Champ Car World Series 2008
ForoCoches: Miembro
30-ene-2008 10:31
#1
#24 ¿? // #34 ¿?
#11 ¿? // #19 ¿?
#3 Paul Tracy 
Canada // # 7¿?
#4 ?¿ // #14 ?¿
#2 Graham Rahal 
United States #6 Justin Wilson 
England 
#29 Alex Figge 
#21 Oriol Servia 
Spain // #22 ¿?
#8 Enrique Bernoldi 
Brasil // ?#19 ¿?
#5 Will Power 
Australia // #15 ¿?
ForoCoches: Miembro
30-ene-2008 10:34
#2
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2007 CCWS Season Highlights Part I 2007 CCWS Season Highlights Part II 2007 CCWS Season Highlights Part III |
ForoCoches: Miembro
30-ene-2008 10:51
#4
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Eurosport 2 Seguro y esperemos que Teledeporte de una buena cobertura. Anuncio promocion Champcar de Eurosport |
ForoCoches: Miembro
30-ene-2008 15:41
#5
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Pre-Sebring tidbits & soundbytes ChampCarWorld.net has learned from a reliable source, that when the Newman Haas Lanigan cars roll off the truck in Sebring this week, both will be sporting a red McDonalds livery, reportedly at the request of the long time NHL sponsor. While Graham's car will bear the #2, it is undecided at this time whether Justin's car will sport the #1 or the #6. It has also come to our attention that Ernesto Viso will be testing for a second time with Minardi Team USA. Viso, who had a very successful session with the team in December, declined an offer for a ride in the Asian GP2 series in order to focus on the pursuit of a Champ Car ride. “The chances of being in Champ Car has increased,” said Viso. “we have been talking with Minardi and we agreed to test again. I got some offers from GP2, but I prefer to keep my mind in Sebring. With my sponsors, I am working on the program to develop this 2008, when I will be fighting for victory”. ChampCarWorld.net will keep you updated on these and other stories as more information becomes available. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
30-ene-2008 17:07
#6
Tests de Sebring mejores tiempos del año pasado    Sabado, Febrero 2, 2008 14:00 - 18:00 CHAMP CAR Open Testing Lunch Break / Driver Media Availability 19:00 - 23:00 CHAMP CAR Open Testing Domingo, Febrero 3, 2008 14:00 - 18:00 CHAMP CAR Open Testing Lunch Break / Driver Media Availability 19:00 - 22:00 CHAMP CAR Open Testing Lunes, Febrero 4, 2008 14:00 - 18:00 CHAMP CAR Open Testing Live Timing |
Monte
30-ene-2008 18:25
#7
| por ahi habia leido que marco andretti iba a ocupar el puesto de bourdais... |
Monte
31-ene-2008 00:06
#9
| este año va a estar peleada la cosa. power, wilson, rahal depronto y hasta doornbos y otro que se me escape. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
31-ene-2008 00:17
#10
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Eso se decia en verano, cambio la cosa 
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Monte
31-ene-2008 00:21
#11
| no pueden dejar a marco en la irl, pueden ser carrerazas, pero hay que llevarlo a circuitos como quiere su abuelo mario para despues dar el salto a europa , pero parece que papa andretti no. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
31-ene-2008 11:00
#12
PCM Jr team unveils 08 line-up  Pacific Coast Motorsports announced their return to the Champ Car Atlantic Series with the news that Champ Car driver Alex Figge had acquired the Bakersfield-based US RaceTronics Atlantic team. A natural progression as the team had been chosen at the end of last season to be part of the newly established PCM Jr Team program. Both the Champ Car & Atlantic team will now be based at PCM’s headquarters in Oxnard, California and will compete under the Pacific Coast Motorsports banner. Former US RaceTronics team owner, Shane Seneviratne will stay on to manage the Atlantic program. “We’re really proud to be returning to the series where we won the 2004 championship, and we are looking forward to continuing our winning tradition. " said Tyler Tadevic at the media launch at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Studios Wednesday night. "As a graduate of the series, Alex is a believer of the product; this is an important program to him. Shane has a history of running championship winning teams and we saw this as a terrific opportunity to return to Atlantic competition.” Tadevic continued, “We feel we’ve got two exceptional young drivers on board. They’re both quick and very professional, we’ve got an exciting season ahead of us.” In addition to the team announcement, PCM also unveiled their driver line up for the 2008 season. 19 yr old Carl Skerlong, returns for his sophomore season again piloting the #28 King Taco/Mazda/Swift. Skerlong's rookie debut in the Atlantic series included two podium finishes and 10th place overall in the series championship. "I am so excited about this opportunity." said Skerlong. "I am really happy to be able to continue my relationship with Shane, but grateful for the tools and resources racing for Pacific Coast Motorsports will offer. I have one goal this year, and that is to win the Atlantic series title and the $2 million prize in the #28 King Taco car.”  Joining Skerlong, driving the #29 PCM/Mazda/Swift, will be 22 yr old Frankie Muniz, also in his sophomore season of Atlantic competition. While most people recognize Frankie as an actor, this will be his third season as a professional racecar driver. "Joining PCM is a huge step forward for me in my racing career,” said Muniz. "In the three tests I have already completed, I have learned so much and really developed my skills as a racing driver. Tim Lewis, my race engineer has a championship winning record behind him and we have gelled really well. I just can’t wait for the season to start in April at the Long Beach Grand Prix and I am thrilled to represent a professional racing team like Pacific Coast Motorsports.” For more information on the team & drivers visit www.pcmracing.com |
ForoCoches: Miembro
31-ene-2008 12:47
#13
