Valiante to return

UPDATE Still hearing this could happen, including a run in this year's South Korea race, though we still do not know what team, if any, can run an extra car should the money materialize. Besides the electronics giant, another South Korean company is also interested. Mark C. 08/04/05 We are hearing that Michael Valiante may be close to landing sponsorship from a huge South Korean electronics giant. We are not sure if this deal, were it to happen, is for just the South Korea race or if it would lead to a full-time ride. If it materializes it will underscore the effectiveness of Champ Car's new business plan – introduce the series to large overseas companies who want to market their product in the NAFTA market and other countries.

This company, which we don't want to reveal until the deal is done, sells a lot of product in North America and China for example (probably Australia too).and Champ Car, like F1, delivers a world presence. Although F1 has a larger TV audience right now, Champ Car is based in the USA and has a lot of races there, whereas F1 is based in Europe. The USA is a much bigger economy than Europe, and hence sponsors will ultimately get more bang from Champ Car and abandon F1 as Champ Car begins to build in popularity and F1 continues to price itself out of the market.