Champ Car mid-term Report

[enemy-ace]

Taking a cue from a similiar thread in the F1 forum I think it's a good time to reflect on the performance of the Champ Car drivers.
Here are my thoughts:

1 Sebastien Bourdais 182pts - IMO shows the most outright pace of anyone on the grid and matched only in aggression by PT. Has had a bit of a hard time with the new pit rules jumbling up the grid but has always been in contention regardless. Still the man to beat. B+

2 Paul Tracy 161pts - Has been strong competition for the championship while still being the aggressive PT. He and the team need to be more consistent and mistake free. B+

3 Justin Wilson 152pts - Has really gelled with the Rusport team and is a definite contender for the championship. If not for his mechanical at Portland and brainfart in Edmonton he would be giving Bourdais sleepless nights. A

4 Oriol Servia 135pts - Servia showed he was a really good driver at DCR. However he hasn't shown the ability to take it to the next level with Newman-Haas. You know what they say about nice guys. Bruno's seat will be nice and warm when he gets back. C

5 A.J. Allmendinger 122pts - Future champ IMO. I still think he may be chasing the car in regards to setup. Having an experienced driver of Wilson's
calibre alongside him has to be tough. Once he has the experience to match his talent he will be consistently at the sharp end of the grid. B

6 Jimmy Vasser 115pts - JV has been rather quite IMO. Although he has more points than 'Shorty' I get the feeling he isn't considered a threat on any given weekend. Time to give up the seat I think. However I would like to be proven wrong. C

7 Alex Tagliani 111pts - Here's a guy that I would like to see in a top ride. He did well at Rocketsports last year and has only gotten better this year. I think his time at Player's was wasted on his youth. Put today's Tag in that seat and I think you would see a contender for wins every weekend. A

8 Mario Dominguez 104pts - stumped! Strong debut at Long Beach and has shown the pace at times. However mistakes and inconsistency have plagued him. PT is a tough teamate I am sure, maybe Mario is overdriving. D

9 Timo Glock (R) 90pts - I think the Rocketsports team is the problem here. At Portland Timo's car looked absolutely horrible and IMO he did a great job of keeping that thing on the road. He deserves better. B

10 Cristiano da Matta 88pts - He has a win! Bad luck and back markers everywhere else. Can't help but think that they are on the verge of breaking out. A good return to Champ Car! B+

11 Andrew Ranger (R) 82pts - A good debut year. The inexperience is showing but so is the talent. B

12 Ronnie Bremer (R) 79pts - proof positive that the Gods of Racing are cruel. This guy deserves a seat in Champ Car. B+

13 Ryan Hunter-Reay 63pts - Yes the team sucks. But RHR has really been dissapointing. His third year in the series he shouldn't be consistently beaten by Timo like he has. D-

14 Nelson Philippe 63pts - Getting better. C

15 Bjorn Wirdheim (R) 62pts - I expected more from Wirdheim. I imagine not being with a particularly strong team at the moment has it's disadvantages but he needs to keep it off the wall. C

16 Bruno Junqueira 59pts - In this case the Gods of Racing are ********s. Leading the championship and taken out by a talentless hack in a non-championship race just out and out bites. A

17 Marcus Marshall (R) 58pts - Out of his depth. E

18 Ricardo Sperafico (R) 48pts - I think he'll finish ahead of Phillipe and RHR in the standings. C

19 Alex Sperafico 24pts - Out of his depth. E

I am very interested in hearing others opinions.