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Wilson expecting 'tougher than ever' year. Thursday, 31st January 2008 Briton admits 'it won't be easy' following NHLR switch. Justin Wilson is not making any wild predictions of success ahead of his first season with the crack Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing outfit, claiming that he expects the Champ Car World Series to be 'tougher than ever'. Despite predictions of doom and gloom for the series, and few drivers yet to be confirmed as the first group test of the off-season looms this weekend, Wilson insists that the competition will be tighter than ever once racing starts at Long Beach April. The Briton has stepped into what many regard as the prime seat for 2008, replacing out-going champion Sebastien Bourdais at NHLR, but he refuses to believe that it will be easy to go one better than the runner-up spot he has achieved for the past two seasons. "I think it's a little early to tell right now, but I'm expecting it to be tougher than ever as more people are working at the Panoz," he said as CCWS heads into its second series with the spec DP01 chassis, "Everybody who competes will have the same equipment, and that's what makes it exciting. But the longer everything stays the same, the more people work it out and the playing field gets levelled again.  "I think if Robert Doornbos is back in the championship, he's going to be very quick, as will Will Power. I think the main competition will come from those two, but I'm sure there are going to be a few others there as well. It's great to see Oriol Servia finally get a full-time drive, and I'm sure he's going to be right up there, giving us a hard time. He was quick the last couple of races with PKV, so I think it's going to be one of the most competitive seasons in Champ Car for many years." He may not have included his new team-mate in the list of expected opposition, but there is no doubt that Wilson holds sophomore Graham Rahal in high regard. "It's great to be partnering Graham, who is still a very young driver doing remarkably well," he said, "I think he's got a lot of potential for the future - and this year as well. I think we get on very well. Graham listens to what's going on in the environments around him, and I think that's good to see. I definitely appreciate having somebody of Graham's talent and maturity for such a young age. I think that's key to being fast in a race car, and I'm looking forward to working with Graham throughout the rest of the year. I definitely see him as being one of the contenders for race victories throughout this year. There's definitely a bright future ahead of him." Wilson was among those to have triumphed with the new Panoz in 2007 - although he had to wait until Assen in September to do so - and admits that he liked the car. "I liked the fact that it was quick - it was a great fun car to drive," he reflected, "It was fast and it handled pretty good, even on its off days. The thing I didn't like about it was that handled pretty good on its off days. It was very hard to tell the difference between a good car and a great car, and that was always a challenge from the driver's point of view. "You'd come back in tell the engineer 'the car is great', and he'd look at you a bit confused and say 'okay, where do we get the other 1.5secs from?'. And you'd sit there a bit confused for a minute and say' okay, so it's not so good, we need to change a few things'. So it really challenged you as a driver. I say it's a bad thing, but it's a good thing as well. As a driver you're always looking for a challenge and that is what this car does." Despite that 'challenge', however, the Briton harked back to his earlier claim that greater experience of the DP01 could potentially close the field up in 2008. "I think it's more a case of the set-up of the car," he reasoned, "The springs, the roll bars, the damper curves, the ride heights, the downforce levels - all those things are quite critical. Often, if you do them in the wrong order, you get a very different end result. "So the benefit of not changing the car too much is that people can go back through the year and say 'okay, at Elkhart Lake, we did things in this order and it didn't work out. And, in San Jose, we did it in this order and it did work out, so let's do it in this order the whole season. That way they get a base set-up for the 2008 season much quicker and more efficiently. That's why people can catch up and work things out, as well as using the set-ups that worked from the year before, and discarding the routes they took, the paths they took that didn't work. Everyone is slowly working towards the same result, the same answer." Although he and NHLR have that year of experience under their belts, Wilson insists that he will still face a learning curve when the Sebring test opens at the weekend. "To start with, the first thing is getting used to the team, getting used to the car and the environment," he pointed out, "The first test is going to be about getting familiar with my environment and learning how to extract the most out of it. There is going to be a steep learning curve at this first test but, hopefully, we'll learn a few things and move on from that in the next few months, find what suits my style and which bits are going to help us work best on the race weekend to go out there and win races." |
ForoCoches: Miembro
01-feb-2008 15:41
#14
Pre-Sebring Tidbits & Soundbytes: Jan 31/08  Another pedigreed driver from Europe is the latest rumored addition to the Champ Car World Series ranks. Forumla 1 test driver Franck Montagny has tongues wagging as it was reported that he removed himself from the running for a Force India F1 team seat to pursue a Champ Car ride. Word on the street is that he will land at Forsythe Championship Racing as a team mate to Paul Tracy. Speaking of Forsythe, an interview with Simon Pagenaud posted today on Sportauto.fr revealed that the young Frenchman had been working on a possible ride with the team, but it never came to fruition. This was after the 2006 Atlantic Champion was informed that Team Australia was unable, at this time, to secure the funding necessary to field a second car and subsequently his sophomore season. While things could potentially turn around before April (the start of the 2008 season), Pagenaud is in no position to just sit and wait and is now rumored to be close to a deal with Conquest. For those keeping score, Simon now joins Franck Perera, Nelson Phillipe, Jan Heylen, Matt Halliday & James Winslow as drivers rumored to be in the hunt one of the highly sought after Conquest seats. ChampCarWorld.net will stay on top of these stories, and update you as soon as more information becomes available. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
