Bourdais Hits Back at Tracy
Winner Sebastien Bourdais hit back at Paul Tracy in the post-race press conference at Las Vegas, after Tracy's Forsythe Racing team lodged a protest against Bourdais for his part in the collision that ended Tracy's race
Bourdais struck the rear of Tracy's car as the Canadian slowed for his final pit stop, sending his rival into the wall.
Despite Forsythe's anger, Champ Car's race director Tony Cotman judged that Tracy was more at fault than Bourdais because he had not made his intention to pit sufficiently clear. Drivers had been told to put two wheels below the white line on the back straight on their in-laps so that cars around them knew that they were about to slow and pit.
Bourdais highlighted Cotman's verdict when quizzed about the incident in the press conference.
"I'm pretty sick of all this controversy with (Tracy) because I think Tony Cotman made it pretty clear, he had a public statement at the end of the race saying Tracy was in the wrong," said Bourdais.
"He can say whatever he wants. I won't even debate it any more. It was clear. He didn't obey the rules.
"I mean, we're doing 200 miles an hour and I have absolutely nothing to win by bumping into the back of his car like that.
"I'm just completely astonished that we made it through because it should have been a big, big, big two-car wreck."
Bourdais also accused Tracy of blocking him unfairly prior to the incident.
"He nearly stuffed me in the wall coming off Turn Two, then he dragged me all the way to the left going to the white line," said Bourdais.
Tracy argued that Bourdais would have known of his intention to pit because Newman/Haas and Forsythe habitually monitor each other's radio transmissions. Bourdais denied this assertion.
"We don't know when he's going to come in," Bourdais insisted. "Even if they're scanning the radio, which I don't think was the case tonight, I had no idea."
Forsythe's protest against Bourdais was later thrown out by a panel of judges.
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