Silly Season--CCWS, 2006

[Julian Mayo]

thanks Mfer, there are two other names that come to mind, and the Bathurst outcome will have a bearing on both

[mlittle]

Based on all available info, here are the current seat projections for the 2006 Champ Car World Series season.

1}Newman-Haas Racing:Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia(?), Bruno Junquiera(?). NHR officials announced today that Junquiera will not be retuning in 2005. No other changes at the moment.

2}PKV Racing:Jimmy Vasser(?), Cristiano Da Matta(?), Darren Manning(?), Katherine Legge(?). As mentioned elsewhere, Katherine Legge will be testing a Minardi F1 car at the Vallelunga circuit in Italy around the 21-24th of November; prior to that, she is currently scheduled to test a PKV ChampCar at the California Speedway "road course) on 18-19 Nov. No other changes at the moment.

3}Forsythe Championship Racing:Paul Tracy, Mario Dominguez. No changes at this time.

4}RuSport Racing:A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Wilson. No changes at this time.

5}Rocketsports Racing:Timo Glock, Michael McDowell. As reported earlier this month, McDowell has replaced Ryan Hunter-Reay for the last two races of 2005. No other changes at the moment.

6}CTE-HVM Racing:Ronnie Bremer, Rodalfo Lavin(?), Fabrizio Del Monte(?), Homero Richards(?), Bjorn Wirdheim(?). Earlier this month, Cedric the Entertainer became a partner in HVM(now CTE-HVM Racing) through 2005 and into 2006. No other changes at the moment.

7}MiJack-Conquest Racing:Nelson Phillipe, Andrew Ranger, Mario Haberfeld(?). No changes at present.

8}Walker Racing/Team Australia:Alex Tagliani, Marcus Marshall(?), Will Power(?). Derrick Walker reiterated to reporters this week that WR/TA will likely remain a 2-car team for 2006, meaning that while Tag is safe, Marshall or Power will likely be in the second seat.

9}Dale Coyne Racing:Ricardo Sperafico(?), Michael Valiente(?), Luis Schiavo(?), Tarso Marques(?), Gaston Mazzacane(?). No changes at the present time.

10}Eurointernational:Enrico Toccacelo. Arturo Ferrari's team will field 1 ChampCar in ten races in 2006, in preparation for a 2-car team under the 2007-specs. Enrico Toccacelo has been mentioned as possibly being their driver next year.


No. of Confirmed Seats:4
No. of Open Seats:14-16

[Julian Mayo]

I would tend to wager 50cents on Power, if it comes to a shootout for the 2nd Team Australia seat.

[mlittle]

Power's contract with TA is for 3 yrs., so he may just be replacing Marshall for the second seat, or they could field three cars next year...one never knows these days(at least, until they grid the cars at Long Beach to start the season!!)

[cmlean]

Marshall really needs to improve quickly or he will lose his seat. His team have had a season to gel and in qualifying have moved from distant last to, generally speaking, bottom half of bottom 50%. Getting punted by your teammate doesn't help your cause.

[mlittle]

Yeah, Marshall definitely needs to improve on his qualifying efforts or he won't be back. Of course, there's only one race left, so he may be driving for his career already.

[Julian Mayo]

N Tags has one testicle in the balance after Surfers, Marshall is a tad annoyed

[rah]

You guys have seen that Marshall has been sacked right?
I looked around but couldn't find it. Power is definately taking over.

[Julian Mayo]

You guys have seen that Marshall has been sacked right?
I looked around but couldn't find it. Power is definately taking over.

Yup, sacked for gross contactual breaches !! I think that means having a can of beer instead of drinking the sponsors wine

[mlittle]

Here are the CCWS seat projections as of 7 Nov. 2005.....

1}Newman-Haas Racing(2-3):Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia, Bruno Junquiera. Bourdais told reporters this weekend in Mexico City that he had re-signed with NHR for 2006. Junquiera is expected to test with the team(to reacclimate himself) with a Champ Car in December. No other changes at present.

