Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing drivers Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal have each been penalised by the loss of 22 seconds of 'Power To Pass' ahead of the final round of the Champ Car World Series.

Each driver received an original allotment of 75 seconds of increased extra boost for the race, but infractions during Sunday morning's standing start practice - in which both Bourdais and Rahal each laid down rubber on their grid slots during the 15-minute session - drew the wrath of race control.

With race director Tony Cotman preparing for the race, Champ Car president of communications David Higdon confirmed the punishment during a hastily-called press conference during the lunch break. Higdon said that Cotman would have talked to the team first to advise of the penalty, and revealed that the race director had considered several options before deciding that the loss of 22 seconds fitted the crime.

The length of the penalty corresponds with the maximum amount of Power To Pass available to a driver in a single use of the system without manual deactivation and, with the long, wide front straight at Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez leading into the prime passing location at turn one, the penalty will be significant.

All 17 drivers had all been warmed against laying rubber in documents sent to all teams prior to the warm-up session. The rubber has since been cleaned up.