Martinez replaces Servia

luke · 12 Sep 2007, 20:07 (Ref:2010453)

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62299

For the final grand-slam races at Surfers Paradise and Mexico City.

Hazard · 12 Sep 2007, 20:20 (Ref:2010464)

Quote:

Originally Posted by luke

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62299

For the final grand-slam races at Surfers Paradise and Mexico City.

Duplicated thread

D.R.T. · 13 Sep 2007, 04:59 (Ref:2010764)

And our Mexican driver finds a seat. Looking foward to what he can do in these final two races. Pity for Servia, who has outdriven Tracy on all accounts this year

TWK · 13 Sep 2007, 05:57 (Ref:2010777)

That's "buys a seat," isn't it?

Alwaysfirst · 13 Sep 2007, 06:38 (Ref:2010810)

Servia really doesn't deserve to be ousted after the year he's had. To have outperformed Tracy, one of the series supposed top drivers, so consistently all year has been really impressive. If it wern't that Tracy is seen as a permanant fixture in the series I would be quick to replace him, rather than Servia.

Jimmy Magnusson · 13 Sep 2007, 07:52 (Ref:2010859)

Unfortunate for Servia, but now the Mexicans have atleast one driver to cheer for when the series gets there. From what I remember Martinez were in the running for the second FCR seat at the start of the season, and he's not a bad driver, so it's good to see that he's got a seat. FCR aren't going to ditch Tracy any time soon (maybe they should have let him have a go in a golf cart again), and Servia was a substitute, so I suppose it made sense to replace him instead. As I said, bad for Servia, but good for Martinez and the Mexico City race.

marcus · 13 Sep 2007, 08:59 (Ref:2010915)

looking forward to see what he can do.

and hopefully it leads to a permanent ride next year

mountainstar · 13 Sep 2007, 17:58 (Ref:2011539)

It was on the cards from the beginning Martinez was going to at least drive in Mexico. Servia can't complain as he got a good chance to keep his career going.

**gomick** · 14 Sep 2007, 09:29 (Ref:2012414)

and what was oriol's response to this

JohnSSC · 14 Sep 2007, 09:41 (Ref:2012429)

Servia has every reason to complain as he out-drove PT most of the year.

This kind of stuff is just patent b/s...Forsythe is supposed to be one of your "top" teams. It is owned by one of the series owners. And yet, they still find it necessary to play Dale Coyne Racing for the last couple of races to get the $$.

It is disappointing. In a series screaming for quality and one that advertises the supposed quality of it's drivers, Servia gets punted for someone who has not even driven a DP-01 yet.

Servia's response to this likely couldn't get past the auto censor here.

D.R.T. · 14 Sep 2007, 11:32 (Ref:2012548)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

This kind of stuff is just patent b/s...Forsythe is supposed to be one of your "top" teams. It is owned by one of the series owners.

trying to make it an us and them thing again John. Poor form.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Servia's response to this likely couldn't get past the auto censor here.

I disagree John. Servia is someone who understands the realities of the world we currently live in. I am thinking he would be disappointed not to run in the final two race (as I think he was a dark horse for Surfers Paradise) but would be thankful for the Forsythe team giving him a drive when he had nothing at the start of the season.

JohnSSC · 15 Sep 2007, 11:09 (Ref:2013515)

I think it is great that some of y'all have reached a point where you can sift my posts for nuance...I did not mean "your" in an us vs them scenario. I meant "your" in a generic sense as in: "Your average F1 driver" or "Your Show of Shows."

So what Servia should "understand" is that in the so-called top level series CC purports to be is that you can outperform The Great Paul Tracy all season and then get replaced by someone who has never driven the car, as long as that someone has access to gobs of cash.

A ringing endorsement for the overall health of the series. I am delighted that even Forsythe Racing can emulate Dale Coyne Racing, right down to the revolving door.

BootsOntheSide · 15 Sep 2007, 11:22 (Ref:2013527)

I think Martinez is getting the drive through nationality, the desire to have a Mexican driver for their local round, rather than through his own funding, but otherwise I'd agree with John (and I didn't see 'your' as 'us-versus-them'). This demonstrates the instability of international events once the local drivers have gone (and don't tell me it's a coincidence that so much Dutch/Belgian drivers have emerged in the last 2 years).

mountainstar · 15 Sep 2007, 15:30 (Ref:2013733)

Martinez was on the cards for this way back at the beginning of the season regardless of what servia did.

