Open-Wheel(Non-IRL) News

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HVM Racing announced on Wednesday that Mexican Formula Renault driver Homero Richards will pilot a third HVM Ford-Cos./Lola at the ChampCar season finale in Mexico City, carrying the colors of Nextel-Mexico. Richards, a two-time Mexican FR champion, recently tested with both HVM and Dale Coyne Racing and made several race-length runs in the car normally driven by Rodalfo Lavin. In making the decision, HVM principle Keith Wiggins cited the Mexican driver's 2-MFR series titles and eight series wins there in adding him to the race. "The HVM team welcomes Homero and Nextel de Mexico to the racing even held in Mexico City. We have been discussing the possibilty of running a third car and we except to do a great job there," Wiggins said. Victor Tiburcio, Nextel de Mexico's Chief Marketing Officer, echoed those sentiments, adding that "Nextel, like HVM, is a solid organization with a long history of supporting car racing activities. With the experience and professionalism of HVM, fans in Mexico will be able to watch at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez racing track the combination of leading edge technology with competitiveness, the key factors to reach successful results."

With the team's announcement, and the one-off ride of Atlantic Champion Charles Zwolsman, this means that, for the first time since Fontana in Nov. 2001, there is the distinct possibility of a 20-car ChampCar grid on the track.

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Officials from both the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach(the promotor for the TGP-Long Beach) and the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series jointly announced that, when the 2006 ChampCar World Series season begins, the Rolex Series' Daytona Prototype series will be one of the support races for the TGP weekend. Jim Michaelian, president of the GPALB, said that "The addition of the Rolex Series Daytona Prototypes to the Long Beach race weekend will be something special. Not only will this be the first time that the prototype sports cars have competed here but the sights and sounds of those exotic machines on the Long Beach streets should be exhilarating. This is just another way in which we continue to add value and entertainment for our fans." Roger Edmonston, president of the Grand American series, echoed those sentiments, saying that, "This is a monumental day in the history of the Grand American Rolex Series. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of American racing's crown jewels, and the importance of having the Rolex Series participate on that weekend cannot be understated to all of our stakeholders. While many series have one signature event, the addition of Long Beach to a schedule which includes the Rolex 24 at Daytona gives (us) a pair of marquee races."

The Daytona Prototypes will utilize a unique, 90-minute "sprint" format which will include one pitstop and mandatory driver change. The cars, with engines from Ford, Porsche Fabcar, Pontiac and Lexus can reach speeds of 185+ mph on the long Shoreline Dr. and Seaside Way straights, and the driver list is expected to include Wayne Taylor, Max Angelelli, Andy Wallace, Milka Duno and other regular Daytona Prototype racers. The race is expected to be one of several support races during the CCWS event weekend, along with the ChampCar Atlantic Championship, Formula Drift, and the Trans-Am Series.

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Paul Newman won't be the only celebrity in the ChampCar paddock as a team owner/co-owner, as HVM Racing announced that entertainer/comedian Cedric the Entertainer will partner with the HVM, to be known in 2006 as CTE Racing. Keith Wiggins, HVM principle, said in making the decision that it should help bring the team's media profile up considerably. "This is a hugely exciting venture and a great business platform for both sides. This is the right time and direction to take the team to the next level and it opens up a new bunch of opportunities. Cedric's a very popular and likeable guy and we all feel confident in acheiving (our) goals." Cedric, in becoming a partner in the team, added that, "I am really excited about mixing my celebrity status with the thrilling world of Champ Car auto racing. CTE Racing is going to kick some a-- in a way that is exciting, fun and extremely fast--so watch out!"

In case anyone's wondering who Cedric the Entertainer is, here's a few of his accomplishments over the past few years:
2001--Voted "Madison Aveune's Most Valuable Player" by USA Today for a 2001 NFL Super Bowl ad for Bud Light, "The Date";
1994--received the Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award from BET Television;
1997-2000:Toured North America as a member of the Kings of Comedy Tour(grossed over #37 million USD during the tour's run);
and, has starred in several feature films along the way, most notably the "Barbershop" movies and his most recent, "The Cleaner".

