2007 Indy Pro Series

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by runshaw

That's a very decent amount that you could be earning towards your budget in the Pro Series then. Does anyone know the prize money you get for winning a British f3 race? The only thing I remember about F3 prize money is Gary Paffett getting a cheque for £125,000 for winning the scholarship championship in '00 (if i remember correctly).

I thought it's like 500 quid for a race win.

[miniman]

there is NO prize money in British F3!! the top rookie wins £2000 and that's all.

[gomick]

and if he is any good, he will win the title in his 2nd year - its a tough game, but, thats what ya gotta do!

[Mystery]

Given that I can't say I'm suprised at the likes of Alex and Jamie going over to at least test the water in the IPS field. Seems a pretty sensible business decision really and good luck to them!

[foreversideways]

Originally Posted by gomick

and if he is any good, he will win the title in his 2nd year - its a tough game, but, thats what ya gotta do!

And if he or she is really lucky it will get them absolutely nowhere.

[foreversideways]

Originally Posted by Mystery

Given that I can't say I'm suprised at the likes of Alex and Jamie going over to at least test the water in the IPS field. Seems a pretty sensible business decision really and good luck to them!

It is the only choice for european drivers without an adequate budget to progress through F3/GP2 and when you are talking figures of £850,000 / £1,000000 for a season it is clear that most drivers will not have access to this sort of funding.

[Mystery]

Originally Posted by foreversideways

And if he or she is really lucky it will get them absolutely nowhere.

Yeah - that's the problem isn't it. If you look at the recent IPS champions where are they now....

2006 - Jay Howard - last seen owning a karting team and looking around the IPS paddock for work.
2005 - Wade Cunningham - stayed in IPS in 2006 finishing third and then A1GP and don't know what else
2004 - Thiago Medeiros - one IRL race in 05 (crashed in practice and did not race) and backmarker in the 2006 Indy 500 and some IPS rides.
2003 - Mark Taylor - he at least got a full time ride in the IRL but Panther ran out of money for his crashes. Returned in another team and seemed much more consistent. Not taken up in 04 and left racing altogether. (Does Vanessa still post around here??)
2002 - AJ Foyt IV - has at least made a career out of motor racing and (somehow) ended up with Vision, but struggled badly in NASCAR. Less said about his 2005 Indy appearance the better.

Not exactly a starry line-up then - is it the fault of the series though or does the IPS simply have not much prestige attached to it these days. This year's field might indicate it is on the upward path at least, but it badly needs a champion who goes on to become a success elsewhere. Whether that success is in Europe or the US is irrelevant but a success of any kind would be nice.

[foreversideways]

Sorry Mystery, i was refering to the F3/GP2 ladder when i suggested that in most cases it will get you know where. The bottom line is that there are not enough seats to go around and Formula One use ability as only the baseline for choice. If it were down to ability alone the grid would look very different to the way it looks now. IPS should be a staging point for IRL as it is never going to be possible for a driver to go to F1 from IPS. Why previous champios have not made it to IRL i don't know. Wade Cunningham clearly has talent (perhaps it's the haircut !.) Jay just didn't dominate in the way a real champion needs to. Perhaps this is the year a real talent will come through. It's good for the American scene that this year is well supported as the USA championships are generally not taken very seriously in Europe.

[Sev]

To somewhat ressurect this thread, this weekends race has given us an opportunity to figure out how much possible earnings can be:

1	Alex Lloyd	$32,500
2	Chris Festa	$26,000
3	Hideki Mutoh	$20,000
4	Jaime Camara	$16,400
5	Andrew Prendeville	$15,900
6	Bobby Wilson	$15,400
7	Mike Potekhen	$14,900
8	Robbie Pecorari	$14,400
9	CR Crews	$13,900
10	Jay Howard	$13,400
11	Stephen Simpson	$12,400
12	Tom Wieringa	$11,400
13	Brad Jaeger	$10,400
14	Ken Losch	$10,000
15	Jon Brownson	$9,500
16	Logan Gomez	$9,000
17	Tom Wood	$8,500
18	Pablo Perez	$8,000
19	Sean Guthrie	$5,000
20	Shane Lewis	$4,000
21	Joey Scarallo	$3,000
22	Micky Gilbert	$2,000
23	Ryan Justice	$0
24	Wade Cunningham	$0
25	A.J. Russell	$0

Not a bad haul per race really. Looking at last years earnings, the top there drivers all earned over $200K. Not enough to pay entirely for the drive, but definitely a help.

