Races 17 14 | End date November 11 Start date 2007 | |
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Similar 2004 Champ Car season, 2002 CART season, 2001 CART season, 2000 CART season, 1998 CART season | ||
The 2007 Champ Car World Series season was the 29th and final overall season of the Champ Car World Series and the fourth and final season under the Champ Car title. It began on April 8, 2007 and ended on November 11 after 14 races. Unbeknownst at the time, this would end up being the final contested season of Champ Car, as the following February, the series unified with the Indy Racing League (IRL), marking the end of the Champ Car World Series for good.
Contents
For 2007 Champ Car underwent some major changes. The opening race of the season was switched from the Grand Prix of Long Beach to Las Vegas for the first running of the Vegas Grand Prix. The Long Beach Grand Prix was the second race of the season, followed by the Grand Prix of Houston. Also, the entire schedule was held on road and street courses, and the events were timed races instead of races for a set number of laps. The full 2007 schedule was announced on Wednesday, September 27, 2006.
Champ Car officials confirmed that Panoz would be the sole chassis supplier for Champ Car for the three years beginning in 2007. The Panoz DP01 was built by sister company Élan Motorsport Technologies and was powered by a turbo-charged Cosworth engine. The new formula was reported to significantly lower the costs of competing in the series, which was in turn expected to increase car counts for the 2007 Champ Car season. However, 2007 entries did not exceeded those of 2006. Ford announced it would no longer badge the Cosworth engines. Mazda was confirmed as the new pace car and courtesy vehicle supplier.
ESPN announced a new, multiyear agreement that marked the return of the Champ Car World Series to the network in 2007.
On January 16, 2007, Champ Car announced their return to Europe, for the first time since 2003, with races scheduled for September 2, 2007 at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, and September 9, 2007 at the historic Zolder circuit in Belgium.
On January 23, 2007, Champ Car unveiled its new logo for the Champ Car World Series and the Atlantic Series. According to its website, it is a sleeker design with the new Panoz DP01 chassis on the right with an emphasis on a chicane-style layout, representing the street track racing that dominates Champ Car. There were no oval tracks on the calendar, with Milwaukee removed after the 2006 race.
Drivers and Teams
The following teams and drivers competed in the 2007 Champ Car World Series season. All teams used a Cosworth 2.65-litre turbocharged V8 engine, a Panoz DP01 chassis, and Bridgestone tires.
Zsolt Baumgartner & Mario Domínguez were test drivers for Minardi Team USA.
Mid-season changes
Races
The 2007 Champ Car season ended up having 14 races, down from the proposed 17 races.
Rule changes
The new rules of the 2007 season included the implementation of standing starts at venues where they can be safely implemented. Additionally, all events were timed events instead of running a set number of laps. As the time limit approaches, the drivers will be notified that they are beginning the last lap. The leader will NOT be shown the white flag, which will now be employed in a similar manner to its use by the FIA. Teams will also be allowed unlimited access to their tires during all qualifying sessions. The requirement for each team to use at least one set of the alternate Bridgestone Potenzas during the race would remain in place.
From this season onwards drivers no longer receive a bonus point for leading a lap of the race.