Ranger getting close to Champ Car seat

UPDATE #5 Quotes from ChampCar.ws which indicate Ranger probably did sign with Mi-Jack Conquest racing – Eric Bachelart was very impressed with what he saw from Ranger in California last week. “We have a very strong interest in Andrew," Bachelart said. “We feel that he is very talented and can become the next Canadian star in Champ Car. I’ve known his manager for quite a long time and I’m glad we finally had an opportunity to test him. We still have a few things to work out before we can announce anything but on the other hand we need to move quickly because, as everyone knows, the first race is coming up very soon. We very much wanted to test Andrew and he did a very good job for us. He was quick and he worked well with the team. For a young guy he’s got a good head on his shoulders." Bachelart hopes to run both Nelson Philippe and Ranger at next week’s two-day test at Sebring where most of the Champ Car field is expected to be in action.

Ranger’s agent Allan Labrosse was able to convince the Canadian division of Procter & Gamble to put some Tide money behind Ranger when the young Quebecker made the move into cars in the short-lived FranAm series in 2003. Tide continued with Ranger last year and will also sponsor him in Champ Car this year. Kodak also provides some sponsorship for Ranger.

“I’m very confident that Andrew is going to be in the lineup at Long Beach and I’m hopeful that it’s going to be with Eric Bachelart’s team," Labrosse commented. “The chemistry at Conquest is very good. “We’ve been working on this for six months," Labrosse added. “Andrew is young and talented and marketable. He’s already starting his third year in a relationship with Procter & Gamble Canada which is a very large corporation selling consumable goods. It’s a great opportunity that we hope to develop. Tide will be identified on the car and Kodak will be on board also. They started with him in his first year racing cars."

03/14/05 RPM in Australia has announced that Andrew Ranger has signed with Mi-Jack Conquest for 2005. We have yet to receive any official notification so this will stay a 'strong' rumor for now. 03/12/05 According to this Canadian TV station article, Andrew Ranger should be running in Champ Car in 2005 with either Forsythe, Walker or Conquest. Apparently Forsythe wasn’t very interested in him until his last Fontana tests but now they are interested. He says that Derrick Walker's door is always open. Walker will be announcing sponsorship over the next few weeks and has enough to run two cars all season. Any Ranger would bring is gravy. Ranger expects to decide on his 2005 Champ Car plans by the Sebring test on March 23-24. 02/03/05 From Le Journal de Montréal – Andrew Ranger will be in Champ Car next year. Alan Labrosse told them that he is negotiating with a team, that Andrew Ranger has enough money for 10 races and that they are working out the last details to find the money for the other 4. Alan Labrosse wouldn't say what team it is, but Andrew's dad had this to say when he spoke last weekend : "Andrew will test a Champ Car on February 14th-15th in Florida, probably for Walker Racing, but his manager Alan Labrosse hasn't given up on Forsythe yet." 01/24/05 After comments by Forsythe Racing that Andrew Ranger does not have the $6 million it will take to race for their team, Ranger and his manager Alan Labrosse have turned to other teams who might run him for less money. While he does have some backing from Procter and Gamble (Tide) and some other money, Ranger does not have $6 million. The fact that Champ Car team owners are looking for that much money to give a driver a ride, and Canadian companies are not stepping forward to sponsor drivers like Paul Tracy, Andrew Ranger, Michael Valiante and Patrick Carpentier, underscores what little value sponsors see in Champ Car right now, all thanks to having such a horrible TV product in 2004 that essentially took Champ Car off the face of the earth. Canceling the three year contract CART had negotiated with CBS and SPEED for 2004, 2005 and 2006 has, in hindsight, turned out to be pennywise and pound foolish. Now teams and drivers can't muster any sponsorship for 2005 because they have nothing but horrible TV ratings to put before a sponsor. And getting the 2005 TV package signed and announced so late has just made the sponsor hunting situation even worse. 2004 was a survival year for Champ Car, and 2005 is a foundation building year, but the hole they have dug in which to build that foundation is deep, very deep. 12/01/04 After testing with Forsythe Racing yesterday and setting 2nd fastest time behind Michael Valiante, Andrew Ranger's agent, Alan Labrosse, says it's possible the Toyota Atlantic rookie could test with as many as four other Champ Car teams, including PKV Racing and Mi-Jack/Conquest – both of whom are looking for drivers for 2005.

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