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The Beers on Rusty When
the green flag waves to start this year¹s Daytona 500 stock car race on
Sunday, February 16th, it will truly be OMiller Time¹ for everyone in
attendance at Daytona International Speedway. Today, Miller Lite
announced that should Rusty Wallace win his first Daytona 500, all legal
drinking age race fans in attendance will receive a coupon for a free
six-pack of Miller Lite. Wallace, the 1989 series champion and a former
series rookie-of-the-year, has recorded 54 career NASCAR Winston Cup
wins and 36 pole positions during his career. In his last five Daytona
500s, Wallace has registered three top-five finishes, including a career
best third-place finish in 2001. During his stock car career, Wallace
has made 40 starts at Daytona International Speedway, including a
best-ever second-place finish last July in the Pepsi 400
1/29/03
Team Rahal wraps up successful test at
Laguna Seca Team Rahal and Michel Jourdain Jr. began
pre-season testing for the 2003 Bridgestone presents the Champ Car World
Series powered by Ford, with three days of testing at Laguna Seca
Raceway (Saturday-Monday). Jourdain logged 450 miles in the
Gigante/Office Depot/Ford-Cosworth/Lola featuring Bridgestone tires.
Jourdain posted competitive times and ended the test with a quick time
on Monday that put him in the top-five for the combined three days. "It
was great to finally get back in the car after a couple of months off,"
said Jourdain, who had not been in a Champ Car since the 2002 season
finale at Mexico City. "Last season our biggest problems were on the
permanent road courses so this was an important test for us. I think we
addressed some of those concerns and we certainly learned a few things
that will help us when the season begins." Team Rahal Champ Car World
Series team manager, Ray Leto, was impressed with the progress the team
made through the initial test for the Gigante/Office Depot team. "We had
a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time, especially with the first
race only a few weeks away," said Leto. "The three days at Laguna Seca
proved to be very productive and we made some very good progress
addressing some questions we had with trying to consolidate our road
course set-ups. It was our first time out with the new Ford-Cosworth XFE
and we are impressed with the package Ford is supplying to the series."
Team Rahal's Champ Car program will return to testing with next week's
Champ Car World Series Spring Training at Sebring International Raceway.
The 2003 Champ Car World Series kicks off with the Grand Prix of St.
Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, February 21-23. "I think it
is going to be a very competitive season," said Jourdain. "Right now it
appears Newman-Haas might have a bit of advantage, but the lasting
impression I got from this test is just how close and competitive this
season is going to be."
1/29/03
Team Rahal wraps up two days of testing
at Phoenix Team Rahal and 1998 Indy Racing League
champion Kenny Brack continued pre-season preparations for with two days
of testing at Phoenix International Raceway on Monday and Tuesday of
this week. Brack logged nearly 250 miles in the Pioneer/Miller Lite/Honda/Dallara/Firestone
posting competitive speeds on the one-mile PIR track. "We made some
significant progress on our learning curve," said Brack. "The process of
understanding a new chassis and working with our new partners on the
Honda engine program is one that will take time to gel. Fortunately that
process has been expedited because of the quality of people the make up
our team and the Honda team. As good as I feel about where we are today
I know there is still a lot of preparation to be done for the season
opener at Homestead. Next week's "Test in the West" will be a good
barometer of where we are competitively with the rest of the field."
Team Rahal IndyCar series team manager, Steve Dickson, was impressed
with the progress made through what was only the second test for Brack
and the new Pioneer/Miller team. "It was a productive two days for the
team, especially considering the lengthy test list we started with,"
said Dickson. "The biggest thing for Kenny and the Pioneer/Miller team
is just building a familiarity mechanically with the car and the
engine." Team Rahal's IndyCar series program will return to
testing with next week's "Test in the West" at Fontana and Phoenix. The
2003 Indy Racing League season kicks off with the Toyota Indy 300 at
Homestead Miami Speedway February 28-March 2.
1/29/03
Indy 500 ticket sales lagging badly
Normally the Indy 500 sells out all its seats by June or July following
each Memorial Day race. However, even with Ganassi, Penske,
Andretti Green, Nunn, Toyota, Honda, etc dumping CART for the IRL, interest in this
years Indy 500 may be at an all-time low. According to this
Brickyard webpage,
tickets are still available in most grandstands. This is unheard
of. Will they eventually sellout? Probably, but it's clear
by the lackluster TV ratings, and now slow ticket sales, that interest in
the Indy 500 is waning. AR1 has long maintained that NASCAR has
sucked the oval track market dry in the USA, leaving little left for
open wheel racing. Chris Pook is well aware of this, and has
correctly positioned CART to be the premier road racing series in North
America. Now in bed with Bernie Ecclestone, there's little doubt
where CART's future lies. With that said, the Indy 500 is still a
very special race. You don't just erase all the heritage and
history the event holds. However, it's now possible last years
finish controversy that left many people believing Paul Tracy was
cheated out of a win (CART's third in a row), has done more damage to
the Indy 500's reputation than we first thought. Another possible reason
is the economy, but CART ticket sales are up. Beating a dead horse, where's my
fork?
1/29/03
Mexico ticket sales up 45%
Tickets just went on sale to the general public 15 days ago for this
years Monterrey, Mexico race and the promoter is reporting ticket sales
are up 45% over the same period last year. They are hopeful that
they will sellout all the 60,000 grandstand seats again this year, plus
many more general admission tickets and they have not really started
their big advertising push yet. With more Mexicans in the race
this year, we expect a possible record crowd. This information was
provided at a press conference today in Monterrey.
1/29/03
Pollock says CART smart to go
international In today's press conference (see transcript
) whereby Craig Pollock announced Patrick Lemarié as his driver
for 2003, we posed the following question to Mr. Pollock: Q. You
mentioned that Chris Pook is talking about CART as an
international series now. Is that at all helping you with your
sponsorship hunt? CRAIG POLLOCK: It absolutely is, because it
opens up the sponsorship possibilities internationally. I come
from Europe. That's where my best sponsors are, or best sponsor
possibilities are, and it gives me the opportunity to argue
effectively what the sponsors need for these particular markets.
It probably also is kind of handy that I speak a couple of
languages, some of them pretty bad, but I can communicate in a
few languages and that tends to help. And it tends to help to
have drivers that can communicate in another language. It helps
to have a series that is traveling abroad. So I think it's just
going in the right direction. It feels like a mini-Formula 1
series at the moment. Q. Do you see opportunities for CART
possibly to maybe replace Formula 1 in some venues where Formula
1 doesn't race any more in the future? CRAIG POLLOCK: I
definitely -- Bernie signed up so many circuits and he's
promised them so many races and he can't come through on his
promises. I would say if Chris Pook, he's negotiating with
Bernie and helping out Bernie by talking to Spa, talking to
Brands Hatch, talking to Estoril, talking to the various
different major circuits. I have to say that I have raced on
them all and they are great circuits and would be great for
Formula 1 again. If Formula 1 can't go there, why shouldn't we?
1/29/03
Indy 500 3-week schedule set
Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced Jan. 29 the
schedule for the 87th running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race,
with the traditional three-week format culminating in Race Day
on May 25. Opening Day is Sunday, May 4, with festivities
centering on this year's race theme, "Art in Motion," and the
first on-track practice of the event. Practice continues daily
from May 5-9. Qualification action starts on Saturday, May 10
with Pole Day. Drivers will compete for the coveted MBNA Pole
Award and the accompanying $100,000 bonus and other prizes.
Qualifications will continue with Second Day Qualifying on
Sunday, May 11. The Speedway will be closed to track activity
May 12-13, but will re-open May 14-17 for four more days of
practice leading up to the thrilling final day of qualifying,
Bump Day, Sunday, May 18. While there will be no IRL IndyCar
Series on-track activity May 19-21, the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway again will play host to the popular 500 Festival
Community Day on Wednesday, May 21, featuring track laps for the
public in their passenger cars, a driver autograph session and
other family-oriented activities. Carburetion Day, the final
practice session for the starting field of 33, takes place
Thursday, May 22. Fans also will see the action-packed Indy 500
Pit Stop Contest in which top race teams compete for the right
to become "The Fastest Crew at Indy." Carb Day will end with the
Carb Day Concert. Race Day for the 87th running of the
Indianapolis 500 will be Sunday, May 25. The green flag for the
"Greatest Spectacle in Racing" will drop at 11 a.m. (EST). The
complete 2003 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race schedule: Sunday, May 4 Opening Day Practice May 5-9 Practice Saturday, May 10 Pole Day (MBNA Pole Qualifying,
practice) Sunday, May 11 Second-day qualifying May 12-13 No track activity May 14-17 Practice Sunday, May 18 Bump Day (Final day of qualifying) May 19-20 No track activity Wednesday, May 21 500 Festival Community Day Thursday, May 22 Carburetion Day (Final practice, Pit
Stop Contest, concert) Friday, May 23 No track activity Saturday, May 24 Public Drivers' Meeting, 500 Festival
Parade Sunday, May 25 87th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, 11 a.m.
(EST)
1/29/03
Wednesday test times from Valencia Weather: Sunny
and windy Temperature: Track 23°; Air 17° (Track Length: 4.005
kilometers)
Names Chassis Laptime Laps
Alexander Wurz McLaren 1m.11.095s 75
Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1m.11.613s 85
David Coulthard McLaren 1m.11.635s 52
Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1m.11.741s 109
Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan 1m.12.251s 63
Jacques Villeneuve BAR 1m.12.260s 58
Olivier Panis Toyota 1m.12.382s 47
Mark Webber Jaguar 1m.12.556s 44
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber 1m.12.855s 81
Jenson Button BAR 1m.12.932s 25
Cristiano Da Matta Toyota 1m.13.116s 77
Nick Heidfeld Sauber 1m.13.134s 59
Justin Wilson Minardi 1m.17.192s 49
Best
Times To Date Date Driver Team Tires Time
Speed/Gap
23-Jan Kimi Raikkonen McLaren M
1:10.647 126.839 mph
22-Jan Juan Pablo Montoya WilliamsF1 M
1:10.794 0.147
29-Jan Alexander Wurz McLaren M
1:11.095 0.448
28-Jan Rubens Barrichello Ferrari B
1:11.429 0.782
29-Jan Michael Schumacher Ferrari B
1:11.613 0.966
29-Jan David Coulthard McLaren M
1:11.635 0.988
28-Jan Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan B
1:11.703 1.056
23-Jan Nick Heidfeld Sauber B 1:11.778
1.131
28-Jan Olivier Panis Toyota M 1:11.867
1.220
24-Jan Marc Gene WilliamsF1 M 1:11.901
1.254
28-Jan Mark Webber Jaguar M 1:11.952
1.305
29-Jan Jacques Villeneuve BAR B
1:12.260 1.613
28-Jan Christiano da Matta Toyota M
1:12.690 2.043
29-Jan Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber B
1:12.855 2.208
28-Jan Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1:12.889
2.242
28-Jan Gary Paffett McLaren M 1:12.890
2.243
29-Jan Jenson Button BAR B 1:12.932
2.285
28-Jan Takuma Sato BAR B 1:13.118
2.471
29-Jan Justin Wilson Minardi M
1:17.192 6.545
1/29/03
Riley Scott & Jim Mathews to use
Yates engines Riley & Scott Racing LLC and Jim
Matthews Racing announced today an agreement to power the team’s
Riley & Scott Mk III C with a Ford V-8 supplied by Yates Racing
Engines in their 2003 endurance campaign. The team’s first race
with the new motor will be the 51st Annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of
Sebring on March 15. Car Owner/Driver Jim Matthews was pleased
to announce the new agreement. “Robert Yates’ history of
providing the best Ford V-8 motors available is beyond reproach.
Their facility, knowledge and dedication to what they do are
second to none in the industry. Together with our new Michelin
tires, the continuing development of the chassis, and Marc
Goossens as our lead driver, I think we have a good chance to be
competitive at Sebring”. In addition to operating the #38 and
#88 teams in the Winston Cup Series, Robert Yates Racing and its
subsidiaries are important vendors of racing engines and
components in various series around the world. For his part,
Robert Yates looks forward to the project: “I’ve known and
worked with Bob and Bill Riley for many years and am a great
admirer of their work. Jim Matthews deserves a lot of credit for
building a solid program with the Rileys and we are very pleased
to be a part of it”. 2003 will the team’s second year in LMP 900
competition in the ALMS. The team’s best finish in 2002 was a
third at Sebring. At Le Mans, the team ran as high as sixth
overall before engine failure cut short the effort in the 14th
hour of competition.
1/29/03
PK Racing to announce Patrick
Lemarie Today's
Journal de Montreal published a story in today's newspaper that
says PK Racing and Craig Pollock will announce Frenchmen Patrick
Lemarie as their driver today. The article says the Champ
Car world series will have four French-speaking drivers in 2003.
In addition to Carpentier, Tagliani and Lemarié, we'll also see
French driver Sebastien Bourdais, who finally obtained the
second wheel available at Newman-Haas.
1/29/03
Villeneuve calls F1 drivers robots "When I got
into F1, it was difficult to say what I thought because people
would always end up thinking that I was doing it on purpose to
get an image or a reaction, and it is easy to get blasted for
it," he told
JV-World.com. "After a while I got respected for it, and
now people know if they ask a question, I will tell them what
I think. Most people who get into F1 now get in very young,
and they are being told how to be and what to be, and they are
too happy just to be in F1 to even bother saying something
that might antagonize someone."
1/29/03
Union 76 Gas to leave NASCAR,
move to EuropeUPDATE:
NASCAR Statement Regarding ConocoPhillips: NASCAR and
ConocoPhillips continue to enjoy a strong working relationship
and look forward to another great season in 2003. NASCAR has
enjoyed its longstanding relationship with the company and
wishes it all the best in the future. While we will be saying
goodbye to ConocoPhillips, we look forward to welcoming a new
official fuel supplier to NASCAR in 2004. We are already in the
process of identifying the new official fuel supplier and will
make an announcement regarding that supplier at the appropriate
time. 1/29/03 - AR1 staff has been seeing Union 76 Racing
Gasoline advertisements in Europe recently, indicating they are
moving heavily into that arena. Now from
Forbes.com/Reuters ConocoPhillips, owner of the 76
gasoline brand, said on Tuesday it will end its more than half
century-long relationship with NASCAR auto racing at the end of
the year. The familiar 76 gasoline logo -- an orange ball with
the number 76 in blue at its center -- has been a fixture at
NASCAR as "the official fuel of NASCAR." But 76's Houston-based
parent company said it will end the sponsorship deal of more
than 50 years by Dec. 31. ConocoPhillips said 76 will fulfill
all of its contractual obligations, including supplying racing
fuel at all Winston Cup events and at NASCAR's other circuits --
the BGN and CTS -- before returning its official fuel rights to
NASCAR at year's end.