[Kicking-back]

Sebastien Bourdais 9/10

Paul Tracy 9/10

Justin Wilson 8/10

Oriol Servia 7/10 consistent but lacks ultimate pace

A.J. Allmendinger 7/10

Jimmy Vasser 6/10 anonymous but scoring points

Alex Tagliani 7/10 revatilised

Mario Dominguez 6/10 scrappy


Timo Glock 7/10 good driver, poor car


Cristiano da Matta 6/10 not what he was

Andrew Ranger 8/10 future superstar


Ronnie Bremer 7/10 quietly impressive

Ryan Hunter-Reay 5/10 rubbish car but underperforming driver too

Nelson Philippe 5/10 showing signs of improvement


Bjorn Wirdheim 5/10 not done much yet


Bruno Junqueira 59pts 9/10 championship form until shunt


Marcus Marshall 2/10 one of the worst drivers in ChampCar recently


Ricardo Sperafico 6/10 quiet start, poor car, but is talented


Alex Sperafico 3/10 there's no place for people like him at this level

[Liz]

I agree with most of your ratings, but I think I'd add to Justin Wilson and AJ Allmendinger, "Need to calm down." AJ especially shows a Carlos Cheka like tendency to get into the lead and then throw it away through overreaction. I believe he needs Tony Cicale and he needs him now. I'd give him a C -- improving but not yet there. And Wilson needs to get over the tendency to hit people in the fond belief that they are going to let him by. Hang back and wait until you actually have a chance and then go by. In order to finis first ... I'd give him a solid B, but "needs improvement" in the plays well with Timo Glock Especially category.

[Amar7605]

Originally Posted by enemy-ace

3 Justin Wilson 152pts - Has really gelled with the Rusport team and is a definite contender for the championship. If not for his mechanical at Portland and brainfart in Edmonton he would be giving Bourdais sleepless nights. A

Heehee... brainfart.

Seriously, though. Both Justin and AJ are strong drivers, and I believe that they are going to be future championship contenders. But they have to get over that mental block that Liz mentioned and calm down!

I think that they could have the making of the next Aryton Senna/Alan Prost rivalry!

[Snrub]

Good idea enemy-ace.

Bourdais: He's nutso fast, but he's been a bit off so far this year and keeps hurting himself and PT. 8/10

Servia: Okay, but he's not quiet fast enough for whatever reason. 7/10

Junquiera: Not enough data. Good start. 7.5/10

PT: Surprisingly he's more mature than ever before. Some so-so performances, but I think the car wasn't there. Classic performances at TO and Milwaukee. 8.5/10

Dominguez: What's the deal with him? Last year he looked ultra competant and quick. Given a better car I was certain he was probably second only to Bourdais and PT in pace in 2004. Even in 2003 he looked better. 3/10

Wilson: Smoking fast, although Liz's point about crashing/passing is well taken. 8/10

AJ: Struggling to match Wilson, but is finally starting to. Wilson seems to have an edge when it comes to setting up the car. 7/10

CDM: Very fast and has been consistant other than some of his tangles with backmarkers, although not all his fault. PKV car is still pretty sketchy. 8/10

Jimmy: Up and down. Some fast performances, but he's not looking like he's going to win this year. 7/10

Tag: Utterly awsome, you cannot expect a driver to do more. Oddly he's also one of the best engineers on any team. He's has himself a career after racing. Give his team a little more resources and he'd take the championship. 10/10

Marshall: Too early to say much and he's in a tough situation at Team Ausi. 5/10

Bremer - Very nice job. A great addition to the series. The results haven't always followed the speed due to some poor luck. Glad to see him back for 2006 and in DCR for this year. 8/10

Wirdhiem - He's showing his speed, but he keeps crashing out. He needs to calm down and learn. Crashing is only going to hurt his cash starved team and lead to a slower car. He should be emulating Manning's peformance from 2003. 6/10

Alex Sperafico - Too early to say, but nothing special. 4/10

Ranger - I think we've all been shocked by him. A future star. 8/10

Phillippe - A little up and down, but he's competant enough to drive the car. 5/10

Glock - Terrific job in a horrible car. With his $4M he could have landed at any team so it was a horrible call to go to Rocketsports. 8/10

RHR - Way behind Glock. Often last or second from last in the field. Even with the worst car more is expected. 2/10

Richardo Sperafico - Slow at first, but he's starting to gain some pace. Needs to finish ahead of more drivers to gain a better grade. 6/10

Del Monte, Valiente, Dalziel, Marques - Once race in a backmarker car is hard to make a call on. I would say Valiente and Marques looked decent though.

