CHAMP CAR DRIVERS ANNOUNCED FOR SERIES
12/3/2004 16:56 (Press Release) -
An exciting mix of Champ Car experience and talent will strike the Gold Coast from October 21 to 24 for the Lexmark Indy 300, it was announced this week at the Champ Car World Series Season Launch in Long Beach, California.
Following the unveiling of the Champ Car World Series calendar earlier in the week, a host of drivers were introduced to fans and media as the group set to campaign their 750 horsepower turbocharged Champ Cars through five countries and 16 rounds in 2004.
With more drivers set to be announced over the coming weeks before round one in Long Beach on April 18, the current confirmed group for 2004 includes:
HERDEZ COMPETITION
Mario Dominguez - Mexico
ROCKETSPORTS RACING
Alex Tagliani - Canada
Nelson Philippe - France
FORSYTHE RACING
Paul Tracy - Canada
Patrick Carpentier - Canada
Rodolfo Lavin - Mexico
PKV RACING
Jimmy Vasser - USA
Roberto Gonzalez - Mexico
FERNANDEZ RACING
Adrian Fernandez - Mexico
NEWMAN/HAAS RACING
Bruno Junqueira - Brazil
Sebastian Bourdais - France
TEAM RAHAL
Michel Jourdain Jr - Mexico
RUSPORT
A.J Allmendinger - USA
Rocketsports Racing unveiled its expanded two-car effort with returning Canadian veteran Alex Tagliani, who will team with 17-year-old prodigy Nelson Philippe of France. When Philippe takes the green flag in the first round at Long Beach, he will better Michel Jourdain's record of being the youngest driver to ever contest a Champ Car race - a record Jourdain set when he broke into the series as a 19-year-old rookie.
Forsythe Racing confirmed that defending champion Paul Tracy would return to the squad, but this time running with the number 1, signifying his championship win last year. Fellow Canadian and Tracy's 2003 stablemate Patrick Carpentier will drive with the team again in 2004, along with second year pilot Rodolfo Lavin of Mexico, who makes the move across from Walker Racing.
PKV Racing unveiled a pair of NII Holdings-sponsored machines for 1996 series champion Jimmy Vasser and Mexican rookie Roberto Gonzalez. With the announcement, Vasser joins Mexican driver Adrian Fernandez (Fernandez Racing) as the series' only owner/drivers this year. The team formerly known as PK Racing expands to two cars this season under the PKV banner, with Vasser claiming a stake in the team with high tech industrialist Dan Pettit.
Herdez Competition confirmed its entry for third-year pilot and 2002 Gold Coast winner Mario Dominguez of Mexico, while Team Rahal has pinned its championship hopes on third year driver Michel Jourdain Jr.
Newman/Haas Racing showed off a brace of Lolas for Bruno Junqueira (PacifiCare) and Sebastien Bourdais (McDonald's). The latter agreement is a three-year pact for the team, which had the fastfood giant on board for three races last year. McDonald's is using the cooperative branding between Newman's Own salad dressing of team co-owner Paul Newman to help increase sales through Champ Car.
New team RuSPORT has joining the Champ Car World Series after a single year in Toyota Atlantic where they managed to take the title with ladder-climbing A.J. Allmendinger. Both RuSPORT and Allmendinger have completed the ascent to Champ Car, bringing sponsorship with BG Products, a lubricants company. Allmendinger has personal sponsorship with Red Bull, and will wear their familiar red, yellow, blue logo on his helmet.
Other key news from the Champ Car World Series Season Launch:
1. CHAMP CAR PILOTS GET EXTRA BOOST TO PASS
In an effort to make for more competition on the race track and to increase passing opportunities for the drivers, the Champ Car World Series and Cosworth Racing announced that they have developed a 'push-to-pass' mechanism for the Ford-Cosworth XFE racing engines in 2004.
The innovation will give drivers a chance to increase their boost from 41.5 to 44 inches of mercury with the push of a button, a system that will give them an extra 50 horsepower per use. The drivers will have the ability to use the increased boost for a total of 60 seconds per race, a time that is equivalent to five applications on the average main straightaway of a Champ Car circuit.
To allow fans and television viewers the opportunity to recognise how the drivers are using the new system, the Champ Car television production crew will monitor each time that the system is used, letting fans know how much time each driver has remaining in his boost reserve.
2. RACE TO CONSTRUCT A ROCKETSHIP
The Champ Car World Series has launched into the stratosphere, as the series becomes the presenting sponsor of the captivating X PRIZE - an international contest that will reward a $10 million purse to a design team for developing a spacecraft capable of putting three humans into space.
It is no coincidence that a Champ Car World Series driver refers to his car as a rocketship on those weekends when he and his team find themselves at the head of the pack. The similarity between Champ Cars and rockets is more than just a driver catch phrase, as the 750hp turbocharged race cars have evolved into machines that utilise numerous state-of-the-art aerodynamic devices to keep the cars racing for the checkered flag instead of the stars.
Started in 1996, the X PRIZE of $10 million will be awarded to the first private team that can finance, construct and launch an aircraft that can carry three passengers in a flight that reaches 62 miles (100 km) and return safely to land - and then repeat the feat two weeks later. There are currently 27 teams from seven countries that are building crafts for this competition, which ends January 1, 2005.
3. NEW TELEVISION PRODUCTION COMPANY FOR CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES
The Champ Car World Series will have a different look and feel to its television broadcasts in 2004 after contracting New York industry stalwarts Betelgeuse Productions to produce its television package.
A strong force in the television production industry with 23 years of experience, Betelgeuse has won more than 40 Emmy Awards for its work. One of the most respected post-production studios in television, Betelgeuse Productions has a long-standing sports pedigree, having done production work for the NBA and the NFL including producing the opening for Super Bowl XXVIII.
Betelgeuse Productions is concentrating its years of experience on improving the viewing experience for Champ Car race fans by focusing on developing compelling on-track action, better understanding of the drivers, the teams and their crews throughout the season. Even the fans will be getting in the act during this Champ Car World Series season.
Release Date: 12/03/2004
Lexmark Indy 300
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