2}PKV Racing(2): Jimmy Vasser(?), Cristiano Da Matta(?), Ryan Dalziel(?), Ryan Briscoe(?), Timo Glock(?), Darren Manning(?), Katherine Legge(?). Vasser mentioned at Mx. City that there would be a "shootout" for the 2nd PKV seat(Da Matta's) with the aforementioned drivers(Legge excepted). Others mentioned with an outside chance at the test are Wade Cunningham and Ryan Hunter-Reay. No other changes at the moment.

3}Forsythe Championship Racing(2-3):Paul Tracy, Mario Dominguez, Rodalfo Lavin(?). Team VP Neil Micklewright was overheard during the race Sunday that Lavin might return to the team in 2006 if funding &/or sponsors can be found. He also said that the team expects to re-sign Tracy for 2006. No other changes at present.

4}RuSport Racing(2):A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Wilson. No changes at this time.

5}Rocketsports Racing(2):Timo Glock, Michael McDowell. Based on McDowell's preformances at Surfers and Mexico City, he might have earned the seat for 2006. No other changes at present.

6}CTE-HVM Racing(2):Ronnie Bremer, Rodalfo Lavin(?), Fabrizio Del Monte(?), Homero Richards(?), Bjorn Wirdheim(?), Milka Duno(?). No changes at present.

7}MiJack-Conquest Racing(2):Nelson Phillipe, Andrew Ranger, Mario Haberfeld(?). No changes at the moment.

8}Team Australia(2-3):Alex Tagliani, Will Power, Michael Valiante(?), Matt Halliday(?), Darren Manning(?), Charles Zwolsman(?). If the team brings back a third car for 2006, then the last 4 names listed are in the hunt for it. No other changes at present.

9}Dale Coyne Racing(2):Ricardo Sperafico(?), Michael Valiante(?), Luis Schaivo(?), Tarso Marques(?), Gaston Mazzacane(?). No changes at present.

10}EuroInternational Racing(1):Enrico Toccacelo(?), Jan Heylen(?). One of these two is liekly to get the ride for Arturo Ferrari in 2006. No other changes at present.

No of Confirmed Seats:5
No of Open Seats:17-20 seats(likely 14-17)

[Julian Mayo]

Is Will Power confirmed in the seat ?

[mlittle]

Not at the moment, but if you notice I didn't put a question mark next to Power's name, so it's a safe bet he'll be in one of TA's seats next year. Note that they're thinking of adding a third car for 2006 but there hasn't been any mention of Marshall since his firing from the team. Still can't determine why he got canned, but....I hate to say it, but I guess it could be one of two things, either A)he "bad-mouthed" the team &/or sponsor(s), or....B)drugs were involved. That's why I didn't want to speculate until I found out more. From all the internet chatter over his departure it looks like a 50-50 guess either way. That's all I know at present, Julian.

[mlittle]

With Thanksgiving around the corner here in the United States, here's the seat predictions for 22 November 2005.....

1}Newman-Haas Racing(2-3):Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia, Bruno Junquiera. No changes at present.

2}PKV Racing(2):Jimmy Vasser(?), Cristiano Da Matta(?), Katherine Legge(?), Ryan Dalziel(?), Ryan Briscoe(?), Timo Glock(?), Darren Manning(?), Wade Cunningham(?), Ryan Hunter-Reay(?). In a recent crash.net article, Katherine Legge all but confirmed that, barring a bad test in early December w/PKV, that she may be moving up to ChampCar in 2006(she puts the chances around 50/50). If so, then all the others listed(Vasser excepted), will be fighting for the other seat(assuming Legge gets the first of the two seats).

3}Forsythe Championship Racing(2-3):Paul Tracy, Mario Dominguez, Rodalfo Lavin. Tracy confirmed to several sources that he is signed for 2006, while team VP Neil Micklewright added that FCR is looking for enough sponsorship to field a third car for Lavin in 2006.

4}RuSport Racing(2):A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Wilson. No changes at present.

5}Rocketsports Racing(2): Timo Glock, Michael McDowell. Unless Glock wins the PKV shootout during the offseason, he and McDowell will return for Paul Gentilozzi's team in 2006.

6}CTE-HVM Racing(2):Ronnie Bremer, Fabrizio Del Monte(?), Bjorn Wirdheim(?), Milka Duno(?). No changes at present.

