2010 Indy Lights / Atlantics

[NaBUru38]

2010 Indy Lights calendar:

March 27-28 - St. Petersburg
April 10-11 - Barber
April 17-18 - Long Beach
May 28 - Indianapolis
June 19-20 - Iowa Speedway
July 3-4 - Watkins Glen
July 17-18 - Toronto
July 24-25 - Edmonton
August 7-8 - Mid-Ohio
August 21-22 - Sears Point
August 27-28 - Chicagoland
September 4-5 - Kentucky
October 1-2 - Homestead

All races are supporting the IndyCar Series, as usual. Barber is added, Kansas and Milwaukee are dropped, so now there are less ovals (five) than non-ovals (nine - four temporary circuits and four permanent road courses).

2010 Atlantic Championship calendar:

March 19 - Sebring (ALMS)
May 22 - Laguna Seca (ALMS)
May 29 - Lime Rock (Grand-Am Rolex / Koni)
June 20 - Mid-Ohio (Grand-Am Rolex / Koni)
June 26-27 - New Jersey (feature)
July 10 - Miller (ALMS)
July 24 - Lime Rock (ALMS)
July 31-August 1 - Autobahn (feature)
August 15 - Trois-Rivières (Grand-Am Koni)
October 1 - Road Atlanta (ALMS)

One more date may be added. I hope that the chosen one is Long Beach (April 17-18, IndyCar / ALMS), Road America (August 21-22, ALMS) or Mosport (August 28-29, ALMS). In fact, if the series was healthier, none of them should be missing. The Star Mazda and USF2000 National Championship will join the Atlantics in several rounds, as listed here.

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

2010 Atlantic Championship calendar:

[...]
May 29 - Lime Rock (Grand-Am Rolex / Koni)
June 20 - Mid-Ohio (Grand-Am Rolex / Koni)
[...]

One more date may be added. I hope that the chosen one is Long Beach (April 17-18, IndyCar / ALMS), Road America (August 21-22, ALMS) or Mosport (August 28-29, ALMS).

I've read that the 13th race might be at Montreal supporting the F1 Canadian GP!!! It will take place on June 12-13, and the city is close enough to Mid-Ohio for a four-day road travel, so it's as realistic as the other three tracks I mentioned brfore. Which one do you believe will be chosen? And which one do you believe deserves more the Atlantics?

[NaBUru38]

Reading this article on the Dallara Formulino, ...

The Dallara Formulino has arrived in North America!
December 15, 2009

The Dallara Formulino ("little Formula" in Italian) is an entry-level model in a range of Dallara cars that includes F3, WSR, GP2, Firestone Indy Lights and the IndyCar Series.
[...]
The car was tested on the Walt Disney World Speedway tri-oval and the Sebring International Raceway road course in November 2009, leaving IZOD IndyCar Series veteran Davey Hamilton impressed with what he saw.
[...]
“I think the most important thing about the car, for me having a kid coming up in this sport and having a big gap between go-karts and Indy Lights, is that this is the perfect car to fill that gap,” Hamilton said.
[...]
Dallara is pleased to be able to offer racing schools and potential entry level championship organizers a chance to get drivers of all ages racing in a Dallara product with the Formulino range.

... I've also found that the car "can accept a wide range of different engines, up 260 BHP and a maximum torque of 280NM". That's IFM and GP3 territory, or in other words, Atlantics territory. If the IRL took over the Atlantics...

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Reading this article on the Dallara Formulino, ...



... I've also found that the car "can accept a wide range of different engines, up 260 BHP and a maximum torque of 280NM". That's IFM and GP3 territory, or in other words, Atlantics territory. If the IRL took over the Atlantics...

The last thing we need is another overpriced european formula car/series in the USA.

[JOWT Blog]

Adam Christodoulou---the 2009 Star Mazda Champion---sampled an Atlantic car this week with Team Stargate Worlds at Buttonwillow.

[gomick]

Looking forward to seeing where Adam ends up in 2010 - been a good 2 years for him...

[Morris Dancer]

Has anyone heard anything about alleged financial troubles in Atlantic? Someone who knows a fair bit about these things told me he heard that the 2009 champion hasn't received his prizemoney yet.

[JagtechOhio]

2010 Schedule:

http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=6396

Writer Gordon Kirby talks to Eddie Wachs, who says he didn't get paid. He also says he wants to go Indy Car racing, and I doubt he'll find that money either.

http://www.gordonkirby.com/categorie..._is_no208.html

[Morris Dancer]

Hmmm ..... That ties in with what I was told. Mazda USA can't be happy about a series using its name being run like that.

