Bourdais Keeps On Winning

Sebastien Bourdais is still the only driver to win during this Champ Car season.

The 27-year-old Frenchman is three for three after overcoming a slow early pit stop Sunday to edge Justin Wilson by 3.065 seconds in Mexico’s Grand Prix of Monterrey.

Bourdais and Wilson went at each other all afternoon during a virtually crash-free race despite slippery conditions on the asphalt. The 2.104-mile Parque Fundidora road course curves around a rusty, long-closed steel mill in Mexico’s third-largest city.

“I think we really gave each other a run for our money,” Bourdais said. “Nobody could lay back or anything. It was running flat out the whole time.”

The heat was a factor during Sunday’s 76 laps, with temperatures at 97 degrees at the start. On the track, they climbed to 125 degrees. Wilson headed to the medical tent after the checkered flag, suffering from mild dehydration.

Californian A.J. Allmendinger, Wilson’s RuSport teammate, was third, 14.132 seconds off the lead. He was followed by Canadians Paul Tracy, 47.222 seconds behind Bourdais, and Alex Tagliani, whose time of 1:40.48.030 was nearly 58 seconds slower than the winner.

Bourdais, who won Champ Car races last week in Houston and at Long Beach on April 9, started first after posting the top time at Saturday’s qualifying session, becoming the first driver since Rick Mears between 1988 and 1991 to win four straight poles at the same event.

Bourdais’ Newman/Haas teammate and the 2005 Monterrey winner, Brazilian Bruno Junqueira, was black-flagged early for blocking Tracy and never recovered. He finished 10th.

Mario Dominguez, who came to Monterrey second behind Bourdais in the Champ Car points standings, was the only Mexican competing. He was sixth, 58.782 seconds off the lead.

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Brandon Bernstein improved to 10-1 in Top Fuel finals, beating Cory McClenathan with a quarter-mile run of 4.531 seconds at 329.58 mph in the Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals at Kirkersville, Ohio.

“I think we’re contenders. We certainly have the car and the capability to win the championship,” said Bernstein, third in the standings behind Melanie Troxel and Doug Kalitta.

In other divisions, Tony Pedregon won the Funny Car competition, Jim Yates topped the Pro Stock cars and Angelle Sampey won the Pro Stock Motorcycles. Pedregon beat Whit Bazemore for his second win in a row and 31st overall.

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Ben Spies tied an AMA Superbike record with his sixth straight victory, winning the second leg of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.

Canadian Miguel Duhamel won six in a row in 1995.

In a repeat of his victory Saturday, Spies led the entire 28-lap race on the 2.22-mile, 12-turn circuit, pulling away from his Suzuki teammate and defending champion Mat Mladin to win by 5.290 seconds.