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Fast Fact #2--With defending 2004 racewinner Bruno Junquiera still shelved from his injuries at the Brickyard, it's anybody's guess as to who will win(chances are, it will be another first-time winner). Best bets....Sebastien Bourdais, Alex Tagliani, A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia or Timo Glock. As for a repeat winner...five come to mind, Paul Tracy, Jimmy Vasser, Mario Dominguez, Cristiano Da Matta amd Ryan Hunter-Reay. The others on the grid are just there for a two-hour "joyride".

Fast Fact #3--Defending Winner, Bruno Junquiera
Defending Polesitter, Paul Tracy
Fastest Race Lap--Cristiano Da Matta, 1999, 1:30.936 secs.
Fastest Race Time--Cristiano Da Matta, 2001, 1:51:47.260 secs.

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Even though 2005 hasn't yet come to an end, it's never too early to begin thinking ahead. Case in point....ChampCar's announcement earlier today, 11 October 2005, on the new 2007-spec chassis the series will use. The press conference at ChampCar HQs in Indianapolis featured statements by CCWS President Steve Johnson, VP of Operations/Race Ctrl. Tony Cotman, Elan Motorsport CEO David Bowes and Cosworth Vice Pres. Ian Bisco.

Here are a few specifics about the new Panoz DP01 chassis the series will use beginning in 2007:
1}The car will be an entirely new design, with almost nothing retained from the current spec-Lola B0/05 chassis in use;
2}The wheelbase will be shorter than the current chassis(estimates place it at 125 inches); the current sidepod setups will be widened in order to prevent wheel interlocking;
3}The chassis package will wiegh approx. 165 lbs. less than the current chassis, making for a nimble, racier car than present;
4}There will be an on-board starter built into the car, thus lessening the time wasted in cautions while cars receive either tow starts or bump starts;
5}The chassis will be fitted with a Gen.3 Ford-Cosworth XFE(XFE-3) engine, featuring around 775 hp(+25 from the XFE-2); the "push-to-pass(boost)" function will be retained(adding 50hp to the engine)
6}For additional safety, especially on ovals, both the front wing and rear gearbox attenuators will be designed to "crush" easier on wall impacts; there will also be additional upgrades to the headrests onborads along with more leg padding inside the moncoque; and
7}The new Panoz DP01 will cost approx. 35% less than the current Lola B0/05 and the replacement parts for the Panoz will run about 40-50% less than the current spares used.

Here are some quotes from the prinicples at the conference....
Champ Car World Series President Steve Johnson:

We are extremely excited about the potential that the new Panoz DP01 built by Elan Motorsport Technologies and the Ford-Cosworth engine bring to the Champ Car World Series. This combination benefits ChampCar not only by providing a strong package for our current teams but also by giving prospective teams an opportunity to be competitive right away. This package is just another indication of the progress the series has made since Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerry Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi purchased (the series) in 2004.

David Bowes, CEO Elan Motorsport Technologies:

We are extremely enthusiatic and proud to be selected as the exclusive builder of the next generation Champ Car. At the outset of the process, ChampCar sought RFPs from seven manufactuers. After an exhaustive analysis, ChampCar has recognized not only the technical capabilities but also the unprecedented service, quality and accessibility that can be only offered by the leading North American based organization. We are looking forward to working with ChampCar officials to build a state of the art race car of which everyone will be proud.

Ian Bisco, Vice President, Cosworth Engineering:

We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Champ Car World Series and are excited with the possibilities that this new package presents. We have had great success with the XFE engine over the last three engines, building a strong powerplant that has shown equality in performance and tremendous reliability, and we expect to have even greater success with ChampCar in the years to come.

Tony Cotman, CCWS Vice President of Operations/Race Control:

The reduction in cost of the Panoz DP01 and Cosworth engine will benefit ChampCar's teams immensely. The design and cost will keep our current teams in the series but will also attract new teams to the series. Combined with the reduced cost, the new design also makes the Champ Car World Series even more of a driver's series. The lighter, smaller car means teams will rely even more on the preformance of the drivers.

Here's the link to the press conference if anyone's interested...
www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=9729

NOTE:Also present at the press conference were ChampCar CEO Richard Eidswick, ChampCar Vice Pres. of Technology Scot Elkins and American LeMans Series President Scott Atherton(who is also CEO of Panoz Motorsport Group, the parent company to Elan Motorsport Tech.).

