D'Agostino wins Wach/Newman Shootout for Atlantic ride

[ems]

When it came time to make the final decision on which drivers would secure the two seats available for the full-season entry in North America’s top open-wheel development category D’Agostino and Gaunt shined.

“The test went very well and they all did a good job but it really came down to who showed the most improvement and who communicated best with the team,” said Wachs. “We looked at the on-track development as being just as important as outright speed. Because we’re all going to be starting fresh with a new car this season we believe that the people who come out of the box quickly will be the most successful. Keeping that in mind, I’m sure we picked the right candidates.”

D’Agostino, a 20-year-old talent from Plantation, Florida, is eager to showcase his skills in North America after competing for the last several seasons in the United Kingdom. He raced in both Formula Renault and in Formula Fords last season, finishing third in the UK Formula Ford Championship with six wins and eight poles. A graduate of the Skip Barber program, D’Agostino was the winner of the Barber Big Scholarship shootout in 2003.

[Russfeld]

Hmm, neither of those guys was in the list of who I thought were the candidates. Was there another runoff? And who is Gaunt?

[ems]

Ross,
The entire article from autoracing1.com below.
Newman Wachs announces driver lineup Just like they used to do it in the Old West, the Newman/Wachs Racing Atlantic team held a shootout last week and in the end only two drivers were left standing. A strong performance on track and good chemistry with the first-year Atlantic team enabled both American Joe D’Agostino and Daniel Gaunt of New Zealand to emerge as the squad’s new marksmen for the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama.

A total of nine drivers participated in the three-day audition for the team, co-owned by legendary actor Paul Newman and his longtime friend and fellow racer Eddie Wachs. All of the drivers who tested at Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida, February 6-8 showed skill and promise, according to Wachs, but four seemed to set themselves apart. Both D’Agostino and Gaunt shined along with Brazilian racer Tuka Rocha and Frenchman Simon Pagenaud. When it came time to make the final decision on which drivers would secure the two seats available for the full-season entry in North America’s top open-wheel development category, however, both D’Agostino and Gaunt proved to have that extra ingredient that the team was looking for.

“The test went very well and they all did a good job but it really came down to who showed the most improvement and who communicated best with the team,” said Wachs. “We looked at the on-track development as being just as important as outright speed. Because we’re all going to be starting fresh with a new car this season we believe that the people who come out of the box quickly will be the most successful. Keeping that in mind, I’m sure we picked the right candidates.”

D’Agostino, a 20-year-old talent from Plantation, Florida, is eager to showcase his skills in North America after competing for the last several seasons in the United Kingdom. He raced in both Formula Renault and in Formula Fords last season, finishing third in the UK Formula Ford Championship with six wins and eight poles. A graduate of the Skip Barber program, D’Agostino was the winner of the Barber Big Scholarship shootout in 2003.

Racing mostly in Australia and his native New Zealand, Gaunt has also shown his promise competing in different formulas. The Auckland native, who will turn 22 later this month, has raced in the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series the past two seasons and is currently leading the series standings. He captured the Formula F4000 title in 2003 and has also raced in Formula Fords.

Both drivers will spend the next few weeks getting acclimated to their new team before Newman/Wachs takes possession of their new 2006 Atlantic cars in early March. The squad will put all of its focus into learning as much as it can about the new machines before a series open test March 21-22 at California Speedway. The Atlantic season kicks off April 7-9 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Champ Car

[Allan Craighead]

From what I understand, while overall speed was important, it was not the deciding factor. Supposedly a driver, who has signed with another team was actually the first choice, but some confusion over the contract meant he went elsewhere. Overall I expect both D'Agostino and Gaunt to do well, but not challenging for the title. We'll see. For those interested here's the current confirmed entry list for the series:

Bite Racing
- Chris Souliotis
- Ben Jamini

Brooks Associates Racing
- Luis Schiavo

Forsythe Racing
- James Hinchcliffe
- Leonardo Maia
- Andreas Wirth
- Richard Philippe

