Bourdais wins again

After qualifying on pole yesterday (Saturday), the Frenchman was in command throughout and took over the lead in the points standings from Newman/Haas team-mate Bruno Junqueira, who was eliminated in a first-corner collision with Mario Dominguez.

Dominguez was attempting an ambitious outside passing manoeuvre, but had made it alongside Junqueira when the Brazilian simply accelerated out of the corner on his normal trajectory - and into the path of the Herdez Competition Lola.

Through the opening stint Bourdais was closely shadowed by defending champion Paul Tracy and impressive rookie Justin Wilson. Having been involved in a controversial first lap skirmish at Cleveland a week ago, Tracy and Wilson renewed their acquaintance on the Toronto streets.

Wilson had leapfrogged Tracy during the first round of pit stops, and the Canadian was intent on redressing the balance on the lap 42 restart. He got a run on Wilson down the long back straight, but snagged Wilson's right-rear tyre as they turned into the Turn 3 hairpin and spun the Brit's Conquest Racing machine around.

Cue a two-lap delay for Wilson and a drive-through penalty for Tracy, who officials deemed guilty of causing "avoidable contact".

In a race punctuated by seven full-course yellows, Tracy was the perpetrator on another occasion, when he understeered into the path of Michel Jourdain Jnr while rejoining the track after a pit stop and deposited the RuSPORT entry in the tyre barrier. The Mexican climbed on top of his car and gesticulated furiously at Tracy, who incurred another drive-through penalty but escaped with only a minor kink in a suspension tie-rod.

Jimmy Vasser dodged the carnage in front of him to emerge in second place and record the best-ever result for PKV Racing, the second-year outfit part-owned by OWRS principal Kevin Kalkhoven.

Patrick Carpentier overcame severe tyre wear to claim the final podium spot. The French-Canadian completed the last lap with his front wing askew after contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay, who had survived various earlier scrapes but this time sustained a puncture and fell to eighth at the chequered flag.

Mario Haberfeld kept his nose clean to finish fourth for the Walker Racing team, which campaigns the ageing Reynard on a minimal budget.

Amazingly, Tracy salvaged fifth place after a typically mercurial performance that included a virtuoso demonstration of how to overtake on a street circuit, in which he passed seven cars in the space of three laps!

Sometime Minardi and Prost F1 driver Gaston Mazzacane came home an improbable sixth for Dale Coyne Racing, such was the attrition at the sharp end of the field.