1/29/03 Industry News
High winds blow down tower at TMS
High winds Tuesday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway caused the
110-foot scoring tower inside of Turn 3 to fall to the ground. No one
was injured when the electronic tower cracked at the base around 3
p.m. and fell parallel to the start of turn 4 on the north-end turn of
the 1.5-mile oval TMS track. “I was talking on the phone and looking
out the window of my office when it happened,’’ said TMS vice
president and general manager Eddie Gossage. “I couldn’t believe what
I was seeing.” The tower lists the numbers of 20 cars in descending
order of their position during the race. An identical tower stands on
the inside of Turn 1. “We will have structural engineers here looking
at the other tower before the end of day,’’ Gossage said. “We have
roped off the area around the standing tower with enough distance to
keep everyone safe. We may put guide wires on it if the engineers feel
it will help support the structure.’’
Dallas Morning News
(with photos)
NASCAR to award big $$$ in 2003
NASCAR Winston Cup Series sponsor R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and the
National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today
that the NASCAR Winston Cup point fund - the year-end money awarded to
the top-25 drivers in the point standings - will be $17 million in 2003,
an increase of $3 million over 2002. The NASCAR Winston Cup
champion will receive a minimum of $4.25 million from Winston and NASCAR
in 2003, a $500,000 increase over last year. Drivers finishing second
through fourth will each receive more than $1 million at the annual
awards ceremony in New York in December. The total point fund includes
money from Winston, NASCAR and the tracks that host NASCAR Winston Cup
Series events. As the popularity of NASCAR Winston Cup racing has
increased, so has the point fund. After starting at $100,000 in 1971,
the figure rose to $750,000 by 1985. Winston and NASCAR broke new ground
in 1986 when the point fund increased to $2 million and the champion's
share to $400,000. The point fund reached $2,500,000 in 1989 with the
champion collecting $1 million. By 1998, the total had jumped to $5
million with the champion's share at $2 million. In 2000, the NASCAR
Winston Cup point fund doubled, from $5 to $10 million with the champion
collecting $3 million. Since Winston's began its partnership with NASCAR
in 1971, it has contributed more than $100 million in purse, bonus and
point-fund money. The $17 million point fund for 2003 includes a
guaranteed $16,660,000 to be awarded to the top 25 drivers at the
conclusion of the 2000 season as well as $340,000 for the NASCAR Winston
Cup Leader Bonus. The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus program awards
$10,000 to the driver who wins the race and is also the NASCAR Winston
Cup point leader at the conclusion of the event. If there is no winner,
the money carries over from race to race until an eligible driver wins
the bonus.
1/28/03
Update to article We have
updated our article titled CART, F1 coming to grips with
doing business in China based on additional information.
The following has been added - Regarding CART and F1 teams getting money
out of China, here are some examples of how it can be done - Walt Disney
does a lot of business in China....sometimes they take foreign currency
which China has plenty of as they sell a lot of goods to American and
they also accumulate US$ when they sell to other countries as those
countries take US$ in payment. AND sometimes they don't mind taking RMB
as they also buy merchandise manufactured in China from companies that
don't mind having payment in RMB. The Chinese companies that have
US$ are plentiful and invariably these are companies that also need to
advertise their goods, so getting the US$ to pay for such advertisement
is no problem for them, legally (applying to the China central bank to
buy US$ for such purpose) or illegally (paying the media owners or CART
teams from their off-shore accounts). Yes, the RMB is not traded
in the open market (not convertible) but neither is the Malaysian
ringgit (followed China in 1998 to avoid the Asian crash) and the Indian
rupees (since 30 years ago) and many other currencies. However,
Americans and the rest of the world are still actively trading with
India and Malaysia and, therefore, China. CART teams can either
elect to have payment in US$ or RMB if they have the need for Chinese
goods (steel, coal, food products, beer, soft toys, iron ore,
merchandise, electronic and electrical goods) and many other products
widely exported. We assume they would take the cash. It's not
simple, but it can be done because so many foreign companies are now
doing business in China.
1/28/03
Yoong's Champ Car team announcementUPDATE AutoRacing1.com sources in
Malaysia tell us a decision by Yoong and his backers will likely now be
made right after Spring Training in Florida. As we understand it,
they are waiting on a go, or no-go, from a Malaysian sponsor.
Negotiations are down to one team. Most of the money is in place,
but the last sponsor must come forward to fill the shortage.
1/23/03 - Malaysian racer Alex Yoong has delayed announcing which Champ Car team
he will be driving for this year due to continuing negotiations with
teams. He revealed today that there was no shortage of offers, but the
budgets that various teams need him to bring was a problem, as his
Malaysian sponsors would prefer to be involved with Formula 1. He said
that most teams require their drivers to bring a budget of between $5
million and $7 million to get a seat. He confirms that he now has a best
offer from a team that requires him to bring an amount of only $2.5
million from his sponsors, as the team has managed to raise $3.5 million
from American sponsors for Yoong. "We are presently working very hard on
getting the budget and I am still hopeful of getting to the starting
grid for the first race on February 23rd," said Yoong from his Kuala
Lumpur home. "The present delay may turn out to be a blessing in
disguise and I won't lose any sleep over it. I prefer to be driving
without needing to bring a big budget to the team. If it doesn't happen,
there will be opportunities later and maybe elsewhere." Yoong, 26,
became his country's first ever Formula 1 driver when he made his debut
for Minardi in August 2001 in the Italian GP and drove for the team till
the end of the 2002 season. "My objective is still to get back into
Formula 1 by 2004, when China organizes her first Grand Prix. But if
there is a year's delay, it's OK," added Yoong. The 2003 CART
championship has been renamed 'Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World
Series Powered by Ford' and is expected to have a bigger line-up than
last year. Yoong will miss the Chinese New Year celebrations as he will
be leaving Kuala Lumpur for Florida on the February 1st to attend Champ
Car's "Spring Training". "Spring Training" is the pre-season event
where all the registered teams turn up in force at the Sebring
International Raceway in Florida and are introduced to the media and
fans while conducting test sessions over three days - from February 4th
to the 6th. Yoong said that an announcement one way or another will be
made very soon.
1/28/03
Herdez Racing has good test at Laguna
Seca The first “open test” of the 2003 Bridgestone
Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season got under way
last weekend at the beautiful Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Herdez
Competition presented two cars for the test, piloted by last year’s CART
Rookie of the Year Mario Dominguez and veteran Roberto Moreno, and
followed the open test with another day of team testing on Monday. Both
cars performed well during the open test in which a total of 13
potential Champ Car competitors participated. “We had no major hiccups,”
said Chief Engineer Tom Brown. “Both cars ran smoothly all three days
and we generated a lot of good data and miles.” Dominguez posted his
best time on the third day of testing, 1:09.8 seconds around the 2.238
mile permanent road course while Moreno continued to get accustomed to
the Lola chassis. Team principal Keith Wiggins was also complimentary
about the team’s results. “This was time well-spent for us as a team as
we were able to continue to develop the car we had last season. Both
drivers did a good job during the test; we were extremely pleased with
Mario’s progress in particular. He has started these pre-season tests as
a more mature and confident driver and it’s showing in his on-track
performance.” Dominguez was pleased with his results as well. “I think
the test went really well. We got to test a lot of things on the car
that we never had the time to do last year – I didn’t realize there were
so many options left! This is where you really see the benefit of
running two cars; we were able to try out some things on my car and
others on Roberto’s and it allows the team to make much faster progress
through the engineering plan.” Both drivers will return to their duties
next week as a part of Champ Car’s “Spring Training” media and testing
event in Florida. Beginning with media events on the site of the
season-opener in St. Petersburg on Sunday and Monday, on-track testing
will continue at Sebring International Raceway February 4 – 6, 2003.
1/28/03
Why
Senna really crashed
According to this Planet F1
article, a Channel 4 documentary (Also shown in the USA on the
Learning Channel), Going Critical, has
produced the most likely cause for the fatality. When
investigators took apart Senna's car (Photo to right courtesy
Getty Images), they
found that the steering column had snapped at a point where it
had been altered by the Williams team engineers. Senna had
requested that the steering column on his FW16 be made longer,
so a section of 18mm tube had been grafted into the column and
welded at both ends. However, the car's black-box data
recorder measured, among other things, the twisting force that
was applied to the steering column. This data showed that,
right up to the time of impact, force was being applied to the
steering wheel. This meant that the column must have snapped
on or after impact, rather than before. The reason Senna went
off the road was almost certainly due to the low ride height
of the car. Following a long period behind the pace car his
tires were cold and so the car was at the critical level when
it was bottoming out on the track. While a lower ride height
made Senna's car faster, it also made it unstable. Just before
Senna crashed, sparks were seen flying from the back of his
car, suggesting that the ride height had been reduced to zero
for some reason, the bottom of the car was touching the track.
Not only did this mean that the downforce was greatly
lessened, because air could no longer travel beneath the car,
but it also meant that, as the metallic skid beneath the car
hit the ground, the tires lost their grip on the track. Though
there are other far-fetched theories of why Senna went
off-track - for instance, that he blacked out - the likelihood
that it was steering column failure has been ruled out by the
program's evidence.
1/28/03
NASCAR drivers talk schedule
change
NASCAR officials have said they are looking at some distinct
schedule changes starting with the 2004 Winston Cup season. Some
of those changes include the possibilities of more night races,
and starting races later in the afternoon in the hopes of
increasing national television audiences. Some observers have
speculated on the possibilities of a Daytona 500 at night.
More....
1/28/03
CART TV Schedule Here
is the CART USA TV schedule for the first two races of 2003: February 23 - St. Petersburg
SPEED Channel | Sat, Feb 22 1:30 pm ET | Qualifying2 Live
SPEED Channel | Sat, Feb 22 3:00 pm ET | Stars of Tomorrow Las
Vegas
SPEED Channel | Sat, Feb 22 8:00 pm ET | Qualifying2 Repeat
SPEED Channel | Sun, Feb 23 1:00 am ET | Qualifying2 Repeat
SPEED Channel | Sun, Feb 23 12:30 pm ET | Pre-Race
SPEED Channel | Sun, Feb 23 1:00 pm ET | Race Live
SPEED Channel | Sun, Feb 23 9:00 pm ET | Race Repeat
SPEED Channel | Mon, Feb 24 1:00 am ET | Race Repeat March 23 - Monterrey
SPEED Channel | Sat, Mar 22 2:30 pm ET | Qualifying2 Live
SPEED Channel | Sun, Mar 23 1:30 pm ET | Pre-Race
SPEED Channel | Sun, Mar 23 2:00 pm ET | Race Live
1/28/03
Aventis to sponsor Pro race
Racing For Kids and Aventis Pharmaceuticals have partnered to
become the title sponsor for the 2003 Indy Racing League
Infiniti Pro Series event on July 6 at Kansas Speedway. The
Aventis Racing For Kids 100 will serve as a showcase event for
the 14-year-old Racing For Kids charity, which has a primary
mission of using the popularity of motorsports to focus public
attention and funding on the healthcare needs of children.
“We’re pleased to team with Aventis Pharmaceuticals and Racing
For Kids to bring race fans another exciting Infiniti Pro Series
event this year,” Kansas Speedway President Jeff Boerger said.
“The Infiniti Pro Series cars offer fast, exciting events among
some of the best drivers and future superstars of the
motorsports world.”
1/28/03
Brack and Kanaan settle in at
Phoenix Kenny
Brack and Tony Kanaan each moved closer to understanding their
new IRL IndyCar Series rides during testing Jan. 27 at Phoenix
International Raceway. Brack, who won the 1998 IRL IndyCar
Series title and the 1999 Indianapolis 500, tested a
Miller/Pioneer Dallara/Honda/Firestone for Team Rahal, while
IndyCar Series newcomer Kanaan tested a Dallara/Honda/Firestone
for Andretti Green Racing. “Everything is going pretty well,”
Kanaan said. “We spent a fair bit of time making adjustments in
the cockpit and getting settled in. We need to spend all the
time we have right now figuring out what this car likes and what
it doesn’t, and how Andretti Green Racing can use each on-track
session to give us more information than the last.” Brack, who
has four career IndyCar Series victories, returns to the series
full time in 2003 after spending the last three years in CART.
Kanaan has one career IndyCar Series start, at the 2002
Indianapolis 500, where he started fifth and led 23 laps before
finishing 28th after an accident in Turn 3 on Lap 89. Both Brack
and Kanaan will test again Jan. 28 at PIR before participating
in the Indy Racing League’s Test in the West, which will be
conducted Feb. 3-4 at California Speedway and Feb. 6-8 at
Phoenix. “I have to say I’m pretty happy,” Kanaan said. “We
still have things that need to be worked on, but overall we’ve
got a good starting point heading into Test in the West.”
1/28/03
Tuesday times from Valencia
Driver
Team
Tires
Laps
Time
Speed/Gap
Rubens Barrichello
Ferrari
B
79
1:11.429
125.450 mph
Giancarlo Fisichella
Jordan
B
66
1:11.703
0.274
Olivier Panis
Toyota
M
63
1:11.867
0.438
Mark Webber
Jaguar
M
52
1:11.952
0.523
Jacques Villeneuve
BAR
B
65
1:12.384
0.955
Cristiano da Matta
Toyota
M
62
1:12.690
1.261
Alexander Wurz
McLaren
M
41
1:12.774
1.345
Luca Badoer
Ferrari
B
104
1:12.889
1.460
Gary Paffett
McLaren
M
19
1:12.890
1.461
Takuma Sato
BAR
B
51
1:13.118
1.689
1/28/03
Newman Haas completes 3-day test Newman/Haas
Racing continued to make progress at the 2.238-mile Mazda
Raceway Laguna Seca road course since finishing in first and
second place in the 2002 CART Champ car race with drivers
Cristiano da Matta and Christian Fittipaldi respectively during
a three day test. New driver Bruno Junqueira was assisted by
reigning F3000 champion Sebastien Bourdais, 23, at the test and
both turned the unofficial fastest laps each of the two days of
the open test on Saturday and Sunday before the team ran a third
day on Monday. "The team definitely has a good setup at Laguna
Seca and we were able to continue to make improvements," said
Junqueira, who ran as high as third at this track in the 2002
event but finished fourth for Target/Ganassi Racing. "Our
previous test at Sebring was good but there were only a couple
of other cars there so it was hard to measure our performance
until we came here. Of course you can't relax just because you
had a good test but it does give us confidence that we are
headed in the right direction." On Saturday, Bourdais's final
run earned him the unofficial fastest time of 70.154 seconds
(114.845 mph) of the 12 drivers participating while Junqueira
ran the second-fastest lap of 70.195 seconds (114.777 mph).
