Montreal Results

TAGLIANI HOLDS OFF RICE FOR WIRE-TO-WIRE HOMETOWN VICTORY IN MONTREAL

MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada - Local driver Alexandre Tagliani led wire-to-wire Saturday and narrowly held off Buddy Rice on the final lap to win the KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship at the Canadian Grand Prix. Tagliani, of Lachenaie, Que., led all 27 laps but was nearly passed by Rice, of Phoenix, Ariz., on the last lap. Tagliani, who also won the season opener at Long Beach, beat Rice by .41 second. Anthony Lazzaro, of Acworth, Ga., finished third and continues to lead the championship with 85 points. Tagliani earned 22 points with his clean-sweep, earning the point for pole and the point for leading most laps and now trails Rice by just one point, 58-57, in second place in the championship. Round six of the 12-race KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship will continue July 11 at Road America.

MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada - Results Saturday of the 27-lap, 74.115-mile KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship race at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out. 1. (1), Alexandre Tagliani, Lachenaie, Que., Canada, Swift 008.a, 27. 2. (6), Buddy Rice, Phoenix, Ariz., Swift 008.a, 27. 3. (2), Anthony Lazzaro, Acworth, Ga., Swift 008.a, 27. 4. (5), Kenny Wilden, Burlington Ont., Canada, Swift 008.a, 27. 5. (14), Lee Bentham, Newmarket, Ont., Canada, Swift 008.a, 27. 6. (11), Alex Gurney, Newport Beach, Calif., Swift 008.a, 27. 7. (9), David Rutledge, W. Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Swift 008.a, 27. 8. (7), David Besnard, Sydney, Australia, Swift 008.a, 27. 9. (12), Mike Conte, Seattle, Wash., Swift 008.a, 27. 10. (16), Jean-Francois Veilleux, Boucherville, Que., Canada, Swift 008.a, 27. 11. (29), Masaoki Nagashima, Tokyo, Japan, Swift 008.a, 27. 12. (17), Sam Hornish_Jr, Defiance, Ohio, Swift 008.a, 27. 13. (13), Joe Sposato, Arcadia, Calif., Ralt RT-41, 26. 14. (20), Sergei Szortkya, Sinking Spring, Pa., Swift 008.a, 26. 15. (4), Andrew Bordin, Woodbridge, Ont., Canada, Swift 008.a, 26. 16. (21), John Brooks, Tucson, Ariz., Swift 008.a, 26. 17. (23), Eric Jensen, New Castle, Ont., Canada, Swift 008.a, 26. 18. (15), Cam Binder, Calgary, Alta., Canada, Swift 008.a, 26. 19. (30), Brian Westerlund, Surrey, B.C., Canada, Ralt RT-41, 25. 20. (27), Tom Wieringa, Oakbrook, Ill., Swift 008.a, 25. 21. (24), David Cutler, Medina, Wash., Swift 008.a, 25. 22. (3), William Langhorne, Washington, D.C., Swift 008.a, 24, mechanical. 23. (18), Bob Perona, Denver, Colo., Swift 008.a, 24. 24. (22), Steve Forrer, Mequon, Wis., Ralt RT-40, 22, puncture. 25. (25), Bob Siska, San Francisco, Calif., Ralt RT-40, 19, contact. 26. (8), Nicolas Rondet, San Diego, Calif., Swift 008.a, 15, puncture. 27. (26), Imran Husain, India, Swift 008.a, 12, gearbox. 28. (19), Christophe Beauvais, Montreal, Que., Canada, Swift 008.a, 9, gearbox. 29. (10), Elton Julian, Los Angeles, Calif., Swift 008.a, 3, gearbox. 30. (28), Joe Asturi, Solon, Ohio, Ralt RT-41, 1, electrical.

Race Statistics: Margin of victory: .410 sec. Winner's speed: 100.465 mph. Time of race: 44:15.779. Lap leaders: Tagliani, 1-27. Fastest race lap: Rice, 1:36.704 (102.188 mph). Cautions: none. Point leaders (after 5 of 12 races): Lazzaro, 85; Rice, 58; Tagliani, 57; Bentham, 49; Wilden, 49; Rutledge, 37; Rondet, 28; Veilleux, 26; Hornish, Jr., 23; Bordin, 20; Conte, 20. Next race: July 11, Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.