01-feb-2008 15:58
#15
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Que decida él no? Para mi es una incognita como piloto, por que, que lo haya hecho más o menos bien en la IRL con quiere decir nada, habría que verlo en la Champ Car o en la GP2 para saber si es bueno o no. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
01-feb-2008 17:38
#16
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BRAZILIAN COMPANY SANGARI TO SPONSOR ENRIQUE BERNOLDI FOR 2008 CHAMP CAR SEASON Rocketsports Racing driver brings a multi-national education company into the United States and the Champ Car World Series to support his 2008 open-wheel campaign EAST LANSING, Michigan (February 1, 2008) – Brazilian Champ Car driver Enrique Bernoldi announced today that he will bring a very important partnership to the Champ Car World Series for his first year of competition in the series in 2008. Sangari is excited to support Bernoldi and become a partner with Rocketsports Racing. Sangari is part of a group which is represented in 14 countries. The Brazilian company has more than 40 years of dedication developing solutions for the improvement of the education by using science education and technology. “We decided to sponsor Enrique because he has great competitive potential, besides being a very charismatic person,” said Ben Sangari, owner of the company. “Although we are a multi-national company, we do not have business in USA. Recently, we made a partnership with the American Museum of Natural History and we opened an office in North Carolina. Therefore, it is very important to initiate the process of construction of Sangari’s brand and Champ Car has a great visibility in the North American territory,” Sangari continued. Bernoldi emphasizes the importance of the sponsorship, which has allowed him to compete in Champ Car this season. “The Sangari sponsorship was essential to make possible my goal to come back and race open-wheel cars. The team will have conditions to be more competitive and I hope to fight for victories. Certainty, the good results will be important for me, for the team, and for Sangari. I really want this partnership to last for many seasons,” added Bernoldi. This is not the first time that Sangari has decided to associate their company with an athlete. The company also sponsors tricycle-driver Robert Nahas at Rally dos Sertões. This Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (February 2-4), Bernoldi will be testing at Sebring International Raceway, in Sebring, Florida, USA. The preliminary blue and silver #8 Sangari Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone will be proudly on display for the first test of the season. The first race of 2008 Champ Car World Series season is scheduled to take place in Long Beach, California, on April 20th. Champ Car World Series 2008 Schedule April 20 - Long Beach, California April 27 - Houston, Texas May 18 - Laguna Seca, California June 1 - Zolder, Belgium June 8 - Jerez, Spain June 22 - Cleveland, Ohio June 29 - Mont-Tremblant, Canada July 6 - Toronto, Canada July 20 - Edmonton, Canada July 27 - Portland, Oregon August 10 - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin September 14 - Assen, Holland October 26 - Surfers Paradise, Australia November 9 - Mexico City, Mexico ABOUT SANGARI Founded in 1997 by the physicist and businessman Ben Sangari, the company is part of the Sangari international group, which has been developing solutions for 42 years to improve education in the world through Science. Created in England by Antony Sangari, in 1965, the group is present in 15 countries, such as: South Africa, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Spain, the United States, Greece, England, Iran, Mozambique, Namibia, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania and Turkey. Sangari Brasil offers a program for Junior High School Education called CTC – Science and Technology with Creativity, and a collection of micro scale experiments for Senior High School Education, DAC – Discovering Science. These programs provide the combination of knowledge from several areas using instigating and interactive activities, which stimulate experimentation, investigation and questioning. More information: www.sangari.com ABOUT ROCKETSPORTS RACING Based in East Lansing, Michigan, Rocketsports Racing was formed in 1985 and has grown into one of the most diverse and accomplished companies of its kind in North America. The Rocketsports name has long been associated with multiple victories in Trans-Am, IMSA, GTO and GTS Competition, for team owner and five-time Trans-Am Series Champion, Paul Gentilozzi. Rocketsports has also established a significant presence in the open-wheel scene with an effort in the Champ Car World Series. In addition to their success on track, Rocketsports has become a leader in race engine and chassis design and construction. Rocketsports will contest its sixth season of Champ Car competition during the 2008 season. The team has earned two poles, one victory (Alex Tagliani, 2004 at Road America), and seven podium finishes in its Champ Car career history. Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi, a former Formula One driver, pilots the #8 Sangari Rocketsports Cosworth/Panoz/Bridgestone and will battle for the 2008 Vanderbilt Cup, which is the ultimate prize for a Champ Car driver and team. The 750-horsepower open-wheel cars compete on temporary street circuits and permanent road courses internationally in seven countries in many of the world’s largest markets. For more information, visit www.rocketsportsracing.com. Media Usage To preview the #8 Sangari Rocketsports Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone that will be driven by Enrique Bernoldi in the 2008 Champ Car World Series, please click on the following link. 
