Indycar News & Rumors.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Conway to race at Detroit.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107756

[NaBUru38]

Please read the article!

Derrick Walker told Speedcafe.com in Indianapolis that the championship is seeking a local partner to return the class Down Under.

I think IndyCar needs an international portion of its schedule and we’re going to go that way

towards the end when the football cranks up you’re better off not being in the US

Ok, but then who watches the race?

[FordCosworthPanoz]

They dropped Japan what was arguably a successful event attendance-wise but teams always hated the event for various reasons.

Brazil is a paid-for trip. Works very well with fan interest and local drivers. South America should be considered an expanding point

Canada is failing and AOWR has gone from 3 events (Quebec, Toronto-Ontario, and Edmonton-Western Market) to 1 and in a metropolitan area of over 2 and a half million people draws 20,000 with more grandstands being removed.

Qingdao was an epic fail, for Indycar that is, why have an overpriced and overvalued second-rate motor race when you have one of the most awesome-looking beer festivals on the planet. Thankfully the New Mayor had somewhat of a brain. Although I remember 2 users on this forum telling me what a success Qingdao would be because of it's European influences.

Australia? What are the Options? Is the 'local partner' the local governments? Who else is going to pay up. Maybe 20 years ago Bob Jane, but who has the money? Is Tony George going to buy the Thunderdome and save that as well?


Where are all these International races going to come from? One thing that ISN'T going to happen is the IRL LLC reducing CART-esque overvalued sanctioning fees which severely hampers their circuit and venue selection so that Indycar is currently racing in Baltimore and Detroit but not Road America and Laguna Seca.

[Down F0rce]

Hildebrand and Panther split up, effective immediately:

http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=56642

Look for Oriol Servia to take over for the time being at least.

[Canada ALMS fan]

I wonder if Barnes paid him or if JR will have to sue?

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Hildebrand and Panther split up, effective immediately:

http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=56642

Look for Oriol Servia to take over for the time being at least.

I read somewhere recently that the staff on the #4 car sets it up and tells the driver to drive it as they give it to him. I wonder if that is true, and I wonder if it is a lack of performance that has put J.R. into the unemployment line.

I'll be very glad to see Oriol remain in the series, but it does hurt to lose a young American who needs track time to continue his development. Another frustration is that a car with a very American sponsor won't be driven by an American driver. It's not a big deal, but if you're trying to promote American drivers, who better than the National Guard (or Boy Scouts of America, Dale Coyne) to sponsor an American driver?

Chris

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Servia better watch out, the Grim Career Reaper may come back to bite him.

Scheckter, Meira, Wheldon and now Hildebrand wow, although I can't blame Barnes for his latest firing. If rumors are true John Barnes is a total scumbag, wonder if this ends up in court.

[Down F0rce]

Nope! Ryan Briscoe gets the nod for Detroit:

http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=56643

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Nope! Ryan Briscoe gets the nod for Detroit:

http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=56643

Well, good for Ryan, bad for Oriol. Or possibly good for Oriol, bad for Ryan...

If I were to come into a lot of money in the next couple years I would buy Newman/Haas put Oriol and JR in the cockpit and try to surround them with competent, flexible, team players in the engineering staff.

Chris

Edit: of course, if someone knows the inside story from Panther, do tell.

[Canada ALMS fan]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Nope! Ryan Briscoe gets the nod for Detroit:

http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=56643

Good to see. He there anyways to race for Level 5 in the ALMS. Interesting to note that it is a single race deal for the time being. I would really like to see Servia back as well.

[bjohnsonsmith]

Autosports's take

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107774

[Lanky Turtle]

Always somewhat of a surprise to see a driver replaced midseason, but otherwise not a surprise at all. The team was really behind J.R. after Indy 2011 but now 2 years later I guess they've had enough. The lap 4 crash couldn't have helped this past weekend but running over Will during the caution at St. Pete probably set this in motion.

[Fiorentina 1]

I can't imagine Briscoe doing any better in that car. At the end of the day, he was 3rd best Penske driver last year. It could be that being an ex-Penske driver, he'll have knowledge to some Penske tricks, and maybe that's why they hired him.

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

Always somewhat of a surprise to see a driver replaced midseason, but otherwise not a surprise at all. The team was really behind J.R. after Indy 2011 but now 2 years later I guess they've had enough. The lap 4 crash couldn't have helped this past weekend but running over Will during the caution at St. Pete probably set this in motion.

