Sebring testing news

[Dov]

From jorgemog at Crapwagons/Cartfanatics.com:

Sebring testing news.

TV Azteca had this small note on the Sebting tests. Manning drove Luis Diaz's car at some point in the morning. It is a new Reynard. It has SUN on its sidepods and TELCEL on the rear wing. Then Luis tested the car and supposedly had some good times. Fittipaldi/Dingman was also there. HERDEZ was there too. Roberto Gonzalez could not test for a long time because of a gearbox problem and rain poured when he was about to test in Mario's car.

The thing that intrigued me the most is Rahal's test. The note said that Rahal wasn't testing with Michel, but with "some german guy" or "a german driver" I can't remember the exact words. The point is that a german driver tested. Maybe TV Azteca could not reveal his name, or the guy reporting is a total idiot. Seeing as Lotterer was supposed to drive a second car all season long at Rahal's, could this be a great note? Could it be just a test? Could mexican media be that stupid as to turn fans on with bullsheet? Who knows, but I for sure am looking forward to one more car.


Anybody know anithing more on these tests?

[Snrub]

I hope they are right about Lotterer. The only question is why the heck does he need a test for? Hire the guy.

CART's quality of drivers has improved a lot this year with a bunch of driver revelations. I can't wait to see who's in the field for next year.

[gttouring]

the funny thin gthis year in CART as far as quality drivers go, why weren't more teams contesting for wins?
are PT and Bourdais that good over everyone else? and the teams preparation just better? with almost identical cars across the board we see who really is good, and how good vassser and Hunter-Reay really are bringing in the reynards so high.
a 4th in miami go vasser.
now with a good schedule being on paper, any word on what the test was really for, and 'the german driver' will he bring german auto interest?

[Shaggy_SoCal]

To me, racing is like an American football offense.
If the coach calls the right play, the blockers block the defensive line, and the recievers run their routes, the quarterback can do the things he needs to do to score touchdowns.

In racing, if the engineers and mechanics prepare the car well, the team owner makes the right race calls, the pit crew makes quick pit stops, the driver will be able to do his best to win races.

The quaterback in football is the most visible part of the offensive team. He shoulders most of the burden if the team does not win, even though it takes everyone to do so.

The dirver is the most visible part of the race team, and like the quarterback, shoulders most of the burden if the team does not win.

Understand that the burden is a perception. Ryan is not a slow driver, but if the car is not working the way he wants it, he'll look slow even though it he isn't the main cause for his slowness.

One main difference I can see between football and racing is that in racing, if you go out of bounds you won't be coming back in.

[macdaddy]

Interesting...
Thanks for the info, Dov.

[ascarracinguk]

go to cart.com for the pics!!!

[Andy Roberts]

I tested against Nelson Phillipe in the Barber Dodge Pro Series at Sebring in April and set a nigh-on identical time despite him already having done 3 races and 8 tests, and I'd never seen the track or car before. Good luck to him as he is definatly talented, AND has the money to get him to CART.

[BootsOntheSide]

Not a hint of sarcasm or bitterness there Andy?

Thanks for teh testing links though. Bad luck for Gonzáles, hopefully not a shape f thigns to come.

[Andy Roberts]

Bad day at work. Not usually like that sorry

He's a top bloke though and should do well in CART if he gets a full time drive next season.

[Snrub]

I you watch enough races and watch how the driver is driving the car you can usually get a decent idea of who is doing what. This year has shown how big the differnces can be between a good setup and a bad one. Few of us may be Geoff Boss fans, but the 3 second difference between him and 6th place in qualifying is not all due to driving ability. A substantial part is due to setup ability, but also his team's setup ability. Further proof is that Papis may not be a championship contender, but he was WAAAAY off the pace at a couple of races.

[Dov]

I just found out that the German driver testing for Team Rahal is some guy called Pierre Kaffer. I've heard this name before, but I don't know anything about him.....can anybody fill me in?

P.S. If you guys want to see a few pictures of him testing Jourdain's car, just go to cart.com.....

[Andy Roberts]

Pierre Kaffer was in the Porsche Cup this year. Not sure how he did but his website is at www.pierre-kaffer.de which I just found on google but its in german.

[Kicking-back]

Kaffer tested for Patrick Racing last week too.