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ForoCoches: Miembro
02-feb-2008 00:09
#17
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Simon Pagenaud, Franck Perera to Test for Conquest at Sebring Talented French Graduates of Atlantic Championship to Take Part in Champ Car World Series’ First Open Test of 2008 INDIANAPOLIS (February 1, 2008) – Conquest Racing, boasting a history of working with young, up-and-coming drivers, announced today that 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Champion Simon Pagenaud and 2007 Champ Car Atlantic runner-up Franck Perera will be participating in the upcoming Champ Car World Series open test at Sebring International Raceway. Pagenaud, from Poitiers, France, had an excellent rookie season in the 2007 Champ Car World Series with Team Australia. He scored six top-fives including three consecutive fourth-place finishes in the Canadian Triple Crown events with a best starting position of second. Pagenaud also won the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic title on the strength of six podium finishes and nine top-five finishes. Earlier in his career, the Frenchman competed in the World Series by Renault recording eight top-10 and three top-five finishes in 2005. Perera, a 23-year-old native of Montpellier, France, hopes to enter the Champ Car World Series as a rookie after an outstanding season in the Cooper Tires Presents The Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, where he finished in the top five at every 2007 race. Perera scored eight consecutive podiums to end the season, including three victories (Mont-Tremblant, Toronto and Road America) with two coming from pole position. He also completed every lap of the 12-race season and led 116 of them. He ended the season only 31 points out of first place. “I’m not alone among Champ Car team owners who believe Franck was the ‘crème de la crème’ in Atlantics in 2007,” said Eric Bachelart, Conquest Racing team owner. “Similarly, Champ Car fans already know that Simon is the real deal. He had a fabulous rookie season in Champ Cars last year as well as in Atlantics in 2006, when he beat us for the Championship. "We couldn’t be happier to have both Franck and Simon in our cars as we prepare for the 2008 season. There already is good chemistry with both drivers and now we will be able to build on that and prepare for the season, starting this weekend at the open test in Sebring.” Anthony Blumberg, Conquest Racing's new partner and team co-owner added: "I believe that having Simon and Franck test is a testament to Conquest Racing's commitment and desire to take this team to the next level. They both have demonstrated in the past that they can perform well in anything they drive and I think we can expect good results from our ‘French duo.’ " “I’m really happy to be with Conquest Racing this weekend,” expressed Pagenaud. "I have the opportunity to run for Eric, who has put together a very good program for 2008. I think Conquest Racing will be very competitive this year. They have very competent people on the team and we can expect good results. "This weekend will be my first test with them and I hope to get things started in the right direction in Sebring. I also wish to thank Derrick Walker and Craig Gore, who gave me the chance to come race in America as a professional race car driver. We had two very good seasons together.” Perera, who previously tested for Forsythe-Pettit Racing, is grateful for the additional test time. “I’m very excited to be working with Conquest Racing,” said Perera, the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Rookie of the Year. “I want to thank Eric Bachelart for the opportunity. Now I can’t wait to get into his car this weekend in Sebring and work with his team.” Prior to his Atlantic season, Perera—nicknamed “Fearless Franck”—built up quite a resume. He was one of the first two drivers signed in 2001 to the Toyota F-1 Young Driver Program. He won numerous karting titles including the World Karting Formula A Championship in 1999 (he was also Vice-Champion in 2000), the Karting Junior French Championship and the Karting Junior European Championship in 1998. Other career highlights include a second-place finish in GP2 in Monaco in 2006, a fifth-place finish in Macau in 2004 in the F3 Euro Series where he also took “Rookie of the Year” honors and he was crowned Formula Renault 2.0 champion in 2003. The ‘French duo’ will be on track at Sebring International Raceway in Florida from February 2 to 4. For more information on Conquest Racing, please visit www.conquestracing.com, on Simon Pagenaud, visit www.simon-pagenaud.com and on Franck Perera please visit www.cjmotorsport.us. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
02-feb-2008 02:30
#18
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Teams gear up for Sebring Test Teams, drivers and fan's alike are all gearing up for the first of 3 officially sanctioned tests in preparation for the 2008 season of the Champ Car World series. Beginning tomorrow, 8 of the 9 teams who will contest for the 2008 championship will take to the track in Sebring, Florida, to shake down the cars and begin collecting data. A flurry of press releases over the last 48 hrs have shed some light of a few of the many mysteries revolving around this test, this season, and just who will be lining up on the grid when the first green flag drops at Long Beach in April. While only a handful of drivers are officially signed, the potential 2008 line up is beginning to taking shape, and this weekends testing will only serve to enlighten all involved. Testing this weekend are the following: Conquest Racing: After much speculation and half a dozen drivers being linked to the team, Conquest confirmed today that Simon Pagenaud & Franck Perera will be testing. Dale Coyne: Team sources confirmed to CCW.net today that DCR will be there with both cars, however no driver information could be confirmed at that time. Forsythe: Unconfirmed information is that the FCR haulers have arrived at the site. It is assumed that Paul Tracy (confirmed 08 seat) will be testing and rumored that Franck Montagny will join him. Minardi Team USA: Team sources confirmed with CCW.net this afternoon that Ernesto Viso would be the only driver testing with the team this weekend. No word on the whereabouts of Robert Doornbos or Dan Clarke. NHLR: Justin Wilson & Graham Rahal, both officially confirmed this week for 08, will begin preparations for the upcoming season. PCM: Confirmed driver Alex Figge & unconfirmed driver David Martinez will both test this weekend. PKV Racing: Oriol Servia, the first driver to be confirmed for 08 will test alongside seat seeking veteran Alex Tagliani. Rocketsports: Recently confirmed rookie Enrique Bernoldi will begin to acclimate to his new car. Team Australia: Team sources confirmed to CCW.net this afternoon that they will not be participating in this weekends testing preferring to analyze data from a recent shake rig test first. They also confirmed that Will Power is signed and will be driving for them again in 08, and that they will be running a two-car effort. Just who will fill that second seat was information that could not be shared at this time. ChampCarWorld.net will be following the testing all weekend, and updating as information becomes available. |
Two Fast Two Furious
02-feb-2008 03:57
#19
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Bueno, ya se ha normalizado la situación en el mejor foro de forocoches. Yo creo que Marco Andretti tenía que hacerle caso a su abuelo, y dejarse de estar en el equipo de papá, comiendo la sopa boba. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
02-feb-2008 18:13
#20
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SEBRING, Florida (Feb. 2, 2008)--The 2008 open test season officially gets under way today with various Champ Car World Series teams and drivers turning in their first laps of the year at Sebring International Raceway.