Junqueira had held the fastest lap time until Bourdais's last
run of the day. On Sunday, Junqueira posted the fastest lap time
of the day as well as the weekend when he ran a lap of 69.172
seconds (116.475 mph), which was faster than the pole-winning
lap of 69.473 seconds set by Cristiano da Matta in the 2002 race
at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Like his childhood friend da Matta
in the 2002 CART Spring Training held at this track, Junqueira
maintained either the first or second position in all four
testing sessions over the weekend. Bourdais set the second
fastest time of 69.709 seconds (115.578 mph) on Sunday while
continuing to learn the new road course. Monday brought mixed
fortunes as Junqueira was able to complete almost 225 miles
while Bourdais was involved in a minor crash that ended his
running at the 45 mile mark. Over the three-day test Junqueira
was able to complete more than 500 miles while Bourdais
completed 360. "Apart from the incident, it was a good test,"
said Bourdais, who was born in the legendary racing town of
LeMans, France. "Newman/Haas Racing has a good understanding of
how to make their cars good at this track and it helped me to
get acclimated quicker. I continued to learn more about driving
a Champ car and enjoyed the experience." "We spent most of
Saturday morning working to get both drivers comfortable in the
cars before we were able to concentrate on work Saturday
afternoon so we were pretty happy with setting the top two
times," added Brian Lisles, General Manager of Newman/Haas
Racing. "On Sunday we had a couple of problems but we were able
to resolve them and continue testing. Bruno was able to complete
100 laps on Monday but we ended Sebastien's test early because
we weren't sure if we were going to be able to repair his car
before the end of the day. Overall, it was a very productive
test. Both drivers picked up where we left off at this track
last June but we'll have to keep working hard to keep up with
the progress of the other teams."
1/28/03
PK Racing to announce driver Craig
Pollock's PK Racing team has scheduled a press conference for
Wednesday to announce their driver. Stay tuned......
1/28/03
Walker to announce 2nd driver At
noon Eastern time on Thursday Walker Racing will announce their
2nd driver to team with Roberto Gonzales. We also expect a
sponsor announcement. Previously Rodolfo Lavin held a
press conference in Mexico to announce he was driving for
Walker, but the team denied any deal was done. We hear it
is not Lavin, but the announcement is significant.
1/28/03
DSTP gears up for run at Atlantic
title With most of the
country in a deep freeze, it is hard to imagine that the start
of the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship is under two
months away. With a fully healed driver and a tweaked team
roster, Dede Roger’s DSTP Motorsports is poised to reclaim the
Championship that it last won in 2000. Most of the team has
stayed the same from last year with Richard Jones (Rangi) still
in the Lead Mechanic and Car Chief role along with some
additional duties. Kent Stacy will also return as Engineer,
along with: Ross McLeod (Transmission Specialist), Jim Rice
(Mechanic), Bud Wilkinson (Data Specialist), and Jason Dunford
(Transportation Engineer). Natalie Gustetter, Team Manager for
DSTP Motorsports, feels that all the pieces are in place to give
the team the best shot possible at this year’s title. "We have
all of our cards in place and are ready to start a fresh
season,” said Gustetter. “We just know that the 2003 season is
going to be a good one for DSTP, and we can't wait to get
started. Team moral is very high and everyone is excited to win
again. Let's go racing!" American driver, Joey Hand, will return
for his third season this year after winning the Rookie of the
Year award in 2001. Hand entered the 2002 Championship as the
favorite to win the title and was off to a great start with a
third place finish in Monterrey, Mexico, and a pole at Long
Beach. The Championship hopes came to a quick end following Long
Beach as Hand was forced out of the car for six races after he
sustained injuries in a testing incident at The Milwaukee Mile.
"Obviously, last year did not go as planned,” said Hand, who is
starting his third season with DSTP. “Since my accident last
season, I've been looking forward to the start of this season.
There is no question that we were championship contenders last
year, and we plan on contending for the championship again this
time around. I cannot thank Dede (Rogers) and the whole DSTP
team enough for giving me another opportunity and for sticking
with me throughout the tough times last year. The team and I are
very excited to get back to our winning ways, and will begin to
at the first race in Monterrey, Mexico." A new addition to the
DSTP is Brian Tate, who will oversee Public Relations for the
team. Brian comes to DSTP after spending three years working in
the Communication Department for the CART Toyota Atlantic
Championship. DSTP
1/28/03 Industry News
Cardinale takes over PR work at
Infineon Raceway John Cardinale, who has managed Public
Relations efforts at Infineon Raceway since 1998, has been named Vice
President of Media and Community Relations, raceway officials
announced. Cardinale, a 37-year-old San Francisco native, is
responsible for all media communications originating from Infineon
Raceway and oversees the facility's various community initiatives. "A
good deal of our success over the last few years is attributable to
John’s efforts in raising our public profile and helping tell the
compelling story of what’s happening at this facility," said Steve
Page, raceway president and general manager. "More importantly, his
personal integrity and leadership help define the quality of our
organization.* During his tenure at the raceway, Cardinale has worked
to expand news coverage of motor racing in the San Francisco Bay Area,
which now includes weekly motorsports programming on a prominent San
Francisco all-sports radio station, live broadcasts of 15-20 NASCAR
Winston Cup races each year and weekly motorsports sections in nearly
every major newspaper. He has also helped develop an Emmy-nominated
NASCAR Winston Cup Preview Show on the local FOX Sports Net affiliate.
1/28/03
Work on Bahrain in overtime mode
Work on the Bahrain Formula One circuit is on a fast track with
workers putting in long hours to ensure the circuit is ready by 2004.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Isa al-Khalifa, Chairman of the Circuit Committee,
told the Reuters news agency that all was ahead of schedule. ‘This
biggest challenge is the time frame,’ he said. ‘They're working 24
hours a day. The workforce is up close to 1,000 people now. We're
slightly ahead of plan now but it's still early days.’ Work at the
moment is still concentrated on clearing rock, a job that has been
going on since mid November. The end result Sheik Mohammed added would
be a dramatic location for Formula One racing not only for drivers,
but also for visiting observers and the massive television audience.
‘The area of the main grandstand will be landscaped like an oasis,’ he
explained enthusiastically. ‘You can go out into the desert and back
to the oasis. ‘From the driver's point of view we have the changes in
elevation. Part of the track is behind the hill and we have some nice
elevation changes to make the track more exciting.’
Cut Downforce? Softer Tires?
According to this Winston Salem Journal article,
NASCAR's George Pyne reiterated NASCAR's plans to cut downforce on
Winston Cup cars. Four years ago, a good car would generate 800 to 900
pounds of downforce, with its rear spoiler, nose and roof designs. This
season, a good car will generate well over 1,400 pounds. The more
downforce, the better a car sticks in the corners, but at the expense of
a tremendous, dangerous increase in tire deformation. In response,
Goodyear has gone to a much harder tire to prevent blowouts. But drivers
have complained about the hard tires and have pushed NASCAR and Goodyear
for softer tires, which they say would make for better racing. Goodyear,
however, doesn't plan to switch to softer tires until NASCAR can cut the
downforce to back under 1,000 pounds, according to several teams. This
year, NASCAR's John Darby hopes to make at least two 1/2-inch cuts in
the rear spoiler. Each cut would take about 50 pounds of downforce off
the rear, and it is assumed that teams would then have to take another
50 pounds off the nose to keep the car balanced. Two such cuts would cut
downforce back to 1,200 pounds, close enough to where Goodyear might
provide somewhat softer tires.
1/27/03
Patrick Racing has successful first test Visteon/Patrick
Racing held its first test of the 2003 Bridgestone Presents The Champ
Car World Series Powered by Ford season running for two days, January 25
-26, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Oriol Servia,
behind the wheel of the #20 Visteon/Patrick Racing car, which is powered
by Ford-Cosworth with a Lola chassis and Bridgestone tires, ran a total
of 250 miles and notched a fast time of 70.569 seconds (114.169 mph)
putting him seventh on the combined practice report after the two days
of testing. His quick time during the first day of testing was 71.378
seconds (112.875 mph) placing him fifth on the speed charts. Servia, who
is in his fourth Champ Car season and second with Visteon/Patrick
Racing, was pleased with the results of the test saying, “The
Visteon/Patrick Racing Team spent the first day of the test shaking down
the primary and backup cars. The team did a good job preparing the cars
and we had a very productive day with no problems. The second day we got
more into racing and tied to make the car quick. The Visteon/Patrick
Racing car was well balanced and I was quite happy. In the morning we
were third fastest then, in the afternoon, we tired some things mainly
to learn more about the car. We didn’t improve our time, but we learned
a lot and that is why we test.” Servia also noted that, “This was my
first test with Visteon/Patrick Racing. I joined the team at mid-season
last year and we didn’t do any testing. It was also my first chance to
work with engineer Steve Challis. I think things went very well and I am
looking forward to getting back on the track at Spring Training.”
Patrick Racing General Manager Jim McGee said, “This was our first test
of the 2003 season, so it was the first time we have run our new Lola
chassis and the new Ford-Cosworth engine. It was also the first time
Oriol has tested with the team and the first test with Steve Challis as
the engineer. Given all the new elements it was a good shakedown for the
Visteon/Patrick Racing Team. McGee went on to say, “The Lola chassis
looks good, the Ford-Cosworth engine ran exceptionally well.
1/27/03
New Cosworth quieter Running
at only 12,000 + RPM, the new Ford Cosworth engine is noticeably quieter
than last years CART engines leading some to suggest Cosworth should
make it a single sided turbo so it sounds like a real race car.
Details, details.
Mark C.
1/27/03
New McLaren a radical departure
McLaren chief designer Adrian Newey says that the new McLaren MP4/18
will be a radical departure from any other F1 car he has produced. What
will make the new car so special he would not reveal. "The new McLaren
will be entirely different to the other cars," Newey told Auto Motor und
Sport. The new car won't race until the Spanish GP.
1/27/03
Bourdais destroys Newman Haas
LolaUPDATE
AR1 has learned that Bourdais is OK, and it has not been determined yet
whether the car is a write-off. He went off at Turn 10, a 115+ MPH
turn. 1/27/03 - AR1
sources tell us Sebastien Bourdais has just had a big crash at
Laguna Seca and totaled one of the Newman Haas Lolas. No
word on the condition of the driver, but we think he is OK.
The team stayed on to test (as did Herdez) after the CART open
test this weekend.
Mark C.
1/27/03
Players Forsythe happy with test
Team Player’s drivers Patrick Carpentier and Paul Tracy
conducted their first combined CART pre-season testing sessions
of the winter this past weekend, clocking some impressive fast
laps on the Laguna Seca road course. Carpentier, who ran close
to 200 laps during the two-day session that brought together
most of the CART teams, clocked a lap of 69.712 seconds (115.573
mph), the third-best performance of the weekend, after
Newman/Haas drivers Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais.
Tracy, who put in about 165 laps, produced the fourth-fastest
lap (70.157 seconds, 114.840 mph). “I’m getting more comfortable
each time out,” said Tracy of his second testing session with
Team Player’s. “We still have some work to do to try and coax
more speed out of the car, but we made some big strides from our
Saturday session to the one on Sunday. We had no mechanical
problems and we got a lot of work done from an engineering
standpoint.” Tracy said the fact Team Player’s had both of its
cars at the same testing session for the first time in this
off-season produced plenty of useful data, some of which help in
his adaptation process with his new team. “This is the first
time I’ve been paired with a teammate (Patrick) who is a
left-footed braker,” explained Tracy. “Because Pat brakes with
his left foot, he’s able to brake a lot deeper than I can. That
type of thing shows up on the data that we’ve compiled this
weekend, so I can take a look at it and see how I can approach
braking a bit later and, consequently, that might help me gain a
split second here and there.” Carpentier said he was satisfied
by the consistency of his fast laps, although he added the goal
of the weekend sessions was more in gathering information on the
Team Player’s Champ car than clocking fast laps. “There is a
different approach to testing this year,” added Carpentier.
“Because there are so few testing sessions, the focus is more on
the mechanical side than the aerodynamics. We now have only nine
more hours of testing before the start of the season, so we have
to make sure we get the most of our testing sessions.” The nine
remaining hours of testing will be consumed at the three-day
CART spring-training session in Sebring, Florida, February 4-6.
1/27/03
NASCAR prepares for global
expansion, starting with live British TV As
predicted by Mark Cipolloni in his latest article, Why CART and F1 must,
and will share a common V10 engine platform, the oval
track cartel plans to expand overseas, and unless the road
racing cartel defends their turf, first by adopting a common
engine platform to strength their position, it could mean
curtains for road racing in a decade or two. Starting with
the Budweiser Shootout, every single lap of the 2003 NASCAR
Winston Cup season will be shown live on Sky (Channel 420) and
then NTL Cable (Channel 917), all done by the North American
Sports Network (NASN). Original USA feed will be used, so
British fans will hear and see exactly what the American are
seeing. We hear NASCAR will first get on live TV in as
many countries as possible, before a concerted effort is made to
race overseas. Some have suggested NASCAR will simple buy
CASCAR (Canada) and ASCAR (Europe), put the NASCAR name and
rules on them (they already run to rules not too different than
NASCAR), put the NASCAR marketing might behind it, and expand
their product continent by continent. We hear the IRL may
want to ride their coattails through that process. Now you
understand why the alliance between CART and F1 (Pook and
Ecclestone) has begun, first informally, and later formally, to
strengthen the road racing base. Bernie and Chris are very
smart men. They see the handwriting on the wall. The
war has just begun! Mark C.
