CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES: GERMAN 500

May 11, 2003

Sebastien Bourdais

Mario Dominguez

Michel Jourdain, Jr.

MICHEL JOURDAIN, JR.: It was a tough day. There at the beginning my car was terrible on the traffic, so I lost some positions, went to I think like six or seven, then I made back to like fifth. And the first pit stop, we had some kind of a problem, we took very long, and then when we came out, we just came out in the middle of the two Walker cars and hit Rodolfo and they gave me a penalty. So I went like to on the second pit stop to like 10th or 12th, and then I made back to fifth. I mean, after that, I mean, the car was pretty good. There on the last yellow, I mean, we were able to catch them back, the lead group. We passed very pretty much a lot of guys. I was running third, second there with Sebastien and Mario. And there, I mean, I just didn't have anything for them, you know. I think they were just -- just have to (inaudible). When I was in a draft, I was left by myself many times, catching them, when I was doing the fastest lap. When I was in the lead, they would pass me quite easy. I mean, coming into this race, I thought this was going to be really close. I was, I mean, quite happy with a lot of guys, they were racing quite fair, but a lot of guys were racing very dangerous. I mean, I think many guys in the series haven't hit the wall hard enough to know how it hurts, and many guys haven't probably lost friends in racing. And I don't know what a lot of guys were thinking, you know. So, I mean, I'm really happy everybody's okay, and we make some points, gain some on Paul. We're 10 points behind him. I mean, it's good. I'm very happy, three podiums in five races. Hopefully we can keep doing the same the whole season.

MICHEL JOURDAIN, JR.: I mean, from what the team told me, we guys have nothing to worry about, you know. I mean, the rule book wasn't very clear. About the air filter, the rule book says you cannot touch the air filter and where it mounts, and the scoop for the turbo. That's the only thing it talks about. There's this other piece in there that doesn't exist in the rule book. And it's a Lola piece. Lola is different from Reynard. Some other cars have it different. We've got it for some races. They checked in it Brands Hatch. They thought it was okay, and then it's not. So then it was essentially the same piece. So the team told me not to worry. Obviously, it went to the judge and the judge, by the rule book, it was very simple. So I have probably nothing to worry about. I mean, I sure we would have qualified for the third, too. We had a very fast car. We did the fastest lap of the race, so I guess there was nothing. I mean, we showed it just wasn't helping us.

MARIO DOMINGUEZ: I'm very happy. We finished second today, it was great. I'm just very pleased, especially with the whole Herdez Competition team. I think they've been doing a great job all year. Today they saved me because my pit stops weren't the best. I didn't come in very well, but they still managed to adjust and kept me out of the pits very fast. They were my guardian angels today definitely, the Herdez team was fantastic. I got to give them a lot of credit. My car, I think it was one of the best out there, if not the best. It was a lot of fun racing with Sebastien wheel to wheel, very clean but very aggressive. It was a lot of fun. I think he'll tell you it was one of the funniest races he's ever had, because it was fun for me, too. I'm just very disappointed with the people with CART and the officials because I got a penalty, and they say that I got a penalty for blocking. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't do anything wrong. Sebastien, when I was behind him, he was doing exactly the same thing I was doing, which is okay with me. But, you know, why should I get a penalty for something? I didn't do anything wrong. So, you know, somebody's got to talk to CART officials and ask them what's going on and why they're making those kinds of calls. Other than that, I'm very happy. Congratulations to Sebastien. More than that, thank you to all the German fans. They were the best. They're so excited. They love racing, with their horns. Thanks to them. They made this race happen. Beautiful racetrack. So just very happy to be in Germany.

MARIO DOMINGUEZ: Yes, definitely. We have a chance at the podium every single weekend we started racing this year. The team is a completely different team. Last year I was having a lot of problems with the car. We didn't have a very good setup. It was just a struggle to keep it on the track. This year I can fight for wins, so it's a very different deal. The team has made a lot of development on the car, got new engineering, started doing things that they didn't used to do. So I'm a lot more confident with what they're doing. So that's building my confidence and their confidence. So we're just getting better and better every time.

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Yeah, it was a lot of fun, for sure. It was a lot of stress, too. But I think we did such a great race with Mario. We just had a very little struggle when he didn't really see me. I was just one wheel, and I went across the grass. I think that's why they penalized him. It was very fair, but so tight. I mean, it was just really difficult to keep out of troubles. So I just have to say "all right" and thanks from my team because they gave me a perfect car. My Lilly car #2 was just exceptional today. I mean, we race fast all through the weekend, and it's the second win in a row, so what can I expect more?

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: I don't know. I don't think I have any secrets. I think in that way I had everything to learn because I never raced on an oval, so it was just very tough. I was leading and I was in the position to try to challenge for the lead. We arrived on traffic. And this race is tough (inaudible), so that was really tough. I had a big moment with Mario, and I was just trying outside step by step, checking the feeling with the car, and building up my confidence. That was just the secret of the day. Just don't go too quickly too early and just try to build your confidence step by step if you don't want to make any mistakes. And we adjust the car a bit after the first stop, and after it was just perfect.

SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS: Yeah, it was just I learned a lot behind Mario. I felt I was able to do something, but basically my top speed was just a very little, not big enough to overtake when I was side by side with him. Even with the jump I was able to get from the tow, it was not enough to get the position. So I had no real proper opportunity to overtake him, unless we get traffic and I manage it better. I think that's what I did in the last stint. That was just superb. And after when I was leading actually, as you said, when you had the inside line, that was just to try to put him a little in dusty air to build a bit of understeer on his car, not to allow us to be side by side with me. So that was a very (thin?) game. And I think I did pretty well on that.

MARIO DOMINGUEZ: It was a great racing. Like I say, it was a lot of fun. I just, you know, I think I definitely got penalized wrongly. I think CART is wrong because I was doing the right moves. I think Sebastien was, too. But, you know, why do I have to have penalty? It's just crazy. Somebody has to talk to the officials and tell them what's wrong. I want to see the video. But it was very, very straight racing. We were both very clean and very aggressive. So it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed it.

MARIO DOMINGUEZ: Well, I think my mistake was to show Sebastien the way at the beginning, because he learned very well, very quickly (laughter). So then he was covering the inside very well, because that's pretty much the only way you can get by somebody. Because on the outside, you get stuck over there with the air. You take the shorter way around the track on the inside, it's hard to pass. My mistake was to show him which way to go early in the race, and of course he's a quick learner. We've all seen that this year. He learns fast.