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Old 22 Dec 2003, 23:00 (Ref:818534)   #1
zerO
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SILLY SEASON pt.7 ?!?!

OK, "CART is Dead" & "Long Live Champ Cars" ?!?!

According to Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi there are 18 cars guaranteed to be on the track come April and Long Beach.

Here's how the picture looks like:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira or Ryan Hunter-Reay ?
3. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
4. FORSYTHE - Patrick Crapentier
5. WALKER - Michael Valiante
6. WALKER - Jonathan Macr or Ryan Dalziel
7. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
8. HERDEZ - Roberto Gonzalez or David Martinez ?
9. FERNANDEZ - Adrian Fernandez
10. FERNANDEZ - Luis Diaz
11. RAHAL - Michael Jourdain
12. POLLOCK - Mika Salo
13. FITTIPALDI - Tiago Monteiro
14. FITTIPALDI - Tomas Enge or Rodolfo Lavin ?
15. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
16. BACHELART - Mario Haberfeld of Giorgio Pantani ?
17. COYNE - Joel Camathias or Tomas Enge ?
18. RuSPORT - A.J.Allmendinger

Those are the 18 promised... now, here are other possibilities:

19. RAHAL - Andre Lotterer or Justin Wilson ?
20. POLLOCK - Jacques Villeneuve or Guy Smith ?
21. GENTILOZZI - Ryan Hunter-Reay or Bjorn Wirdheim ?
22. COYNE - Alex Yoong or Ralph Firman ?
23. NUNN - Felipe Giaffone or Hoover Orsi ?

(for those who wonder - sources: SeventhGear, Jasper Race-By-Race, CART Brickheads, and ChampWeb)

No, my dream of 23 (like I had last year) will not come true, but defintely 18 cars we shall have... there still are a few more interested parties and possibilities, we might see 20 Champ Cars come April, but at this moment we should be happy with just 18... btw, AJ.Allmendinger is testing a RuSPORT Lola already... Alan van der Merwe will test a PK car soon... Justin WIlson is planning a test with Rahal... etc, etc...

We shall have a very fine season next year = 18+ cars, 16 or more races, CBS and Spike TV... MERRY XMAS ?!?!

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Old 22 Dec 2003, 23:20 (Ref:818551)   #2
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Good list. But I think a second Rocketsport car is perhaps more likely than an second Fernandez. And PG has been quoted as saying that both Vasser and RHR will still be driving, albeit with new teams. Methinks that if Fittipaldi runs two cars (by taking over Patrick), Vasser will be a co-owner/driver.

Nice to talk about drivers for a change!
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Old 22 Dec 2003, 23:25 (Ref:818554)   #3
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I know I sound like a broken record, but are there any commercial sponsors lined up for these teams?

Most of the teams you mention from 2003, like Fittipaldi Dingman, like Dale Coyne, like ASTJ... ran thanks in no small way to the largesse of CART Inc... not a commercial enterprise.

Bring Chipper and Roger back!!!!
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Old 22 Dec 2003, 23:30 (Ref:818558)   #4
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Who?
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Old 22 Dec 2003, 23:42 (Ref:818565)   #5
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Quote:
Originally posted by macdaddy
Good list. But I think a second Rocketsport car is perhaps more likely than an second Fernandez. And PG has been quoted as saying that both Vasser and RHR will still be driving, albeit with new teams. Methinks that if Fittipaldi runs two cars (by taking over Patrick), Vasser will be a co-owner/driver.

Nice to talk about drivers for a change!
Hey MacDaddy,
Luis Diaz is already signed by Fernandez, not that it means much since Herdez has Gonzalez and Martinez signed (who'll get to drive is another ballgame)... on the other hand, Fernandez' sponsors are not keen on supporting a second car in IRL under the "Super Aguri Fernandez" auspices, so a second Champ Car is much more likely...

Gentilozzi will most probably try to run a second car, but first he'll be preoccupied in ensuring an 18 car grid... then he'll most probably consider Ryan Hunter-Reay since he's got nowhere else to go and an American driver (especially one who won a race last year) is a commodity, Bjorn Wirdheim is PG's other option should a F1 testing role for him not matrialize...