1/27/03
Foyt signs deal with ToyotaUPDATE A reader writes, Dear
AutoRacing1.com, Interesting that AJ has signed with Toyota. He
was always outspoken against furiners ruining Indy cars
and now he has a Japanese engine. I wonder if it will be a
lease, because he was against them in CART? Michael
Crane Dear Michael, even AJ has to swallow his pride
if he wants to have a chance to win. We guess he doesn't think
Chevy (American) can beat Toyota (Japanese), or he would not
have switched. Perhaps now he will use Toyota in Winston
Cup as well...when they make the jump in 2007 as rumored.
Mark C.1/27/03 - Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. and A.J. Foyt Enterprises announced
today that they have reached an agreement for Toyota to supply
Indy Racing League (IRL) engines to the team beginning in 2003,
the manufacturer’s inaugural season of IRL competition. The
agreement makes A. J. Foyt Enterprises one of five teams to sign
with Toyota in the manufacturer’s quest for an Indianapolis 500
victory and an IRL IndyCar Series championship. Foyt’s team
joins Kelley Racing, Team Penske, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and
Mo Nunn Racing in utilizing Toyota power in 2003. A.J. Foyt
Enterprises will campaign 18-year-old phenom A.J. Foyt IV, the
inaugural Infiniti Pro Series champion in 2002 and the grandson
of team owner A.J. Foyt. He was an AAWRBA First-team
All-American selection last season after winning four races and
four pole positions. "We’re thrilled to be partnering with A.J.
Foyt Enterprises, a name synonymous with IndyCar racing,“ said
Jim Aust, Toyota vice president of motorsports. “A.J.’s team is
a proven winner in the IndyCar Series, and his talented grandson
A.J. Foyt IV shows great promise for the future.”
1/27/03
Jordan won't sell team
Eddie Jordan has strongly denied he will sell his struggling
Formula One team to Red Bull, despite increased speculation the
two have been in talks. Jordan insists despite the current
troubled position the team finds itself in, added financial
assistance from the sport's organizers should ensure the team
survives the 2003 season. "Even if Red Bull dreams of it, I will
not sell my team, stated Eddie Jordan. “We are in need of a lot
of money, but we will manage on our own."
1/27/03
More on car nos.
Our 2003 CART Silly Season Page lists the latest CART Champ Car
car numbers for 2003, as we know them. It should be noted
that the Championship winning Newman Haas team will run #1 and
#2, i.e. they got one of the Team Penske numbers and Players
Forsythe got the other.
1/27/03
Test in West Preview
If the 2003 Indy Racing League Test in the West had a theme
song, “Getting to Know You” might be appropriate. The annual
preseason Open Test always features new teams, drivers and
highlights, but the eighth annual Test in the West at California
Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway has many exciting new
aspects in the first glimpse at most of the major teams in both
the IRL IndyCar Series and IRL Infiniti Pro Series running at
the same track since the end of the 2002 season. More....
1/27/03
Octagon finally acknowledges race
at Brands Hatch
Today, January 27th, Octagon has finally put up an
article on their Brands Hatch website acknowledging that
they will host a CART race on May 5th. Incredible that it
has taken this long. The Champ Car race has been added to
their Season Pass package (good for all races at Octagon owned
tracks except the British GP). From what we hear, tickets
are going to be hard to get, so if you are going, buy them now.
Click here.
1/27/03
Austria set to lose F1 race
According to this Autosport.com article,
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has told one of Austria's biggest
newspapers that the country will lose its place on the grand prix
calendar next year due to its government bringing forward a ban on
tobacco advertising. The A1-Ring at Spielberg holds a contract to host a
Formula 1 event until 2006, but Ecclestone told Kronen Zeitung: "We'll
be racing for the last time in Spielberg on May 18 this year – then it's
over. Of course, we had a contract with Spielberg until 2006, but with
an exit clause that's now come into effect. Your [Austria's] health
minister is the one to blame because he agreed to bringing forward the
ban on tobacco advertising." Ecclestone gave his comments while in
Kitzbuhel for the World Cup skiing races at the weekend. "In 2004 we're
racing in Shanghai and Bahrain, 2005 in Istanbul, then in Russia," he
said. "It's possible that we then only have five or six races in central
Europe." When asked whether Austria would be one of those venues,
Ecclestone replied: "The decision is final." The loss of Austria will
not be greeted with much sympathy in F1 circles as the race was held in
an area which did not really have the infrastructure to support the
event.
1/27/03
Dale Earnhardt Jr. does not like smaller
fuel tanks In an attempt to give drivers some breathing
room in the frenetic multi-car drafts, NASCAR officials cut the size of
fuel tanks approximately in half at the two tracks, Daytona and
Talladega, where the plates are used to limit horsepower. Dale Earnhardt
Jr., who won both Talladega races in 2002, remains unhappy with the
change. “It’s just an added hassle,” he said. “I don’t think it’s
something very necessary. That race at Talladega, where we ran that
smaller fuel cell, did separate the pack, but that was because people
were making mistakes on and off pit road, running out of gas and not
having as good a fuel mileage as everybody else. That’s not the reasons
that you want to be able to separate the packs. That’s not a good result
from the change they made. “I hate the fact that I have to make more pit
stops. It’s really hard for us to get down pit road when you’re running
that fast. It’s very dangerous. We’ve seen a lot of crashes happen
coming onto pit road when a pack tries to come on pit road and everybody
decides to and some guys don’t. It’s kind of dangerous. You’ve got guys
who can’t slow down or misjudge the entrance of pit road and run into
the back of you. Things like that happen. You tear a tire off or blow a
tire out coming down pit road. You don’t want to take four, but you have
to because you flat spotted both front tires sliding into the pits. You
can tear the gears out, tear the read end out, or tear the transmission
out trying to get off of pit road. It just increases all those things.
It increases the ability of those things to happen.”
1/27/03
Fernández pleased with Laguna Seca test
Adrian Fernandez turned his first laps in the new #51 Tecate/Quaker
State/Telmex Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone this weekend, deeming the
two-day Champ Car open test at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca a success for
Fernandez Racing. "I'm a little bit sore, but it was nice to be back in
the race car after three months," said Fernandez, who has been sidelined
since a racing accident in Surfers Paradise, Australia, on October 27
last year. "Everything went very smoothly, and the team is working very
well together. It was a good two days." Fernandez turned a total of 169
laps on the 2.238-mile road course, posting a best lap time of 70.6
seconds. It was his first run with the new Ford-Cosworth XFE - the spec
engine that will power the entire field in the 2003 Bridgestone Presents
the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. "The new package seems to be
very good," added Fernandez. "The engine is different than what we are
used to, but we are learning a lot. I think we are right there
considering this is the first time I have been back in the car. I am
still a little rusty, and I need to work more on regaining my strength
because I haven't been able to strength-train due to the [fractured]
vertebrae. Overall, I am happy. We are in striking distance and there is
still some time to come from me." Team Manager Gustavo del Campo was
equally pleased with the course of events over the two-day outing and
the team's progress. "Adrián is in very good shape for being out of the
car the past few months," said del Campo. "We were focusing on seven or
eight lap runs, trying to be consistent and find a good balance. We
weren't going for the fastest lap; we were only looking to put more
mileage on the driver at this point. "The car is very good. We didn't
have any problems with the engine, the new Pi system, etc. The team is
the same group of people as last season, only now [Race Engineer] David
Watson knows he is in charge for the whole year. [Watson originally
joined the team for the last three events of the 2002 season.] I think
we are in very good shape and this was a very good start." Fernandez is
looking forward to the team's next outing -- CART's Spring Training -
which begins with media activities in St. Petersburg, Fla., on February
2, and moves to Sebring International Raceway for on-track testing from
February 4 through 6. "The three days at Sebring are going to help me,"
said Fernandez. "It is one thing to work out in the gym, but it is
nothing like driving a race car. This is the longest period that I have
had without driving since I started racing 20-some years ago. I am not
worried about it because it will come back. Our test at Laguna was good,
and I was even surprised myself that I was pretty much right there
because I am still getting back to 100 percent. I am looking forward to
Sebring."
1/27/03
Taxpayer funding will continue for
Surfers race
According to this Australian Herald Sun
article, taxpayer funding for the Gold Coast Indy 300 race will
continue for as long as it remains in the state. Queensland Premier
Peter Beattie said yesterday the motor race was a major tourism event
for Queensland and would always need some level of government
sponsorship. His comments came as international computer printer maker
Lexmark was announced as the new naming rights sponsor for the Indy
under a four-year, multi-million-dollar deal. It replaces Honda whose
five-year contract with Indy - Queensland's biggest annual event -
expired last year. Lexmark managing director Henrik Stensfeldt would not
reveal how much the company had paid for the naming rights. Mr
Stensfeldt said the sponsorship deal would help provide wider exposure
for Lexmark in Queensland and reflected the growing importance of the
Australian market. Queensland taxpayers contributed nearly $11 million
to the Indy race last year and are expected to provide the same level of
funding for this year's race, to be held on October 23 to 26 on the
streets of Surfers Paradise. Mr Beattie yesterday defended the expense,
saying more than $50 million was returned through economic benefits to
the state. He said the event generated 175,000 visitor nights in
Queensland last year and was seen by an international audience of more
than 700 million people in 190 countries. "Tourism no longer simply
relies on natural assets ... event tourism is absolutely essential to
attract people," Mr Beattie said. Tourism Queensland chairman Terry
Jackman said the Indy was arguably the state's "best known and best
loved" event. He said while Queensland does attract massive one-off
events such as the Rugby World Cup, the Indy was "really the annual
big-ticket item on the tourism events calendar".
1/27/03 Industry News
1948 Indy 500 driver killed
Johnny Mauro, a 1948 Indianapolis 500 racer and founder of the U.S.
Truck Driving School, was one of two driver's killed in a head-on
collision on Interstate 70. Mauro, 92, and 17-year-old Christopher
Basinski, a student at Chatfield High School, died Thursday night after
Mauro's car crossed into incoming traffic, said Colorado State Patrol
Trooper Ron Watkins. ''We're just befuddled,'' Mauro's brother, Chuck
Mauro, said Friday. ''I don't know if he had a stroke or a heart attack
or what. But he was healthy and I really don't know.'' A passenger in
Basinski's car, 16-year-old Dillan Newman of Morrison, was hospitalized
with serious injuries. ''We feel so badly about it, not only about him,
but about the other young man who was killed,'' Chuck Mauro said. ''We
just feel so terrible about that.'' Johnny Mauro was one of 11 children
and raced for years across the Midwest. AP
1/27/03
IRL will start to promote its drivers
like NASCAR does
We have long maintained that NASCAR is so popular because it has made
its drivers household names, and hence the fans have followed.
Fans follow their "heroes", not the cars, the technology, or the party
atmosphere of an event (see related
article - Do heroes make a sport, or does a sport make
heroes? by Mark Cipolloni). Up until this point, that is why
the IRL, CART, ALMS, etc, flounder around 1.0 TV ratings while NASCAR
enjoys 4+ ratings. This has not been lost on Tony George.
Starting in 2003, the IRL will begin to create its heroes, i.e. the
drivers. If he succeeds in his plan, the IRL TV ratings will begin to
grow, while the other racing series that promote their events, cars, or
technology will continue to flounder. In this article,
George lays out his 2003 goals for the IRL: 1) Stick to oval race
tracks. 2) Strictly regulate engines and cars to keep performance
roughly equal and competition intense. 3) Begin promoting its drivers as
stars, much like NASCAR drivers. 4) Build the IRL brand through media
coverage, video games and by getting drivers involved with fans before
each race. 5) Encourage more women drivers to join the league. 5)
Continue to hold down costs for racing teams by requiring them to buy
their engines and chassis from approved suppliers. Perhaps the biggest
challenge for George will come from trying to keep down costs while
welcoming Honda and Toyota into the league as approved engine suppliers
for the 2003 season. "What we hoped to have accomplished with the league
and formula is a level playing field, where having access to virtually
unlimited resources won't get you the kinds of gains that give you a
huge advantage," George said. "We think the competition is very close.
Someone with fewer resources can compete with either the
manufacturer-supported teams or the ones that have high-profile
sponsors." George said it is unlikely any races will be added to the
roster at the Indianapolis International Speedway, which hosts the
Indianapolis 500 in May, the Brickyard 400 in August and the United
States Grand Prix in September. Regarding the competition with CART,
George after his speech said that motor sports is a big enough arena to
accommodate both. "By focusing on ovals, we can develop our niche and
grow our business," he said. "Likewise, CART moving toward road courses,
they should be able to develop that as well."
1/27/03
Champ
Car Stars releases 2003 regulations
The Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow karting series released its 2003
technical regulations today. As previously disclosed, the regulations
follow closely FIA/CIK international karting standards for the ICC, ICA,
and World Formula classes. “I want to commend our National Technical
Director, Scott G. Evans, on a superb job establishing regulations that
provide sensible, stable rules for our constituents,” said Stars’
Operations Director Paul Zalud. “Rules making and enforcement is no easy
task. Stars is fortunate to have one of the most disciplined and
thorough rules directors in the sport in Mr. Evans.” Reflecting the
recent merger with the WKA/SCCA Constructor’s Championship, the Stars
regulations provide consistency with existing WKA regulations for the
junior classes of 80cc shifter, Yamaha Superbox, and Cadet. Additional
classes that will be run in Stars regional programs are also covered in
the rules. “It is our mission at Stars to be a stabilizing and unifying
force in American karting in order to elevate the sport. It is indeed a
pleasure to begin to make this mission a reality in conjunction with our
friends at the WKA, SCCA, and CIK,” said Zalud. “We believe this is
another step towards a real change in American kart racing. It is now
incumbent upon us to take these rules and run a tight, sensible racing
series.” One current hot issue that is addressed in the Stars
regulations is the matter of 2003 CIK bodywork. “In order to serve all
our constituents, both 2003 and pre-2003 compliant bodywork will be
allowed for the 2003 season,” continued Zalud. “We do not wish to put
suppliers, distributors, retailers, and racers in an unreasonable
position either by forcing them to abandon pre-2003 inventories or by
departing from CIK regulations and sticking new chassis owners with
bodywork they cannot use.” The Stars regulations can be found at
www.cartstars.com. The Champ Car
'Stars of Tomorrow' karting series is the official first level in CART's
driver development system and an officially sanctioned series of WKA/SCCA
Pro Racing. Founded by racing star Bryan Herta and now owned in
conjunction with a group of racing veterans, including three-time CART
champion and Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal, the Stars of Tomorrow serves
as the first step for the CART driver development ladder. Stars focuses
on recognizing the skills of the drivers rather than the technology
development within the machines, using FIA/CIK International standards.
