2005-2006 ChampCar Off-Season News

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Molson Canada announced Monday that they are dropping their sponsorship of the Champ Car race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, a move that has begun to fuel speculation that the series will not return after 2006. In making the decision, Molson Canada's regional director for the province of Quebec, Richard Moisan, said that, "We continually evaluate the ongoing competitiveness of all of our activities and we came to the conclusion that we should focus our investments on activities that are more representative of the Molson Dry brand and (our) customers' interests." Translation: We see some handwriting on the wall, and it points to no return in 2007, so we're leaving before it gets ugly. Of course, this has been the point of speculation since ChampCar's 2005 race weekend, which was marked by both a marked drop in attendance and various "shenanigens" by race promoter Normand Legault, who was rumored to be "trying" to set up the CC race to fail, thus allowing him to "void" the contract w/CC and then bring in either NASCAR or the IRL.

Why the concern over which series would run at Gilles Villeneuve? Under regulations set forth by the City of Montreal, the circuit cannot run more than two(2) events there each year, and with Formula 1's Canadian Grand Prix one of the two, it means that only one other race can held there per year(prior to 2002, only the F1 race was held there; provincial authorities in Quebec City had to convince Montreal to change the city regs for CC to race there in 2002).

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As with the similar thread over at the IRL Forum, this thread will contain the off-season happenings within the Champ Car World Series, so as to free up space for the silly season and commentaries thread. And, so, without much fanfare, are the first news items for this specific thread.....

1}No return in 2006 for Newman-Haas Racing. During an interview conducted as part of the Champion's Tour for Champ Car earlier this week, 2-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais said that the team will not be returning to Indy for the 90th running of the 500, which probably has given IRL officials some major headaches. Why? Take NHR's two Panoz-Honda's from the list of cars, and even if you fill every other grid spot from this year's race, you get....31 cars. Considering that the grid for the 2006 season opener isn't set(and won't be for months!), will ANY ChampCar team take what amounts to a major gamble, especially since there are two races(Houston, May 13, and Monterrey, May 21) on the CC shcedule, leaving little practice time and no shot at pole. It will be interesting to see if anyone takes the chance at it.

2}Champ Car and Edmonton extend event contract through 2010. This was a no-brainer of the nth-degree, especially when the 200,000+ spectators saw three days of non-stop action. The temporary Finning Intl. Raceway course will be tweaked for 2006 in two areas. The grassy area that separates the pitlane from the main-straight will be paved over, and the pitlane brought directly next to the main-straight, getting racefans about 300+ feet closer to the racing. The second area they'll change is in the turn 4-5-6 complex, where an additional 3,600 seats will be brought in to accommodate fans.

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Three-time Atlantic Championship winner Katherine Legge enjoyed a strong showing this week as she was the second-fastest among five drivers who tested for the Minardi F1 team at Italy's Vallelunga circuit, setting the second-fastest time of the five drivers involved. After having an impressive 2005 Atlantics campaign that saw the 25-yr. old, Northampton, England native win at Long Beach, Edmonton and San Jose enroute to a 3rd-place finish overall, she was offered the chance to test with the team by Minardi's team principle, Paul Stoddart, and she jumped at the chance.

While her first time in the car wasn't what she had expected; while getting the car up to speed and adapting to the car's nuances, she "hit" the traction control toggle and spun the car out, brushing the wall on her third lap. The team decided to close the session and start anew the next day. Although weather conditions were similar to those the day before, she more than made up for it, completing 27 laps and setting a fast lap of 1:21.176, less than a 1/10th off the fastest time of the day. When asked by the media afterwards, Legge said,

Overall, it was a really positive experience. There was so much to learn about the car with all of the technology and the big boost in power from the Atlantic car, but I just tried to give it my best shot. This was a tremendous opportunity and I wanted to make the most of it.

In addition to the track conditions and the nuances of an F1 car, the media attention surrounding the test was something she had to deal with. She took that in stride, though, commenting that,

It was like nothing I've ever seen for a test. The whole Minardi team was so supportive and informative and I have to give a massive thanks to Paul Stoddart and Kevin Kalkhoven for helping to make this happen.

Minardi F1's team principle, Paul Stoddart, was, according to media reports, very impressed with Legge's performance, the first F1 test by a woman since Giovanna Amati in 1992, adding that,

Katherine acquitted herself extermely well during the test, not just in the times she set, but in the consistancy of the those times. She was less than a tenth-of-a-second off the fastest time of the day, even though her times were set in the late afternoon when the track is not at its' fastest. I believe Katherine has a future in Formula 1 or Champ Car.

