2007_Champ_Car_World_Series_Season

2007 Champ Car season

2007 Champ Car season

Sports season

The 2007 Champ Car World Series season was the fourth and final season of the Champ Car World Series. It began on April 8, 2007 and ended on November 11 after 14 races. Unbeknownst at the time, this would end up being the final contested season of Champ Car, as the following February, the series unified with the Indy Racing League (IRL), marking the end of the Champ Car World Series for good.

Quick Facts Season, Races ...

For 2007 Champ Car underwent some major changes. The opening race of the season was switched from the Grand Prix of Long Beach to Las Vegas for the first running of the Vegas Grand Prix. The Long Beach Grand Prix was the second race of the season, followed by the Grand Prix of Houston. Also, the entire schedule was held on road and street courses, and the events were timed races instead of races for a set number of laps. The full 2007 schedule was announced on Wednesday, September 27, 2006.

Champ Car officials confirmed that Panoz would be the sole chassis supplier for Champ Car for the three years beginning in 2007. The Panoz DP01 was built by sister company Élan Motorsport Technologies and was powered by a turbo-charged Cosworth engine. The new formula was reported to significantly lower the costs of competing in the series, which was in turn expected to increase car counts for the 2007 Champ Car season. However, 2007 entries did not exceeded those of 2006. Ford announced it would no longer badge the Cosworth engines as Ford sold Cosworth to Kevin Kalkhoven. Mazda was then confirmed as the new pace car and courtesy vehicle supplier.

ESPN announced a new, multiyear agreement that marked the return of the Champ Car World Series to the network in 2007.[1]

On January 16, 2007, Champ Car announced their return to Europe, for the first time since 2003, with races scheduled for August 26, 2007 at the historic Zolder circuit in Belgium, and September 2, 2007 at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands.[2]

On January 23, 2007, Champ Car unveiled its new logo for the Champ Car World Series and the Atlantic Series. According to its website, it is a sleeker design with the new Panoz DP01 chassis on the right with an emphasis on a chicane-style layout, representing the street track racing that dominates Champ Car. There were no oval tracks on the calendar, with Milwaukee removed after the 2006 race.

The 2007 Champ Car World Series season also marked that last time an IndyCar Series Championship was secured before the final race of the season until Álex Palou's win in the 2023 IndyCar Series Season.[3]

Rule changes

The new rules of the 2007 season included the implementation of standing starts at venues where they could be safely implemented. Additionally, all events were timed events instead of running a set number of laps. As the time limit approaches, the drivers were notified that they were beginning the last lap. The leader would NOT be shown the white flag, which was instead employed in a similar manner to its use by the FIA. Teams were also allowed unlimited access to their tires during all qualifying sessions. The requirement for each team to use at least one set of the alternate Bridgestone Potenzas during the race would remain in place.

Starting this season drivers no longer received a bonus point for leading a lap of the race.

Drivers and teams

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2007 Champ Car World Series season. All teams used a Cosworth 2.65-litre turbocharged V8 engine, a Panoz DP01 chassis, and Bridgestone tires.

More information Team, No. ...

Mid-season changes

Schedule

The 2007 Champ Car season ended up having 14 races, down from the proposed 17 races.

More information Rnd, Date ...
  • The Grand Prix of Denver was cancelled by Champ Car on February 1.
  • The Chinese Champ Car Grand Prix, after having its original May 20 date postponed, was cancelled on April 2 after the FIA rejected Champ Car's replacement date.
  • The Grand Prix Arizona was cancelled on August 29.

Season summary

Race results

More information Rnd, Race Name ...

Final driver standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
More information Pos, Driver ...

Driver breakdown

More information Pos, Driver ...

Notes

  1. [1]
    Champ Car coming to ESPN beginning in 2007 – Racing – ESPN
  2. [2]
    "Champ Car > News Tuesday, January 16, 2007". Archived from the original on March 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  3. [3]
    Kelly, Paul. "PALOU CLINCHES CHAMPIONSHIP WITH DECISIVE PORTLAND VICTORY". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Servià keeps Forsythe drive". autosport.com. May 22, 2007. Archived from the original on May 25, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  5. [5]
    "Heylen at Conquest for rest of year". autosport.com. June 1, 2007. Archived from the original on June 3, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
  6. [6]
    "Pacific Coast Motorsports signs Mexican Superstar Mario Domínguez". champcarworldseries.com. September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2007.
  7. [7]
    "He's back!Nelson Philippe returns to Conquest Racing team". champcarworldseries.com. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
  8. [8]
    "Oriol Servià To Compete For PKV Racing At Lexmark Indy 300". champcarworldseries.com. October 16, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2007.[permanent dead link]
  9. [9]
    "Vegas Grand Prix opens 2007 Champ Car season". reviewjournal.com. August 1, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2006.
  10. [10]
    "Sponsor boost for Toronto, Houston". crash.net. March 13, 2007. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
  11. [11]
    "Mazda New Title Sponsor for Portland Champ Car Grand Prix". whowon.com. May 10, 2007. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
  12. [12]
    "Cleveland 2007 date announced". motorsport.com. August 24, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2006.
  13. [13]
    "Champ Car set to add Quebec pit stop". globeandmail.com. September 25, 2006. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2006.
  14. [14]
    "2007 Champ Car Schedule Coming – China, Europe to be Added?". paddocktalk.com. September 17, 2006. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
  15. [15]
    "Champ Car in 2007 naar Assen?". telesport.nl. August 26, 2006. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2006.
  16. [16]
    "Champ Car coming back to Europe". grandprix.com. September 25, 2006. Archived from the original on July 7, 2007. Retrieved September 26, 2006.
  17. [17]
    "Champ Car adds 2 European races". indystar.com. January 15, 2007. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2007.

References

See also
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