Over the next three days, teams will run on the 1.7-mile "short course" at the famed Sebring track that has been favored by so many Champ Car teams for a number of years. In addition to teams that plan to test with their previously announced drivers, some teams will use the test to evaluate candidates to compete in the series, which opens April 20 with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Making their debut as Champ Car teammates a week after sharing a car in the Daytona 24 Hours, Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal will turn their first laps of 2008 for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. The two drivers were confirmed for the NHLR lineup on Tuesday. "Certainly we need to keep learning as much as we can about the car and try to hone in on a good set up for myself and for Justin," Rahal explained during Tuesday's teleconference. "I'll be the first to admit I struggled at Sebring in the Champ Car. It was quite a tough track for me. But just go there and learn as much as we can. It's been a while since any of us have sat in the car, and it's going to be quite the change of pace from what I've been driving recently, but I'm certainly looking forward to it." Rahal, the 19-year-old American who finished fifth in the 2007 standings, returns for his second season with NHLR. Wilson, runner-up the past two seasons, replaces the man who won the championships those two years, Sebastien Bourdais. The British driver looks forward to working with his new team. "Well, to start with the first thing is getting used to the team, getting used to the car and the environment," Wilson said. "So the first test is all going to be about getting familiar with my environment and learning how to extract the most out of it. So this is going to be a steep learning curve this first test. Then, hopefully, we'll learn a few things and move on from that in the next few months and you know, find what suits my style and which bits are going to help us work best on the race weekend to go out there and win races." Paul Tracy returns to the fray with the newly reorganized Forsythe Pettit Racing operation. The 2003 Champ Car titlist will be joined at the Sebring test by France's Franck Montagny, whose vast array of experience includes a stint in Formula One. Rocketsports Racing recently announced the signing of Enrique Bernoldi, a driver who also has Formula One experience. The Brazilian driver tested with Rocketsports two years ago at Houston. "I was impressed by the team when I tested with them two years ago," Bernoldi said. "Unfortunately we were not able to get a deal together that year, but I am excited to have the opportunity now." Fellow Brazilian Bruno Junqueira, coming off an impressive season in which he scored three straight podium finishes, is testing for Dale Coyne Racing, the team he drove for in 2007 he will be joined by fellow Brazilian Mario Moraes. PKV Racing will run both of its cars in Sebring. Spain's Oriol Servia, who drove for PKV in the last two races of 2007, was recently signed to run for the team for 2008. He will be joined at the test by Canada's Alex Tagliani. According to PKV General Manager Mark Johnson, Tagliani's role will be two-fold. "Alex is a very competitive and capable driver that has consistently placed among the leaders in races and the championship standings over the years," said Johnson. "Testing Alex in Sebring will give PKV Racing an opportunity to receive the benefit of his experience as we work through the various projects we have for this test. In addition, it will give us a chance to see how Alex meshes with our team as we proceed with our search for a second driver." A veteran of eight full seasons and 131 starts, Tagliani feels he can contribute. "This is a team that is capable of winning the championship this year and it would be a dream come true for me to be with PKV in 2008," Tagliani maintained. "I think I can help them get to the top of the standings, but first things first and that is to get our work done and have a good test in Sebring. After that we will see where things go from there." Pacific Coast Motorsports will have cars for its second-year driver, Alex Figge, and Mexico's David Martinez, who made his first Champ Car start in 2006 and two starts last season. "I'm very excited to be able to go to Sebring with Pacific Coast Motorsports," Martinez said. "I've always been very fond of the team, and I actually started my Champ Car career with their junior team, so it's a great feeling to be able to drive their car again. This will be a great opportunity to get to know and evaluate each other and build some foundation and relationships so we can start on the right foot if we end up being together for the full season this year. "Everybody knows Champ Car is huge in Mexico and also among the Hispanic community in the United States so I'm really looking forward to giving everybody a great result at this test and hopefully for the whole year." Conquest Racing, which recently announced its sponsorship deal with Opes Prime, will be testing former Atlantic Champion Simon Pagenaud and 2007 Atlantic 'Rookie of the Year" Franck Perera. Finally, Ernesto Viso who tested with Minardi Team USA a couple of months ago will be back behind the wheel of the Indianapolis-based team for this first open test of the year. Testing will be conducted today (Saturday) through Monday. |
ForoCoches: Miembro
03-feb-2008 07:09
#22
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CHAMP CAR: Montagny Leads First Day of Sebring Tests Written by: Champ Car Communications Sebring, Fla. – 2/2/2008  His car may look plain, but Montagny's speed was far from generic. (LAT photo) (LAT photo) MORE PHOTOS The 2008 Champ Car World Series season “unofficially” got under way today in Sebring when Champ Car teams and drivers took to the track at Sebring International Raceway for the first of three pre-season open tests. The first day saw Frenchman Franck Montagny top the time charts aboard the #7 Forsythe Pettit Racing entry with a time of 50.788 seconds (118.304 mph). The former Formula 1 driver for Super Aguri, who was taking part in his first Champ Car open test, beat out PKV Racing driver Oriol Servia for the top honors of the day by a mere 0.068sec. Servia was not only the first driver out on track this morning but the pilot that accumulated the most laps throughout the day with 117. Close behind Servia was Newman/Haas/Lanigan’s new recruit Justin Wilson, who posted a lap of 50.927 seconds (117.981 mph). “It was