For the Atlantic Championship, though, another major test awaits, as she will test one of PKV's two ChampCars at Sebring on Dec. 20-21; it is test time, many AOWR observers think, will likely set Legge's future course for the forseeable future, especially if, as rumored PKV driver/co-owner Jimmy Vasser does indeed retire; many sources have said that, barring any surprises, that Legge will be in the #12 car(currently Vasser's) no later than 2007 but possibly in 2006, as well. All I can say, is..Congratulations, Katherine and Good Luck in Sebring!!

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According to sources close to Champ Car officials, one of North America's storied road courses may return to the schedule in 2006. Road America, which hosted ChampCar from 1982-2004, was dropped from the 2005 calendar due to "poor attendance" and "declining facilities", but RA's track owners have made huge strides in rebuilding/renovating the paddock areas and parts of the track, including repaving sections of the famed Carousel and Canada Corner parts of the track. An announcement is scheduled for about 1:00 PM tomorrow at Champ Car HQs' in Indianapolis. My guess....next year, there'll be two trips to the state of Wisconsin, not just one.

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Today, Champ Car and Road America officials announced a return to the storied 4-mile Wisconsin road course, as the track will now take the date previously given to the oval at Las Vegas, set for the Sept. 22-24 weekend. Here is a rundown of some of the more salient points discussed today....

1.The agreement btwn. ChampCar and Road America is a one-year deal, but there are provisions to extend the agreement longer.

2.There will be a major title sponsor, to be announced at a later date, for the series' event there; in addition, the Chicago Tribune and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel will act as "presenting sponsors" for the 2006 date.

3.All track improvements will be completed in time for the Sept. 2006 race weekend.

4.Champ Car is still committed to a diverse variety of tracks, and that more ovals will be on the schedule in future years as business opportunities arrive. In addition, the new 2007-spec Panoz DP01 chassis will be oval-capable, allowing for races on oval tracks.

Bottom line.....while the series drops to one oval next year(the Milwaukee Mile), there will be ovals on the CCWS schedule for the forseeable future.

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At a press confrence today, RuSport Racing's drivers, Justin Wilson and A.J. Allmendinger will race in the 43rd Rolex 24 at Daytona. They'll pair up with Oswaldo Negri and Mark Patterson in a Lexus/Riley DP. For "Flattop" it will be his first endeavour in a 500+ hp Daytona Prototype, as it will for Wilson, but Wilson has completed in endurance events before, with starts in both the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of LeMans.

One other bit of news along these lines......the son of 3-time CART champion Bobby Rahal will also be competing(unless anything changes by tomorrow) in the Rolex 24. Graham Rahal, who's expected to drive one of two Atlantic cars for MiJack-Conquest Racing(most expect Richard Phillipe, the younger brother of CCWS driver Nelson Phillipe, to be in the second), will drive a Porsche GT3 for Tafel Racing.

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In statements issued by both the Champ Car World Series and the Sports Car Club of America, it became official Monday that the two series were indeed parting ways, severing a two-year relationship and causing concern in the Trans-Am paddock over the series' future. Herre's a link to the announcement.....

www.trans-amseries.com (It should be the lead story at present.)

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With all the silly season and testing news in the Champ Car World Series, there are a few bits of off-season news to report......

1}In San Jose, grand prix officials made several announcements today as to the status 2006 Champ Car San Jose Grand Prix:A)city officials voted last night to give race officials $4 million to pay for long-term costs of hosting the race(assumptions are that the race will be held for a minimum of 5 years, w/an option for 5 more years), B)the main straight and pitlane will switch positions for 2006, allowing for safer ingress/egress from the track to the pits and vice versa; track officials noted that the padock area will move inside the track layout rather than be on the outside as it was in 2005; and C)that general admission and grandstand tickets will be sold starting today for the 2006 race; officials are estimating another 150,000+ people for the three-day race weekend in 2006.

2}According to the website of former Renault F1 tester Franck Montagny, he has accepted an offer from PKV Racing to participate in a 2-day test session at Sebring on Jan. 26-27; the team recently tested several drivers and are close to deciding on a driver lineup for 2006. While Montagny is not on their list, the test could help him land a ride in Champ Car w/another team in 2006. With the series adopting a new chassis/engine formula in 2007, Montagny, who is considered one of the top testers in recent F1 history, could become a valuable driver asset to whatever team lands him for 2006, if that were to happen.

3}Remember Minardi's final F1 testing period late in 2005? Two drivers impressed everyone the most: Katherine Legge, and a Uruguayan named Juan Caceres. According to ar1.com, Caceres is looking at possibly testing for either an Atlantic Championship ride or a Champ Car ride in 2006. No word yet on which teams he's looking at....then again, it is silly season. Anything can and sometimes usually does happen.

