Kanaan pointed to strategic errors for his fall from first to third by the chequered flag, but maintained his record of never finishing outside the top three in any of the four races to have been staged on the streets of St Petersburg.
“Obviously, things did not work out for us today - when you take risks, some days it works out for you, some days it doesn’t," he sighed, "We’re not very happy with our calls today, but I support the team 100 per cent because we win together and we lose together. Finishing third is not bad, but I think there is a curse on me here at St Pete. I’ve finished on the podium every time I’ve been here, but not in the right spot.”
HVM Racing’s Ernesto Viso and Conquest Racing’s Enrique Bernoldi, both rookies with no IndyCar or Champ Car experience before last weekend's Homestead race, also gave the converts confidence by rounding out the top-five.
“We’re very happy," Viso enthused, "We know that we have the potential to be up there at the road courses, so now we just have to work harder on the ovals. I think the rain affected everybody. It was just about trying to keep the car in one piece and be as smooth as possible. There are many races left, and now we know that we can be at the top. We were almost as quick as the rest - we need to work a little bit more on the road courses and we will be on the podium soon.”
Bernoldi, meanwhile, admitted that the conditions had played into his hands and was grateful for a chance to make up for his Homestead result.
![Graham Rahal celebrates victory in St Petersburg [pic credit: IRL/Haines]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/426258.jpg)