a pretty good day,” stated Wilson. “I was just learning to work with the team and learning the car. I think everything is going as planned, we will see how tomorrow goes but I’m pleased with what happened today.” Another satisfied driver was 2007 Atlantic Rookie of the Year Franck Perera. Behind the wheel of the #24 Conquest Racing DP01, the Frenchman registered the fourth best time with a lap of 50.986 seconds (117.844 mph) in only his second Champ Car test. “It was an interesting day, a little hard physically though because since my last race in Atlantic, which was in August, I only did one test back in November but I should be good by the end of the test,” expressed Perera, who is seen by many as the top driver coming out of Atlantics in 2007. “I’m a bit surprised, to be honest, to be at the top. It’s a new track for me, new people to work with and a new car. But everybody did a really good job to get everything prepared. The team is showing its potential and that it can fight for the top. However, today is only the first day and there is still a lot of testing time left, but it feels good to be with the top guys.” While Montagny may have been the driver at the top of the time sheet at the end of the day it was Pacific Coast Motorsports’ Alex Figge that had the fastest time of the morning session. His lap of 51.097 seconds (117.588 mph) placed him fifth overall at the end of the day. He was followed by Graham Rahal of Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. “We didn’t run new tires at the end, so when you look at it like that I think we were second or third before everybody put tires on,” explained Rahal. “The track is obviously pretty good and overall our cars are performing well right now and I’m happy because I’m never normally near the top in Sebring so it’s good for me!” Canada’s Alex Tagliani, who ended the day in seventh, was delighted to be working with PKV Racing and with his on-track performance. “I’m ecstatic right now. I hadn’t been in a car since November and in the morning session we were already third," he exclaimed. "Everything is going so well. This team is so professional, we’re working on different setups for the car and they are very happy with the feedback I’m giving them. It’s so much easier to work with a team when the chemistry is there right from the start and you don’t have to build that up first. I think this team will definitely be contending for the championship.” Rounding out the top 10 were Bruno Junqueira, driving for Dale Coyne Racing, his fellow Brazilian also in a Dale Coyne car, Mario Moraes and Forsythe Pettit Racing’s Paul Tracy. Sebring test times - Saturday Pos. Driver Team, Lap time, mph): 1. Franck Montagny, Forsythe Pettit Racing, 50.788 seconds, 118.304 mph 2. Oriol Servia, PKV Racing, 50.856 seconds, 118.145 mph 3. Jusitn Wilson, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, 50.927 seconds, 117.981 mph 4. Franck Perera, Conquest Racing, 50.986 seconds, 117.844 mph 5. Alex Figge, Pacific Coast Motorsports, 51.097 seconds, 117.588 mph 6. Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, 51.104 seconds, 117.572 7. Alex Tagliani, PKV Racing, 51.228 seconds, 117.287 mph 8. Bruno Junqueira, Dale Coyne Racing, 51.228 seconds, 117.287 mph 9. Mario Moraes, Dale Coyne Racing, 51.346 seconds, 117.018 mph 10. Paul Tracy, Forsythe Pettit Racing, 51.347 seconds, 117.016 mph 11. David Martinez, Pacific Coast Motorsports, 51.950 seconds, 115.657 mph 12. Ernesto Viso, Minardi Team USA, 51.973 seconds, 115.606 mph 13. Enrique Bernoldi, Rocketsports Racing, 52.019 seconds, 115.504 mph 14. Simon Pagenaud, Conquest Racing, 52.118 seconds, 115.285 mph |
ForoCoches: Miembro
03-feb-2008 12:01
#23
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Overheard in Sebring - 1 Testing has begun at Sebring Saturday morning and we are here to bring you all the news and behind the scenes talk. Both Newman/Haas/Lanigan drivers (Wilson in the No. 1 car pictured right and Rahal in the no. 2 car) are in identical McDonald's livery and talk is that the 2-car deal is for at least a partial season, but it may become a full season. The team confirmed with AutoRacing1.com that indeed both drivers would run with McDonald's backing, which verified a previous rumor. We hear that Mario Moraes (pictured left) has a good shot at staying in the Dale Coyne car all year. The team tested him in December. He raced in British F3 most recently and is in the Katherine Legge car from last year, still with the old paint scheme. Nelson Philippe is still looking for a ride. He has partial funding but not enough for a full season. He's not even sure which series he will race in this year. His girlfriend Sarah is now living with him in Miami and found a job as a 5th grade school teacher. Look for a bigger spread in performance from the Bridgestone tires this year with the option tires getting a bit softer and the regular tiers a bit softer. The driver lineup for 2008 looks better than ever for Champ Car with all the drivers here today likely to keep their rides all season, or so we are told. A go or no go for Ernesto Viso at Minardi will be made in the next couple of weeks we are told. Definitely look for both Simon Pagenaud and Franck Perera to be driving for Conquest Racing in 2008. Paul Tracy has Mike Palowski back as his engineer. Mike worked with Tracy back in 2003. And of course the Forsythe team hired Kenny Siwieck away from the NHLR team and there is another engineer at Forsythe Racing that was with the NHLR team as well in 2007. With Franck Montagny in as Tracy's teammate in 2008 the talent pool at Forsythe has increased so look for that team to step up its game in 2008. Paul Tracy's car was equipped with sensors to read tire temperatures real-time Tracy told us he does not like them because they upset the air flow around the tires, but they provide the team valuable information. Alex Tagliani's (pictured left) driver uniform was full of sponsor decals so it looks as though he's in better shape financially this year. Word is that indeed an offer came from Tony George to bring teams steal them away to the IRL, but that offer never came to Kalkhoven, Forsythe or series President Steve Johnson.....which gives credence to the fact that George's offer was a ploy to kill off Champ Car by stealing it's teams. We hear the reason Team Australia isn't here at the test is because of some unfinished business between Craig Gore (Aussie Vineyards) and Derrick Walker, but that it should eventually get worked out. Overheard in Sebring - 