Kimball hails new US team
Crack US single-seater team Andretti Green Racing was confirmed as the new force behind the USA entry just prior to the season-opener round at Zandvoort, having built and prepared the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car in just a matter of days.
The team called up circuit ace Kimball to race for the team in Zandvoort, however it has since announced that it will use its star IndyCar drivers Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick for the rest of the season.
Kimball scored fastest lap in the Feature race shortly before spinning off into retirement, and believes the engineering team behind the operation are so skilled that Patrick and Andretti will be well placed to help the USA become a championship challenger this season.
“This team is one to be reckoned with," Kimball assuredly told A1GP.com. “I mean, these guys are not just good – they are great. They flew in on the Monday [before Zandvoort], started building the car on Tuesday, got the thing built, and we shook it down on Friday morning.
“We got to Zandvoort, we were on the back foot and we didn’t know what was going on. But they mastered it pretty quickly.
“They’ve had never done a pit-stop before in the way it is done in A1GP, and they practiced it three or four times. But when I came in, they did one of the cleanest pit stops that I’ve ever been involved in.
“The car is quick, the engineering staff is great. Whoever gets in this car this season should really be running up front."
The team has yet to announce who will race in China next month, although team boss Michael Andretti indicated his son Marco was the more likely option in a press conference in Zandvoort. Marco and Patrick are competing in this weekend’s non-championship IndyCar race at Surfers’ Paradise, Australia.