7}MiJack-Conquest Racing(2):Nelson Phillipe, Andrew Ranger. No changes at present.

8}Team Australia(2-3):Alex Tagliani, Will Power, Michael Valiante(?), Matt Halliday(?), Darren Manning(?), Charles Zwolsman(?). No changes at present.

9}Dale Coyne Racing(2):Ricardo Sperafico(?), Michael Valiante(?), Luis Schiavo(?), Tarso Marques(?), Gaston Mazzacane(?). No changes at present.

10}EuroInternational(1):Enrico Toccacelo(?), Jan Heylen(?). No changes at present.

No of Confirmed Seats:6
No of open Seats:16-19(likely 14-17)

[mlittle]

Sometimes silly season just goes insane....two bits of weekend news for the viewing public. Accoriding to autoracing1.com, Michel Jourdain, Jr., who spent a fruitless year in the NASCAR Busch Series after several yrs. in ChampCar, is interested in returning, possibly with Forsythe Racing, and team sources indicate that there may be a head-to-head "shootout" btwn. Jourdain and Mario Dominguez for the second seat there. This should be interesting.

The second bit of news has implications for both the IRL and Champ Car. According to the Indianapolis Star newspaper, Panther Racing is close to a panic situation regarding where they'll be in 2006. While the team turned down a chance in mid-July to switch series, sources close to team co-owner John Barnes indicate that both the team and lead driver Tomas Scheckter are talking to several CC officials and teams. In addition, the team has all but given Scheckter permission to talk with both IRL and CC teams, which he has begun to do, most recently with Forsythe. Why does this have "implications" for both series? Panther Racing is considered by many in NA motorsports to be the gold standard of privateer teams, and if they switch allegiances, then George and Co. will have major problems.

[mlittle]

Here are the up-to-date ChampCar seat projections as of 7 Dec. 2005....

1}Newman-Haas Racing(2-3):Sebastien Bourdais, Oriol Servia, Bruno Junquiera. No changes at present.

2}PKV Racing(2): Jimmy Vasser(?), Cristiano Da Matta(?), Katherine Legge(?), Ryan Dalziel(?), Ryan Briscoe(?), Timo Glock(?), Darren Manning(?), Ryan Hunter-Reay(?), Wade Cunningham(?), Milka Duno(?). No changes at present; however, the upcoming tests at Sebring may clear up who will sit where in 2006. Also, there is still no word on whether 1996 champion Vasser will retire, so the seat projections' focus is still on this team for the moment.

3}Forsythe Championship Racing(2-3):Paul Tracy, Mario Dominguez, Rodalfo Lavin(?), Tomas Scheckter(?), Michel Jourdain, Jr.(?). The rumor mill is rife with talk that FCR may run their own "shootout" for Dominguez' seat, while they are still looking for sponsorship to run a third car for Lavin in 2006.

4}RuSport Racing(2):A.J. Allmendinger, Justin Wilson. No changes at present.

5}Rocketsports Racing(2): Michael McDowell, Timo Glock(?). No changes here at present.

6}CTE-HVM Racing(2):Ronnie Bremer, Fabrizio Del Monte(?), Bjorn Wirdheim(?), Homero Richards(?), Milka Duno(?). No changes at present.

7}MiJack-Conquest Racing(2):Nelson Phillipe, Andrew Ranger(?), Charles Zwolsman(?). With Zwolsman testing for Eric Bachelart's team in Sebring next week, Ranger's seat may be more open than it appears.

8}Team Australia(2-3):Will Power, Alex Tagliani, Michael Valiante(?), Matt Halliday(?), Darren Manning(?), Charles Zwolsman(?), Will Davison(?). The team confirmed that Power will be racing for them in 2006(he had signed a 3-yr. deal prior to Surfers'....), and Tagliani may join him for 2006, leaving a lot of drivers vieing for the third seat.

9}Dale Coyne Racing(2): Ricardo Sperafico(?), Michael Valiante(?), Luis Schiavo(?), Tarso Marques(?), Gaston Mazzacane(?). No changes at present.

10}EuroInternational(1): Enrico Toccacelo(?), Jan Heylen(?). No changes at present.

No of Confirmed Seats:7
No of Open Seats:15-18 seats(likely 13-16)