2 We are hearing that Conquest Racing will soon announce two new primary sponsors, one for each car, and their two drivers will be Simon Pagenaud and Franck Perera. The Conquest team will be testing a third French driver, but for their Atlantic team. Sebastien Chardonnet will test here at Sebring Tuesday and Wednesday. He raced Formula Renault in 2007. Franck Montagny looks pretty definite at Forsythe Pettit Racing alongside Paul Tracy. We spoke to Montagny who said, "It looks pretty good that I will be racing here this year. I am tired of being a test driver. I want my name on the side of the car, I want to race and I want to win. I don't care if I never go back to F1. I am very impressed with this team. The shop is very good and everyone is very professional." On a related note/rumor, we hear that Montagny may also drive in this year's 24 Hours of LeMans for the French Peugeot team. Look for an announcement soon. Mario Moraes is looking pretty good at Dale Coyne with a full year of sponsorship and we hear if a race materializes in Sao Paulo (good possibility for 2009 we hear) that will help his sponsorship. He tells us that Champ Cars are a big step up from British F3 last year, but he is ready for it." We caught up with Dan Clarke who is still hopeful of putting together a deal for 2008. He was seen lunching with his team boss from last year, Keith Wiggins. Robert Doornbos is not yet signed, but we hear it is likely to happen. We spoke to Graham Rahal who said, "My goal this year is to win races and challenge for the championship. I'm happy to have Justin [Wilson] as my teammate. I'm no longer the tallest or the heaviest driver on the team, which is a disadvantage for sure. We need to be more consistent than we were last year." Asked if he might run the Indy 500 this year for his father's team he said, "That all comes down to sponsorship, but I would like to if the opportunity presents itself." Overheard in Sebring - 3 Franck Perera is moving up from the Atlantic Series to run with Conquest Racing in 2008 Without a doubt the Champ Car series is in better shape this year than at the same time last year here at Sebring. There certainly are more car/driver combinations that appear to be ready to go versus last year, the bugs are worked out of the Panoz now whereas last year at this time there were a number of issues that had to be resolved. The standing starts and P2P have proven to work well and the depth of driver talent is certainly better this time around. We expect that by the time Spring Training rolls around to Laguna Seca in mid-March that the grid is going to be fairly well firmed up. Losing Cotman hurt Champ Car, but he left in place an organization that is far better than when he arrived. No one is irreplaceable and Champ Car will have to find a suitable replacement. Champ Car still certainly has a lot of challenges ahead of it, and the bad news we hear each and every off-season kills any momentum they otherwise may have gained. The lack of sponsorship and car manufacturer support continues to be the Achilles heel of the series and until they can come up with a business model that works for sponsors and manufacturers the series will continue to exist but not flourish. Graham Rahal in the No. 2 McDonald's Panoz Everyone in the paddock pretty much agrees that there will not be a merger with the IRL until 2010 at the earliest, which is when the IRL is slated to introduce a new car so that the Champ Car teams would be somewhat on equal footing with the IndyCar teams. The Panoz Champ Car is still relatively new and has many years of good service ahead of it so do not look for teams to be throwing their investment away to switch to another league. This is why no teams took Tony George up on his offer for free cars and engines to switch to the IRL....which would have left Champ Car dead had he been successful. Mark C. reporting from Sebring |
ForoCoches: Miembro
03-feb-2008 21:01
#24
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CHAMP CAR: Sebring Testing Notebook - Saturday Written by: David Phillips, RACER Magazine Sebring, Fla. – 2/3/2008  Pagenaud at Conquest is one of many unsecured combos at the Sebring test. (Greg Aleck/LAT photo) MORE PHOTOS 14 “STRONG” The turnout for the first of three Champ Car pre-season tests rates as a good news/bad news story for the Champ Car World Series. After a veritable tsunami of bad news in January, from the surprise resignation of executive vice president Tony Cotman to Champ Car Atlantic champion Rafael Matos’ decision to sign with Andretti Green Racing, the conventional wisdom among racing circles was that only a handful of cars and drivers would show up at Sebring . . . if that. In reality, eight of the nine teams that contested the ’07 CCWS are present and accounted for, with 14 cars on hand – including one brand-new Panoz DP01 chassis (for the now two-car Conquest Racing team). The lineup includes one former champion (Paul Tracy), five former race winners (Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia, Alex Tagliani, Justin Wilson and Tracy), two Formula One refugees (Enrique Bernoldi and Franck Montagny), one former Champ Car Atlantic champion (Simon Pagenaud) and two Champ Car Atlantic runners-up (Graham Rahal and (Frank Perera) along with Atlantic veterans and Champ Car sophomores Alex Figge and David Martinez, GP2 transfer Ernesto Viso and British F3 alumnus Mario Moraes. And a check of the times sheets shows that, at day’s end, just 1.330sec separated the fastest driver of the session (Montagny at 50.788 seconds) from the slowest (Pagenaud at 52.118). On the other hand . . . only half the 14 drivers on hand have confirmed rides for ’08 (Bernoldi, Figge, Junqueira, Rahal, Servia, Tracy and Wilson). The rest range from nearly done deals (Montagny, Pagenaud and Perera to probable deals (Martinez, Tagliani and Viso) to a look-see test (Moraes). NO-SHOWS Conspicuous by their absence from the Sebring test were 2007 Champ Car World Series rookie of the year Robert Doornbos and Team Australia, with double race winner Will Power. In the case of Doornbos, the Dutchman said at last weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona that he fully expected to be racing Champ Cars this season as he had renewed his relationship with sponsor Red Bull and that that Red Bull was keen to win the ’08 Champ Car World Series title. However, Keith Wiggins, co-owner of the Minardi Team USA for which Doornbos scored a pair of wins last year, did not sound overly optimistic when he noted Doornbos’ situation “came down to money and we’re not there yet.” As for Team Australia, its absence remains something of a mystery. As late as last weekend team owner Derrick Walker talked confidently of preparing two cars to run at Sebring, although he admitted to having no solid plans for Power’s teammate in the wake of Pagenaud’s move to Conquest Racing. Walker was unavailable for comment today. STOCK CARS THESE AREN’T Enrique Bernoldi spent the best part of the day getting back into the single-seat, open-wheel frame of mind, having last driven open-wheel cars in ’06 when he tested for Honda F1. Last year his raced stock cars in Brazil and, this morning, readily conceded that the Rocketsports Panoz-Cosworth bears little resemblance to the stock car he raced last year. “I’m taking time to get used to the Champ Car,” he said. “The Champ Car is very different from the stock car and I will probably take most of today to get comfortable, but I think from tomorrow on should be OK. “The Champ Car is very physical compared to F1 because it’s heavier and does not have power steering. There is also the power-to-pass function (that gives drivers an extra surge of 50hp) to learn, but I think we will wait to try that tomorrow or Monday. Right now it’s more important to learn the basics.” HAPPY TO BE DRIVING Franck Montagny has been mentioned by a number of teams over the winter but – for now at least – he’s settling in as teammate to Paul Tracy in the #7 Panoz-Cosworth at Forsythe/Pettit Racing. Settling in quite well, in fact, witness the fact that he was second quickest in the morning session behind Alex Figge and then fastest in the afternoon and overall. “It’s a good series, a good team and, so far, I’m very happy,” he said. “I don’t have a for-sure deal yet, but that’s not up to me. I’m just happy to be driving and I’m enjoying it. “I tested a Champ Car two years ago – a Lola – but this car is a better car, more up to date. It’s very physical but in a different way to Formula 1. In Formula 1 it’s very physical on your neck and back; this car is physical on your forearms and wrists. FIGGE FLIES Pacific Coast Motorsports’ Alex Figge was a happy young man after posting the fast time of the morning session at 51.097s. It’s not the first time Figge has been fast here in a Champ Car as, last year, he was in the top five in the final test of the season leading up to the Surfers Paradise in October. “Yeah we were pretty quick here last fall,” said Figge. “The good thing about this morning is I wasn’t even really going for a time. I was just doing laps and the time came pretty easily.” Unfortunately, Figge was unable to better his morning’s effort later in the day as the PCM team focused much of the afternoon session on evaluating a range of differing setups. DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN A year ago at this time, Dan Clarke and Nelson Philippe were much in evidence at the first test of the ’07 season, both making the rounds of the pits and looking for work. One year later and it’s pretty much the same scenario again. “I’m in the same situation as last year,” said Clarke who wound up racing for Minardi Team USA last year but whose name has been linked with the IndyCar Series in ’08. “I’m here showing interest, supporting the team (Minardi Team USA) and seeing what’s going on. It all comes down to money, however, and we’re trying to raise the necessary money at the moment.” “I’m here doing the rounds,” said Philippe, who made two late-season appearances with Conquest Racing last year. “I like this series. It’s good racing, good drivers, good teams, good cars. But if there’s nothing here for me, then it’s time to move on.” TIRE TEMPS With Saturday’s ambient temperature in the 80s, getting temperature in the Bridgestone Potenzas would not seem to have been an issue. Curiously, a couple of teams were seen wrapping their Bridgestones in tire warmers in the pits between on-track runs, although the tire warmers were not plugged-into a power source. Think of them as insulation . . . illegal insulation during a Champ Car race weekend as the series rulebook specifically outlaws tire warmers. Forsythe/Pettit Racing took tire temperatures a step further by running a device designed to measure the front tire temperatures in “real time” rather than waiting for the Bridgestone technicians to take the tire temps after the car returned to the pits. The device, conjured up by Forsythe/Pettit technical director Tom Brown, consists of an “L” shaped tube attached to the front suspension and protruding over each front tire with three different temperature sensors (on the inside edge, the middle and outside edge of the tires). “With the competition as close as it is, we want to learn as much as we can about how to get the tires up to temperature,” said Brown, “especially as you may only get one or two laps of maximum tire performance in qualifying.” |
ForoCoches: Miembro
04-feb-2008 00:12
#28
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Tiempos de hoy, nada mal Montagny1ª Sesion 1. G. Rahal Newman / Haas / Lanigan 0:50.474 0.000 2. F. Perera Conquest Racing 0:50.495 0.021 0.000 3. O. Servia PKV Racing 0:50.505 0.031 0.010 0.000 4. A. Tagliani PKV Racing 0:50.594 0.120 0.089 0.000 5. F. Montagny Forsythe 0:50.605 0.131 0.011 0.000 6. A. Figge Pacific Coast 0:50.707 0.233 0.102 0.000 7. J. Wilson Newman / Haas / Lanigan 0:50.717 0.243 0.010 0.000 8. S. Pagenaud Conquest Racing 0:50.887 0.413 0.170 0.000 9. B. Junqueira Dale Coyne 0:51.122 0.648 0.235 0.000 10. E. Viso Minardi 0:51.295 0.821 0.173 0.000 11. M. Moraes Dale Coyne 0:51.436 0.962 0.141 0.000 12. E. Bernoldi Rocketsports 0:51.470 0.996 0.034 0.000 13. P. Tracy Forsythe 0:51.529 1.055 0.059 0.000 14. D. Martinez Pacific Coast 0:51.714 1.240 0.185 0.000 2ª sesion 1. F. Montagny Forsythe 0:50.209 0.000 2. J. Wilson Newman / Haas / Lanigan 0:50.448 0.239 0.000 3. G. Rahal Newman / Haas / Lanigan 0:50.474 0.265 0.026 0.000 4. F. Perera Conquest Racing 0:50.495 0.286 0.021 0.000 5. O. Servia PKV Racing 0:50.505 0.296 0.010 0.000 6. A. Tagliani PKV Racing 0:50.594 0.385 0.089 0.000 7. A. Figge Pacific Coast 0:50.707 0.498 0.113 0.000 8. S. Pagenaud Conquest Racing 0:50.792 0.583 0.085 0.000 9. P. Tracy Forsythe 0:50.892 0.683 0.100 0.000 10. B. Junqueira Dale Coyne 0:51.122 0.913 0.230 0.000 11. E. Viso Minardi 0:51.295 1.086 0.173 0.000 12. E. Bernoldi Rocketsports 0:51.313 1.104 0.018 0.000 13. M. Moraes Dale Coyne 0:51.346 1.137 0.033 0.000 14. D. Martinez Pacific Coast 0:51.432 1.223 0.086 0.000 |
