French racer enjoys "wonderful party" atmosphere at Long Beach source: simon-pagenaud.com Simon Pagenaud was a largely unknown quantity before the first race of the 2006 Yokohama Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda season, but after scoring pole position in the first qualifying session and finishing the race in fourth, the young French racer has quickly established himself as a talent worth watching this season. Pagenaud, who narrowly missed out on winning the 2004 Formula Renault Eurocup Championship to American Scott Speed, raced in the 425-hp World Series by Renault at tracks like Monaco, LeMans, Monza, and Donington in 2005, scoring three top-fives in the highly competitive category. Seeing inspiration in countryman Sebastian Bourdais, Pagenaud made the decision to move from France to Indianapolis and contest the Atlantic Championship with Team Australia for 2006, with a keen eye on moving to the Champ Car World Series in 2007. While Pagenaud faced many new challenges in his first weekend of racing on U.S. soil, he was refreshed by the atmosphere in the paddock, and relished the opportunity to shine in one of the continents best-known events. "The organization was really good, and in the paddock, you had fans able to walk up and watch the crews working on the car, and get an autograph from the driver," said Pagenaud. "It was really different than anything in Europe. It was a wonderful party, and you could tell why this is such a successful and long-running event-the public is absolutely part of the race."
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