JohnSSC · 15 Sep 2007, 19:20 (Ref:2013901)

I know that he was, mountainstar, it just doesn't make the actual fact any more palatable. would have been nice if they could have added a car for him like was done for Mutoh at Chicagoland.

mountainstar · 16 Sep 2007, 03:04 (Ref:2014183)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

I know that he was, mountainstar, it just doesn't make the actual fact any more palatable. would have been nice if they could have added a car for him like was done for Mutoh at Chicagoland.

I would look at the positives rather than the negatives. Servia got a opportunity to show what he could do after being left without a ride at the beginning of the season and Martinez gets another well deserved break to show his potential.

D.R.T. · 16 Sep 2007, 15:44 (Ref:2014707)

I agree. Everyone wins.

JohnSSC · 19 Sep 2007, 10:21 (Ref:2017764)

Yeah, what a winner! Dave Phillips had an interesting take on this in his most recent Speed TV commentary: "Good, Bad and the Ugly Notes."

Leads me to ask the question: "Has Martinez ever won anything?" He won exactly zero races in Atlantics, correct? I mean really, what is there about him aside from his demographic that makes him desirable as a replacement for Servia? Are the teams going to dump all of their non-Aussie/NZ drivers for Surfer's to take advantage of "demographics?" Still need someone to explain why his "demographic" would be an advantage at Surfer's...

I am still not seeing how this is a "win" for Servia - or CC - or Forsythe Racing or even Martinez. This has to be one of the few cases in North America where being of hispanic descent is an advantage.

D.R.T. · 19 Sep 2007, 12:31 (Ref:2017881)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

I am still not seeing how this is a "win" for Servia - or CC - or Forsythe Racing or even Martinez. This has to be one of the few cases in North America where being of hispanic descent is an advantage.

A win for Servia in that he recieved a drive from nothing at the 3rd Round. It would have made more sense to have Martinez drive from Long Beach till the rest of the season.

A win for CC as there will be a Mexican driver at the Mexican event. As Phillips points out, 1 of drives isnt going to excite the Mexican public much however.

Solution for 2008, Forsythe to run Tracy, Martinez and Servia for full seasons. Lets hope anyways.

Tim Northcutt · 19 Sep 2007, 14:43 (Ref:2017979)

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Solution for 2008, Forsythe to run Tracy, Martinez and Servia for full seasons. Lets hope anyways.

Forsythe barely was interested in running two cars this year until he realized that they needed the 2nd car to get more data and become competitive...they have been behind the curve all year now...

I don't see a third car happening at all, to be honest...

mountainstar · 20 Sep 2007, 02:37 (Ref:2018421)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Are the teams going to dump all of their non-Aussie/NZ drivers for Surfer's to take advantage of "demographics?" .

Actually that is a really cool idea. I'd be in favor of that. It would certainly be something different and I think the crowd would love it.

mountainstar · 20 Sep 2007, 02:46 (Ref:2018425)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Forsythe barely was interested in running two cars this year until he realized that they needed the 2nd car to get more data and become competitive...they have been behind the curve all year now...

I don't see a third car happening at all, to be honest...

They've run a third before, but I agree probably unlikely.

JohnSSC · 20 Sep 2007, 09:51 (Ref:2018617)

But as Phillips also points out, it is not saying much for the series when they take a driver who has accomplished what Servia did this season and replace him with no one special. Even after missing the first few races, Servia had a legitimate shot at finishing in the top five in the series championship.

Of course, that means nothing, I suppose, even though we are to get very excited about their Euro Cup and Canadian cup "competitions."

D.R.T. · 20 Sep 2007, 12:04 (Ref:2018840)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Northcutt

Forsythe barely was interested in running two cars this year until he realized that they needed the 2nd car to get more data and become competitive...they have been behind the curve all year now...

Exactly and it got them nowhere. Hopefully such a poor season will kickstart Gerry into going from one extreme to the other

indycool · 20 Sep 2007, 18:41 (Ref:2019148)

There's something else going on here. On other forums, they've read Phillips' stuff but they checked the CC website and the Autodromo websites and there isn't a thing on either one of them about the race....no ticket information and in the case of Autodromo, not a word. Then I heard from a good source today that they're in "final negotiations" over some issues....something I believe we all took for granted that this was a "done deal" when the race was scheduled.

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