Alex Tagliani brought the 'new' RSports operation its top five finish in the Champ Car World series with fourth place at the inaugural Vegas Grand Prix, but admitted that he thought the result could have been better still.
The #8 LXN2 crew made changes to its Panoz chassis overnight which they thought would help Tagliani in the race, but Tagliani asked to revert to the original settings after the morning warm-up - despite finishing second quickest overall. The team duly went back on the changes, but made other small adjustments before the race, which allowed the Vegas-domiciled Canadian to make a strong showing on streets and gave the local residents something to cheer about.
He took the lead on lap 28, prompting the team to take a gamble with its race strategy, but, with yellows not falling Tagliani's way, the move did not pay off for. However, there was some payback, as Tagliani still took the chequered flag in the fourth spot to open his account with a healthy dose of points.
“I am very happy with our overall results, as the guys did a fantastic job for me all weekend," he said, "We had little issues throughout the race, but we were able to finish in one piece.
"We came in early for our first pit-stop, but that strategy ended up blocking us for a better finish as we had to stop three times, while others only made two stops. We definitely had a P2 car, and we could have beaten [Paul] Tracy on strategy and Robert Doornbos on speed, but we will take a fourth place finish. It is a great way to start the season.”
RSports co-owner Paul Gentilozzi, who had initially re-signed Tagliani for his Rocketsports operation, was equally pleased with the effort, despite admitting that, with hindsight, the early pit call had not paid off.
“We wish we could go back and change our strategy, but it is what it is," he sighed, "We made a bet – no better place to do it than Vegas and it just didn't pay out for us. We will take P4, with no complaints.
![Alex Tagliani - RSports Panoz-Cosworth DP01 [pic courtesy Champ Car World Series]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/307393.jpg)