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According to autoracing1.com, Rolex Sports Car racer Michael McDowell, who recently tested for the team at Putnam Park last week, has posted on his website, www.mmcdowell.com , that he will compete in the two remaining CCWS races, at Surfers Paradise and at Mexico City. If so, then either one of two possibilties exist:
1}That Gentilozzi will field a third car for McDowell at both venues, or
2}Either Ryan Hunter-Reay or Timo Glock have been shown the proverbial door(judging by on-track performance this year, I'd guess it was RHR).

However, the team's website, www.rocketsportsracing.com , is silent on the report from ar1.com, so stay tuned; sometimes, silly season begins before the season actually ends....

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When the Champ Car World Series travels to Mexico City and the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the season-ending Gran Premio de Mexico(Grand Prix of Mexico), Forsythe Championship Racing's Mario Dominguez will be sporting new colors, as Roshfrans(Mexico's major oil lubricant company) will sponsor the #7 Ford-Cosworth/Lola for the early November race. The 2.786-mile road course, set in the heart of the Mexican capital, is a fast, drivers' circuit that has hosted both CART(1980, 1981) and Formula 1(1986-1992) races. In 2002, CART returned to the track, and the GP-Mexico has become the season's finale in 2002 and 2004. For Dominguez, it's his home track, as he is from the Mexico City area. The race will also mark the second half of the series' Corona Cup, awarded to the driver who has the most points in the two Mexican races(Monterrey and Mexico City) on the calendar.

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There's a couple of brief news items around the Champ Car paddock this weekend in Surfers'...

1}Philly date finalized? While the expected Philadelphia street race did not appear on the 2006 CCWS schedule, there may yet be hope. Earlier this week CC's Joe Chrenlich was seen leaving City Hall in Philly, where plans may have been cemented for a Sept. 2006 or July/Sept. 2007 date. The course layout is about 1.85-1.9 miles long, with 3 long straights, one long hairpin around Logan Circle near the Franklin Institute plus a technical section on either end of the course. Renovations to the surrouning area would, of course, have to be made for the race to go off without problems, but....if CC could fix up San Jose on a race weekend, then anything's distinctly possible.

2}Welcome to the Lone Star Grand Prix of Houston. During the usual owner press junkets around Surfers', MJCR's Mike Lanigan mentioned that there will be a sponsor for Houston's CC race in May 2006, to be Lone Star (Restaurants), one of the Gulf Coast's largest steakhouse-chain restaurants. The formal announcement is expected sometime in the next 2 weeks in Houston at Reliant Stadium, where the course is to be unveiled.

3}Are they or are they not? For the thousandth' time, will somebody tell Chip Ganassi, either commit to Mexico City's CC race in early November, or drop it altogether. However, the team did test Rolex racer Luis Diaz in one of the Chipster's 2002-spec Toyota-Lolas', and his times were at or better than the times set by former IRL/CCWS driver Darren Manning, so this story may still happen. Stay tuned....

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According to sources inside Walker Racing/Team Australia, Marcus Marshall was fired by the team on Thursday due to "serious and substantial contract breaches" that have been on-going from the season opener. Due to the financial and public support given the team by Aussie Vineyards and the people of Queensland, Australia, team owners Derrick Walker, John Fish and Craig Gore decided to wait until after the Surfers Paradise race before handing Marshall his papers. Furthermore, it was decided that fellow Aussie native Will Power will pilot the #5 Aussie Vineyards FC/L at Hermanos Rodriguez next week in the season finale.

[Julian Mayo]

According to sources inside Walker Racing/Team Australia, Marcus Marshall was fired by the team on Thursday due to "serious and substantial contract breaches" that have been on-going from the season opener. Due to the financial and public support given the team by Aussie Vineyards and the people of Queensland, Australia, team owners Derrick Walker, John Fish and Craig Gore decided to wait until after the Surfers Paradise race before handing Marshall his papers. Furthermore, it was decided that fellow Aussie native Will Power will pilot the #5 Aussie Vineyards FC/L at Hermanos Rodriguez next week in the season finale.

Mr Marshall will be one very unhappy camper.

