Open-Wheel(Non-IRL) News

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The short course at Sebring Intl. Raceway was busy with activity yesterday(6 Sept.) as both PKV Racing, HVM Racing, and Dale Coyne Racing began a 2-day test session at the historic track. Here are the day-1 test times...(times listed are fastest times)

NOTE #1--Weather conditions for 6 Sept. were hot and humid with scattered showers.
NOTE #2--all drivers involved drove Ford-Cosworth/Lola ChampCars

#1---Jimmy Vasser 52.874 secs.(PKV Racing)
#2---Luis Schiavo 53.581 secs.(test-Dale Coyne Racing)
#3---Milka Duno 55.750 secs.(test--HVM Racing)

Here's the drivers list for Wednesday....
Luis Schiavo, Milka Duno and Bjorn Wirdheim


Observations....it wasn't surprising to see Vasser at the top of the timing charts; as 1996 series champion, he's expected to set the standard for the test and then see who comes closest. Test times generally are faster on the second day of a 2-day test, so Duno should test faster on Wednesday as she becomes more comfortable in a ChampCar. The rumor mill has it that Schiavo is about 60-70% certain to drive a third car for Dale Coyne at Mexico City, which means that the Atlantic Champion for 2005, Charles Zwolsman, will likely not drive for DCR there. My guess...it'll be one of the following teams:Rocketsports, HVM, Walker Racing(Team Australia) or MiJack-Conquest.

[mlittle]

Both HVM Racing and Dale Coyne Racing were back out at the Sebring Intl. Raceway for a second day of testing. Here are the fastest times of the three involved....

1--Bjorn Wirdheim 52.403 secs.(HVM Racing)
2--Luis Schiavo 52.806 secs.(test-Dale Coyne Racing)
3--Milka Duno 55.596 secs.(test-HVM Racing)

Weather conditions were better, with hot but dry weather and some humidity in the air. While HVM Racing has finished its' two-day tests, both PKV Racing(w/Jimmy Vasser) and Dale Coyne Racing(w/Luis Schiavo) will be back on Thursday to conduct race-run testing simulations.

[Julian Mayo]

Both HVM Racing and Dale Coyne Racing were back out at the Sebring Intl. Raceway for a second day of testing. Here are the fastest times of the three involved....

1--Bjorn Wirdheim 52.403 secs.(HVM Racing)
2--Luis Schiavo 52.806 secs.(test-Dale Coyne Racing)
3--Milka Duno 55.596 secs.(test-HVM Racing)

Weather conditions were better, with hot but dry weather and some humidity in the air. While HVM Racing has finished its' two-day tests, both PKV Racing(w/Jimmy Vasser) and Dale Coyne Racing(w/Luis Schiavo) will be back on Thursday to conduct race-run testing simulations.

Duno seems to be well off the pace,...it is a big step up tho.

[mlittle]

It is a big step, julian. My guess....HVM should hire her as a test driver, so that she can get used to the 750-hp behemoth of a ChampCar. At the very least, it would give her additional racing experience, on top of her sports-car racing. I believe that's how Lyn St. James built up enough experience while racing for Richard Simon's team back in the early 1990's(pre-split). If I'm not mistaken, he hired her as a tester for his CART team while she was still competing in IMSA and Trans-Am, so that's one route Duno could take. Another could be to follow fellow sports-car racer Chris Dyson, and drive in both Atlantics and sports cars for a year or two, especially with the new Atlantics' package for 2006.

[mlittle]

As some of the teams conclude testing at Sebring, there were 2 other news items of interest this week....

1}In an interview on the Autosport Radio Show, RuSport driver Justin Wilson confirmed that he has signed a 1-year contract extension to drive for the Colorado-based ChampCar team for 2006. He said that by signing the extension, "It is nice to have that behind me and just concentrate on the job at hand and try and win races this year."

2}Later on in the same broadcast, Atlantic Championship racer Katherine Legge confirmed that she will be testing one of PKV Racing's ChampCars later in the year at Sebring. While she has expressed a desire to stay in Atlantics for 2006, she conceded in the radio interview that a move up to ChampCar wasn't out of the woods, saying that, "I'm in two minds about next season. At the moment the plan is to stay in Atlantics, unless I do something stunning in this test, but I don't know. My ego wants to go to ChampCar right now. Then I'd be ready for the new chassis formula in 2007. I'm going to wait and see how I do in the test."

[Julian Mayo]

quick,pretty AND smart

[mlittle]

My sentiments exactly.

[Julian Mayo]

I hope she nails the test, it would be interesting to see her race Danica. Imagine the crowds.

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...it would be interesting to see her race Danica..

About the only way that happens, julian, would be at Indy for the 500, and I seriously doubt KK, considering his view towards George and Co., will risk his drivers there, especially after watching Newman-Haas lose Junquiera to injury there.

