The simmering feud appeared to have boiled over next time out in Toronto, when Doornbos punted the McDonalds car into the tyres, but never really caught light after that, as Bourdais proved that he was still the master.
He went into the final round of the inaugural Canadian Triple Crown competition, at Edmonton, behind Doornbos, with the top three split by just four points, but then made a mockery of the tight first half by romping away in the closing stages, adding a further five victories to his tally – which was already more than anyone else would manage over the 14 rounds – to clinch the crown ‘down under' on the Gold Coast.
After the disappointment of Toronto, where he registered ninth place from his spot in the tyre wall, Bourdais bounced back to claim top spot in Edmonton, Road America, Zolder – maintaining his reputation for winning first time out on new circuits – Surfers and Mexico City to eventually run out champion by 83 points, and ending his Champ Car career as he will be remembered, as a winner.
Bourdais' escape was aided by a results rollercoaster for both his main challengers, neither of whom would end the e year as runner-up overall. Doornbos took another win, again in thrilling fashion, as he overcame the loss of his front wing on the opening lap in San Jose to tear through the field and deny fellow rookie Neel Jani a first win. After that, however, neither he nor Power would better fourth until the Australian claimed second in the season finale.
That allowed Justin Wilson to steal second place in the points table, despite the Briton having to wait until the new Assen event to claim his first – and only – win of the year.
Starting the year with the newly-owned RuSport operation, following Dan Pettit's buy-out of founder Carl Russo, and then having to suffer the worst of a ‘technical merger' with Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports team, Wilson made a stuttering start to the campaign, before a promising mid-season run of results – including seconds at both Portland, where he led early on, and Edmonton – lifted him into contention.
