Grand Prix Gets Ready To Race Along Lakeshore
Posted July 6, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
What would a sporting event be without some good old-fashioned animosity?
Fans heading out to Sunday’s Molson Grand Prix in Toronto won’t have to worry about a lack of competitive fires burning bright. The long standing rivalry between Champ Car drivers Sebastian Bourdais and Paul Tracy should provide enough of a plot line should the roaring engines and hideous speeds fail to capture their imaginations.
Bourdais leads the drivers’ standings heading into Sunday’s race, while Tracy is in an unfamiliar position in 11 th.
Tracy has been ousted from all his three races this season after collisions, including the recent Cleveland Grand Prix where he got caught between Bourdais and his teammate Bruno Junqueira. His car flipped and landed on Bourdais’s.
Bourdais escaped without serious injury, but lost consciousness for a few seconds.
“It’s a typical incident where basically it really stinks,” Bourdais said of the bang up. “Both Bruno and I had no idea he was there. When you see two cars closing on you … maybe it’s time to back off a little bit. It’s just frustrating because this time it could have been dangerous.
“I didn’t hear if they took any actions to penalize or anything. For me, it’s frustrating because he’s untouchable.
“I’m just saying he can get away with things that others don’t.”
Tracy was quick to shoot back.
“It’s easy for Sebastian to point the finger at me,” Tracy said. “That’s what he always does.
“There’s a reason why the guy is not very popular with the fans. Because the guy has no compassion for anybody.”
In last year’s race Tracy lost his lead in the drivers’ standings to Bourdais, who went on to win his second straight overall title.