I do kind of wonder where the series gets that kind of money from though.

[Alex K]

Most of the team owners take 50% of award rest is allocated to driver/manager combo.

[Redracer77]

Originally Posted by Alex K

Most of the team owners take 50% of award rest is allocated to driver/manager combo.

I am sure each team has a different contract for each driver on prize money depending on how much budget he/she brings to the team. I would take a guess that Alex gets very little of the prize money as he is on a free drive and may even be paid a salary by the team.

[foreversideways]

Originally Posted by Sev

To somewhat ressurect this thread, this weekends race has given us an opportunity to figure out how much possible earnings can be:

1    Alex Lloyd    $32,500
2    Chris Festa    $26,000
3    Hideki Mutoh    $20,000
4    Jaime Camara    $16,400
5    Andrew Prendeville    $15,900
6    Bobby Wilson    $15,400
7    Mike Potekhen    $14,900
8    Robbie Pecorari    $14,400
9    CR Crews    $13,900
10    Jay Howard    $13,400
11    Stephen Simpson    $12,400
12    Tom Wieringa    $11,400
13    Brad Jaeger    $10,400
14    Ken Losch    $10,000
15    Jon Brownson    $9,500
16    Logan Gomez    $9,000
17    Tom Wood    $8,500
18    Pablo Perez    $8,000
19    Sean Guthrie    $5,000
20    Shane Lewis    $4,000
21    Joey Scarallo    $3,000
22    Micky Gilbert    $2,000
23    Ryan Justice    $0
24    Wade Cunningham    $0
25    A.J. Russell    $0

Not a bad haul per race really. Looking at last years earnings, the top there drivers all earned over $200K. Not enough to pay entirely for the drive, but definitely a help.

I do kind of wonder where the series gets that kind of money from though.

There is much more sponsorship over there than here and the series is covered on TV, also it runs with the Indy car series so gets plenty of exposure. UK companies have traditionally not been interested in supporting UK talent in motor racing or motor racing in general, excepting F1. The position is somewhat different in the states.Some teams in US have sponsor money and look for good drivers. Unlike here where the driver is expected to find the money even up to F1.

[Cheyne]

Originally Posted by foreversideways

There is much more sponsorship over there than here and the series is covered on TV, also it runs with the Indy car series so gets plenty of exposure. UK companies have traditionally not been interested in supporting UK talent in motor racing or motor racing in general, excepting F1. The position is somewhat different in the states.Some teams in US have sponsor money and look for good drivers. Unlike here where the driver is expected to find the money even up to F1.

The biggest problem I see with the IPS is that you would have to go out of your way to know it even exists. The Homestead race is on Wednesday at 4pm central while most of the country is at work or on the way home from work.

Cheyne

[Alex K]

Please do not use bad language, regardless of how you may feel about the previous posts!

[Mystery]

I don't think anyone is in any doubt about the point that racing at 200mph in open wheel cars can be bad for ones health. But these are grown men who know the risks and love what they do regardless, otherwise they wouldn't come back race after race, year after year.

I'm sure we all just wish Perez all the best and hope for some kind of full recovery. I just hope the injuries were not as bad as Miller was implying in his article on Speed.

[Alex K]

Sorry Stephen.

[Mystery]

http://www.crash.net/news_View~cid~4~id~145171.htm

Perez's family, including the two rally competitors referenced in this article have been called to his bedside. Not sure from this article at what stage this decision was taken and therefore whether he has since improved to be in a "stable" condition.

[No 4]

This sad accident does highlight a key issue. By comparison to Star Mazda cars, etc, Indy Pro cars are a hugely more powerful and quicker.

Therefore, whilst I appreciate new drivers have to pass a 'rookie' test. Question - is this enough to equip them for racing at high speeds in close proximity, particularly on ovals, where the margin for error is so small - the more so with the larger grids that are out this year?

[Mystery]

A very good question. Looking at the crash it is clearly a racing accident and one where it would be wrong to apportion blame. However one could argue that Perez's car was pushing up the track a little to make the wheels touch, so was that something a more experienced driver could have controlled??? I don't know really to be honest, although I am aware that NASCAR do have specific drafting sessions at Daytona so the specific aspects of one type of racing could be more closely monitored. Very difficult to achieve in practice though I suspect.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by No 4

This sad accident does highlight a key issue. By comparison to Star Mazda cars, etc, Indy Pro cars are a hugely more powerful and quicker.