More information can be found at
www.cartstars.com.
NASCAR worried about poisoning drivers2nd UPDATE Another reader writes,
Just to remind everybody, as Richard Petty was winding down his NASCAR
career, he was also concerned about carbon-monoxide poisoning and felt
it was something that hurt his performances. Towards the end he was even
wearing a helmet that was feeding him "unpoisoned air.", something
similar to what fighter pilots wear at high altitude. Not even "The
King" could get NASCAR to take notice....Scott Emerson Bull1/26/03 - A reader writes, The carbon monoxide problem in NASCAR
is not new, they have been an aware of the problem since the 60's. I was
casually watching a NASCAR event almost 15 years ago and Benny Parsons
mention the problem during his commentary, in between carburetors are
superior to fuel injection, and Bill France is a saint. Parsons did also
mention the Doctor who conducted the study, but I can't recall the
Doctors name, and Parsons mentioned his own high post race blood toxin
levels as driver during the study. As if it matters (NASCAR only cares
after they kill or nearly kill someone) David R. Smith Louisville, KY
1/26/03 - According to this Winston Salem News Journal article,
NASCAR is studying catalytic converters that can turn deadly carbon
monoxide into relatively harmless carbon dioxide. NASCAR's R&D director,
Gary Nelson, said that Rick Mast's illness and Tony Stewart's poisoning
at Martinsville last fall triggered NASCAR to start a major
investigation in to the carbon monoxide issue. In part of the NASCAR
study, some drivers last fall gave doctors a balloon sample from their
lungs after the race. We here at AR1 feel this issue is one reason
why many Winston Cup drivers are cutting back on the number of non-Cup
races they participate in.
1/26/03
News from Laguna - less HP, faster lap
times
HP is down to 750 HP this year in CART with the standard Ford Cosworth,
yet hot off the presses - Bruno Junqueira was faster today at Laguna
Seca than last years pole time by about 1/2 second. For the second
straight day, the cars of the Newman/Haas Racing stable set the pace in
the Champ Car Open Test at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This time, it was
Bruno Junqueira taking quick time honors over yet-to-be-signed Frenchman
Sebastien Bourdais. On Saturday, Bourdais was slightly quicker than
Junqueira. Player's/Forsythe Racing's Patrick Carpentier wound up third
fastest for the second day in a row. Ironically, the entire engine
budget for CART this year will be $25 million (all cars all races)
whereas it was about $200 million last year......and the cars are going
faster....which proves you don't need runaway engine costs to go fast.
Full Story
Mark C.
1/26/03
From the major ouch department The
Gazzetta dello Sport from Italy has reported that the new FIA rule to
ban two way telemetry this season has cost the Sauber Petronas team
dearly. This past off-season the Sauber team reportedly spent $1.9
million on developing a new two way telemetry system for the Sauber C22.
On a more positive note, teams will save 10 times this in future
development costs, so the new rules are saving Sauber and everyone else
a lot of money.
1/26/03
Seen at Laguna on Saturday - III
(Photos by Bob Heathcote
1/26/03
Tire talk with Bridgestone
Tire talk with Bridgestone -- conducted with Hisao Suganuma, Technical
Manager Bridgestone Motorsport. Transcript
1/26/03
Someone needs to pickup Pantano
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I have been watching this past
years F3000 races on SPEED Channel. Giorgio Pantano and Sebastien
Bourdais put on some great battles all year long. Bourdais has
been super fast in Champ Cars already and there is no question Pantano
is equally as talented and would be just as impressive. After
hearing that Pantano got screwed out of a Champ Car ride in the 11th
hour by Dana Brewer, if I were a team owner looking for a driver, I
would be knocking on this kids door. CART isn't going to grow its
series with ride-buyers, it's going to grow it with talented drivers
like a Zanardi, Montoya, Bourdais or Pantano who can get the fans
excited again. Dan Jones, Seattle, Wa. Dear
Dan, there is no question that what happened to the talented Pantano was
disheartening. Finding a ride now, even back in F3000, may be too
late. It's too bad for CART as well, because some of its better TV
ratings came from Italy, especially when Zanardi was winning. The
Italians are indeed fanatical about their racing, and Pantano is very
popular in Italy. Mark C.
1/26/03
CART wasted money on Andretti
In this CanadianRacing.com
interview, Paul Tracy says - I’m a supporter of CART and I have
been a supporter of CART for a long time. They’ve spent a lot of money
and a lot of years marketing Michael (Andretti) as CART’s guy. Then all
of a sudden, Michael’s bad-mouthing CART, and slamming the people that
run CART, and I’ve never really done that. “Michael Andretti” is a very
powerful name, and Michael was the key focus of their marketing
campaign. I guess now it’s my turn. I’ve got some years, and some name
recognition, yet it’s not something I’ve really thought about. It just
goes along with everything else. I just try to go out and put as much of
myself out there and do a good job......I think they’ve addressed a lot
of issues. Going back to Europe is important, stabilizing the rules
package is important, stabilizing the engine package is important. I
think they’ve done a lot, but the biggest hurdle right now is the car
count, but we’re almost there. In this economy, it’s very hard to
generate a lot of money for sponsorship, whether it’s sports teams or
Olympic athletes or car racing. You’ve got sports teams going bankrupt
right now like the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres. They generate
millions of dollars in revenue, and they’re going bankrupt. The times
are tough right now in filling the grid, with 9/11, and with America
about to go to war, people aren’t focusing on throwing millions of
dollars into sponsoring racecars. We’ve had a lot of new teams coming
into CART with people like Craig Pollack, and spending their own money
to support auto racing when times are tough. I applaud people like that.
1/25/03
Seen at Laguna Seca on Saturday
Car# Driver Sponsor
1 Bruno Junqueira None (Though car was purple and white, could it be Pioneer?)
2 Sebastian Bourdais Lilly
3 Paul Tracy Players
4 Roberto Moreno Herdez (Never heard an official announcement)
9 Michel Jourdain Gigante
19 Joel Camathias None (Though car was blue and white)
20 Oriol Servia Visteon (Wish they had changed the paint scheme)
32 Patrick Carpentier Players
33 Alex Tagliani Johnson Controls, I believe Microchip.
34 Mario Haberfeld Mi-Jack
51 Adrian Fernandez Tecate, Quaker State
55 Mario Dominguez Herdez
1/25/03
Newman Haas to unveil new sponsor
Newman Haas is tentatively scheduled to unveil a new team
sponsor on Monday February 3rd in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Kmart and Havoline are gone, but the team has found a
replacement. Eli Lilly is still on board though the team
still can't use the Calais name until the FDA approves the drug.
We hear it is now close. Mark C.
1/25/03
Briatore attacks F1 The
flamboyant Flavio Briatore has this to say about F1's woes, and
you can tell it's aimed right at people like Ron Dennis who want
to keep all the technology in the sport: "We are not doing
anything for the public," he said. "We care about the technology
for the technology. When, for example, we had something new like
telemetry, nobody thought if this created a better show for the
public. Do the public appreciate it? No way! It is only for us,
meaning that we don't care what our customers want. Our product
is too expensive at this moment, and the public does not
appreciate our product. It is that simple." "You see the other
teams fall off left and right, and you still go straight like
nothing happened," Briatore said. "Some people never want to
change anything." The problem, Briatore said, is that the teams
can't agree on any solutions. And that opens the door for F1's
governing body the FIA to step in and make changes that may not
be popular with the teams. "We give the possibility for those
changes to be imposed on us because we are not agreeing on
anything," he said. "This is the real problem of F1. The people
want to see a race. but F1 in the last three or four months was
more in the economic pages of the newspapers and not in the
sporting pages. We forget that we are doing sport. We lost the
track. We need to come back very quickly onto the right track.
"Normally you run a business and you sit together and decide
what you need to do to run a business," he continued. "The
moment you have a solution you go to the director, the referee,
and say this is what we propose. It never happens (with the F1
teams). We need to have rules imposed on us. Max (Mosley the FIA
president) and Bernie (Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights
holder) understand that we are going completely out hand." "We
have seen on many occasions people working in F1 people and
making a lot of money out of it, but they don't care what the
people think," Briatore said. "We need to care about what the
people think because we need to sell cars to the people; we need
to bring an image to the people. We need to make the people
enjoy our racing. You know the TV ratings dropped, and they
should be dropping because what we produce (in the race) on
Sunday ... it is a miracle that people are still watching TV."
"First you need to work on the circuits," he said. "You need to
modify a lot of the tracks because on some of these tracks it is
impossible to overtake somebody if you are walking, never mind
racing a F1 car. Secondly we have make a car with less
aerodynamic downforce so that you can overtake the guy in front
of you." "The people don't care about how much we spend," he
said. "This is our problem and we don't need to discuss it in
the newspaper every day. People have those problems in their own
homes -- the budget to pay the rent and the electricity bill --
they don't care how much Toyota is saving or Renault spending.
"Our problem is that we need to give a better race, a better
spectacle," he added. "Sure, if we are business people, we need
to manage to give this product with less money. This is
possible. We don't to save two or three percent in F1. We have
the possibility to save 50 or 60 percent." "Really, it is quite
incredible that when the spectators see two cars on the grid,
and that behind those two cars are 1,000 people," Briatore said.
"We look like a joke. One thousand people behind two racing
cars? This is not the way to go." The bottom line, Briatore
insisted, is that F1 has to look after its fans and listen to
what they want. He summed it all up this way: "It is like you
have a store and you don't care what the client wants," Briatore
said. "Because you like black, you order everything in black. If
the client likes white, you don't care."
1/25/03
Renault changes mind on Friday testing
According to this Auto Motor Sport
article, Renault will withdraw from Friday testing due to the
rule changes, they need more track-time, which is understandable. The
first year of any major rules change requires more testing to adopt.
In years 2, 3 and beyond, when all the needless technology is stripped
from the F1 cars, there will be far less urgency to test.
1/25/03
What
about Paul Ricard?UPDATE
More info on Paul Ricard - Length: from 0.51 miles to 3.62 miles (40
possible configurations), Width: 40 feet. Paul Ricard is the most modern
motor racing facility in the world. After 12 months of intensive
re-development by Bernie Ecclestone, it now offers the teams who test
there 40 different configurations. Home of the French GP in the 70"s, it
is currently dedicated exclusively to testing, the circuit features
exceptional safety facilities and some unique technological solutions:
with 32 timing sensors, an automatic circuit-sprinkler system,
air-conditioned garages and no gravel traps, it is truly one-of-a-kind.
A system of colored lights positioned around the circuit performs the
job of the marshals, while the tarmac run-off areas mean cars can
continue without any damage after a spin. Paul Ricard is now capable of
simulating a range of circuits as different as Budapest and Montreal.
1/24/03
-
We published an
article awhile back which explored the idea of CART
racing at Bernie Ecclestone's track in Paul Ricard, France.
A rumor has surfaced that France is possibly in CART's future.
In Autosport, Nigel Roebuck talks about what Bernie Ecclestone
has done since he bought Paul Ricard. Nigel writes, " I was
there last two dozen years ago, and upon my return last week was
stunned by what Bernie had done with the place, to the point
that it was difficult some of the time to work out where one
was. Approaching the track, there is now what appears to be a
vast Provencal country club, which proves on closer inspection
to be the Hotel du Catellet, and was put up by....you guessed.
It looks like the kind of place where you settle the bill
through a building society, and one of the restaurants, they
tell me, is about to receive its first Michelin star. Everything
top drawer, as you would expect from Bernie C. Ecclestone. Once
inside the circuit, access roads are at last laid out logically,
and there are impressive new pits, media building, and so on.
And if the race is boring.....just flip on the sprinkler system
and you have a wet race for added excitement, under clear blue
skies. All that's needed is to erect grandstands/bleachers
and they can go racing.
1/25/03
Monterrey tickets on sale to general
public Tickets go on
sale Sunday to the general public for the March 23rd Tecate Telmex Grand
Prix CART race in Monterrey, Mexico.
1/25/03
Dr. Trammel responds to F1
crybabiesUPDATE We
have added a photo to the right of Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello
wearing the HANS Device. We have not heard him crying about it at
all. (Photo by Bryn Lennon, Getty
Images) 1/23/03 - CART drivers have been using the HANS
Device on both ovals and road courses for two years with very
few complaints. However, the F1 drivers are crying like
babies about wearing the device. In an article in
Autosport Magazine, CART Orthopedic expert Dr. Terry Trammel
responds to the cries - "I would say to any driver that there is
absolutely no reason why they can't wear the HANS in any kind of
race car. It can be adapted to any style of driving.
Some F1 drivers have been outspoken in criticizing the HANS.
I'd be happy to work with them and I guarantee that they can
wear it without if affecting their performance."
1/25/03
Jordan
to name driver next week Ralph Firman thinks, like many
others in the F1 world, that former Sauber driver Felipe Massa (right)
is the one that will eventually win the last Jordan seat. "I think
Massa is favorite. He's in plum position because he has heavy backing,
but perhaps nothing has been officially signed yet," he said. "I'd
love to be in Formula One, it's what I've always dreamed of. It would
be great to race against guys like Juan Pablo Montoya, Nick Heidfeld
and Jarno Trulli who I raced against in Formula Three. But I'm due to
go back to Japan on Tuesday and race in the GT and Formula Nippon
series again this year so we'll see what happens." And it seems as if
he won't have long to wait for the answer with Jordan's director of
marketing Mark Gallagher confirming that all should be revealed by the
middle of next week. "Massa and Ralph are very much in discussions
with us," he said. "The discussions are coming along and it's pretty
imminent - maybe Tuesday or Wednesday next week. At the end of the day
we must go testing."
