Katherine Legge's 2007 Champ Car campaign came to a disappointing conclusion when the #11 Dale Coyne Racing entry quit under just as a top ten finish beckoned at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Despite being frustrated by a spin in second qualifying, which restricted her to 16th on the grid after she had improved on a handling-afflicted first session, Legge showed glimpses of race potential after posting the third-fastest lap in Sunday morning's warm-up, as the only other runner under 1min 27secs behind front row starters
Sebastien Bourdais and Will Power.
However, the performance was not as apparent once the race started, leaving the Briton battling with familiar opponents Alex Figge, Mario Dominguez and the cars of Oriol Servia, Alex Tagliani and Nelson Philippe that had stalled at the start. While Servia quickly cleared off, going on to take a hard-earned podium, Legge remained in contention for a top ten finish, leaving Tagliani a lap adrift going into the closing stages.
However, just as the field was preparing to go green after a late-race caution period, the distinctive purple-and-silver #11 coasted to a halt coming out of the famed Peraltada turn and, despite repeated attempts to restart, left Legge a frustrated spectator for the closing stages when, instead of being able to make up places she dropped to 15th in the final result.
“I was disappointed to end the season like we did," she sighed, having racked up her eighth DNF in 14 races, "We would have liked to have finished in the top ten, but we had a mechanical failure with the car. I tried my best to get it restarted, but it just wouldn't co-operate for me. I'm really sorry because the team did another outstanding job of getting the right set-up on the car [for the race]. All we can do is look at all the positives and prepare for next season.”
