AP News, June 13th, 2007
Justin Wilson admits he's going to have to pay a bit more attention now that Champ Car has adopted the standing start. "I saw the lights go out and I thought, 'I'm meant to do something now,'" he joked after the inaugural race to use the start. "I have to work on my reactions."
Champ Car has traditionally used rolling starts, where the cars are already moving and gaining speed when the green flag is thrown.
But Sunday at Portland, the series introduced standing starts _ familiar to Formula One fans _ where the drivers start from a dead stop on a grid. When the last of a bank of lights above the track goes out, the drivers take off.
"Once all the red lights go out, you drop your clutch and go, and that's the start," said Wilson, who had the pole for the race. "It's quite a buildup in tension because you have a few moments where it's very quiet and nothing's happening and then all of the sudden everyone's on full throttle and they drop their clutch."
Champ Car had wanted to use standing starts at the beginning of the season, but it was delayed for further testing until the Grand Prix of Portland, the fourth race of the season.
The move toward standing starts got a mixed reaction from drivers. Points leader and three-time defending series champion Sebastien Bourdais was especially vocal with concerns that drivers could stall at the start, setting up rear-end accidents all over the grid.
"It's a fine line between the perfect start and a total disaster," he said.
Many drivers already had experience with the procedure. The Champ Car Atlantic series introduced standing starts last season, so rookie Graham Rahal knew what he was doing, for the most part.
"It's much more difficult to do the starts in Champ Car because there's so much more power," Rahal said. "It's hard to put the power down on these cars as it is. In third gear coming out of a corner it can be hard to do. So doing it from a stop is a tough thing, especially when it is wet."
Fellow rookie Robert Doornbos brought in perspective from two seasons with Formula One.
"In Formula One the computers control the standing start, so the driver has no excuse if he messes up the start," explains Doornbos. "Here it is all driver. If you mess up, you stall and have a big problem. I did three or four and it went quite well. It is just finding a strategy that works for you."
Despite the concerns, the start at Portland International Raceway went smoothly _ even though heavy rains earlier in the race weekend briefly had Champ Car considering whether to go back to the rolling start.
"I'm just happy my dark visions didn't happen and nobody stalled, which is good," said Bourdais, who won at Portland. "It doesn't mean it's never going to happen. It means I was a little more pessimistic than the truth. Definitely put on a good show."
Cleveland will be the next chance for fans to see the standing start, which Champ Car is expected to use the remainder of the season.
But many drivers say they'd like the series to keep rolling starts in the mix, too.
"I'm not sure which I prefer. I like doing them both," Wilson said. "I'd like to see a mixture of both throughout the season. I think that's the best way. To master both skills is the best thing for the drivers."