1/25/03
Irvine would have driven for free The latest The Sun
article says Eddie Irvine was paid £18m for his three year stint at
Jaguar, but now says he would have driven for free. "From the start
money has never been the issue," Irvine tells The Sun. "I have always
tried to earn a reasonable wage from the sport but when a team has no
money in the kitty it become a pointless exercise. "I know there were
people thinking I was seeking a 'pension drive' by going to Jordan,"
he continues, "but nothing could be further from the truth. "I wanted
to drive for them and prove a few things to a few people," adds the
former Ferrari star. "Jordan would not have had to have paid me a
bean. I was prepared to look for personal sponsorship and to sell
space on my overalls and a small part of the car. "I could not have
been fairer than that. The one thing which I wasn't going to do was to
pay the team for the drive. That was never on."
1/25/03
Dover wants to keep two races
According to this Washington Post
article, with major markets around the country clamoring for a
NASCAR Winston Cup race, stock-car racing boss Bill France Jr. floated a
controversial proposal this week for meeting that demand without adding
to the sport's arduous, 36-race calendar. But officials at Dover (Del.)
International Speedway yesterday balked at the proposal, which would
involve giving up one of their annual races and moving it to St. Louis
or Nashville, where Dover Motorsports, the company that owns the
Delaware track, also owns tracks. "Given that our two races are both
doing so well, and that we basically service the Washington, Baltimore
and Philadelphia markets, which are major markets that NASCAR wants to
stay strong in, I don't think there is any time soon that Dover will be
giving up any of its two races to help Nashville or St. Louis have a
Winston Cup race," said John Dunlap, director of public relations for
Dover International Speedway. "We're not going to give up what we have.
It's too good." The Dover track, dubbed "The Monster Mile," has hosted
major stock-car races since 1969. According to Dunlap, both of its
NASCAR races are attended by capacity crowds of 140,000 each spring and
summer, drawing especially well from the Washington, Baltimore and
Philadelphia areas.
1/25/03
Bodine's wife arrested
The wife of NASCAR driver Brett Bodine is expected to be extradited to
Walton County, Florida on charges of harassing and threatening a
Loganville woman. The Loganville woman had reportedly befriended Brett
Bodine through her job with Hooters of America, one of Bodine's NASCAR
sponsors. The woman has alleged she has been verbally threatened and
harassed by Diane Bodine, 43, since last year. After an investigation,
the Walton County Sheriff's Department issued arrest warrants for Diane
Bodine on charges of making harassing phone calls and terroristic
threats and acts, sheriff department Sgt. Jeff Johnson said. Diane
Bodine was arrested last week at her Florida home by the Volusia County
Sheriff's Department and was subsequently released on bond. Johnson said
the department was seeking an extradition order to have Diane Bodine
brought to Walton County to face the charges. Diane Bodine is the
official owner of the No. 11 car driven by Brett Bodine, who made his
NASCAR debut in 1985.
New
Atlantic team signs Figge
Pacific Coast Motorsports recently announced its formation and driver
for the upcoming 2003 season. Alex Figge, of Santa Barbara, Calif., will
contest the entire 12-race CART Toyota Atlantic Championship with
Pacific Coast Motorsports. Recently formed, Pacific Coast Motorsports
features a vast amount of Atlantic Championship experience. Team owner
and Manager Tyler Tadevic has over five years experience in the Atlantic
Championship, including managing World Speed Motorsports the past two
years. Chief Engineer Mike Doyle has over 20 years of race experience
with over nine years experience in the Atlantic Championship, while
Chief Mechanic Alex Roberge joins the team having worked with P1 Racing
for the past five years. "Pacific Coast Motorsports is focused on
winning, said Tadevic. "Given the skills and experience of the crew,
combined with Alex's [Figge] natural talent, we are looking to be a
front-runner and have high hopes for the championship." Driving the No.
69 Wine Country Motorsports/Pacific Coast Motorsports Swift 014.a
Toyota, Figge returns for his second year of Atlantic Championship
competition. A driver of vast potential, Figge will be looking to
capitalize on the experiences he gained in his rookie season. Thus far
in pre-season testing, Figge has posted times as fast as the leaders at
each test he has attended. "I can't wait for the season to start," said
Figge. "The team has really gelled and I've posted some good results in
testing. I know the team will give me all the tools necessary to compete
for the championship."
1/24/03
Dana Brewer deceives another driver
Dana Brewer has left a trail of broken promises and lies behind him, and
drivers with broken dreams. His latest victim was talented Giorgio
Pantano who is now without a ride just before the season is to begin.
This speedtv.com article
says that in the wake of the announcement that Sunoco will be the
official fuel of the American Le Mans Series, it has become clear that
the Christmas announcement from BC Motorsports that the team was moving
into CART’s Champ Car series with backing耠from the oil company was also
news to Sunoco’s management. "Sunoco is not, and has not been in any
negotiations with BC Motorsport," said Rob Marro, General Manager of
Sunoco Performance Products. "We have no plans to sponsor individual
team or driver sponsorships in CART or any other series." It was said
that BC Motorsports would be entering a one-car team in the series for
Italian F3000 star Giorgio Pantano. "I’m flattered that BC Motorsports
chose Sunoco to establish credibility," continued Marro, "but there was
never any contact with us." BC Motorsports' plans are now unclear, and
it appears that the team will not be racing in CART in 2003. The news
also leaves Williams F1 test driver Pantano without a race drive with
just weeks to go before CART’s season opener at St Petersburg, Fla. The
Italian finished runner-up to France’s Sebastian Bourdais in the 2002
F3000 series. Bourdais is expected to be confirmed as Bruno Junqueira’s
teammate at Newman/Haas in the next few days. BC Motorsports has
been removed from our
2003 CART Silly Season Page.
1/24/03
Tim Mayer takes over
international duties
Creating the foundation for a key aspect of the strategic
business plan of the Champ Car World Series, CART President and
CEO Christopher R. Pook announced today the appointment of
Timothy A. Mayer, Managing Partner of G3 Communications, Inc. to
head up CART international operations and development. Mayer,
who most recently was CART's Vice President of Promoter
Operations, will head up the operation of 2003 Champ Car events
at Brands Hatch, England and at Eurospeedway Lausitz. In
addition Mayer will oversee CART's relationship with the Lexmark
Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise, Australia along with the
development of other overseas events, CART's relationship with
international sporting authorities and CART's international
television. "While the North American region is the core of what
Champ Car is about, our strategy going forward has to recognize
that Champ Car is a global brand," Pook said. "With Tim's
appointment, for the first time, CART is recognizing that we
need to dedicate someone of Tim's experience to that mission."
The announcement of Mayer's new appointment comes in conjunction
with a list of new promotions and duties within Championship
Auto Racing Teams, all of which will be detailed in a
forthcoming release. Mayer's background includes six years
developing overseas markets with the Champ Car series, including
organizing the race in Rio de Janeiro, and producing coverage of
the Champ Car series on Brazilian television. Joining CART in
1998, Mayer first took over administration of the Racing
Operations division, then moved to head up Promoter Operations.
Returning to run his own company, G3 Communications, Mayer is
now taking over the international operations and development
portfolio and will report directly to the company CEO. "The
Champ Cars are widely recognized for the incredible quality of
the racing. I am very excited to be able to work with Chris Pook
and all of the Champ Car team to deliver this great brand
worldwide," said Mayer. "I am also very pleased at the
continuing confidence that Chris has shown in me in assigning me
to this very important strategic goal of the company."
1/24/03
Sonoco joins ALMS
The great Mark Donohue and the Sunoco brand were synonymous in
the world of professional sports car racing in the 60s and 70s,
and the famous Sunoco name will return to the top level of
sports car racing in a new marketing alliance for 2003. Sunoco
will become the Official Fuel of the American Le Mans Series for
the 2003 racing season and will also benefit the series with a
television and marketing campaign. All cars that compete in
events on the series will run on Sunoco GT Unleaded Racing
Gasoline, while cars, drivers and crews will be adorned with the
Sunoco brand logo. In addition to its presence at the events,
Sunoco will support its partnership with the American Le Mans
Series at the consumer level with displays and signage at its
retail locations. Sunoco will also advertise on network
telecasts of the events that appear on NBC Sports and CBS.
“Thirty years ago, the Sunoco brand was very visible in American
road racing due to the success of Mark Donohue,” said Rob Marro,
General Manager of Sunoco Performance Products. “We are
privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of the
excitement surrounding the American Le Mans Series as it
continues to grow and bring world-class sports car racing back
to the forefront in North America.” “There is definitely a
wonderful history associated with Sunoco and sports car racing,
and it is an honor to have Sunoco as an important new ingredient
of the American Le Mans Series,” said Scott Atherton, President
of the ALMS. “Sunoco not only brings a great product for our
race teams, but also brings important marketing clout to the
table that will help us promote the series and the events.”
1/24/03
Toyota Atlantic deals in works
In addition to the teams that represented the recently-announced
16 entries for the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship,
several other Atlantic programs are also coming together. Chief
among those teams is Reynoldsburg, Ohio-based Michael Shank
Racing, which has competed in the series for the past eight
seasons. According to team owner Mike Shank, a two-time Atlantic
Team Owner of the Year, the team has every intention of
competing in the 2003 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship, likely
with two cars. The team has tested 10 drivers since the end of
last season, and Shank reports that several deals are in the
works, with a few approaching completion. Likewise, another
Buckeye State team, Chardon-based Polestar Motor Racing, is
working diligently to put a program together for 2003 as well.
Polestar, which is being operated by long-time Atlantic
competitors Jim and Pam Griffith, acquired all of the Atlantic
equipment from Sigma Autosport, which competed in the series
last season with Rocky Moran Jr. and David Wieringa. The team
also has its own partial funding, and is in negotiations with a
few drivers to complete the program. Tucson, Ariz.-based Brooks
Associates Racing (formerly known as BBGP Racing) is in the
process of putting together a two-car program that will compete
full-time in the 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship. The team
will be moving to a new facility in Tucson within the next month
that will house the team's race operations, as well as its
marketing efforts. Team owner John Brooks explained that the
team is currently talking to a number of drivers and that he is
"cautiously optimistic" that deals for both cars will fall into
place shortly. Long-time Atlantic competitors Condor Motorsports
from Bloomington, Calif. are also actively seeking a program for
2003. Team owner Carlos Bobeda has been in contact with several
drivers from all over the world, but the team and drivers have
not yet secured the necessary funding to compete. JPT
Motorsports out of Oceanside, Calif. is also hard at work in
putting together a package for 2003 after fielding a car for
DeWayne Cassel at Portland last year. Team owner Joe Tobin said
that the team has a building full of equipment with one brand
new Swift 014.a and another that has run just one race and a
practice session last year at Cleveland. The team is actively
searching for funding and a driver to complete its puzzle for
the '03 season. Dorricott Racing, Lynx Racing, Scuadra Fortia
and Sierra Sierra Racing are also in the process of finding
funding for additional cars to run alongside each of the teams'
previously announced drivers. The 12-race, 2003 CART Toyota
Atlantic Championship gets underway at Fundidora Park in
Monterrey, Mexico on the weekend of March 23.
1/24/03
Teams test short track setup
Preparations for the 2003 IRL IndyCar Series continued Jan. 23
at Phoenix International Raceway with IndyCar Series drivers Gil
de Ferran, Robbie Buhl and Al Unser Jr. testing on the 1-mile
oval, concentrating on short oval setups. de Ferran, a two-time
CART champion, completed more than 175 laps in his Marlboro Team
Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone during two days of testing. “Our
two-day test at Phoenix was the first time we ran on a 1-mile
oval with the 2003 race car,” de Ferran said. “The test was a
good opportunity for us to work on our short oval setup, which
is important, because it sets the tone for the season on this
type of track. I believe it was a good test given we tried a
number of different things and learned a lot over the last two
days. “Our preseason preparation at this stage is going
according to plan. It’s still early days to gauge our
competitiveness. We’ll get a much better read on where we stand
when we come back to Phoenix for Test in the West in early
February.” Penske Racing President Tim Cindric was pleased with
the test at Phoenix and hopes the team can score a second
consecutive victory at PIR when the IndyCar Series returns for
the Copper World Indy 200 on March 23. de Ferran’s teammate,
two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, won the
event in 2002. “It was a productive two days at Phoenix for
Marlboro Team Penske,” Cindric said. “We had our first
opportunity to run the short oval package. We’re hoping to pick
up where we left off here last year, but we’re not ready to go
racing yet. We still need a bit more time.” IndyCar Series
veteran Robbie Buhl, who struggled through the 2002 season and
was running at the finish of only four of 15 races, was happy
with the two-day test. "We did 200 miles as expected, and all
trouble-free – which is a novel concept for us, given our bad
luck last season,” Buhl said.
1/24/03
Ten drivers to test at Laguna SecaUPDATE We added Joel
Camathias and Dale Coyne Racing to the list who will be there.
1/24/03 - A least 10 CART drivers will be at Mazda Raceway this weekend to
participate in an open CART test. CART Champ Car teams/drivers
scheduled to appear include:
- Team Rahal / Michel Jourdain
- Newman/Haas Racing / Bruno Junqueira, Sebastian Bourdais
(assumed)
- Player's/Forsythe Racing / Paul Tracy, Patrick Carpentier
- Fernandez Racing / Adrian Fernandez
- Mi-Jack Conquest Racing / Mario Haberfeld
- Patrick Racing / Oriol Servia
- Herdez Competition / Dominguez or Moreno
- Rocketsports Racing / Alex Tagliani
- Dale Coyne Racing / Joel Camathias
1/24/03
NASCAR special on Travel Channel
NASCAR and Travel Channel have partnered to produce two one-hour
documentaries airing back-to-back on February 9, 2003,
exclusively on the Travel Channel. NASCAR's THUNDER ROAD, which
airs at 9:00 p.m. (ET), and ULTIMATE NASCAR, which airs at 10:00
p.m. (ET) on February 9, provide viewers with both the familiar
and the lesser-known elements of the sport and a NASCAR race.