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Champ Car World Series officials this week announced at series hq's in Indianapolis that veteran motorsports production company Mullin Production Group has been designated the series' broadcast partner, beginning in 2006.

According to CC officials, their duties will include.....
1}Producing all the race footage for both the Champ Car World Series(in association w/CBS, NBC and Speed Channel) and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship(in association w/Speed Channel),
2}Producing the footage from series' qualifications and all associated broadcasts, and
3}Managing production duties for all international feed broadcasts(in association w/networks in Canada, Mexico, South Korea and Australia).

The 2006 season begins April 7-9 with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; the Champ Car race is set for 4 PM U.S. EST and will be broadcast on NBC, while the Atlantics race will be held the morning of April 9 and will be broadcast(tape-delay) on Speed Channel.

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If there is an increasing rarity in NA motorsports, it is the driver who is willing to race multiple types of racecars in their case. While it wasn't uncommon to see racers like Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, and the late Mark Donohue to race in Can-Am, F1, USAC Champ. racing, etc., it's rare these days. But there are exceptions......case in point, 2-time Champ Car World Series titleist Sebastien Bourdais, who, along with sports-car racer(and father) Patrick Bourdais, will be driving a Ford Mustang FR500C in the Rolex Sports Car Series' Grand-Am 200, a support race for the Rolex 24 @ Daytona. It will be the younger Bourdais' second visit to the 3.5+-mile Daytona road course; last year, he, along with NHR co-owner Paul Newman, Michael Brockman, and fellow CC driver Cristiano da Matta, raced in the Rolex 24. For the elder Bourdais, it will be his first visit to the course, which combines most of the famed speedway oval with a challenging infield road course.

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Although they're in the early stages of constructing the trackside facilities and course layout for the 32nd Annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, officials w/both the Champ Car World Series and Grand Prix Association of Long Beach announced today that the infamous turn 1, a sharp lefthander that has ended many a driver's day there, will be widened by about twelve feet for this year's race, allowing for additional turning room and runoff space if necessary.

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When the 2006 season begins in Long Beach, there will be a new voice for 3-time series runner-up Bruno Junquiera to listen to over the air; Newman-Haas Racing announced today that asst. race engineer Tom Smith will be Junky's new race engineer, as current race engineer Guillaume "Rocky" Rocquelin has decided to return to Europe for the next year or so. Smith began working with NHR in 1996 as a data acquisition specialist and has been an integral part of the team's engineering staff, assisting both Rocquelin this year and teammate Sebastien Bourdais's race engineer, Craig Hampson, in 2003 and 2004.

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Beginning on March 12, several of the Champ Car World Series' drivers, including series champions Sebastien Bourdais(2004-2005) and Paul Tracy(2003), 2004 CC rookie of the year A.J. Allmendinger, past race winners Mario Dominguez and Justin Wilson, along with rising CC driver Katherine Legge and 2006 Atlantic Championship competitor Alan Sciuto, as well as ChampCar series co-owner Kevin kalkhoven and series president Steve Johnson, will be on a 6-day media tour beginning in Los Angeles. Ca. and traveling to every U.S. and Canadian venue, concluding in Monterrey, Mexico on March 17.

According to series officials, some of the activities will include landing at the race venues in Edmonton(Centre City Airport) and Cleveland(Burke Lakefront Airport), the Turbo Tour Fan Forum in Portland, and a media karting challenge in Denver. In all, it's a 1700-nautical mile, 6-day journey. In the words of Champ Car President Steve Johnson....

This is a huge initiative to promote the beginning of the Champ Car season. We are always striving to bring Champ car to the people and there is no better way to do this than to create a whirlwind tour encompassing our entire North American schedule. The Turbo Tour is a great chance for our promoters to raise awareness of Champ Car in each of their markets and ramp up anticipation for what is sure to be a very exciting 2006 season. Not only that, but being part of a groundbreaking event like this one is sure to create excitement at each stop along the way.

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While the 2006 Champ Car grid may still be in flux, at least one piece of the sponsorship puzzle has been settled. RuSport Racing and CDW have entered into a multi-year agreement which will see the CDW colors on the #9 RuSport FC/L driven by Justin Wilson. Along with CDW, three other companies are joining in the partnership--HP, Plantronics, Edge Tech Corp. and Targus. In addition, the four companies listed will become associate sponsors on the #10 Western Union FC/L driven by Wilson's teammate, A.J. Allmendinger.

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Champ Car officials announced today that, in order to avoid a conflict with an important Mexican holiday, All Souls Day(Dia de los muertes), the race originally scheduled for Nov. 3-5 will instead be run the week of Nov. 10-12.

As for the season opener.........the 2006 Champ Car World Series season begins with the 32nd annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, set for the weekend of April 7-9, 2006.