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Associated Press 18y

Malcolm in the middle of change to race driver

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Katherine Legge's first race in a Champ Car turned out to be a really mixed bag.

The only woman in the series, moving up from the developmental Atlantic series, where she won three races last year, spun out and killed her engine in Sunday's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Yet she still managed to finish on the lead lap and in eighth place in her Champ Car debut.

"We achieved what we needed to achieve," the 25-year-old Englishwoman said. "We finished the race and finished well but I'm a racer and you always want to do better.

"I made some mistakes but, overall, I have to be pleased."

Her performance was the best finish by a woman in the history of the series that began as CART in 1978. Janet Guthrie finished ninth in 1978 in the Indianapolis 500, when that race was still a part of the CART series.

"I think, for me, the record is great but the less of a female novelty that this thing becomes, the better," Legge said. "I'm just trying to be a race car driver and do what these guys do."

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GOOD START: Alex Tagliani, whose deal to return to Team Australia wasn't finalized until two weeks ago, had a solid third-place finish Sunday.

The Canadian driver started seventh, but got a break on the first turn of the first lap when he got through unscathed when several cars ahead of him crashed, taking out contenders Paul Tracy, A.J. Allmendinger, Bruno Junqueira and Oriol Servia.

"It was pretty bad," Tagliani said of the crash. "We were very lucky that we came out clean."

The race gave Tagliani a great start on the season.

"I think there's a little more depth in our team," he said. "We have two new engineers and here's definitely more experience on board. I think we'll get more consistent in our results this year because of that."

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WHAT, ME WORRY?: Lynne Wilson, mother of Justin Wilson, Sunday's runner-up, doesn't attend too many of her son's races, and for good reason.

She is just too nervous.

Sunday, Mrs. Wilson spent the entire 2-hour race walking around the paddock, listening to the cars race around the nearby track, refusing to look at the TV screens scattered around the grounds and only occasionally checking in with Wilson's girlfriend to see how her son was doing.

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SPEED RACER: Scott Speed, the first American to race in Formula One since Michael Andretti in 1993, was a visitor Sunday at the Long Beach track.

Speed, driving for the Red Bull team, scored a point in his third F1 race, in Australia, but had it taken away for a caution flag violation. But losing that important point has not gotten Speed down.

"If we have a chance to get points, it's going to be in the early part of the season before some of these teams have more of a chance to develop their engines more," Speed said.

The driver from Northern California said he loves to watch the Champ Cars race but his ultimate goal has always been Formula One.

"It's a good championship and certainly Champ Cars is a good option for an American driver," he said. "Maybe, some day, after my career in Formula One is over, I'll wind up racing in Champ Car, too."

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NEW PROMOTER: Alan Labrosse, who previously promoted the Champ Car race in Montreal in 2004 before it went back to original promoter Normand Legault last year, is back in charge of the race on Notre Dame Island, just across the St. Lawrence River from downtown Montreal.

Last summer, it appeared the Quebec race was in trouble, with Legault removing nearly half the grandstand seats, saying tickets were not selling. Labrosse isn't buying that explanation.

"There's a new boss there now and we're going to sell a lot of tickets," he said, adding that that most, if not all, the seats will be back for the Aug. 27 race.

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SPARK PLUGS: Rookie Jan Heylen, from Belgium, led four laps and finished seventh in his Champ Car debut. ... Race winner Sebastien Bourdais average 87.268 mph in the race slowed by five full-course caution flags for a total of 18 laps. ... The Newman/Haas Racing team has won 11 season-opening races since it began competition in 1983.

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