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For ChampCar drivers Alex Tagliani and Marcus Marshall, it was a rough initiation into the V8 Supercar series, as their Team Australia-liveried WPS Racing Ford Falcon finished 22nd out of the 33 entries for Sunday's Sandown 500. They finished 4 laps off the pace of winners Craig Lowndes and Yvan Muller. For Tag, who started the race for the duo 25th, he was, by all accounts, making some progress towards the front when he got his "welcome" stripes the old-fashioned way.....

"I had got to 19th before I was shot straight off the track from behind. That was disappointing because I was really starting to feel comfortable with the setup and we were on the pace. Looking at the timesheets our quickest lap was in the top half of the field," Tagliani said following the race.

The sometimes interesting weather at Sandown also added to their misfortune, as teammate Marshall got caught on a drying track with wet tires, never a good thing for anyone to deal with. As Marshall put it, "It was a very strange endurance race with limited safety car periods and having to hang tough while others were swapping and changing tire set-ups. (But) Alex and I were be better for the run and our combination will only get better (for Bathurst)."

For Tagliani and Marshall, their attention now returns to their primary job, as Round 11 of the Champ Car World Series looms ahead, the Bridgestone/Corona 400k at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 24th. But Tag had some words for thought on his first V8 race. "For my first experience (here) with Marcus it was great. I'm excited about Bathurst in a few weeks, we had a competitve car all weekend and we were matching it up with the primary WPS Racing." Speaking of which, the other WPS Racing Ford Falcon, driven by V8 regulars David Besnard and Craig Baird, finished 19th in the field.

[Julian Mayo]

Im picking thats about where both cars will finish at The Mountain IF they finish. From what I saw Tags was tagged from behind because he braked early.

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According to an article at paddocktalk.com, event organizers for this year's Lexmark Indy 300 at Surfers Paradise, Queensland, are expecting a record crowd for the 15th running of one of the ChampCar World Series' signature street races. Last year's three-day attendance figures were reported at 309,583 people, so it could be another record-breaking event.

Fast Fact about the race #1:Of the 14 previous runnings, no one has ever won the race more than once. Here's a list of who have won this event since its' inception in 1991:(pole winner/race winner)

1991:Michael Andretti/John Andretti
1992:Al Unser, Jr./Emerson Fittipaldi
1993:Nigel Mansell(R)/Nigel Mansell(R)
1994:Nigel Mansell/Michael Andretti
1995:Michael Andretti/Paul Tracy
1996:Jimmy Vasser/Jimmy Vasser
1997:Alex Zanardi/Scott Pruett
1998:Dario Franchitti/Alex Zanardi
1999:Dario Franchitti/Dario Franchitti
2000:Juan Montoya/Adrian Fernandez
2001:Roberto Moreno/Cristiano DaMatta
2002:Cristiano DaMatta/Mario Dominguez(R)
2003:Sebastien Bourdais(R)/Ryan Hunter-Reay(R)
2004:Paul Tracy/Bruno Junquiera

More fast facts to come as the race approaches.....stay tuned.

[Julian Mayo]

They are building extra stands in anticipation of record numbers.

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Despite his best finish at Las Vegas this past weekend, it appears sponsorship woes have shelved rookie Bjorn Wirdheim for the last three races of the 2005 Champ Car season. Replacing him in the #4 Eurosport FC/L will be Italian Fabrizio Del Monte, who finished 15th back at Long Bech in April in a one-off ride for Jensen Mtrspts. In making the decision, HVM principle Keith Wiggins commented that, "We are pleased to welcome Fabrizio to the team and to the Champ Car World Series. We have worked hard with Bjorn to make him comfortable in the car and this showed in his performance in Las Vegas(a 6th). He's a talented driver but we just didn't have the budget for him to continue. I am sure that his future will continue to be successful in ChampCar--perhaps even with HVM."

As for Del Monte, he has an extensive racing resume, beginning with several years in karting, followed by stints in a couple of formula series, most recently 2 yrs. in the Superfund Euro-3000 series, as well as stints in the Formula Renault series, plus a test with the Minardi F1 team. When asked about how he felt, Del Monte said that, "I'm really enthuastic about this opportunity. This is a program that, even if short, will give me the (chance) to get on the track with a very competent team in a very competitve and popular series."

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It's official; ChampCar World Series officials announced that the Ansan Grand Prix scheduled for Oct. 14-16 has been postponed until 2006. According to CCWS Vice President of Development and Planning Joe Chrnelich, "We actually thought it was going to happen, but, quite frankly, the promoters have not been able to keep up with the contract agreements. TRK(The Racing Korea--race promoter) did wire a payment Monday, as did Ansan's mayor, Song Jin Seop, for operating needs, (but) additional payments were due today(Wednesday) and they didn't happen."

Evidently, the main reason for the postponement was the fact that TRk had changed general managers and that it essentially slowed down all the work on-site enough for this to occur. With only two races left on the calender(Surfers Paradise and Mexico City) and no additional pts. to be spread btwn. them, it means that all Sebastien Bourdais has to do to clinch the Vanderbilt Cup for 2005 is simply show up on the Gold Coast and start round 12.