Jourdain

[Snrub]

What do you guys think of Jourdain, both this season and in general? Seeing as we now know that Jourdain is out at RuSport this seems like the right time to talk about him.

Couple of trains of thoughts:

* AJ comprehensively beat Jourdain, there's no way to be nice about it, it wasn't even close. AJ beat him in nearly every race, qualifying and best lap. I think only Servia and Mazzacane had a greater performance differential (and Tag and Nelson earlier in the season). Jourdain has had a lot of experience and AJ was a rookie. Russo can't be blamed for giving Jourdain the boot.

* It's tough to be an afterthrought 2 weeks before the season starts. Jourdain likely got the scraps after AJ was dealt with. Jourdain did finish 3rd in the championship last year, ahead of Bourdais! Recall that he and Rahal had a very special relationship. A number of times Rahal gave him hugs, etc. He's a sensitive guy who needs to be in a team where things are done a certain way, but he's still a world class driver.

2004 Results:
Qualifying/Race/Best Lap (best race lap taken from each driver and ranked):
Long Beach - 13/11/12
Monterrey - 13/11/7
Milwaukee - 9/3/12
Portland - 8/14/9
Cleveland - 8/15/9
Toronto - 12/15/11
Vancouver - 12/2/6
Elkhart Lake - 11/9/14
Denver - 13/14/11
Montreal - 12/6/10
Laguna Seca - 5/4/10
Las Vegas - 5/11/5
Australia - 9/17/10
Mexico City - 10/9/19
Position in Points Standings: 12

[marcus]

he had a terrible 2004 didnt he.

dunno what happened really the last few years he really came on but this year it all went backwards for him.

I wonder what his future holds ?

[StickShift]

I'd hazard a guess for the sake of saying something, and suggest he could end up back with Bettenhausen.

[Liz]

Well, they'd have to boot someone to make room for him. Do you think RHR would end up at Mi-Jack then?

[StickShift]

I don't think it's a matter of making room for Hunter-Reay. There is nothing keeping him there.

[BootsOntheSide]

Ryan semes to have turned down a Ganassi IRL drive to stay with Keith's team. He wants to race in CART, he wants to race for a top team (which HVM is and Conquest arguably isn't), and Keith wants to run him as he's a huge talent.

The most notable stat there is probably the fact that in Mexico City, his fastest lap was the slowest, at a track he rpesumably knows especialyl wella dn would be motivated for. perhaps he'd given up hope by then, but that really isn't impressive. He managed 3 or 4 good runs throughout the seaosn, but he made a big mvoe backwards in performance overall.

Coming into the team so late was tough - ultimately Rahal's decision to leave CART, and Gigante's decision to stay instead of taking up what proved to be a highly competitive IRL ride, made his job very tought, and he never really got as much support as AJ - his crew came together at the last minute and surely wasn't as well-drilled as AJ's.

[f1manoz]

There are options out there for Jourdain, it just depends on which one he picks. I'd like to see him return to Wiggins/HVM (or whatever it is) but unless one driver makes way, it won't happen.

Then there's Conquest...

[drewdawg727]

Jourdain used to be at the back of the field all the time when i started watching the series back in 1999.
Then he started being a key player in the championship
But i can recall a lot of people this year saying that Jourdain wasn't up in front because he was on a new team that hasn't really found good setups unlike the bigger and better teams...like Rahal.
So RuSport just needs to come up with some better setups...sometimes it isn't the driver who slips from the front to the back, but the team does as well.

[N I Tram]

You would never expect a driver who finishes 3rd in the championship one season to lose out to a rookie team-mate the next season, even if AJ does prove to be the second coming. For whatever reasons I suspect Michel's car got less overall support, or an inferior (or, more likely, less gelled, as the car was only added 2 weeks befor ethe season start) crew, which caused him to struggle.

[BootsOntheSide]

The setups should be the same on both cars initially, with any adjustments being amde by the driver and his crew, with anything found to be beneficial passed on to the other car. Therefore I don't think setups were the reason why Michel struggled last year.

