Haberfeld happy to be in top ten.

Brazilian driver Mario Haberfeld finished ninth at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland this past Sunday and was happy to be inside the top ten at the Oregon venue.

"Our goal this weekend was to finish in the top-10, and it was even better considering we started fifteenth on the grid," he said.

Despite battling against the heat, which is not favorable to his Reynard chassis, Haberfeld managed to run a very consistent race. Another concern was the front tyres, which wore-off quickly due to the type of track. "The wear on the tires was higher than usual, but since everyone uses the same tyres, it did not affect our final result", said Haberfeld.

One of the highlights of the race was a position battle between Walker Racing's Haberfeld and Forsythe Racing's Patrick Carpentier, in which the Brazilian managed to hold off a hard-charging Carpentier for several laps. "It was great to see how well my Reynard chassis did against Patrick's Lola, which is a result of the good work done by my crew in Portland", said the driver. Haberfeld's crew also came through during the pit-stops, delivering near-perfect stops throughout the race.

Overall, Haberfeld is satisfied with the weekend's result, and knows what he and his team need to do to become even more competitive. "From now on, we need to concentrate on getting better qualifying results, which makes things much easier for me considering the equipment I am using", concluded the Brazilian.