ChampCar

27th October 2006

Britain's’S top ChampCar star Justin Wilson was powerless to stop France’s Sebastien Bourdais winning a third straight title in the US series at Sur­fers’ Paradise in Australia.

The Brit broke his wrist in a practice crash and withdrew from the event before qualifying. He said: “I’m very disappointed because I was looking forward to this race. It seems hard to believe that such a small incident can put me out for the weekend.”

It meant only US star AJ Allmend­inger could stop Bourdais, but he had a nightmare race, leaving his pit with his fuel hose still attached. Bourdais – who drives for the Newman/Haas team – angered the partisan locals by taking out hometown hero and pole sitter Will Power with a rash overtaking move. He eventually finished eighth to clinch the title with one race remaining. The ex-Formula 3000 title holder is the first driver since 1948 to claim three consecutive ChampCar crowns. Fellow Frenchman Nelson Philippe took a maiden victory to make it an amazing 16 winners in 16 ChampCar races at Surfers’ Paradise. At 20 years old, CTE-HVM Racing star Philippe is the series’ youngest-ever race winner.