Gelles Racing
- Robbie Pecorari
- Steve Simpson

GTI Atlantic
- Charles Hall

Jensen Motorsport
- Tim Bridgeman

Mi-Jack Conquest Racing
- Graham Rahal

Newman/Wachs Racing
- Joe D'Agostino
- Daniel Gaunt

Polestar Racing Group
- Alan Sciuto

PR1 Motorsports
- Jonathan Bomarito
- Mike Forest

Sierra Sierra Enterprises
- Raphael Matos

Team Australia
- James Davison

Cheers,

Al Craighead

[jondownunder]

Who else took part in the Newman/Wachs shootout, apart from those mentioned (D'Agostino, Gaunt, Rocha and Pagenaud)? I'd read that Tonis Kasemets, Phil Giebler, Alan Sciuto and Tony Loniewski were due to take part - but that only makes 8?

[Allan Craighead]

I don't believe Kasemets and Sciuto tested, but I could be wrong.

Cheers,

Al.

[e12]

Kasemets set the car's baseline set-up then handed it over. He wasn't part of the evaluation.

[Clyde P. Puffer]

Joey Foster is looking at this championship? Has his name been mentioned?

[No 4]

The word is that Joey is also looking at this Indy pro as well. However, because he apparently has no budget, he's is making little progress.

[Redracer77]

I hope this championship gets shown on Sky this season as the Mazda Series was always good to watch and will have the added interest of UK drivers.

[jondownunder]

Originally Posted by Allan Craighead

I don't believe Kasemets and Sciuto tested, but I could be wrong.

Originally Posted by e12

Kasemets set the car's baseline set-up then handed it over. He wasn't part of the evaluation.

Cheers guys. So does anyone know exactly who took part in the shootout? It's frustrating that they haven't announced all the drivers that D'Agostino and Gaunt were up against.

[jondownunder]

Originally Posted by Redracer77

I hope this championship gets shown on Sky this season as the Mazda Series was always good to watch and will have the added interest of UK drivers.

Agreed, this season looks fantastic, and for some reason we've been denied any coverage in recent years, while more junior series like Barber Dodge and Star Mazda have had excellent, if delayed, coverage. If Sky Sports don't pick it up, I hope Motors TV do.

[e12]

Originally Posted by jondownunder

Cheers guys. So does anyone know exactly who took part in the shootout? It's frustrating that they haven't announced all the drivers that D'Agostino and Gaunt were up against.

Phil Giebler
Simon Pagenaud
Tuka Rocha
Tony Loniewski
Alan Sciuto(?)

Daniel Gaunt
Joe D'Agostino

Missing one or two probably.

[Sato san]

Originally Posted by jondownunder

Agreed, this season looks fantastic, and for some reason we've been denied any coverage in recent years, while more junior series like Barber Dodge and Star Mazda have had excellent, if delayed, coverage. If Sky Sports don't pick it up, I hope Motors TV do.

If Sky SPorts pick it up it will probally be very delayed as is most of the Star Maza coverage they show . Motors tv would be our best bet i would think ,or even Eurosport showing the support to Champ Car .

we can but hope .

[Russfeld]

Where was Toyota Atlantic shown in the UK/Europe, if at all?

[jondownunder]

I used to very rarely see occasional highlights on some Sky Sports programmes back in the 90s, but I believe it was the 2002 season that had some pretty good coverage on Motors TV (IIRC).

[jondownunder]

Support the campaign to get it on Motors TV here: http://www.motorstv.com/forums/read....&i=2588&t=2588

[Sato san]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

Where was Toyota Atlantic shown in the UK/Europe, if at all?

Yes , the 2002 season was on Motors tv , but since weve had hardly anything , so ive always had to get a friend in America send me tapes over of the races every round week by week .

Certianly worth trying to get good coverage back here in Europe .

[Allan Craighead]

Pitty we can't organize a trade of coverage. Would be great if you guys (UK/Europe) got Atlantic and Mazda coverage and we (North America) got Formula Three and Formula Renault. Oh well.

Cheers,

Al.