Greg Mansell  (R) #5 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth / DP01

Simon Pagenaud #15 Aussie Vineyards Cosworth / DP01

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

Finished career-best second in 1997 championship with driver Gil de Ferran
Earned a victory and two poles with de Ferran during the 1999 Champ Car Season
Won Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year Award with Will Power in 2006
Owns four victories and 11 pole positions in Champ Car World Series competition

TEAM BIO:
Long-time Champ Car team owner Derrick Walker was joined by a pair of new partners in 2005 as Australian businessmen and racing enthusiasts Craig Gore and John Fish helped transform the Walker Racing squad into the new-look Team Australia outfit, giving the team a new outlook on getting back to Victory Lane. In 2008 which was a transition year for Champ Car, The Walker Racing-Team Australia team ran a one car team with driver Marcus Marshall. The team scored two top five finishes along with four top ten showings and ended up 17th in points. The team is back for 2009 with rookie sensation Greg Mansell and veteran driver Simon Pagenaud.

In the two previous seasons, the team has grown into a consistent podium contender, putting together its best season since the late 1990s with rookie Will Power and veteran Alex Tagliani (2005 & 2006) The team also expanded into Champ Car Atlantic competition and won the 2006 Atlantic title with Simon Pagenaud, who will move up into the Champ Car World Series with the team in 2009.

Power gave the team its first pole since 1999 when he led qualifying in Australia, and both Tagliani and Power gave the team podium finishes to mark the first time the team had put two different drivers on the podium since 1995. Power's sixth-place finish in the final standings was the best for the team since Gil de Ferran was the series runner-up in 1997.

The team re-expanded to a full-time two car team and even ramped up to a three-car team for the 2005 season finale, and changed from Reynard to Lola, running Lolas for the first time since 1994. The team inked Tagliani to lead the effort, and the Canadian did not disappoint, scoring a podium finish in the second race of the season. The second seat went to Australian native Marcus Marshall, who scored a pair of top-10 runs before yielding to talented Australian prodigy Will Power for the last two events of the season.

Walker formed Walker Motorsport in late 1990 so the team could compete in Champ Car the following season. Driver Willy T. Ribbs made history that season at Indianapolis when he became the first African-American to make the 500.

The following season, team driver Scott Goodyear drove from the 33rd starting spot at Indy to miss winning by only .043 seconds, the closest finish in the history of the Indy 500. Goodyear, however, brought home the team's first victory at Michigan later that year.

In 1993, Goodyear scored the team's first pole, which came at Phoenix. He also recorded a pole at Vancouver that season. Hiro Matsushita and Ribbs drove additional Walker Motorsport entries in 1993. Late in 1993, the name of the team was changed to Walker Racing.

Young charger Robby Gordon moved to the team along with sponsors Valvoline and Cummins in 1994. Gordon scored two poles and was voted the series' Most Improved Driver by his peers. Mark Smith and Ribbs drove additional Walker entries.

In 1995, Walker Racing fielded two full-time entries with Gordon and rookie Christian Fittipaldi. Gordon scored his first career victory in Phoenix and also won at Detroit. In addition, he earned two poles and seven top-five finishes, placing fifth in the standings. The young Fittipaldi earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors with a second-place finish. He also finished runner-up for the series' Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year award.

The 1996 season saw Gordon again campaign for a full season under the Walker Racing banner, finishing 18th in the series, with a best of third at Homestead. A second Walker car was driven in a combined six events by Scott Goodyear, Mike Groff and Fredrik Ekblom.

Gil de Ferran gave Walker Racing its most successful season in 1997, taking second in the championship on the strength of seven podium finishes and a pair of pole positions. He scored points in 13 of the final 14 events and finished second to Mauricio Gugelmin in both laps completed and miles completed as the team made the switch from Ford to Honda power.

De Ferran finished 12th for Walker Racing in the 1998 season with seven top-10 finishes, highlighted by thirds at Japan and Detroit. He moved back into the top 10 in 1999, winning at Portland en route to an eighth-place finish in the championship. Rookies Naoki Hattori and Memo Gidley also ran a partial schedule in a second entry for Walker Racing in 1999, while rookie Shinji Nakano drove for the team in 2000.

Japanese rookie Tora Takagi signed on to drive for the team in 2001 and the team switched from Honda to Toyota power. After a bit of a slow start to the season, Takagi showed promise in the second half, qualifying third for the Michigan 500 when the grid was set on practice times and would go on to score a career-best fourth place finish in the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston at the end of 2001. He came back in 2002 to repeat the feat, placing fourth at Chicago. He established a new career-best qualifying position when he started third in Miami and would set a new personal high for points scored with 53. In 2003, the team ran a two-car effort for the first time since 1999 with rookies Darren Manning and Rodolfo Lavin behind the wheel, before scaling back to a single-car effort for Mario Haberfeld in 2004.