The Atlantic Championship--A Racing Legacy

[mlittle]

Yeah, I get that problem, too...every so often.

[Julian Mayo]

Now it keeps opening that URL !!

[mlittle]

Yeah, here too!

[mlittle]

According to sources inside & outside of the CC paddock, current IRL team, Rahal-Letterman Racing, could be headed back to the Atlantic Championship in 2006. The team, which fielded a two-car entry in 2004, is planning to field a one-car ride for current Star Mazda Series racer Graham Rahal, who recently became the youngest SCCA Championship Runoffs winner, winning the Formula Atlantic class(which, thirty yrs. before, his father, Bobby Rahal, won as well{then-known as Formula B}) and consistantly finishing with top-5's in Star Mazda. The expectations are that Graham will compete in Atlantics in 2006 and possibly(according to the same sources w/in the paddock) compete in a one or two-car RLR effort in ChampCar in 2007. My question is this...if Rahal-Letterman Racing does field a CCWS team in 2007, and Graham is in one of the two seats...which of his three IndyCar Series drivers would be in the second?

[mlittle]

Swiss Formula 3 racer Tobias Blaettler tested for Condor Motorsports Oct. 12th at Buttonwillow Raceway in California. The Swiss racer, who currently races in the Formula 3 series in Europe, tested a Swift 014.a that was driven by 2005 Atlantic champion Charles Zwolsman for most of the day Wednesday. Here are quotes from both Blaettler and team owner Calos Bobeda....

Tobias Blaettler.....

I am really excited to test with Condor Motorsports. As 2005 Toyota Atlantic champions, I have the very best team on my side. It is the perfect opportunity to experience driving an Atlantic car in the USA. I want to thank both Carlos Bobeda of Condor Motorsports as well as my management team at Mackay Marketing Group for making this possible.

Carlos Bobeda, Owner, Condor Motorsports.....

Tobias did an excellent job for us. We had only available one day, but Tobias quickly adjusted to the higher downforce and more physical ride of a Toyota Atlantic car as opposed to an F3 car. The car was well sorted so Tobias quickly got down to competitive times in a very few number of laps. He will be a formidable challenger in the new Atlantic series should he decide to race here next year.

If he does decide to compete, he will have some big shoes to fill, for he'll be replacing 2005 champion Charles Zwolsman if "the Flying Dutchman" can land a ChampCar ride for 2006.

[mlittle]

With all the on(and-off)-track activity during the race weekend at Surfers Paradise, this news items nearly escaped....Team Australia announced that the first of their two Atlantic Championship drivers will be Australian James Davison, from Melbourne. When asked about getting the opportunity to drive for TA, Davison replied,

It was a dream of mine to race in the Champ Car World Series and now I am one step closer and I am looking forward to the challenge. There are more realistic opportunities in the USA compared to Europe and I like the American philosophy of motor racing. When Team Australia first entered into Champ Car it was very exciting. It is the concept Australian motor sport has been crying out for.

[mlittle]

Add legendary actor and CCWS team co-owner Paul Newman to the list of persons fielding new Atlantics teams for 2006 in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship as he and former racer Eddie Wachs will create a new Atlantics team, Newman-Wachs Racing, to run in the series. For Newman, it renews a long-standing friendship with Wachs, as the two raced in the former Can-Am Series in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Here are some quotes from the two, first Newman and then Wachs.

Paul Newman, Co-Owner, Newman-Haas Racing:

This is an exciting time in the Atlantic series and we're happy that our team can be a part of it. We'll obviously be focused on driver development, bringing a keen interest and expressed desire to train and groom the next champions in our sport.

Eddie Wachs, Co-Owner, Newman-Wachs Racing:

This effort is an opportunity for us all to give something back to the sport in the development of new drivers. There's a lot of knowledge on this team and we want to be able to share that knowledge pass on the torch to up-and-coming racers.

The team expects to name its' drivers later this year, with testing in current Toyota-Swifts to commence in early Jan. 2006, progressing on to the 2006-spec Cosworth-Swifts later on.

[mlittle]

According to sources inside & outside of the CC paddock, current IRL team, Rahal-Letterman Racing, could be headed back to the Atlantic Championship in 2006. The team, which fielded a two-car entry in 2004, is planning to field a one-car ride for current Star Mazda Series racer Graham Rahal, who recently became the youngest SCCA Championship Runoffs winner, winning the Formula Atlantic class(which, thirty yrs. before, his father, Bobby Rahal, won as well{then-known as Formula B}) and consistantly finishing with top-5's in Star Mazda. The expectations are that Graham will compete in Atlantics in 2006 and possibly(according to the same sources w/in the paddock) compete in a one or two-car RLR effort in ChampCar in 2007. My question is this...if Rahal-Letterman Racing does field a CCWS team in 2007, and Graham is in one of the two seats...which of his three IndyCar Series drivers would be in the second?

Scratch that idea. According to autoracing1.com, it apperas as though Graham Rahal, who recently finished 4th in the 2005 Star Mazda Series championship, will be driving for an existing Atlantics team, and not under his father's team. Graham recently tested both a 2003 & 2004-spec Toyota/Swift Atlantic car and a Sam Schmidt Mtrspts. Dallara/Infiniti IPS car over the past week-to-ten days, and is expected to announce which team in the Atlantic Championship series he will be driving for in 2006.