[StickShift]

Newman-Haas: A It seems like the team doesn't have the same advantage as last year, but they are still awfully quick and haven't made many errors.
Bourdais B He hasn't shown the raw pace that won him the title last year. Apart from Long Beach, he hasn't stood out against the competition as the quickest driver on a given weekend.
Junqueria B+ He seemed very quick this season, considering all the errors that have been made this year by the top drivers, I think the consistent Junqueria could've been in a very good position in the standings.
Servia B- Consistent, but he hasn't matched Sebastien’s pace.

Forsythe: A- They raised their game this season after a very lacklustre 2004. The team loses points for their Toronto mistake.
Tracy A Has reassured his fans this season that he can be a contender on any given weekend.
Dominguez C- Apart from Long Beach, he has been slow and accident prone. If it wasn't for him being the lone Mexican in the field, I think he would've lost his seat by now. Then again, Michel Jourdain just lost his Busch ride...

RuSport: B The team has become a frontrunner among Forsythe and Newman-Haas. However, the team has used some questionable strategies and hasn’t had 100% reliability.
Wilson A- He is one of the quickest drivers in the series. However, he has made some very silly mistakes.
Allmendinger B He hasn't really matched Wilson, but he is still a sophomore, and I think people forget that sometimes. His raw pace is plagued by costly errors.

PKV: B The team can be a contender for wins when they nail the setup, but more often than not they are stuck in the midfield. The team has made use of good pit strategy.
Da Matta B+ When the car is dialed in, he is one of the quickest drivers on the circuit. He should've won at Cleveland, if he hadn't tripped over Marshall.
Vasser B- He has stepped up his game after two mediocre seasons. He is consistent and quick, but he can't turn up the wick as much as Da Matta can.

HVM: D Shows what a lack of sponsorship can do to a team.
Wirdheim D Apart from leading Mexico for 10 laps or so, Wirdheim has not had a good season at all. He has been slower than his team-mate Bremer, and usually gets TV time when he stuffs the car into a wall.
A.Sperafico F We haven't seen much of him this year, but going on prior experiences, he doesn't have the pace to be in the series.

Coyne: F Just a backmarker team. Their revolving-door driver policy is a joke.
R.Sperafico C+ I hardly remember seeing him at all on TV this year, and I probably wouldn't recognize his face. He has had mediocre race results, but if you look at the fastest lap’s sheet, he is often in the top 10.
Bremer C+ He was quick at the beginning of the season, then started to fade. He has shown a lot of promise however.

Team Australia: B+ Lola chassis' and Aussie investment have turned Walker around. You have to wonder where the team would be if they had ditched the Reynards sooner.
Tagliani A He has surprised me with his pace this season. Considering how poorly Rocketsports has done since his departure, and how quick Walker has been, I have a new found respect for Tags.
Marshall F Slooooow. It's a shame that there isn't a better Aussie on the grid.

Conquest: C+ The team has raised themselves from the 'backmarker' echelon to be strong midfielders each weekend. The team still makes mistakes on pit-road.
Phillipe C+ For all the crap he got last year (which was well-deserved for the most part), he has matured into a decent midfield driver this season.
Ranger A He could've been in the top-six in several races. Despite two bad weekends in Long Beach and Edmonton, this season has been filled with positives. Ranger will be racing for a top team next season.

Rocketsports: D I think everybody was expecting Rocketsports to be a midfield team this year, but they have clearly sunk to backmarker status. Cutting Tag was a huge blow.
Hunter-Reay C- I'm still waiting for him to 'wow' me. His best season was his rookie year, and he's been declining ever since. I hope he isn't still thinking of F1.
Glock C Had two good races at Edmonton and Long Beach, but otherwise he has been very underwhelming.

[marcus]

fair assumptions.

but again (ready to be shot here) I dont agree with the Marcus marshall reports.