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Indeed. From all the internet chatter on a lot of the message boards(especially over at the speedtv forums), something very serious had to occur during the year for Marshall to get the axe. Apparently, it wasn't just his CC ride that he lost; he lost his V8 ride and all involvement with the team and the sponsor, as well. Yes, Julian, I'd say Marcus is probably a very unhappy camper, indeed.

[Julian Mayo]

Probe Mfer, probe What could he have done that was so terrible?
Was he seen drinking Fosters instead of an Aussie Vineyards product

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I'm still trying to figure out why they cut him loose like they did. Here, though, is the team's official statement, as printed from the Walker Racing website....

Today it has been decided to terminate the agreement between Marcus Marshall and WPS because of certain breaches. Consequently Marcus Marshall will no longer be driving for Team Australia in the Champ Car World Series.

The breaches were serious and substantial and occurred before the Surfers Paradise event.

Given the significance of the Surfers Paradise event to Champ Car, Queensland and Australia, there was a resolve to defer all decisions until after the Surfers Paradise race. This allowed time for proper consideration of all the circumstances.

After careful consideration of the breaches it was unanimously agreed to by all the team owners(Derrick Walker, Craig Gore and John Fish) to terminate Marcus Marshall's driver and sponsorship agreement effective immediately.

It is disappointing to all concerned, however the breaches were considered incapable of being remedied by all team owners.

Given the termination and the form and nature of the agreement, no further comments can be made.

Until I can find out more about what conspired, I won't even begin to speculate on what happened.

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While there's still no word on why Marcus Marshall was released from Team Australia, there was a bit of good news for the Champ Car World Series, as the team announced that 2005 Atlantic Championship series winner Charles Zwolsman, who won the series title on the strength of 3 wins, 5 poles and 8 podium finishes, will pilot one of the team's Aussie Vineyards FC/L at Hermanos Rodriguez next week in the 2005 season finale, the Grand Prix of Mexico.

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After about 21 months of diligent work and research, Champ Car Wolrd Series officials announced that the rights to the Molson Indy Toronto have been transferred from Molson Sports & Entertainment to the Grand Prix Association of Toronto(GPAT), a "wholly-owned" subsidiery of the CCWS owned by co-owners Kevin Kalhkoven and Gerry Forsythe. The event name itself will change, as the series will drop the term "Indy" from the event, as it will be known as the "Molson Grand Prix of Toronto." Here are some quotes from the principals involved....

Mark Miller, Chief Commercial Officer, Molson Canada:

Given our long-standing commitment to this event, we are pleased to have an agreement that continues our partnership with Champ Car and our involvement in the race. The Molson (Champ Car) Grand Prix of Toronto has been a popular fixture on the City's cultural scene for the past 20 years and this move ensures that race fans will continue to enjoy this world-class event.

Kevin Kalkhoven, Co-Owner, PKV Racing and Co-Owner, Champ Car World Series:

Grand Prix Association of Toronto is very pleased that the future of the Molson (Champ Car) Grand Prix of Toronto has been secured by today's announcement. The Toronto event is one of the cornerstone's of the Champ Car World Series and is a key to the continued success of the series. The event has a huge impact on the City of Toronto. We will work with the city to continue this quality event as established by Molson.

Series co-owners Paul Gentilozzi and Gerry Forsythe also added their own words to the mix, as well.....

Paul Gentilozzi, Co-Owner, Rocketsports Racing and Co-Owner, Champ Car World Series:

This is yet another positive for the Champ Car family. These are exciting times and the racing will be better than ever. In 2006 we introduce a new formula for the Champ Car Atlantic Championship; then in 2007 we will roll out the new Champ Car formula with the Panoz DP01 chassis and next-generation Cosworth engine. Everything is lining up as we had hoped and the real beneficiaries of all these changes will be race fans worldwide.

Gerry Forsythe, Owner, Forsythe Championship Racing and Co-Owner, Champ Car World Series:

The success of Champ Car events in 2005 both in Canada and elsewhere clearly demonstrate that our formula for creating weekend-long festivals of speed and entertainment are a winning combination and (are) attractive to the urban audiences we reach out to. More than 1.6 million people have attended Champ Car races to date including 200,000 at our inaugural event in Edmonton and 318,000 at our most recent event in Surfers Paradise! People enjoy our brand of racing along with the exciting events that surround a race weekend.