The Champ Car World Series' European Tour rolls on across the low countries this week, swapping the forests of Zolder for the open plains of Assen as it moves from Belgium to Holland.
The teams did not get much time to recuperate last Sunday as, just hours after the race was finished, everything was packed up and ready for transportation across the border, in time for round twelve this weekend. After a day of sightseeing and travelling, the teams are back at work getting their cars prepped for the second of two European races, the Bavaria Beer Champ Car Grand Prix of Holland presented by Audi, Hertz, Gant, Pioneer and Jumbo, the final leg on the Phanos Champ Car European Team Cup.
Man of the hour at the TT Circuit Assen - a 2.83-mile road course normally associated with major motorcycle events - will be local driver Robert Doornbos. After a disappointing race in Zolder last weekend, the Minardi Team USA driver would like nothing more than to score a victory on home turf in front of the fanatical Dutch fans, especially as it would help to close the gap to Sebastien Bourdais in the championship standings. The Dutchman has logged more laps than any other driver in the 2007 World Series, and is the only driver to have been running at the end of every event, covering 883 of 893 possible laps.
“I'm very glad to be racing in Holland this weekend - I've been very busy doing a lot of PR activities for weeks now and I'm ready to get the race weekend under way," Doornbos admitted, "Last weekend wasn't such a great result, but the whole team is feeling positive, and it's a big motivator to be in front of my home crowd. There were a lot of Dutch fans in Zolder, but I think this race will be a bit crazier!"
Doornbos being in the spotlight may take a little of the pressure off Bourdais, who has scored victories in the last two races to move to within touching distance of a fourth Vanderbilt Cup. The three-time champion is the only driver to have scored consecutive wins this season, and will be looking to tie his season record of three in a row and remain undefeated in Europe as he tries to extend a series lead that currently stands at 53 points.
The Frenchman has shown that he is a master of learning new courses, having won six of the last nine inaugural events on the schedule, starting at Brands Hatch in 2003 and including Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Edmonton, San Jose and Houston before adding Zolder last weekend. The only inaugural events that he has missed out on are the races in St Petersburg, Las Vegas' street circuit and Mont-Tremblant.
Bourdais will also be trying, along with rookie Newman/Haas/Lanigan team-mate Graham Rahal, to clinch the inaugural Phanos European Team Cup. The pair shared the podium at Zolder, taking a 1-3 result to help the team gain a 9.5-point advantage over second-placed duo Will Power and Simon Pagenaud, of Team Australia.
The Aussie Vineyards drivers came out on top in the Canadian Triple Crown team competition earlier in the season and would like to add to that crown by claiming the European Cup. Power has scored seven top four finishes since the start of the season, including two wins, while Pagenaud has five top five finishes, but is still searching for his first podium finish.
The battle for the team competition may be looking like a fight between Team Australia and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, but is, in reality, still anybody's game. Third to fifth places are only separated by 3.5 points, with the Daly Coyne Racing pairing of Bruno Junqueira and Katherine Legge sitting comfortably in the top five. Junqueira helped his team with a second place finish in Zolder last Sunday, the best result in the 24-year history of Dale Coyne Racing.