Edmonton saw him do a very fine job indeed , i paid special attention to him and he was held up by traffic badly but made some very good passes to finish in a respectable 8th place , hopefully this form will continue and get better.

Fire away

[Mosport67]

he was held up by traffic badly

I think PT might well say that he held up traffic badly.

I know in Toronto there were complaints about him using push to pass to prevent going another lap down.

[marcus]

well at least he is totally blowing the doors off alex Sperafico

[mac]

Sebastien Bourdais - 8.5
Not as dominant as last season (perhaps the team isn't either), but more willing to get racey. Has made more errors this year.

Paul Tracy - 8
Paul is Paul. Always wringing the neck of the car for all its worth. And showing his team mate a clean pair of heels.

Justin Wilson - 9
We always kind of thought he would end up at the front in Champ Car. Absolutely astonishing pace at Toronto and Edmonton, screwed up by massive error under yellow.

Oriol Servia - 8.5
Still hugely underrated. To step into a top team at a minute's notice and equal or better the defending champion instantly is seriously impressive. Could have had first win, but was fighting Wilson's foil with a feather. It's just around the corner.

A.J. Allmendinger - 7.5
Generally behind team mate (which is no huge insult!). Has shown flashes of brilliance, mixed with the odd youthfully exhuberant mistake.

Jimmy Vasser - 6.5
Solid and pacey at times. Had a senior citizen moment at Edmonton.

Alex Tagliani - 8
Impressive all season so far. Has barely put a foot wrong and is carrying that Team Australia car on his shoulders

Mario Dominguez - 6
Don't know what's happened. Expected him to flourish at Forsythe.

Timo Glock - 7.5
Impressive at times, often embarassing his more experienced team mate. Hamstrung by a weak car.

Cristiano da Matta - 7.5
Driving that PKV car to lofty heights. Has given absolutely everything, and has perhaps made a few little errors as a result. Still has the speed, just not the car.

Andrew Ranger - 8
Impressive. Wasn't sure what to expect from him, but I've been pleasantly surprised. Has struggled a little in recent races.

Ronnie Bremer - 7.5
Another standout. Appears to have a good head on his shoulders behind the wheel as well.

Ryan Hunter-Reay - 5
Very disappointing, particularly given the circumstances in which he landed the drive. He really needs to start turning his season around - as difficult as that might be given his equipment. Needs to challenge team mate more.

Nelson Philippe - 6
Improving a little. Shows flashes of speed but needs to put consistent fast laps together.

Bjorn Wirdheim - 6
Expected more from Bjorn. Has shown potential, but hasn't realised it yet.

Bruno Junqueira - 8.5
Would have been in the championship hunt, but I still feel he was a smidge behind his team mate.

Marcus Marshall - 5.5
Could not have been thrown more in the deep end. IS showing real signs of improvement and has been dicing with the likes of the Speraficos, Phillipe, Hunter-Reay and even Glock at some recent races. Will continue to improve over the season.

Ricardo Sperafico - 5.5
Expected more from him. Has been outpaced by all team mates.

Alex Sperafico - 3
Hasn't had many races yet, but has been a touch embarassing so far. Too early to pass real judgement, though I'm not expecting much.

[Mosport67]

Bourdais: 8 fast but has made a few mistakes. Seems to have an edge to him this year

Servia: 7.5 I thought he would win races with NH. I know he still might. He seemed sometimes to do more with less with DCR. He has had good finishes but he seems to have lost the killer instinct. Is he perhaps too afraid to make a mistake and driving too conservatively.

Bruno 9 It looked like this might have been his year until he met up with Foyt 4.

PT: 9 Maginificent in Milwaukee. Unbelieveable in Toronto with a damaged wing. Seems calmer (except sometimes on the radio).

Dominguez: 4 He just seems not to be accomplishing much. Not sure why.

Wilson: 8.5 Quick quick quick. Needs fewer mistakes (Edmonton) and better luck (Portland). Has a shot at the championship.