Therefore, whilst I appreciate new drivers have to pass a 'rookie' test. Question - is this enough to equip them for racing at high speeds in close proximity, particularly on ovals, where the margin for error is so small - the more so with the larger grids that are out this year?

No obviously not after this weekends disaster. Looks like a modern version of gladiators. Someone is going to get killed by years end.

[No 4]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

No obviously not after this weekends disaster. Looks like a modern version of gladiators. Someone is going to get killed by years end.

I fear you could be right.

Jamie Morrow, my son, couldn't raise the budget to do Indy Pro. Naturally he's gutted, but speaking as a father, part of me is hugely relieved.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by No 4

I fear you could be right.

Jamie Morrow, my son, couldn't raise the budget to do Indy Pro. Naturally he's gutted, but speaking as a father, part of me is hugely relieved.

25 guys with almost no oval experience for most, running wheel to wheel at 180 mph in a modified old world series by renault car is asking for trouble. The number of catastropic accidents in recent years in indy pro and the irl has to be of some concern. Pablo Perez will be lucky to able to walk properly again.

[Goodlookin]

At last here is the driver who will put IPS racing on the map. Won last Sunday at Miami Homestead Oval, won yesterday at the street course at St. Petersburgh and then to cap it, had the gall to win today at St. Petersburgh, having had to start at 6th on the grid.

Seems to have the Indian sign on many of the so called 'senior' drivers; Johnathan Klein, Wade Cunningham, Bobby Wilson, Jay Howard. They just seem to lose their ability as experienced drivers as Alex regains the lead and they don't seem to be able to do anything about it.

Alex was a contemporary of Lewis Hamilton, not much between them but then 'sponsorship' reared its ugly head. Lewis was sponsored throughout his entire career by Mercedes/McLaren and was entered into the best team in every class of Motor racing. No so Alex, after Formula Renault he found no further sponsorship and was really without racing till last year, when the Americans came to his rescue.

AFS racing, run by Gary Petersen gave him his start in IndyPro and his performances were spotted by Sam Schmidt. Joined the team Sam runs and the first few races of 2007 confirms Sam is no slouch when it comes to recognising sheer talent

[foreversideways]

Originally Posted by Goodlookin

At last here is the driver who will put IPS racing on the map. Won last Sunday at Miami Homestead Oval, won yesterday at the street course at St. Petersburgh and then to cap it, had the gall to win today at St. Petersburgh, having had to start at 6th on the grid.

Seems to have the Indian sign on many of the so called 'senior' drivers; Johnathan Klein, Wade Cunningham, Bobby Wilson, Jay Howard. They just seem to lose their ability as experienced drivers as Alex regains the lead and they don't seem to be able to do anything about it.

Alex was a contemporary of Lewis Hamilton, not much between them but then 'sponsorship' reared its ugly head. Lewis was sponsored throughout his entire career by Mercedes/McLaren and was entered into the best team in every class of Motor racing. No so Alex, after Formula Renault he found no further sponsorship and was really without racing till last year, when the Americans came to his rescue.

AFS racing, run by Gary Petersen gave him his start in IndyPro and his performances were spotted by Sam Schmidt. Joined the team Sam runs and the first few races of 2007 confirms Sam is no slouch when it comes to recognising sheer talent

Yes goodlookin, Alex is finally on the way. Just enjoy the show. Great driver now with a great team. Watched both races trackside, and he had plenty in hand during both of them. Watch this forum now as the dissers of US racing have a go.

[Mr Jinxx]

I don't particularly like posts that knock drivers (although some deserve a teensy bit of a knocking sometimes (*cough* Jay Howard)) but on the other hand I almost dislike even more the almost boasting and toasting of a favoured driver, and Goodlookin's post (modest name, by the way) rather smacks of that to me ... a proud Mum's boast sort of thing ... and wouldn't endear a driver to me upon reading it. You might find that such a style of posting may be counter-productive, and it may suit you (assuming you are related or just good friends with Alex) to try and take a more reasoned, two-steps-back approach to your driver of choice! Sorry, just my opinion, I'm a big fan too!