When Tagliani hit the wall in turn three and Servia came close to joining him in the tyres before stalling, Pacific Coast Motorsport's decision to fit wets on Dalziel's car looked like a stroke of genius, especially as the call came just before the pit-lane closed again for the safety car period required to remove the stricken machines. By the time that everyone had cottoned on to the fact that wets were now
de rigeur, Dalziel and PCM had made up enough of the deficit to cycle to the front of the pack.
When, three laps later, racing resumed, only one car remained on slicks, Clarke and Minardi Team USA trying PCM's trick in reverse. With the squall proving to be fleeting, the decision also appeared cute - until Clarke again ran out of patience and put the #4 machine into the wall.
It mattered little, for the rain began again in earnest less than a lap later, leaving Dalziel to defend from Power, who had passed Jani at almost the same time that Clarke was sliding off. The Swiss ace looked to retake the position on the ensuing restart, but was rebuffed and immediately fell under the gaze of Bourdais. Having complained vehemently about Doornbos' tactics after Mont-Tremblant, the Frenchman would no doubt have had a few things to say about Jani's unorthodox lines, as the PKV driver persisted in running the wrong side of the line painted to keep blocking to a minimum into turn three.
Frustrated in his attempts to pass, Bourdais then began to feel pressure from behind as Newman/Haas/Lanigan team-mate Rahal homed in, his alternate strategy having vaulted him up the order. The American clearly felt at home in the tricky conditions, but later admitted to be a little over-confident after clipping the rear of Bourdais and then catching the tyre bale on the outside of three with his left front wheel. Again, the McDonalds car came off unhurt, but Rahal was left to make another trip to the pits for repairs.
