Bourdais

Date published: 10/19/2007

BY DENNIS PASSA

AP Sports Writer

SURFERS PARADISE, Australia--Justin Wilson feigned genuine concern for Champ Car rival Sebastien Bourdais when told the French driver had walked away from a potentially nasty rally car accident.

But then Wilson's not-so-subtle British sense of humor took over.

"Let's just hope we can get another mistake out of him on the weekend," Wilson said. grinning.

Bourdais, bound for Formula One next year, needs only a 12th-place finish Sunday in the Lexmark Indy 300--the second-last race of the season--to win his fourth consecutive Champ Car series title. Wilson is second in the standings, 68 points behind.

Bourdais nearly put an end to his chances here when he crashed a rally car Tuesday, flipping the Subaru on its roof during a test drive at a nearby race center. The 28-year-old Frenchman, headed for the Toro Rosso Formula One team next season, was helped out of the car and was unhurt, as was an instructor driver in the passenger seat.

"I'm fine," Bourdais said moments after the crash.

"The car just dug in and then it rolled over, in slow motion. There is nothing wrong with me it was just a case of 'oops.'"

But Bourdais has taken a ribbing from other drivers as they fine-tune their cars--crated and shipped across the Pacific in two jumbo jet freighters--in time for today's first qualifying session.

Sunday's race will be on a 12-turn temporary street circuit that winds its way around high-rise resort hotels and includes a straightaway parallel to the ocean beach. Yesterday, migrating humpback whales swam offshore, seemingly not bothered by the noisy engines of cars in support races on the track.

Bourdais was involved in a race incident with hometown favorite Will Power in last year's event. Power, born in Toowoomba, about a two-hour drive west of Surfers Paradise, started from pole position but his hopes of victory on home soil ended on the 29th lap after a tangle with Bourdais.

"Sometimes you make mistakes and I certainly made one last year. It's too bad it happened the way it did," Bourdais said yesterday.

Another Frenchman, Nelson Philippe, went on to claim his first Champ Car victory.

LEXMARK INDY 300 WHEN: Tomorrow, 11:30 p.m. WHERE: Surfers Paradise, Australia TV: ESPN Classic

Date published: 10/19/2007