“I do a lot of training, with the primary focus on weight lifting, cycling, running and in-line skating,” he revealed, “Of course, I eat healthy and take care of my body, both physically and mentally so that I am in prime form when I climb into the racecar.”
As a member at the local 24-Hour Fitness gym in the Las Vegas area, he also takes his work-outs outside.
“The weather here in Vegas is very similar to the hottest places that we race at, so I take advantage of that and train outside as much as I possibly can so that I am ready for any kind of warm conditions," he said, "Plus I go biking in the mountains, where we reach altitude of 5000 feet, so it’s very good for the cardio.
The Champ Car World Series will make its return to the Las Vegas area this week for the first of 16 races in 2007. Although the series is familiar with the city from it previous competitions at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a temporary street course at Caesars Palace and another street course at Stardust International Raceway, this visit leaves many unknowns to the Champ Car teams and drivers as it will be the first race on the streets of downtown Las Vegas.
To get a feeling of the strength and endurance that Tagliani needs going into this event, here is an example of what he will be facing during the race on Sunday. During the duration of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Tagliani will have about 37 gear changes per lap. He will exceed 150mph four times during each lap. He will go from over 150 to about 60mph four times during a lap, doing so each time in about 3.2secs. That is a lot of work in two hours worth of time.
As a resident, this track is right up his alley - both literally and figuratively. The seven year resident decided to combine his physical and mental preparations by taking his training to the Las Vegas streets where the 2.440-mile temporary street circuit consisting of twelve turns lies. The track encompasses a route that circumnavigates
WorldMarketCenter, Fremont Street and the downtown casinos.
“I headed out over the weekend to continue my physical fitness training, while taking some time to learn the race track,” Tagliani admitted, “It was a unique experience, getting to learn first-hand the layout of the new circuit we will be competing on this weekend. It’s going to be a very demanding race track, both physically and mentally.
![Alex Tagliani gets an early look at the new Las Vegas street circuit during training [pic credit: RSports]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/306510.jpg)