[macdaddy]

Maybe a German manufacturer likes him?

[Dov]

Originally posted by macdaddy
Maybe a German manufacturer likes him?

If CART wants German manufacturers, they will (most likely) have to keep racing in Germany. IF OWRS cancels the European races in 2004 then they MUST return by 2005.....no later then 2006!

Thanks guys for the info on Pierre Kaffer.

[Tenoch]

Guess what, Since Gonzalez' test was put of by rain herdez went back today and set a new track record, I guess Mr. Lotto Speed has a few trciks up his sleeve.

[Dov]

Do you mean that Gonzalez' broke the track record in the Herdez car? If this is true, then this really shows us what a good car can do for a driver and his confidence.

[Dov]

GONZALEZ COMPLETES VERY SUCCESSFUL PRE-MEXICO CITY TEST

Friday, October 3, 2003

INDIANAPOLIS (October 3, 2003) – Champ Car Rookie Roberto Gonzalez yesterday completed a highly successful test at Putnam Park just outside Indianapolis in the #4 Herdez Competition/Nextel Lola that he will race in next weekend’s Gran Premio de Mexico. The test was originally scheduled for Monday, September 29th at Sebring International Raceway in Florida but inclement weather forced the team to abandon the test after only seven laps.

Thursday’s test saw Gonzalez run 115 laps of the 1.766 mile circuit without putting a wheel wrong. In fact, by the end of the day he had set a new official track record of 52.91 seconds. The previous record had been in place since 1998 when Greg Moore set a lap of 53.41 (June 3rd) and was then pipped by Alex Barron (August 4th) with a time of 53.23 seconds. Knocking more than 3/10ths of a second from this record was a thrill for Gonzalez and the entire Herdez Competition/Nextel crew. Gonzalez and the team also practiced pit stops throughout the day, further preparing him for race conditions.

Team Manager Vince Kremer expressed it best; “It was a very positive test overall. The engineering team got very good feedback from Roberto. He adjusted quickly to being back in the car and ran very well. We’re very pleased and excited with the results of the day.”

Gonzalez was also happy with the day’s results. “I felt very comfortable in the Champ Car pretty much from the first lap. When you consider that I haven’t been in a race car since February, it says a lot for the team as well. They gave me a very, very good car to work with. It was great to get a chance to get to know the mechanics and the engineers a bit better before next weekend’s big race in Mexico City. It’s a huge event for Herdez and Nextel and all of our fans and friends. I feel much more confident now going into this race.”

The team’s transporters and crew will begin departing for Mexico City on Monday in preparation for the largest single event on the Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series calendar, the Gran Premio de Mexico, October 10-12, 2003.
I'm not too familiar with Putnam Park, but his record breaking lap was very impressive to have topped Moore's quickest lap.

[corkholio]

http://www.cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=862

Notice who was the only one over 52.91 seconds?

[x_dt]

Originally posted by Dov
I just found out that the German driver testing for Team Rahal is some guy called Pierre Kaffer.

According to 7thgear.com Kaffer is to be Team Rahal's second driver next year:
(link)

[Dov]

Thanks for the info, x_dt!

10/18/03
Kaffer in at Rahal

We received word from Germany today that Pierre Kaffer is set to be named as a second driver for Team Rahal.

The rumored sponsor is Infineon Technologies and the speculation has Fontana as the announcement weekend.

Here's a link to the Infineon Technologies website:http://www.infineon.com/cgi/ecrm.dll/jsp/home.do?lang=EN

One more time......http://www.infineon.com/cgi/ecrm.dll...ome.do?lang=EN

[Russfeld]

Rahal must be footing the majority of the bill, Infineon dont spend that kind of money on their racing programs

[zerO]

Rahal's second car is a JAG/Rahal entry that I've been talking about since April - JA.Grajewski (a German/Polish motorsports fanatic) has been trying to put together a team in CART since last year, in April he has purchased two Lolas and rented space in Rahal's garage, Andre Lotterer was originally to drive that car, there wasn't enough $$$ to do it this year and Lotti went to race in Japan, now Grajewski has the neccessary funds (ie: Infineon) and next year we will have a German in CART - either Pierre Kaffer or Andre Lotterer ?! ganz gut, uh ?

zerO