HVM news...

[carsten66]

HVM Inc. Preparing for 2005 Championship Battle

Indianapolis, IN. (January 21, 2005) – With a new name and a new look, HVM will return fielding a two-car entry in the 2005 Champ Car World Series.
HVM Co-Owner and Managing Director Keith Wiggins commented on the 2005 plans, “as a race team we are the same group, continuing to develop and improve, but for the first time since we began in 2001, we have the advantage of technical continuity going into a second year.” He continued, “From a business perspective it will be a change of identity for the first time since 2001, with new sponsors joining the development of the company. This is an exciting period going forward.”

Mario Dominguez, who finished fifth in the 2004 Championship will return for his fourth year in the series as the driver of the #55 Ford/Cosworth/Lola. “I am really excited for the 2005 season. We made several technical changes within the team before the 2004 season. With a year of continuity, I look forward to continuing our rise in the Championship and racing for the title. I’ve been training hard in the off-season, especially with my shifter kart and I’ve got all of the tools, a dedicated, energetic team along with a very strong technical program, I am looking forward to this season more than ever.”

The team is currently organizing a test involving several drivers for the #4 car.

Led by Team Manager Vince Kremer and Technical Director Tom Brown, the traditional arduous work ethic of the HVM team remains the same. Engineers Will Phillips (car 4) and Michael Cannon (car 55) will continue, as will Crew Chiefs Mark Mason (4) and Darryl Fox (55).

HVM is finalizing its sponsorship group and will announce further details as they become available.
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Media Contact:
Katie Brannan
Tel: 775-782-7191

... that's sound not bad... and it looks that we will see a new driver for the second seat...

[Dov]

So I guess RHR is looking for another ride then. Rocketsports is probably his best bet.

[codename_47]

So no conformation to re-naming the team to Pacific then.....I guess that was just the F1 fans dream!

Another two cars confirmed for next year, now lets just get two drivers names out there too!

[carsten66]

hmm... maybe we will see an all-mexican-team with HVM and an all-american-team with PKV, who knows...

[Dov]

Originally Posted by codename_47

Another two cars confirmed for next year, now lets just get two drivers names out there too!

From the article:

Mario Dominguez, who finished fifth in the 2004 Championship will return for his fourth year in the series as the driver of the #55 Ford/Cosworth/Lola. “I am really excited for the 2005 season. We made several technical changes within the team before the 2004 season. With a year of continuity, I look forward to continuing our rise in the Championship and racing for the title. I’ve been training hard in the off-season, especially with my shifter kart and I’ve got all of the tools, a dedicated, energetic team along with a very strong technical program, I am looking forward to this season more than ever.”

It looks like they only have Ryan's seat to fill.

[codename_47]

Originally Posted by Dov

From the article:It looks like they only have Ryan's seat to fill.

Yeah, I said get TWO drivers names out there....

[Ac.]

Great news. I'm really glad to see things working out for Wiggins as he strikes me as a quality individual. Glad to see Mario on board for another season as well.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Ac.

Great news. I'm really glad to see things working out for Wiggins as he strikes me as a quality individual. Glad to see Mario on board for another season as well.

Except for that Pacific Grand Prix thing anyway

[BootsOntheSide]

Pacific did everything right with what they had, they just didn't have the money to put together a competitive team.

It seems like the Midland-Jordan rumour has gone pretty quiet recently, so perhaps Mario will be staying in the championship, which is great news. It's a shame Ryan is going elsewhere, but as long as he gets a competitive car somewhere, and HVM get a second driver out there, it's not a major problem.

[macdaddy]

Here's a stupid question, but I gotta ask it...

What does "HVM" stand for?

[StickShift]

Hola-Viva-Mexico

although I agree that 'Yo-Go-Mexico' is much catchier.

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

It seems like the Midland-Jordan rumour has gone pretty quiet recently

Wasn't a rumour, Boots - they've signed the deal tonight (see the F1 forum) - although it looks like Dominguez won't be involved until 2006.

[macdaddy]

Thanks, StickShift. I never would've guessed that in a million years.

And thanks KB for this:

It looks like Dominguez won't be involved until 2006.

[codename_47]

Autosport says this:

The team will continue to run a two-car programme, although 2004 driver Ryan Hunter-Reay hinted at the Autosport International show that he is close to agreeing a deal with a rival team for this season. Mexican David Martinez, a Formula Renault V6 graduate, is due to test for HVM at Sebring in early February

So definatly no Hunter Reay.....(I hope that rival team is in Champcar.....)

And for those who remember my sarcastic yet predictive comments in another thread.......oh look, they found a Mexican!

[macdaddy]

With a name like "Hola-Viva-Mexico", one might expect them to field two Mexican drivers.

[Hazza]

That sounds like a possablity.

Did you know that the Pacific car was Lola's '91 car design. That shows how good the engine was that it managed to qualify in the first half of the season.

Team Pacific - "The only team that has the drivers on hand during the race to talk to the sponsesr" (Their own quote)

Lets hope that they can find a new up and coming mexican hot-shoe.

[Kicking-back]

The Pacific car was a Reynard design study rather than a Lola one.

But anyway - HVM, yes, I expect they will field Mexican drivers in both cars.

[N I Tram]

Then again, you'd expect 'American Spirit' to be ran by an American, not a Swede, and you wouldn't expect 'British American Racing' to have ran a Canadian, a Brazillian, a Finn, a Frenchman and a Japanese over the years.

I hope Ryan's other opportunity is in ChampCars (perhaps Rocketsports) - theoretically it should be, because all the top IRL teams are full for 2005. I'll have to check further into the Midland rumours to see what that means for Mario.

[Kicking-back]

Midland have now confirmed their deal with Jordan - but Mario Dominguez will remain in ChampCars this season.

[jjspierx]

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/champcar/14841/

"The “new” Champ Car team is still looking for primary sponsorship. Swiss watch company Gevril was a partial backer last season and could step up for a primary role in one of HVM’s cars. In any event, there’s a good chance the squad’s second driver will have to bring his own sponsorship.

That makes Ryan Hunter-Reay’s permanence unlikely - RHR hinted at London he was close to a deal with a team “further up” the grid (possibly Forsythe). HVM is expected to evaluate several drivers in a Sebring test next month, with F-Renault V6 driver David Martinez of Mexico being among the hopefuls for the remaining seat."