heart, as the two were married in 2003. Since they met, Bronte has not missed a single race. While Tagliani is not superstitious, he does not climb into the car without kissing his wife.

• The team is proud to announce a new partnership with Australia-based PBS Equities. PBS Equities is a diversified global property group, and makes investments in the development, construction, and acquisition of signature properties globally. Based in Queensland, Australia, PBS ventures into the world of motorsports with a bang, in the famed Lexmark Indy 300 which sees the Champ Cars roar around the streets of Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia for racing and festival fun. The #8 PBS Equities Champ Car will be a sight to see, as the revived paint scheme on the #8 Rocketsports entry will be unveiled in Australia to introduce PBS Equities to the Champ Car environment and the international market it attracts.

QuoteAlex Tagliani #8 PBS Equities/Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone
“I always look forward to go back to Australia. The race weekend is exciting: the track is fun but challenging for the drivers, the people and atmosphere are great, and the promoters do an excellent job putting this event together. This place is very special to me because it is where I met my wife, Bronte. So, it is like my second home and I enjoy racing in front of all the Aussies.

The track at Surfers Paradise is the longest street course that we race on in the Champ Car World Series. It is a very physical track and I have been training extra hard for this event. There is a lot of shifting on this track, a lot of hard braking into the corners, and it is a rough ride because there are a lot of curbs that you hit when you are trying to record quick lap times. It has been nice to have a few weeks off to recuperate after a busy summer, but I am ready to get back into the cockpit of the #8 PBS Equities Rocketsports car and hopefully get some positive results so that we can move up in the championship standings. It will be nice to have a podium finish, for my team that has worked very hard all season, and for our new sponsor, PBS Equities, in which this will be their home race.”