[JagtechOhio]

No authority here, just a casual minor league observer:

It seems like a great idea to have a recognized stepping stone program for prospective professional drivers. The next thing I read is that someone has designed and is selling a state of the art chassis for F2000 competition.

So low budget drivers will now have to find finding for the best equipment to have a shot at being competitive, long before they will have a chance to climb the ladder.

Nothing new about that, but expecting this new "Road to Indy" to change the landscape seems pretty optimistic to me. If you don't have the bucks, you won't climb the ladder. If you do, there isn't much sense in wasting time on the lower rungs...buy your IndyLights ride and show what you got.

[Atle Gulbrandsen]

Any news about the Atlantic Championship for 2010?

Maybe it would be better for American Opel Wheel Racing to just have the Indy Lights as the main feeder series now?

There are too many championships already. But compared to Europe its fewer and better in the US, with a good ladder now from karting, Skip Barber, Formula 2000, Star Mazda, Indy Lights and Indy Car.

With a good ladder hopefully the IndyCar will have more American drivers in the future also.

[NaBUru38]

I still think that the performance gap between Star Mazda and Indy Lights is too big, and that the Atlantics are needed to bridge it.

[gomick]

Is Formula 2000 needed?

[NaBUru38]

I prefer to answer that here.

[dbar]

AFS Racing / Andretti Autosport: Charlie Kimball, Martin Plowman
Sam Schmidt Motorsports: Pippa Mann, Philip Major
Team Moore Racing: Junior Strous

[Marcel ten Caat]

Sebring test for last weekend was already moved to March and now the Atlantics seem to be off for the race weekend as well.

Event Results only show ALMS, GT3 Challenge, IMSA Lites and Star Mazda.

Anyone able to confirm whether or not Atlantic will race during the 12H week(end)?

[gomick]

Where did you here that the Sebring Atlantic race was off?

[Marcel ten Caat]

Did not say it was/is off...was just asking.

On http://imsaracing.net/ when you scroll down to "2010 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring" you will see that there is no longer any mentioning of the Atlantics under competitor information nor race results...

[gomick]

Ah ok, havent heard anything & Atlantics website doesnt mention anything either...

[runshaw]

Is Frankie Muniz planning on continuing in Atlantics?

[gomick]

He should & i presume he has his own money backing him - he is getting more competitive!

[runshaw]

Yeah he is indeed. I've followed him since he started in FBMW. His passion for the sport is awesome, I like the fact he has almost given up his hugely successful acting career to race! Its ashame he didn't complete the season in 09, he didn't look out of place mixing it with former GP2 driver Borja Garcia and the other good drivers in Atlantics. He says open-wheel racing is the best and most intense form of motor sport, and thinks NASCAR is a bit crap, I tend to agree on both points. Are US RaceTronics entering Atlantics again this year?

[Jay]

Haven't heard from Frankie in a while... but last I read he was hoping to go to Indycars next year (as are a million other people without a budget or prayer of actually getting there). Stargate is trying to setup an Indycar program for Simona next year as well.

Sadly, apart from Zach Veach signing and testing with Jensen, it's been a depressingly quiet Atlantic off-season.

This is amusing if you know who the Black Eyed Peas are though:
http://blackeyedpeas.dipdive.com/extrapages/13542

[NaBUru38]

Atlantics authorities have published two press releases this week: one about a season budget reduction to US$495,000, and another one about PR agency Theory Communication and Design being hired to "focus around public relations, marketing strategies, design work and event activation". Several facts can be read between lines: the championship is still active, their first race will be Sebring, and Atlantics drivers are on the "Road to F1", not "Road to Indy".

[Morris Dancer]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Atlantics authorities have published two press releases this week: one about a season budget reduction to US$495,000, and another one about PR agency Theory Communication and Design being hired to "focus around public relations, marketing strategies, design work and event activation". Several facts can be read between lines: the championship is still active, their first race will be Sebring, and Atlantics drivers are on the "Road to F1", not "Road to Indy".

Another interpretation is that the organisers (and I use the term loosely) have realised belatedly that they're up sh*t creek without a paddle.

They've failed to respond to the serious financial allegations in Gordon Kirby's story, and the "2010 rule book" link on the official website remains a one-page "Coming soon" PDF.

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, this once-excellent series looks like it's on course for an A1GP-style collapse - not that it would be any great loss because Formula Star Mazda seems to be a quite adequate 'junior development' category.