The programs will re-air on Saturday, February 15 from 9 - 11
p.m. (ET), the evening before the launch of NASCAR's 2003 season
debut, the Daytona 500. "Travel Channel does a fantastic job
taking viewers to places they have never been, and opening the
NASCAR world to a new audience will benefit our drivers, teams,
tracks, sponsors and the continued growth of the sport," said
Paul Brooks, vice president of broadcasting, NASCAR. "It is
always fascinating to look at NASCAR through a new lens. Wilda
Rokos and Travel Channel have captured elements of our sport and
culture that will captivate their audience." NASCAR's THUNDER
ROAD takes a behind-the-scenes look at race weekends,
documenting pre-race preparation for the drivers, teams and
fans. Beginning with an overview of the sport and its history,
the program examines the people and the innovative technology
that go into the preparation for each event. The NASCAR race
season is a challenging 38-week journey, and NASCAR's THUNDER
ROAD will highlight the travel to and from NASCAR events
showcasing how the team haulers serve as the "life system" of
the racing crew on the road. Widely regarded as one of the most
fan-friendly sports, NASCAR's THUNDER ROAD gives viewers a fan's
view of the race from both the grandstand seats and VIP suites,
including adrenaline-laden race action, the marvels of souvenir
row, and the thrill of the Victory Lane celebration.
1/24/03
Dodge seeks diversity
Minority candidates interested in pursuing technical careers in
professional racing can now apply for scholarships sponsored by
the Dodge Motorsports Diversity Scholarship Program. The
program, in its third year of operation, aims to attract,
recruit and train minorities for positions within the automotive
and motorsports industry. "The Dodge Motorsports Diversity
Program represents a guided pathway by which talented technical
students can find their way to success as team members in one of
the most exciting careers around - NASCAR racing," said John
Fernandez, Director - Dodge Motorsports Operations. "This
program represents DaimlerChrysler's true commitment to
providing opportunities for all Americans."
1/24/03
IRL open test at Homestead
IRL IndyCar Series will Open Test at Homestead-Miami Speedway on
Monday, February 17 and Tuesday, February 18. Teams and Drivers
will be testing at speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour in
preparation for the Toyota Indy 300, February 28 - March 2 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Teams and Drivers of the IRL IndyCar
Series will include:
· Andretti-Green Racing: Michael Andretti, Dario Franchitti,
Tony Kanaan
· A.J. Foyt Enterprises: A.J. Foyt IV
· Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: Robbie Buhl, Sarah Fisher
· Kelley Racing: Scott Sharp, Al Unser Jr.
· Marlboro Team Penske: Helio Castroneves, Gil de Ferran
· Mo Nunn Racing: Felipe Giaffone; Tora Takagi
· Panther Racing: Sam Hornish Jr.
· Red Bull Cheever Racing: Eddie Cheever Jr., Buddy Rice
· Super Aguri Fernandez Racing: Roger Yasukawa
· Target Chip Ganassi Racing: Scott Dixon, Tomas Scheckter
· Team Menard: Jaques Lazier
· Team Rahal: Kenny Brack
1/24/03
FIAT legend dies
Gianni Agnelli, grandson of the founder of FIAT has
died. The honorary Chairman of FIAT, Agnelli had been
suffering from cancer. News of his death came just before he
was supposed to appear at a crisis meeting with members of his
family, which owns 30% of FIAT, to discuss the company’s
future. Agnelli was also a strong supporter of the Ferrari
Formula One team, FIAT having long held a majority stake in
the Prancing Horse firm, and a close associate of the marque’s
President Luca Montezemolo. ‘The death of Giovanni Agnelli
leaves an unfillable void in my life,’ Montezemolo said in a
statement released today. ‘For over 35 years, his friendship
and affection provided me with an incomparable reference
point. I can never forget how often he was close to me during
the most difficult moments and I attribute Ferrari’s success
to him, knowing full well what a fundamental role he played in
achieving it.’ Agnelli’s life also touched members of the
Ferrari race team, from driver Michael Schumacher to Team
Manager Jean Todt. ‘I am deeply saddened by the death of
Avvocato Agnelli,’ Schumacher said. ‘I always had a profound
respect for him and I consider myself proud to have known him.
Every time we met, I was made aware of his great understanding
and interest in Ferrari, Formula 1 and soccer, as well as his
sensitivity to the problems of the world.’
1/24/03 F3000
Arden Recruits Rob Creswell to
team with Townsend Bell The Arden Team are delighted
to announce today that they have secured the services of leading
F3000 engineer Rob Creswell. Rob joins the Team from Super Nova
having engineered Sebastian Bourdais to the 2002 Drivers Title.
Rob will be responsible for engineering the car of recently
announced American Driver Townsend Bell under the leadership of
Director of Engineering Mick Cook. Prior to his 5 seasons with
Super Nova in F3000, Rob also race engineered ex-Formula 1
Drivers JJ Lehto, David Brabham and Pedro de la Rosa and won the
British Formula 3 Championship with Mika Hakkinen in 1990.
Christian Horner commented: "Securing Rob's services to join the
Arden Team is something we've been working on for a little while
and I'm delighted that he will be part of our Team for the 2003
season working with Townsend Bell. Together with Mick Cook we
now have the most experienced and successful engineering line up
in F3000". Rob Creswell commented: "Having seen Arden emerge
into a successful Team during the past few seasons convinced me
that this is the right place to further my career. I am really
looking forward to working with the Team and Townsend in what is
sure to be a competitive 2003 season.
Steele to sponsor Bell/Bell/Gregg/Simon
at Daytona
Steele Technologies announced today that it will join Derhaag
Motorsports as the primary marketing partner for the team's entry in the
Rolex 24 at Daytona, Feb 1-2, 2003. The driver line-up for the #40
XtremeLens Chevrolet Corvette GTS is deep in talent and features two of
the best known names in the history of sports car racing: Bell and
Gregg. Racing legend Derek Bell and his son, Justin Bell, are teamed
with Simon Gregg and Kenny Wilden. Simon, a 2000 Rolex 24 class winner,
is the son of road racing champion driver and past winner at Daytona,
the late Peter Gregg. Kenny Wilden posted the first-ever Trans-Am win
for Derhaag Motorsports in 2000. The 2003 Rolex 24 will mark the third
time that Justin Bell and his father will be teammates in a 24-hour
endurance race. Derek Bell is a three-time winner at Daytona and
five-time winner at Le Mans. It is their first attempt together at
Daytona. "In 1995, my father and I raced together at Le Mans 24 hours,"
explained Justin. "We led that race for 16 hours before a failing clutch
dropped us to third place by the finish. However, the memory of standing
on the podium at Le Mans with my father on Father's Day has to be one of
the most special moments in my life. So, we have unfinished business
together. When Jim Derhaag opened the door for me to ask my father to
join the team, I leaped at the chance. "Looking at the bigger picture,
it's certainly a historic moment when the Bells join up with the Gregg
name. Our fathers raced against each other many years ago when Peter
Gregg had tremendous success at Daytona. I suspect that sitting on the
starting grid will be a special moment for Simon as well."
1/23/03
Who is funding Johansson's team?
A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, I picked up the National Speed
Sport News today and Chris Economacki says in his column - "not far from
CART's home office, returnee Stefan Johansson is reportedly telling all
who will listen that his new two-car team is "fully funded" by CART.
Where does the line start?" Is this true? Is CART really
funding their entire effort? Mordichai Rosen, LA, California
Dear Mordichai, we had not heard from you in awhile and were wondering
where you had been. To address your question, that statement by
Chris Economacki is incorrect, i.e. it is disinformation that
probably needs to be retracted, but that is between NSSN and CART or
Stefan, not us. We know for a fact that Stefan's partners are
Chris James and Dan Benton. Chris and Dan are co-founders of Andor
Capital Management (www.andorcap.com).
Andor Capital Management is the world's largest hedge fund with more
than $8.5 billion dollars in the fund being managed. These men are
very very wealthy. They don't need a sponsor, nor do they need any
charity from CART. We did a little research and found that the two
have contributed over $100 million of their personal money to the 9/11
World Trade disaster fund. They are by far the largest
contributors. So "connected" are these two that landing a sponsor
is almost a foregone conclusion. Rumor has it that Chris and Dan were
the Americans looking to buy the Arrows F1 team until their due
diligence period uncovered suspect accounting. They are very
conservative businessmen held in high regard on Wall Street and in the
business community. They don't get into business deals unless it's
right. That's probably a longer answer than you were looking for,
but you came to the right source for the inside scoop. Mark C.
1/23/03
Carpentier back on the ice This
St. Petersburg Times
article says that Patrick Carpentier may have been back on the
ice Wednesday afternoon but, unlike his first 11 years, he wasn't trying
to skate circles around the competition. The former CART rookie of the
year, in town to promote next month's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, met
with members of the Lightning and Canadians during their morning skate
at the St. Pete Times Forum. For Carpentier the jersey exchange was more
than a chance to mingle with other professional athletes, it was a
return to where one career ended and a new one began. Born Aug.13, 1971,
in La Salle, Quebec, Carpentier initially competed in speed skating.
Because he was young, he was limited to distances from 200 to 1,000
meters, but that didn't stop him from excelling. In 1982 he won the
North American Championships, and his father rewarded him with a trip to
a Montreal go-cart track. A couple laps around the circuit, and
Carpentier's dreams went from Olympic medals to points championships. "I
quit right there," Carpentier said. "I stopped speed skating. He bought
me a go-cart and we started in racing."
More....
1/23/03
CART stock watch
Today's NYSE Trading In MPH
MPH closed at $3.32 Down $0.09 on Volume of 15,100 shares.
$2.67 Bid - $3.64 Ask on close.
Session Low/High $3.26 / $3.41
MPH Value Change Down 2.64%
DOW Jones Up 50.74 or 0.61% on Volume of 2.1 billion shares.
NASDAQ Up 28.79 or 2.12%
S&P 500 Up 8.98 or 1.02%
Courtesy of C3I.AndersonGroupe - Chicago www.andersongroupe.com
1/23/03 V8 Supercars
V8 Supercars sign 5-year Shanghai deal,
what about CART? First F1 and now V8 Supercars. Before
long everyone will want to race in China given it soon will be an
economic powerhouse. How much longer will CART wait to make a deal
in Beijing, or Shanghai? Could they run together with the V8 Supercars
in Shanghai like they do with them in Surfers? At a meeting this
week in Shanghai, the Peoples Republic of China, a Heads of Agreement
was signed to stage a V8 Supercar race in Shanghai commencing in 2004
over a five-year period. The joint announcement was made at an official
“Handshake” ceremony that took place between the Chairman of Shanghai
Weice Business Company Limited Mr Xuan Guoxiong and AVESCO Chairman Mr
Tony Cochrane. In another coup for the V8 Supercar category all rounds
of the V8 Supercar Championship Series will be broadcast on Chinese free
to air television commencing in March 2003 for six years. The first
event will take place at a permanent circuit (i.e. the F1
circuit being built) within the city precinct
with a full grid of Championship cars being air freighted to Shanghai in
two 747 freighters - this represents the biggest uplift ever in the
history of Australian sport. Mr. Cochrane said he was extremely proud to
see this Australian iconic sport exported to a city of 20 million people
and saw it as a major coup for the V8 Supercar Championship, the teams,
drivers and Australia. “This multi million dollar deal follows fourteen
months of careful planning and negotiations by AVESCO and represents an
outstanding watershed in the evolution of the V8 Supercar category which
is now recognized as the leading touring car category in the world. Mr
Cochrane acknowledged the important role played by the China Development
Corporation in helping bring the deal together and in particular it’s
Marketing Director Mr. Benny Leung. “I am very excited to find such
excellent Chinese partners for this event who share our vision to bring
this fantastic sporting icon to the people of China,” said Mr. Cochrane.
“There is a warm relationship that exists between the Chinese people and
Australians. This is as a great opportunity for Australian companies
interested in establishing themselves in China to showcase their
presence through sponsorship support of this event and the championship.
“Many of our existing sponsors will take advantage of the opportunity of
partnering V8 Supercars into China and this opens the door for any other
Australian businesses looking to forge relations in such an important
part of the world,” he continued. “AVESCO will have the opportunity to
extend its knowledge base and training capabilities in professional
motorsport to the people of Shanghai. Mr. Cochrane and members of the
Shanghai project planning committee return to Australia Friday and a
media conference will be held at Brisbane International Airport at 7.00
am.
1/23/03
Pruett back to Trans-Am
Two-time Trans-Am champion Scott Pruett will join the Rocketsports
Racing stable for the 2003 Trans-Am Series for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup
announced team owner Paul Gentilozzi. Pruett, who claimed his Trans-Am
titles in 1987 and 1994, will pilot a Jaguar XKR and will campaign the
entire season. Pruett's last full season of Trans-Am competition was in
1994 but he returned to the Series in a Rocketsports Jaguar for the 2001
Laguna Seca event. His most recent road racing appearances include
victories at the 2002 Rolex 24 of Daytona - GTS class and the 2001 24
Hours of LeMans - LMGTS class. Pruett, who ran his rookie season in the
NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 2000, drove for Ganassi Racing in the 2002
Winston Cup race at Watkins Glen, running as high as third and finishing
sixth. "We've worked together for many years and I respect him more than
any other driver I've raced with," said Gentilozzi, a three-time
Trans-Am champion himself. "He has tremendous desire and focus and will
get the job done on the track and with the sponsors. He'll be a great
addition to our Series." "As I look back on my racing career, it's come
full circle," explained Pruett, who won the 1986 Riverside race in his
first career Trans-Am start after starting last. "Road racing is where
it all started. It's an exciting time to rejoin Paul and his team as
well as the Trans-Am Series." Pruett is clear about his intentions for
the 2003 season. "I want to win races and the championship," said
Pruett, who scored 14 wins, 30 top-three and 32 top-five finishes, and
20 pole positions in his previous Trans-Am drives. "Winning is
everything. "I'm really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of
the Jaguar XKR again," continued Pruett, who co-drove with Gentilozzi,
Brian Simo, and Michael Lauer to the 2002 Rolex 24 GTS win at Daytona in
an XKR. "It's a privilege to renew my relationship with Jaguar. We've
enjoyed a lot of success together, first in the early 90's with the
XJR12 and more recently in the XKR. Jaguar's heritage and success in
road racing is legendary."