As for Jimmy Vasser - it looks very cloudy: Pat Patrick told him to "get lost" (that's the end of that relationship), the only other friend JV has is Bobby Rahal, but in order for a car materializing for Vasser he'll have to pay for his ride instead of getting paid - and even though he lowered his price to $3mil he can't get a ride when there is no seat available - so, who'll cough-up the money ? McDonalds ? a 3rd car at NHR ? don't think so ?!?!

Besides, Paul Newman and Paul Gentilozzi are still trying to "aid" Dario Franchitti in trying to get out of his contract with AGR/Honda in IRL...

...this ball of wax shall be fun for the next few months, stay tuned...

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Old 23 Dec 2003, 02:53 (Ref:818636)   #6
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macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!macdaddy has a real shot at the podium!
Quote:
Gentilozzi will most probably try to run a second car, but first he'll be preoccupied in ensuring an 18 car grid.
Aren't they one-in-the-same?

And Pat Patrick may not be so quick to tell Vasser to "get lost" if Jimmy and Emmo want to buy the team.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 09:22 (Ref:818789)   #7
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It's good to see some positive news regarding the championship, hopefully all the proposed teams & drivers come to fruition.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 11:27 (Ref:818847)   #8
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BootsOntheSide should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridBootsOntheSide should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridBootsOntheSide should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridBootsOntheSide should be qualifying in the top 3 on the grid
To put it another way, Paul will want to ensure 16 cars from other teams before tying up a second car of his own. It's a shame we haven't had public confirmations of more of those cars, as we seem to be dealing largely in rumours, although there's plenty of time.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 11:42 (Ref:818867)   #9
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Quote:
Originally posted by GTRMagic
I know I sound like a broken record, but are there any commercial sponsors lined up for these teams?

Most of the teams you mention from 2003, like Fittipaldi Dingman, like Dale Coyne, like ASTJ... ran thanks in no small way to the largesse of CART Inc... not a commercial enterprise.
i'm wondering the same thing too...just a few years ago the sponsors' roles as to series involvement IRL/CART were completely the opposite...that is most big name high profile sponsors were clearly visible in CART and the smaller lesser well known were predominate in IRL...cyclical stuff i guess....
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 14:19 (Ref:819024)   #10
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Sponsorship will continue to be an issue for the next few years I believe. Right now the only viable marketing tool within all of open wheel racing is the Indy 500. Like or not it’s the only race in both series that still pulls big television numbers. We need to turn Long Beach into a spectacle on a much grander scale and make it our marquee race. Sell it like it’s the Daytona/Indy or Champ Car and market it like crazy. Put it on CBS and pay for commercial time. Why not a Champ Car commercial during the super bowl? Sort of a “It’s coming….THE NEW CHAMP CAR! Open Wheel’s biggest race…Open Wheel’s brightest stars…Open Wheel’s fastest cars…The Grand Prix of Long Beach! COMING IN APRIL! Catch us..if you can!”
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 14:20 (Ref:819027)   #11
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By the way, I forgot to mention. Notice the play on words: "Open Wheel's fastest cars.." Since our company is called Open Wheel it's a play on words. Whether F1 or IRL cars are truly faster doesn't matter. Compared to Atlantics, Trans Am and other "Open Wheel" owned racing series Champ Cars are the fastest! MESSAGE TO CART: I AM FOR HIRE!
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 14:29 (Ref:819036)   #12
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GP Racer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridGP Racer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
IMHO, being aired on Spike TV, is going to present huge sponsorship problems for the series. Many sponsors will not want to be seen, or have a need to be seen on this low-brow "network" unfortunately.

Spike may reach more homes than Speed, but who really watches it?

