I haven't checked but I guess it comes from the fact that the venue harbours both an oval and a conventional road circuit.
Wow, looks like SeBas is getting used to the DP01 in the CCWS... I love how this sentence cannot make sense at all if one is not into motorsports !
Well, he got lucky. the PKV car would have won but he just didn't have enough fuel. That was obvious with abut 20 laps left though, so Bourdais might have been easing off and not risking a shunt to pass a guy who won't make it until the end anyway.
I haven't DLed the race yet (see above), but at least that means he's competitive on quite a constant basis. Many people (Team Australia's owner ?) were keen to see him struggle in order to have a point : Seb is not as strong as his past results tend to show...He was just in the team which had the best knowledge of the car. That said, it must help to race for Newman/Haas/Lanigan... Where in the world is Nelson Philippe ? It's paradoxical that he doesn't have a seat after the excellent season he had last year ! I read he was lurking around Toro Rosso...
Congrats to my boy Tony Kanaan getting the win in Japan. Anytime someone outside Penske/Ganassi wins is good, but I really like it when an underappreciated guy like Kanaan gets a win.
OK, apparently, from what I've read, it's the exact opposite of the Duno case. Papa Philippe has some troubles with his business and then no money mo' problems for Nelson...The paradigm works both ways : lack of money will leave a talented guy without a seat. The fact is it's too difficult to bring sponsors in the CCWS because there is not enough worldwide exposure and the price of the ticket is still expensive. Nelson also refuses to drive in GP2 which would be like a relegation for him. He has indeed approached Toro Rosso to be third driver, yet with Bourdais lurking around for next year, I don't see the pseudo italian outfit fielding two Frenchies. Bah, who knows ? His younger brother (Richard Philippe) is about to start in the World Series by Renault formula this year.
And with that, I think you have the reason there's been no merger. IndyCar, while not the biggest kid on the block, is still relatively healthy. ChampCar, on the other hand, seems to be dying a slow death, and I think its second death will be the big one. I'm betting Tony George is waiting on that, and will then simply scoop up the 10-12 healthy cars in a straight takeover, rather than being forced to treat Kalkhoven as something of an equal.
I'll be sad if CART goes. CART stands for proper motor racing, not the twaddle that Tony George's blow and whiskey ridden brain has dreamed up over the years.
Well, fortunately or unfortunately, according to your viewpoint, there really only is room for one open wheel circuit in the US. I would find it better if they merged, but that's not what's going to happen, I don't think.
If we have two North American open wheel series in ten years, neither will be healthy. IRL wold be more so, but both will not make for a compelling competition. If one folds, and some of the scraps goes over to the other series, then we have hope for a decent open wheel series again in ten years time.
Good news for Kanaan fans, pole position in Kansas. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/58415 Also, get ready for Duno. She'll start at the back of the field (where she can't hurt anyone right off.)
If only Danica's crew didn't screw up in the pits and push her out in front of Kanaan, he might have been in the hunt for his second straight win going into Indy.
After three practices at Indy it looks like Ganassi is in control. I'd have to say Wheldon is the early favorite to win the 500. Danica was surprisingly second quickest in practice 3. Qualfying starts tomorrow.
3 days till Indy. I head down Saturday afternoon. It's still my favorite weekend of the year. While I hope Kanaan wins, I don't see anyone being able to live with Wheldon once the race falls into a rhythm. That's Ok too, Wheldon is a class act.
I am willing to bet it's not Wheldon who wins. As good a driver as he is, he seems to be plagued with mistakes fairly often. I'll put my money on a somewhat dark horse: Marco Andretti.
Now seems like a good time for this question: Where are the two leagues going? It seems to me that the IRL is growing, albeit slowly, while Champ Car is going the opposite direction. Love to hear your opinions.
Champ Car is a mixed bag. Some successes here and there (the first two races they did well, and they are back on proper TV for all their races). But the series is struggling to put out enough cars most times. IRL is doing a little better, but the reasons for their success are basically founded on two things: 1) they have the Indy 500, which people will always pay attention to 2) Danicamania Once people figure out Danica isn't very good, they're screwed. They have no one else to market the series with.
Milka could be taking the place of Danica as the "bring in the horny guys" female driver. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/59192