HVM AND MINARDI DRIVERS COMPLETE
FINAL CHAMP CAR RACE AT LONG BEACH

Long Beach, CA (April 21, 2008) – The 34th Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is complete, and with it, the Champ Car World Series passes into the history books. HVM and Minardi drivers EJ Viso, Nelson Philippe and Roberto Moreno were all plagued by misfortune at various stages of the race. EJ finished 9th, Nelson 15th and Roberto did not complete the race, but was classified 17th at the checkered flag.

EJ started the race from 14th position and had a tough battle to improve the five places to his eventual finishing position of 9th. He was working on saving fuel while maintaining a competitive pace, when unfortunately, on lap 31, while making his way through slower traffic, he encountered Nelson, who was preparing to enter the pits. The two cars came together, with EJ’s suffering only minor damage, and he was able to continue without any issues. His race was fairly smooth after that, with the exception of a stall in the pits, and he steadily improved his lap times, eventually turning the third fastest lap of the race on lap 78. He also earned valuable points in the IndyCar Series Championship, where he is now ranked 12th overall and 5th in the Bombardier LearJet Rookie of the Year standings.

Nelson started 7th, and was running a good race, but unfortunately, when he and EJ came together, Nelson's car stalled on the track and he went a lap down to the leaders. Ultimately, he wasn't able to recover from the lost time and thereafter drove his own race, determined to see it to the end. As the steering wheel of the damaged DP01 became heavier and heavier in the closing laps of the race, Team Manager, Vince Kremer, simply said over the radio, “Class In, Class Out, Class Act. Bring it home,” and that he did.

Roberto Moreno was driving an impressive race until his DP01 once again suffered a mechanical problem , which caused the car to lose drive and forced the popular Brazilian to retire. He had led at one point and was making steady progress, but his day sadly ended prematurely, on lap 46. As always, the veteran maintained a positive attitude and, despite the disappointment, was pleased to be a part of Champ Car’s historic last race.more>