Originally Posted by Fiorentina 1

I can't imagine Briscoe doing any better in that car. At the end of the day, he was 3rd best Penske driver last year. It could be that being an ex-Penske driver, he'll have knowledge to some Penske tricks, and maybe that's why they hired him.

Did John Barnes have a connection to Penske in the early 90's pre-Panther?

As far as J.R. getting canned, he is not without fault in the matter and the team did stand behind him for quite a long time. I wonder if the 2011 Indy was a catastrophic moment for him, something so shattering that he can't get his career back on track.

There is no doubt, watching onboard videos - like the one Marshall Pruett posted on speed.com following the Barber race, that the cars he is driving - particularly on road and street courses are terribly set up. I had hoped that the Panther/DRR partnership would help solve that, particularly with Oriol acting as a mentor for J.R. And yet the cars never seemed to improve, and Panther has been downright second or third tier for years - years before J.R. started driving for them.

But by the same token J.R. hasn't shown much improvement since joining the team. Running over Will Power at St. Pete was downright embarrassing and his self-inflicted DNF this past weekend was a face-palm "I can't believe you just did that again, J.R." moment. The guy seems to be his own worst enemy on the race track. I hope he gets picked up by someone and put in a positive environment where he can grow.

Not to pick on Panther, which I already have by accusing them of setting the car up terribly and not bending to driver inputs, but I think they also expect results at a certain point, particularly with a sponsor as significant as the National Guard. Put J.R. in the SFHR team, where there is a can-do spirit and clearly a positive environment that promotes the growth of young drivers and you could see J.R. recover. We desperately need not only the next Rick Mears, Mario Andretti or A.J. Foyt, but we need the next Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, Scott Pruett, and Robby Gordon. Guys who could compete at the front of the grid on a regular basis, even if they aren't super stars or don't have their faces on the BorgWarner trophy.

I mean to sound like someone who is blindly clambering for American drivers, because clearly this is a country that can get behind foreign drivers quite easily. Some of the biggest stars in IndyCar history are Brazilian, Italian, English, and Scottish. But we do like to root for home-grown kids, too. There is something cool about Americans dotting the top 10 in points (and winning Nation's Cups) the way Al Jr., Michael, Bobby Rahal, Scott Pruett, Robby Gordon, Bryan Herta, and Jimmy Vasser did for most of the (very international) 1990s.

Chris

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Jonerz

Did John Barnes have a connection to Penske in the early 90's pre-Panther?

As far as J.R. getting canned, he is not without fault in the matter and the team did stand behind him for quite a long time. I wonder if the 2011 Indy was a catastrophic moment for him, something so shattering that he can't get his career back on track.

There is no doubt, watching onboard videos - like the one Marshall Pruett posted on speed.com following the Barber race, that the cars he is driving - particularly on road and street courses are terribly set up. I had hoped that the Panther/DRR partnership would help solve that, particularly with Oriol acting as a mentor for J.R. And yet the cars never seemed to improve, and Panther has been downright second or third tier for years - years before J.R. started driving for them.

But by the same token J.R. hasn't shown much improvement since joining the team. Running over Will Power at St. Pete was downright embarrassing and his self-inflicted DNF this past weekend was a face-palm "I can't believe you just did that again, J.R." moment. The guy seems to be his own worst enemy on the race track. I hope he gets picked up by someone and put in a positive environment where he can grow.

Not to pick on Panther, which I already have by accusing them of setting the car up terribly and not bending to driver inputs, but I think they also expect results at a certain point, particularly with a sponsor as significant as the National Guard. Put J.R. in the SFHR team, where there is a can-do spirit and clearly a positive environment that promotes the growth of young drivers and you could see J.R. recover. We desperately need not only the next Rick Mears, Mario Andretti or A.J. Foyt, but we need the next Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, Scott Pruett, and Robby Gordon. Guys who could compete at the front of the grid on a regular basis, even if they aren't super stars or don't have their faces on the BorgWarner trophy.

I mean to sound like someone who is blindly clambering for American drivers, because clearly this is a country that can get behind foreign drivers quite easily. Some of the biggest stars in IndyCar history are Brazilian, Italian, English, and Scottish. But we do like to root for home-grown kids, too. There is something cool about Americans dotting the top 10 in points (and winning Nation's Cups) the way Al Jr., Michael, Bobby Rahal, Scott Pruett, Robby Gordon, Bryan Herta, and Jimmy Vasser did for most of the (very international) 1990s.

Chris

Is it the team that cannot set up the car, or the pilot unable to share his thoughts about how the vehicle handles, and not able to articulate a development direction?

