The Mazzacane-Fittipaldi affair (including CART at Buenos Aires???)

[Mekola]

I not visit the Champ Car forum frequently, but this new was shocking for me in these days and I send it to yours:

Last days, in important sources of both Brazilian and Argentinian press (adding Italiaracing on the net), is heard that the Argentinian ex-F1 backmarker Gastón Mazzacane is in serious talks with Emerson Fittipaldi to get a Champ Car seat.
Jacques Kremer, former businessman of late cable channel PSN and now Mazzacane's manager, flew this week to Argentina to help his driver to found the necessary budget to land the seat. Nonetheless the La Plata-born racer is two and a half year out of motorsport business (despite some tests in open-wheelers and Touring cars), many Argentinian companies what where his ex-F1 sponsors give him the support to Gaston's new adventure at North America.
Emerson Fittipaldi, who recently bought Pat Patrick's team, sees Mazzacane as his favourite driver to get into his team. In an almost uncredible declaration, he said about Gastón: "After Juan Manuel Fangio and Carlos Reutemann, Gastón Mazzacane is the most talented Argentinian driver I ever seen"
Fittipaldi also pretends to negotiate with Argentinian businessmen to organize a Champ Car event at Argentina for 2005, joining another event at Jacarepaguá that Emmo plans to run next year. The place of the proposed Argentinian event is unsure: Kremer contacted the owner of the Salta circuit, situated at the Northern Argentinian city of the same name, but Fittipaldi plans to run it at Buenos Aires, on a street circuit situated on the coastal place of Puerto Madero.
We only can wait to show what happens...

My sources:

Carburando (in Spanish): http://www.carburando.com/notas.asp?di=6897

Pitstop (in Portuguese): http://pitstop.virgula.terra.com.br/...36708&categ=Ca

Italiaracing (in Italian): http://www.italiaracing.net/news_CHA...ews.asp?id=640

Sportscolumn of the program "Hoy por hoy" at Argentinian Radio Mitre: http://www.radiomitre.com.ar (no note, only the source)

[indycool]

Mekola, thanx for the post....that tells us more about what's going on with Fittipaldi-Mazzacane in credible form more than we've ever heard.

[Muzza]

Thanks, Mekola.

Just one correction: Fittipald is targetting to organize a Champ Car race in BrasÃ*lia, not Jacarepaguá. This was announced in a press conference in Brazil. Fittipaldi is already in negotiations with Nelson Piquet, that operates the BrasÃ*lia track through a leasing agreement with the local authorities (the track is public, privately managed). I understand the first contacts between those two went well. Also, Fittipaldi had a meeting with BrasÃ*lia governor on this concern.

From a (local, not international) promotion point-of-view and business impact it does make all sense to run the race in BrasÃ*lia, not in Jacarepaguá.

Technically, BrasÃ*lia and Jacarepaguá facilities are more or less in the same conditions (that means, some upgrades required) but Jacarepaguá future is hanging on a question mark as the local mayor, César Maia, is willing to build a complex of gymnasia and other buildings as part of the Rio de Janeiro bid to host the Olympic Games.

César Maia is definitely not fond of motorsports: he is the same politician that got into a tug-of-war with CART for the sanctioning fee of the Rio race (one of the lowest, dirtiest, most shameful things I have ever see in 25 years of following motorsports) and recently his personnel literally kicked (I means that: using boots) karters out of their track during a race claiming the track documents/paperwork were "incorrect" (the karting track is located inside the Jacarepaguá circuit area).

In a separate subject, I understand why you laughed at Emerson's statement about Mazzacane... Argentina has a great driver in the making, but he is not Mazzacane, please. His name is, instead, Jose Maria Lopez, and he will do Formula 3000 in 2004.

Cheers,


Muzza