Thinking about it, wasn't it Herdez (the company) rather than the team that dropped Jourdain in faovur of Dominguez? Re-signing him might be an interesting move for Keith considering the history. I think Forsythe and Conquest are more likely destinations.

[Dov]

Tomas Enge will probably end up at Forsythe so IMO, Jourdain will find a seat at HVM (Herdez), PKV or Conquest Racing.

[luke]

What a season 2005 shall be. Can't wait.

[mountainstar]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
The setups should be the same on both cars initially, with any adjustments being amde by the driver and his crew, with anything found to be beneficial passed on to the other car. Therefore I don't think setups were the reason why Michel struggled last year.

Thinking about it, wasn't it Herdez (the company) rather than the team that dropped Jourdain in faovur of Dominguez? Re-signing him might be an interesting move for Keith considering the history. I think Forsythe and Conquest are more likely destinations.

I believe it was Herdez that pulled the trigger on that one.

[N I Tram]

ALthough Michel had a few good races in 2004, he did struggle most of the way. Considering that Vasser generally outid him in 2002, it's quite posisble that he simply isn't as good as well althought, and was made to look better by Rahal's setups and teamwork. Next year would be the acid test.

[Snrub]

According to this article Fernandez is trying to bring Jourdain into the IRL as his 3rd car:
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/14129/

[Kicking-back]

It makes a lot of sense, that move.

IndyCar have added a Canadian driver in Carpentier, and getting another Mexican in will help - particularly as Mexico and Canada have been strong for ChampCar recently.

[luke]

Well Mexico is also very popular with the IRL after Ferandez's recent success.

[Snrub]

I'd heard before that Fernandez was perhaps Mexico's biggest sports celeb. Does anyone know if this is still true? Did the IRL get good ratings in Mexico?

[Tenoch]

In my opinion Fernandez is not the biggest Sports celeb in MexicoI think that title goes to Ana Guevara, the two time silver medalist in the 400 meter sprint in the Olympics abd World champion. Last year she nearly sold out the Olympic stadium in Ciudad universitaria for a one of her exhibition races. she also sponsored by Televisa the largest Tv network, Nike, and Bimbo makers of Wonder bread.

[mountainstar]

Originally posted by Snrub
I'd heard before that Fernandez was perhaps Mexico's biggest sports celeb. Does anyone know if this is still true? Did the IRL get good ratings in Mexico?

Last I heard this year the IRL is not televised in Mexico

[Ac.]

Considering the success of Champ Car in Mexico and Forsythe's involvement there, it would be in the series intrest to keep the best Mexican drivers in Champ Car. If Jourdain follows Fernandez to the other side it would give Mexican fans a greater reason to pay attention to that series. The amigos would be wise to lock up Jourdain as part of their business strategy.

I'd argue that the same is true of Carpentier and the Canadian market, but it's too late for that.

[macdaddy]

Well-said, Ac.

I was (and am) quite surprised that Forsythe lost Carpentier in the way he did. Not so much from a "team-owner" standpoint, but from a "series-executive" standpoint.

But I'm sure that Tres Hombres are well-aware of the Jourdain situation, and of its potential domino effect. I have much faith in KK, though.

[BootsOntheSide]

Gerry obviosuly feels that Tracy and Tagliani are a big enough draw for Canada. Mexico is a big deal though, and I can see Jourdain getting a much better seat than in 2004 as a result.

[Ac.]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

Gerry obviosuly feels that Tracy and Tagliani are a big enough draw for Canada. Mexico is a big deal though, and I can see Jourdain getting a much better seat than in 2004 as a result.

You may be right Boots. Check out this quote from the press release from Champ Car regarding the San Jose race.

In addition, Mexican drivers Michel Jourdain, Jr. and Mario Dominguez will compete among an expected 18-car field.

That's a big statement considering there hasn't been any news of Jourdain signing somewhere.

The entire article is here:
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/N...le.asp?ID=8604

[BootsOntheSide]

No mention of Lavin, so either a)no one in Mexico cares for him, or b)Corona are pulling out, or c)the organisers don't rate him highly enough to mention him. Hopefully Jourdain will be there anyway.