PS - gaines, you are correct, Long Beach HAS to become a marquee event, the Monaco of Champ Cars.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 14:30 (Ref:819037)   #13
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climb should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridclimb should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
heard that negociations between Patrick and Fittipaldi have failed; Emerson's 2nd car is in doubt.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 14:38 (Ref:819042)   #14
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The only racing website I have heard that on is AR1 under their rumour section which doesn't mean a hole hell of a lot!
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 14:38 (Ref:819043)   #15
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Snrub should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridSnrub should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
OWRS will have to help pay for teams to run, so that helps with some of the sponsor issues, but certainly leave a big hole.

Are we sure Jimmy was told to get lost by Patrick? Patrick basically paid out of pocket for Jimmy to run.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 15:31 (Ref:819070)   #16
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Are we sure Jimmy was told to get lost by Patrick? Patrick basically paid out of pocket for Jimmy to run.
Maybe that's why he told him to get lost. I mean if you paid out of pocket a former champ and he drove like that, wouldn't you want him out of your sight? Especially if he's moonlighting with another series. If I wasn't winning and competitive with my current team, I'd work harder with that team to get better before I'd make appearances in Nascar.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 15:36 (Ref:819074)   #17
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Quote:
Originally posted by gaines
Why not a Champ Car commercial during the super bowl? Sort of a “It’s coming….THE NEW CHAMP CAR! Open Wheel’s biggest race…Open Wheel’s brightest stars…Open Wheel’s fastest cars…The Grand Prix of Long Beach! COMING IN APRIL! Catch us..if you can!”
That's a great idea! Almost everyone watches the super bowl.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 16:31 (Ref:819118)   #18
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GP Racer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridGP Racer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Do you know how much a TV commercial costs during the Super Bowl? It's enough to put OWRS out of business before it gets started.

It would be far cheaper to put on a race in South Africa!
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 16:38 (Ref:819126)   #19
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jjspierx should be qualifying in the top 5 on the gridjjspierx should be qualifying in the top 5 on the grid
zerO - why are speculating that Bruno Junqueira might be replaced by RHR? Its been confirmed for a LONG time now that Bruno will be driving in CHAMPCAR for NH.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 16:53 (Ref:819143)   #20
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Swedish F3 driver Robert Dahlgren who drove in the english F3 championship this year said on an interview with a Swedish tv channel that there are teams in CART that are interested in him and he had been over there for a couple of meetings. So their is a possibility that he will race there next year.

Last edited by Nicke; 23 Dec 2003 at 16:53.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 18:19 (Ref:819219)   #21
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Quote:
Originally posted by jjspierx
zerO - why are speculating that Bruno Junqueira might be replaced by RHR? Its been confirmed for a LONG time now that Bruno will be driving in CHAMPCAR for NH.
No he hasn't, and that rfm article, at most, is assuming far more than it should. Right now it's likely at best.
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 18:23 (Ref:819223)   #22
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On another note, now that Team American Spirit is gone, shouldn't Team Mi-Jack be fielding 2 cars with Jenuet Champagne as the sponsor?
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 18:25 (Ref:819225)   #23
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Ha ha ha ha ha! Good one cork!
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Old 23 Dec 2003, 20:31 (Ref:819346)   #24
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Quote:
Originally posted by jjspierx
zerO - why are speculating that Bruno Junqueira might be replaced by RHR? Its been confirmed for a LONG time now that Bruno will be driving in CHAMPCAR for NH.
YES, but the Carl Haas and IRL thingy isn't dead yet - should Junky go with Haas to IRL full time then RHR is the most likely candidate for that seat, otherwise there's also a possibility of a 3rd car at NHR with RHR behind the wheel... this idiotic dilemma is far from being solved or over...

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Old 23 Dec 2003, 20:39 (Ref:819352)   #25
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Quote:
Originally posted by climb
heard that negociations between Patrick and Fittipaldi have failed; Emerson's 2nd car is in doubt.
You've heard it wrong, buddy... it's Patrick & Vasser negociations that went sour - Jimmy Vasser will not be buying anything from Patrick, Emmo will = see Robin Miller's take ?! ...and there will be a two-car (Lola) team from Emmo next year ?! period

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