2006 Grand Prix of Houston
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Houston, Texas, United States
1.690 mi / 2.720 km
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 2 of 14 in the 2006 Champ Car season | |
 Reliant Park track layout | |
| Date | May 13, 2006 |
| Official name | Grand Prix of Houston |
| Location | Reliant Park Street Course Houston, Texas, United States |
| Course | Temporary street circuit 1.690 mi / 2.720 km |
| Distance | 96 laps 162.240 mi / 261.099 km |
| Weather | Partly cloudy with temperatures hovering around 72.3 °F (22.4 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)[1] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver |  Mario Domínguez (Forsythe Championship Racing) |
| Time | 58.026 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver |  Sébastien Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing) |
| Time | 1:00.176 (on lap 25 of 96) |
| Podium | |
| First | Sébastien Bourdais (Newman/Haas Racing) |
| Second |  Paul Tracy (Forsythe Championship Racing) |
| Third | Mario Domínguez (Forsythe Championship Racing) |
The 2006 Grand Prix of Houston was the second round of the 2006 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season, held on May 13, 2006, on the streets around Reliant Park in Houston, Texas. It was the first event in Houston since a race on a downtown circuit in 2001.[2]
On Friday, a temporary chicane was added between the first two turns and the race was shortened from 115 to 100 laps.[2] Mario Domínguez won the pole, his first and only of his career.[3] Sébastien Bourdais started fifth but took the lead late in the race and held off Paul Tracy to win his second consecutive race of the season, the first defending champion to do so since Rick Mears in 1982.[2][4] Tracy was frustrated with Champ Car officials after only warning Bourdais of blocking claiming that "when you're Sebastien Bourdais you can do what you want." Following the race, Alex Tagliani was taken to a local hospital after experiencing back pain from the bumpy circuit.[4]
| Pos | No. | Name | Team | Qual 1 | Qual 2 | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Mario Domínguez |
Forsythe Racing | 1:00.134 | 58.026 | 58.026 |
| 2 | 2 |  Bruno Junqueira |
Newman/Haas Racing | 59.617 | 58.918 | 58.918 |
| 3 | 3 | Paul Tracy |
Forsythe Racing | 1:00.032 | 58.426 | 58.426 |
| 4 | 10 |  A. J. Allmendinger |
RuSPORT | 1:00.047 | 58.572 | 58.572 |
| 5 | 1 | Sébastien Bourdais |
Newman/Haas Racing | —* | 58.627 | 58.627 |
| 6 | 15 | Alex Tagliani |
Team Australia | 1:00.047 | 58.765 | 58.765 |
| 7 | 9 |  Justin Wilson |
RuSPORT | 1:00.149 | 58.829 | 58.829 |
| 8 | 6 |  Oriol Servià |
PKV Racing | 1:00.268 | 59.062 | 59.062 |
| 9 | 4 | Nelson Philippe |
CTE Racing-HVM | 1:01.260 | 59.232 | 59.232 |
| 10 | 5 |  Will Power |
Team Australia | 1:00.690 | 59.302 | 59.302 |
| 11 | 34 |  Charles Zwolsman Jr. |
Mi-Jack Conquest Racing | 1:01.903 | 59.385 | 59.385 |
| 12 | 14 | Dan Clarke |
CTE Racing-HVM | — | 59.550 | 59.550 |
| 13 | 27 | Andrew Ranger |
Mi-Jack Conquest Racing | 1:03.165 | 59.740 | 59.740 |
| 14 | 19 | Cristiano da Matta |
Dale Coyne Racing | 1:01.612 | 1:00.195 | 1:00.195 |
| 15 | 20 | Katherine Legge |
PKV Racing | 1:01.831 | 1:00.265 | 1:00.265 |
| 16 | 8 | Nicky Pastorelli |
Rocketsports Racing | 1:04.091 | 1:00.269 | 1:00.269 |
| 17 | 11 |  Jan Heylen |
Dale Coyne Racing | — | 1:00.839 | 1:00.839 |
| References:[5][6] | ||||||
* The first round qualifying time for Sébastien Bourdais was disallowed after his car failed technical inspection.[5]