[mlittle]

In an effort to become one of the new up-and-coming Atlantic Championship teams in 2006, Gelles Racing officials announced plans to expand their team's offices in Indianapolis, Ind. while maintaining their existing offices in Front Royal, Va. According to team sources, the team will be testing several drivers for not just their Atlantics team but for their Formula BMW-USA team. In the words of team owner Bob Gelles, "We have never been this busy during the off-season. We needed to be close to the action with our new Atlantics program and Indianapolis was the best choice. The team also announced that Tim Jennings will run the team's Atlantic effort from Indy, saying that, "With two locations, we needed someone who could manage two racing programs and Tim Jennings became the logical chocie as our on-site Vice President of Operations. Tim has a wealth of experience as a driver, coach and manager and proves a valuable addition to our team. He is supervising the outfitting of both facilities. With the high-quality support infrastructure we purchased from Mo Nunn and (Rick) Treadway, our Atlantic team will have a solid base to work with. We will be ready when the new cars roll into the shop next March."

Over the next several months the team will be testing at places such as Virginia Intl Raceway(Alton, Va.), Barber Mtrspts. Park(Birmingham, Ala.), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca(Monterey, Ca.), and Road Atlanta(Braselton, Ga.). As to who will be in their Atlantics' cars for 2006.....stay tuned.

[mlittle]

When the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship begins at Long Beach in April, chances are good that Renault World Series driver Simon Pagenaud will be on the grid that day. The Frenchman, who narrowly lost the 2004 Renault Eurocup title to 2006 Toro Rosso driver Scott Speed, recently tested a Condor Motorsports 2005-spec Toyota/Swift at Buttonwillow Raceway in California and got high marks from everyone present. Currently managed by former Champ Car driver Nicolas Minassian, Pagenaud said the opportunites in North America were a major part of the reason he is looking for an Atlantics ride in 2006...

It is difficult in Europe because if you are trying to get to Formula One, it isn't just how much talent you have that matters. The new Atlantics package is very appealing to me because there will be a lot of very talented drivers and good teams, so it will be a good place for me to show my skills and learn the tracks.

Condor Mtrspts. owner Carlos Bobeda added to those sentiments as well....

Simon provided us with abundant and precise feedback. He worked very well with his engineer and was also very easy on the equipment. His times were very fast right away, and he kept finding more speed every time he went out. Post-test inspection of the car showed a perfectly preserved gearbox, with no traces of overreving. We would love to include Simon in our 2006 driver lineup.

In his interview, Pagenaud credited fellow Frenchman, and 2-time Champ Car series champion Sebastien Bourdais with opening a lot of doors for European drivers to get into the North American feeder series', and he also said he would announce his 2006 plans after the Christmas holidays.

[mlittle]

CCAC officials announced today the 2006 Atlantic schedule, as the series begins a new era of operation. For the second straight year, the schedule contains no ovals, but there will be at least one doubleheader on the program. Here is the 2006 schedule(the season finale still TBA)....

NOTE:all Atlantic races will coincide with the ChampCar schedule

Rd. 1--Long Beach
Rd. 2--Monterrey, Mex.
Rd. 3--Houston, Tx.
Rd. 4--Portland, Ore.
Rds. 5 & 6--Cleveland, Ohio
Rd. 7--Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rd. 8--Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Rd. 9--San Jose, Cal.
Rd. 10--Denver, Col.
Rd. 11--Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Rd. 12--TBA(*)

*--to be announced by early October

This week, the Champ Car Atlantic Championship schedule was finished as Road America will be the site for the 2006 season finale. The race is scheduled for Sept. 24. I'll post the full schedule w/dates attached to each round later this week.

[mlittle]

Rd. 1.(9 April)--Long Beach
Rd. 2(13 May)--Houston
Rd. 3(21 May)--Monterrey, Mexico
Rd. 4(18 June)--Portland
Rd. 5(24 June)--Cleveland I
Rd. 6(25 June)--Cleveland II
Rd. 7(9 July)--Toronto
Rd. 8(23 July)--Edmonton
Rd. 9(30 July)--San Jose
Rd. 10(13 August)--Denver
Rd. 11(27 August)--Montreal
Rd. 12(24 Sept.)--Road America

[mlittle]

Over the past 13 years the Gorsline Company has provided a scholarship program for aspiring drivers who "consistantly displays the exceptional talent and a professional respect for motorsport", helping drivers develop the on-and-off track talents needed to enhance their respective careers. This year's recipient, Atlantic Championship driver Katherine Legge, is no exception. With three wins in the series in 2005 and a third-place overall finish, she was awarding the prestigious Gorsline Scholarship, joining former Atlantic competitors Bryan Herta, Anthony Lazzaro, Buddy Rice, David Besnard, Bryan Sellars, Rocky Moran, Jr. and Danica Patrick. The award was presented to Legge by British racing legend Sir Stirling Moss at the Autosport Magazine Awards banquet in London, England this past weekend, and gives the 25-year English native the opportunity to participate in two driver development programs during 2006. The programs, the Speed Secrets and Lyn St. James driver development programs, are designed to help enhance a driver's development through mental/physical workshops, coaching and mentoring specifically tailored to each driver's career enhancement.

[Julian Mayo]

Geez, whatever happened to just getting into a car and driving it like it was stolen

[mlittle]

That works as well. Just ask Bourdais after he and Tracy tapped wheels at Vegas.

All kidding aside, though, the racing world today's a lot different for drivers today than it was for drivers in the past. Yeah, you still have to "drive it like you stole' it", but....with all the media demands, sponsor & team commitments, etc., it does pay to get every advantage possible; you never know when it will help.