AJ: 7.5 Would have been a 9 but for unforced errors in Toronto and Edmonton. I wonder if he isn't trying too hard. Getting that first win will help. A really fast teammate has helped him.

CDM: 8 Has shown his speed and seems to be improving each race (with his team) but why all the problems in lapped traffic.

Jimmy: 7 Still good but doesn't seem to get to the next level. It would be nice to see him retire and move into ownership.

Tag: 9.5 Has jelled with the team and seems to be driving better than ever. Having the win last year has helped as has Derrick Walker.

Marshall: 3 Out of his depth just now. A nice kid but needs more experience. Often in the way of the fast guys. Using push to pass to prevent being lapped is a bad plan. With more experience he may be ok (see Phillippe)

Bremer - 7.5 Glad he is back. A good addition for the series. He will get better too.

Wirdhiem - 6 I am really surprised he isn't doing better. He just doesn't seem to be able to put it all together. I wonder if he might do better with an experienced ChampCar teammate. Compare his results with Wilson's last year and he really doesn't look very good. I do think things will get better.

Alex Sperafico - 3 I just don't see him as anything but a source of money for the series. He doesn't have it.

Ranger - 8 Having watched him in FranAm and Atlantic I thought he was making the jump a year too soon even though he showed in those series how good he was. He has done better than I expected. A future champion.

Phillippe - 5 Much better than last year. I thought he was a waste of a seat last year. He still isn't great but he has been much more competitive this season. It does make you wonder a little about the validity of his complaints about the equipment Rocketsports provided.

Glock - 7 I thought we would see a better performance. I do believe most of the problems are team related though. I expect he will continue to get better and be a front runner soon enough. For sure next season when he takes his dollars elsewhere.

RHR - 3 A real disappointment. He seems just lost and off target. Team related perhaps but his teammate is always better than he is.

Richardo Sperafico - 6.5 He has some potential. I wonder what he would be able to do in his cousin's car.

Dalziel, Marques, Valiente all get a 7 for good efforts. All have potential to get better given a chance.

Del Monte 2 in his one shot. That may not be fair as the car was probably bad and he had no experience. It ended Jensen's season for some reason as well.

[Jordi]

#1 - Bourdais: Not as dominant as in last year, but heaps of speed. 9
#3 - Tracy: Awesomely quick, probably better than he's ever been. 9,5
#9 - Wilson: Stepping up to the plate. Very consistent. 9
#2 - ServiÃ*: Proving he belongs up there. On the podium week in, week out. 9
#10 - Allmendinger: Getting there. He's the next superstar but he's maybe in that "win the first race or wait 3 seasons" period. 8,5
#12 - Vasser: An improvement from last year. I think he still has some racing in him. 8
#15 - Tagliani: Quietly being always there, better qualifying than racing. 8
#7 - Dominguez: A bit of a disappointment, but don't write him off yet. 6
#8 - Glock: Usually better than RH-R, not impressive but working well. 7
#21 - da Matta: Very good but dogged by DNFs. Might be too late for the title. 8
#27 - Ranger: Most impressive rookie so far. Very young yet. 7,5
#19 - Bremer: Better than I expected. Brings home good points. 7,5
#31 - Hunter-Reay: Something is going on here, whether it's the driver or the team, I can't figure. 4,9
#34 - Philippe: Has improved, but still on the lower part of the rankings. 5
#4 - Wirdheim: Started well but is crashing too much now. Needs to finish races. 4
#2 - Junqueira: Looked very good this year, unlucky. 9
#5 - Marshall: Has not shone so far. 3
#11 - R. Sperafico: Slowly improving, better race pace than qualifying. 5,5
#55 - A. Sperafico: Hard to comment with just two races this year. 4

#19 - Marques, #19 - Valiante, #19 - Dalziel, #41 - del Monte and #52 - Goeters just did one race and it wouldn't really be fair to judge them on one.