[marcostraz]

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

Hildebrand and Panther split up, effective immediately:

http://www.pantherracing.com/news/index.cfm?cid=56642

Look for Oriol Servia to take over for the time being at least.

I'm disappointed, because I think Hildebrand is one of the most talented young drivers...I hope and I'm sure he'll find a new ride soon...

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Is it the team that cannot set up the car, or the pilot unable to share his thoughts about how the vehicle handles, and not able to articulate a development direction?

That is a question I don't have an answer to, but as FCP said above, Scheckter, Meira, Wheldon and J.R. are the problem? Boy, Panther has had some bad luck hiring drivers over the last decade.

Chris

[bjohnsonsmith]

Originally Posted by Jonerz

That is a question I don't have an answer to, but as FCP said above, Scheckter, Meira, Wheldon and J.R. are the problem? Boy, Panther has had some bad luck hiring drivers over the last decade.

Chris

In the case of Dan Wheldon, I'd disagree; his record speaks for itself. If you look at the history of Panther racing, their best years were in 2000 with Scott Goodyear second in the IRL championship and Sam Hornish jr. wining it in 2001 and 2002. After that they were plagued by a combination of an uncompetitive engine and loss of sponsors. They had a slight resurgence in 2009 with Vitor Meira's 2nd place at Indy followed by Dan Wheldon's second place at Indy in 2010 and 2011 but that's a long way off from what it was.

[Jonerz]

Originally Posted by bjohnsonsmith

In the case of Dan Wheldon, I'd disagree; his record speaks for itself. If you look at the history of Panther racing, their best years were in 2000 with Scott Goodyear second in the IRL championship and Sam Hornish jr. wining it in 2001 and 2002. After that they were plagued by a combination of an uncompetitive engine and loss of sponsors. They had a slight resurgence in 2009 with Vitor Meira's 2nd place at Indy followed by Dan Wheldon's second place at Indy in 2010 and 2011 but that's a long way off from what it was.

I'd suggest that there is a problem within Panther. Of course, they have never been particularly successful against the onslaught of CART-level teams. But there was a lot of cross-pollination of engineers and such even during the split, and especially since the two series have become one. At the end of the day, and not being an insider, I still tend to err on the side of something within Panther being the problem, not the man in the driver's seat.

Chris

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Dutton

A shame we couldn't just return to the Gold Coast. A known, popular, ergo successful, formula. Why complicate matters with the grief creating a new circuit entails? Money, of course, and it is understandable that the government is reducing its spending on present events there (let alone shell out for a new one). Oh, well.

I haven't been to the GC since all that ended but my understanding is construction has made the old circuit not a possibility anymore.

The A1GP debacle pretty much sealed the end after tony george personally told the QLD government and everyone else there they sucked and they didn't need them, despite the fact all the bills were paid for the series to go there, plus the sanctioning fee.

The Australia bit is just whimsical dreaming of the past when the series was in demand. The demand, interest and money to bring the indy racing league there does not exist unless there is some sort of miracle.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Canada ALMS fan

I wonder if Barnes paid him or if JR will have to sue?

Since he was probably getting paid circus peanuts, I doubt that will be much of an issue.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

The A1GP debacle pretty much sealed the end after tony george personally told the QLD government and everyone else there they sucked and they didn't need them, despite the fact all the bills were paid for the series to go there, plus the sanctioning fee.

All the bills weren't in fact paid for however why let that get in the way of your story

The contract was for 18 cars with champ car not the 26 or how many ever showed in 2008. That was the issue

[HJJ]

Aero kit update.

http://blogs.indystar.com/racingexpe...is-first-pole/

[one five five]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

All the bills weren't in fact paid for however why let that get in the way of your story

The contract was for 18 cars with champ car not the 26 or how many ever showed in 2008. That was the issue

And also while the Surfers date was acceptable to ChampCar, it did not fit in with the IRLs plans for that time of the year... a shame for sure, but thats life and both parties understood each others position.

As you mention DRT, facts would spoil the chance for a bash at any opening from some who forget that all this is years in the past, get over it. We have what we have, the world ain't going to suddenly revert to 1995 when we wake up tomorrow...

Originally Posted by FAS33

V8SC make tens of millions every year, they should fund it themselves

V8SC certainly does not make tens of millions every year, they can't even make enough money this year to pay the REC holders even a dollar!

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Is it the team that cannot set up the car, or the pilot unable to share his thoughts about how the vehicle handles, and not able to articulate a development direction?

I'm going to go ahead and say it's not the MIT educated driver who earned his way into IndyCar and has driven a multitude of cars on many different continents.