The third and final leg of the closely-fought Canadian Triple Crown team competition brings the Champ Car World Series to Edmonton this weekend, but the main championships also remain very much up for grabs.
The Rexall Grand Prix is the final race on Canadian soil this season and, with two action-packed races at Mont-Tremblant and Toronto, predicting who come out on top at the schedule's second airport circuit is a tough call.
Team Australia's Will Power and Simon Pagenaud currently sit at the top of the Triple Crown standings and appear favourites to run away with the prize, but RSports team-mates Alex Tagliani and Justin Wilson may have something to say about that, especially as the Briton is defending champion in Edmonton. Similarly, Sebastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal will be looking to snatch the inaugural crown for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing if they can haul themselves up from third place.
“We will go there and do the best job that we can and fight for the championship,” Power commented, “The goal is to get another pole position, put a whole weekend together of good racing and qualifying, and to bring home the Canadian Triple Crown trophy.”
Although Power and Bourdais are both involved – and eager to win – the Triple Crown will be something of a footnote to the season as a whole, especially with the Frenchman facing his toughest battle in recent years. Three-time champion Bourdais has always been ahead at this stage in his title-winning seasons, but heads to Edmonton only third in points after being passed by both Power and Robert Doornbos in Toronto.
Bourdais will be trying to become the first repeat winner in Edmonton as the event moves into its third year, and that result could be enough to take him back to top spot in the standings as he lies just three points adrift of Doornbos. The Frenchman's Toronto race ended in the tyre barrier after contact from his Dutch rival two weeks ago, adding fuel to the fire that has burned since their 'war of words' after the previous outing in St Jovite.
“It seems like, every year, it's a three-man battle and it looks that way again with Doornbos, Power and myself this year,” Bourdais said, “It is tight and intense and will probably go this way until the end. A lot of things can happen, but that's what the championship fight looks to be shaping up as. The McDonald's team will keep on plugging away and doing our job and hopefully we'll manage to get it done.
“Our strength has been to try to keep the same intensity throughout the whole race season and not being particularly better at one event than the other, just always being there. Obviously, we've had our share of DNFs this season which isn't ideal – and we can't really afford any more. We'll see what happens and hopefully we'll have a better second half of the season.”
Doornbos is proving to be the most consistent runner this season, belying his rookie status. The Minardi Team USA pilot has five podiums in seven races, but had to settle for sixth in Toronto after the contact with Bourdais damaged his front wing.