1/23/03
Senna's crash on The Learning Channel
(TLC) There is a show on TLC called Countdown To Danger. On
tonight's episode was a story about the Senna crash. It will be repeated
tonight at 11:00 PM EST (10:00 PM CST) and again on January 26th at 4:00
PM EST.
1/23/03
Yoong's Champ Car team announcement
Malaysian racer Alex Yoong has delayed announcing which Champ Car team
he will be driving for this year due to continuing negotiations with
teams. He revealed today that there was no shortage of offers, but the
budgets that various teams need him to bring was a problem, as his
Malaysian sponsors would prefer to be involved with Formula 1. He said
that most teams require their drivers to bring a budget of between $5
million and $7 million to get a seat. He confirms that he now has a best
offer from a team that requires him to bring an amount of only $2.5
million from his sponsors, as the team has managed to raise $3.5 million
from American sponsors for Yoong. "We are presently working very hard on
getting the budget and I am still hopeful of getting to the starting
grid for the first race on February 23rd," said Yoong from his Kuala
Lumpur home. "The present delay may turn out to be a blessing in
disguise and I won't lose any sleep over it. I prefer to be driving
without needing to bring a big budget to the team. If it doesn't happen,
there will be opportunities later and maybe elsewhere." Yoong, 26,
became his country's first ever Formula 1 driver when he made his debut
for Minardi in August 2001 in the Italian GP and drove for the team till
the end of the 2002 season. "My objective is still to get back into
Formula 1 by 2004, when China organizes her first Grand Prix. But if
there is a year's delay, it's OK," added Yoong. The 2003 CART
championship has been renamed 'Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World
Series Powered by Ford' and is expected to have a bigger line-up than
last year. Yoong will miss the Chinese New Year celebrations as he will
be leaving Kuala Lumpur for Florida on the February 1st to attend Champ
Car's "Spring Training". "Spring Training" is the pre-season event
where all the registered teams turn up in force at the Sebring
International Raceway in Florida and are introduced to the media and
fans while conducting test sessions over three days - from February 4th
to the 6th. Yoong said that an announcement one way or another will be
made very soon.
1/23/03
Laguna Seca garages and suites take shape
The general public was invited to attend the unveiling of the new
Premier Pit Row Suites and Garages at the grand opening on Friday,
January 17, at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca paddock. The Premier Pit
Row Suites consist of 12 state-of the-art suites, situated on top of 10
double-car garages. The new complex, which is Phase 1 of a major capital
improvement campaign for the facility, also includes a catering kitchen
and men’s and women’s restrooms.
Photos courtesy of Mazda Raceway
1/23/03
F3000 driver passes IRL rookie test
FIA Formula 3000 veteran Alex Mueller passed the speed phase of his Indy
Racing League IndyCar Series rookie test Jan. 23 at California Speedway,
driving for PDM Racing. Mueller, 23, from Germany, turned 101 laps on
the 2-mile, D-shaped oval, with Mark Bridges, technical manager for the
Indy Racing League, supervising the test. “He did very well,” Bridges
said. “He’s got good car control and a good feel for the car. He’s very
intelligent, gives good feedback and has a lot of talent.” It was the
first time on an oval for Mueller, who finished second in the German
Formula 3 championship in 2000. “I was quite happy,” Mueller said. “I’ve
got a big smile on my face; it was cool. The guys did a good job. The
setup was very good. It was my first time at these speeds, but I adapted
easily. I was quite happy with the speed.” Mueller said he would like to
compete in the IndyCar Series. “I’m trying to put a deal together,”
Mueller said. “That’s the reason I’m here, to test this car and do a
rookie test. I’m working hard on it to make something happen.”
1/23/03
Gordon's wife subpoena's records
The Jeff Gordon, Brooke Gordon divorce case is getting more interesting.
According to this AP
article, lawyers for Jeff Gordon's wife have subpoenaed records
from his competitors and NASCAR for use in their divorce case. Geoff
Smith, general manager of Roush Racing, said the team planned to file an
order Friday to block Brooke Gordon's request in Wayne County Circuit
Court in Michigan, where the company is headquartered. Roush does not
want to make public the individual contracts it has with its drivers and
sponsors. Those deals are highly sensitive in NASCAR, where each car
owner works out separate agreements with every individual. Numbers are
rarely talked about, preventing drivers from knowing how much their
rivals receive in salary, percentage of winnings and souvenir sales.
Sponsor deals also are secret, lest a company should find out if it is
paying extra for something another might get for free. "Those are all
the things that are the heart of our business," Smith said. "When we
give it to Brooke, we're going to give it to Jeff. It's like having the
Hendrick organization inside our team." NASCAR also has had records
subpoenaed by Brooke Gordon's lawyers, said series spokesman Jim Hunter.
1/23/03
Interview with Stefan Johansson, Jimmy
Vasser and Ryan Hunter-Reay We have added a link to the
main story on our home page covering on Stefan Johansson's new CART team
that is a full transcript from today's press conference of the
announcement.
1/23/03
IRL testing news from Phoenix
Three of the top drivers and teams in the IRL IndyCar Series
tested Jan. 22 at Phoenix International Raceway in preparation
for the 2003 IndyCar Series season. IndyCar Series veteran
Robbie Buhl, 1996 IndyCar Series co-champion Scott Sharp and
two-time CART champion Gil de Ferran all tested 2003 equipment
on the 1-mile oval. More....
1/23/03
Schumacher breaks record in
Barcelona, Kimi fast in Valencia
Barcelona day 3 (unofficial)
Pos Driver Chassis-engine Tires Time Laps
1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari B 1m15.020s 84
2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari B 1m15.730s 67
3 Luca Badoer Ferrari B 1m16.431s 38
4 Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda B 1m18.195 51
5 Antonio Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth M 1m18.349s 63
6 Jenson Button BAR-Honda B 1m18.524s 20
7 Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth M 1m18.532s 49
8 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Cosworth B 1m19.819 20 Valencia day 3 (unofficial)
Pos Driver Chassis-engine Tires Time Laps
1 Kimi Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes M 1m10.647s 62
2 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas B 1m11.778s 71*
3 Marc Gene Williams-BMW M 1m12.735s 62
4 Gary Paffett McLaren-Mercedes M 1m12.896s 54
5 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW M 1m13.072s 84
6 Alexander Wurz McLaren-Mercedes M 1m13.120s 18
B = Bridgestone
M = Michelin
* denotes 2003 car
1/23/03
Franchitti will miss Brands Hatch
In an article in Autosport Magazine, Dario Franchitti was asked
whether he has any regrets not being in CART's Brands Hatch
race. "I certainly would like to be there. Chris
Pook has done a great job, and I think it's going to be a very
competitive series this year. But the politics of racing
are really starting to bore me. Like any driver, all I
want to do is go out and win."
1/23/03
Dr. Trammel responds to F1
crybabies CART drivers have been using the HANS
Device on both ovals and road courses for two years with very
few complaints. However, the F1 drivers are crying like
babies about wearing the device. In an article in
Autosport Magazine, CART Orthopedic expert Dr. Terry Trammel
responds to the cries - "I would say to any driver that there is
absolutely no reason why they can't wear the HANS in any kind of
race car. It can be adapted to any style of driving.
Some F1 drivers have been outspoken in criticizing the HANS.
I'd be happy to work with them and I guarantee that they can
wear it without if affecting their performance."
1/23/03
CART building for future An
unprecedented series of meetings featuring representatives from all
series in the Champ Car Driver Development Ladder System at the Champ
Car Indianapolis headquarters on Tuesday produced several opportunities
to grow the Ladder System in 2003 and beyond. Full Story
1/23/03 Industry News
Everyone is bullish on China
It seems almost all companies, including F1 and CART, are bullish on
China these days, and for good reason. Here is the latest example
- Japanese electronics giant Toshiba will invest $1 billion in China in
the next few years to boost production of computer chips, screens and
mobile telephones. Nobumasa Hirata, the firm's chief China
representative, said on Wednesday on the sidelines of an investment
forum that Toshiba aimed to take advantage of one of the world's largest
consumer markets. "This is a mid-term investment plan," he said.
"Usually we plan for the next three to five years." Toshiba, Japan's
largest chipmaker, has already invested $1 billion in China to
manufacture household appliances, chips, laptops and handsets, according
to a company statement. Reuters
1/23/03
IRL Indy 500 pole winning car not worth
much According to this Indy
Star
article, Race car investor Tim Cook never imagined the race car
he bought in April 2000 would end up on the pole for the Indianapolis
500 two years later, much less on eBay, the Internet auction site. But
there it was on eBay this week, the same G Force car that sits in his
garage at home: for sale to the world. "It wasn't really my idea to
(advertise) it like that (on eBay), but it was still fun," the
Indianapolis resident said Wednesday. "Those really aren't the right
kind of buyers for (a race car)." Cook, a 42-year-old international
investment banker, didn't accept eBay's highest bid -- $22,600 --
because it was less than a third of his minimum price. The
manufacturer's original price was $250,000.
1/23/03
Richmond slated to get SAFER Barrier
Depending on the results of upcoming crash testing at the University of
Nebraska, Richmond International Raceway's walls could be fitted with
the SAFER barrier as early as this season. NASCAR Competition Director
Gary Nelson said an exact model of RIR's walls had been constructed at
the Lincoln, Neb., research facility where the Steel and Foam Energy
Reduction barrier was created by Dr. Dean Sicking. Nelson said baseline
testing had been completed, and Sicking is expected to do radius-testing
with the SAFER barrier on the wall within the next three weeks. "One
more test hopefully will give us the final sign-off, and then we'll
start contacting tracks," Nelson said yesterday during a news conference
at NASCAR's new research and development center. "If that [test] goes
well, the decisions will come real quick on is Richmond ready, is Dover
ready, is New Hampshire ready? Where can we go next? You'll see some
quick movement once we can get past the point where we know the new wall
will do no harm and that it can only improve the situation." It's not an
issue of resources as much as it is what's the blueprint," Nelson said.
"We don't have the blueprint yet." Because the barrier originally was
developed for 2.5-mile IMS, the system wasn't adaptable to tracks that
feature a tighter radius such as 0.75-mile RIR and the 1-mile ovals at
Dover International Speedway and New Hampshire International Speedway.
NASCAR commissioned Sicking, who directs the Midwest Roadside Safety
Facility, to develop a barrier for its shorter tracks. "The possibility
that this will happen is neat because it puts us at the forefront of
safety in our industry," Fritz said. "We're proud that we may be one of
the first tracks to have this barrier installed. Our track and
International Speedway Corp. are leaders in the industry whether it's
guest services, sponsor relations or driver safety, and driver safety is
at the top of that list. . . . There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm
around this upcoming test."
1/23/03
IRL makes rule to break tie
According to this Indy Star
article, The Indy Racing League has amended its 2003 rule book
to address how it will determine a winner in the event of a tie. Should
a dead heat occur, as almost happened in September when Sam Hornish Jr.
beat Al Unser Jr. by 0.0024 seconds at Chicagoland (Ill.) Speedway,
scoring will revert to the previous lap. Senior vice president Brian
Barnhart compared the logic to a driver bumping his way into the
Indianapolis 500 lineup: He must be faster than the slowest qualifier.
"Otherwise, he's just beside him; he hasn't passed him," Barnhart said.
"And it's not likely we're going to have two identical laps in
succession."
Champ
Car Stars releases 2003 regulations
The Champ Car Stars of Tomorrow karting series released its 2003
technical regulations today. As previously disclosed, the regulations
follow closely FIA/CIK international karting standards for the ICC, ICA,
and World Formula classes. “I want to commend our National Technical
Director, Scott G. Evans, on a superb job establishing regulations that
provide sensible, stable rules for our constituents,” said Stars’
Operations Director Paul Zalud. “Rules making and enforcement is no easy
task. Stars is fortunate to have one of the most disciplined and
thorough rules directors in the sport in Mr. Evans.” Reflecting the
recent merger with the WKA/SCCA Constructor’s Championship, the Stars
regulations provide consistency with existing WKA regulations for the
junior classes of 80cc shifter, Yamaha Superbox, and Cadet. Additional
classes that will be run in Stars regional programs are also covered in
the rules. “It is our mission at Stars to be a stabilizing and unifying
force in American karting in order to elevate the sport. It is indeed a
pleasure to begin to make this mission a reality in conjunction with our
friends at the WKA, SCCA, and CIK,” said Zalud. “We believe this is
another step towards a real change in American kart racing. It is now
incumbent upon us to take these rules and run a tight, sensible racing
series.” One current hot issue that is addressed in the Stars
regulations is the matter of 2003 CIK bodywork. “In order to serve all
our constituents, both 2003 and pre-2003 compliant bodywork will be
allowed for the 2003 season,” continued Zalud. “We do not wish to put
suppliers, distributors, retailers, and racers in an unreasonable
position either by forcing them to abandon pre-2003 inventories or by
departing from CIK regulations and sticking new chassis owners with
bodywork they cannot use.” The Stars regulations can be found at
New
Atlantic team signs Figge
Pacific Coast Motorsports recently announced its formation and driver
for the upcoming 2003 season. Alex Figge, of Santa Barbara, Calif., will
contest the entire 12-race CART Toyota Atlantic Championship with
Pacific Coast Motorsports. Recently formed, Pacific Coast Motorsports
features a vast amount of Atlantic Championship experience. Team owner
and Manager Tyler Tadevic has over five years experience in the Atlantic
Championship, including managing World Speed Motorsports the past two
years. Chief Engineer Mike Doyle has over 20 years of race experience
with over nine years experience in the Atlantic Championship, while
Chief Mechanic Alex Roberge joins the team having worked with P1 Racing
for the past five years. "Pacific Coast Motorsports is focused on
winning, said Tadevic. "Given the skills and experience of the crew,
combined with Alex's [Figge] natural talent, we are looking to be a
front-runner and have high hopes for the championship." Driving the No.
69 Wine Country Motorsports/Pacific Coast Motorsports Swift 014.a
Toyota, Figge returns for his second year of Atlantic Championship
competition. A driver of vast potential, Figge will be looking to
capitalize on the experiences he gained in his rookie season. Thus far
in pre-season testing, Figge has posted times as fast as the leaders at
each test he has attended. "I can't wait for the season to start," said
Figge. "The team has really gelled and I've posted some good results in
testing. I know the team will give me all the tools necessary to compete
for the championship."
Much
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