2004 OWRS Champ Car Line-Up ?!?!

[zerO]

Line-up update:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
3. NEWMAN/HAAS - Michel Jourdain
4. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
5. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
6. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
7. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. COYNE - Michael Keohane or Justin Wilson ?
9. COYNE - Ralph Firman or Jaime Melo ?
10. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
11. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
12. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
13. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
14. WALKER - Justin Wilson or Mario Haberfeld or Jonathan Macri ?
15. BACHELART - Mario Haberfeld or Patrick Carpentier ?
16. FITTIPALDI - Mika Salo or Oriol Servia or Mario Haberfeld ?
17. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger

Possibles:

18. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
19. BACHELART - Townsend Bell or Justin Wilson ?
20. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Ricardo Sperafico ?
21. RUSSO - Michael Valiante or Jonathan Macri ?
22. HEMELGARN - Robby McGehee or Ralph Firman ?

So, overall 17 cars are visible at the moment and even Robin Miller has changed his tune - had said last night that he does see the 18 promised cars emerge... but who will become the 18th car ??? - my opinion: a second Conquest car for either Carpentier or Wilson, the others are complete longshots... unless Sigma enters the picture...

btw, updated picturesque version = http://www.planet.nl/~f1/cart2k4.htm - note: "confirmed" is in black ?!

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[Brian W Keske]

I think what Robin inferred was that he believes they could get 18 as long as they are willing to 'team buy' with guy's like Hemelgarn.

Hemelgarn has no funding to come to Champ Car, as he had none in the IRL, so how do you think he all of a sudden gets interested?

$$$$$$$$

If these owners want 18 on the grid, they will have to pay for it. But time is running short, and some of these guy's are going to be 'duct taping' these operations together pretty soon.

Desperation is fairly evident to me.

I only see maybe 13 really confirmed.

[Amar7605]

Keep in mind that we still have about a month to go. IMHO, things every entry will be finalized within the next 2 to three weeks.

[indycool]

Agree, Brian....there's 13 confirmed.

Regardless of whether or not they cut some deal with Hemelgarn -- the others -- Coyne, Bachelart, Fittipaldi and Walker, if they field cars, will be "paid-for" entries. Probably a second RuSport, too, if come.

IMO, they'll cut the best deals they can to get to 18, then the dealin's done. Would ALSO imagine that the initial deals will be for Long Beach only to start with. They aren't just going to lay out "season" money in advance.

Another element is the purse. Gentilozzi has said all along that the purses would be larger to compensate for no ESP. Haven't seen or heard of any purse breakdown being announced yet which would reflect that.

[429CJ]

Now it's official - Mika Salo won't drive on Fittipaldi or any other Champ Car team this season - Fernandez and Rahal leaving the series had something to do with the decision - he lost his faith on the series.

[Ac.]

Originally posted by Brian W Keske
If these owners want 18 on the grid, they will have to pay for it. But time is running short, and some of these guy's are going to be 'duct taping' these operations together pretty soon.

Desperation is fairly evident to me.

Sounds pretty reminiscent of the first five or six seasons that the IRL ran. Series owner pays for teams to run...ram anyone who fit$ into the seat...hey buddy can you pick up a wrench? Ok, you're the chief mechanic...

Who cares how it gets done! The IRL had its supporters when it was in its infancy, and they stuck with it until it found some success. OWRS has problems right now. So be it. True fans of the series will endure the hard times in the hope that they will be there for the return to greatness.

Ac - No need to attack other members. And it's not up to any one of us to decide who is a "true fan" and who isn't.
- Greg

[Dov]

I agree 100% Ac. and Honda/Toyota are still shelling out $$$$ for SOME teams to run in the IRL!!!

[Dov]

Originally posted by 429CJ
Now it's official - Mika Salo won't drive on Fittipaldi or any other Champ Car team this season - Fernandez and Rahal leaving the series had something to do with the decision - he lost his faith on the series.

Where did you hear that about Mika Salo?

[BSchneiderFan]

And where does it leave Salo, career-wise?

[Ac.]

If it's true that Salo won't be back it will be a real loss. Does anyone have a link to support the rumour?

[corkholio]

Originally posted by 429CJ
Now it's official - Mika Salo won't drive on Fittipaldi or any other Champ Car team this season - Fernandez and Rahal leaving the series had something to do with the decision - he lost his faith on the series.

I would think it has more to do with KK tossing Salo's ski buddy CP aside than anything else.

[zerO]

Line-up update:

Tidbits: Mika Salo is out of the picture - went to look around in LMES (alongside JV), Oriol Servia is now vying for a ride in Rahal's second IRL entry, and (finally) the "Jourdain to RuSPORT" rumor is gaining ground - the "ChampCar Troika" want to stick him there since NHR isn't really ready for a three car expansion - funny thing is that neither Jourdain nor Gigante want to go to RuSPORT, also rumor is that Patrick Carpentier will most likely land with Conquest - either instead of Mario Haberfeld or in their second car ?!

1. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
2. FORSYTHE - Rodlofo Lavin
3. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
4. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
5. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
6. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
7. COYNE - Michael Keohane or Justin Wilson ?
8. COYNE - Ralph Firman or Jaime Melo ?
9. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
10. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
11. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
12. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
13. WALKER - Justin Wilson or Mario Haberfeld or Jonathan Macri ?
14. BACHELART - Mario Haberfeld or Patrick Carpentier ?
15. FITTIPALDI - Christian Fittipaldi or Mario Haberfeld ?
16. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger

Possibles:

17. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
18. NEWMAN/HAAS - Michel Jourdain
19. BACHELART - Townsend Bell or Justin Wilson ?
20. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Ricardo Sperafico ?
21. RUSSO - Michael Valiante or Michel Jourdain ?
22. HEMELGARN - Robby McGehee or Ralph Firman ?

btw, updated picturesque version = http://www.planet.nl/~f1/cart2k4.htm - note: "confirmed" is in black ?!

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[indycool]

Fittipaldi, Bachelart and Walker haven't announced anything yet, other than Patrick's IRL program will be run out of Walker's shop. Fittipaldi, to my knowledge, has no shop and no team yet. Are the first 16 supposed to be confirmed?

[Muzza]

I can confirm that Fittipaldi has no team set yet (update of today, March 22nd, morning).

[zerO]

Originally posted by indycool
Fittipaldi, Bachelart and Walker haven't announced anything yet, other than Patrick's IRL program will be run out of Walker's shop. Fittipaldi, to my knowledge, has no shop and no team yet. Are the first 16 supposed to be confirmed?

Emmo's and Walker's teams are being put together at the moment, just as Coyne's and Bachelart's two car teams are - whether all of them will materialize is yet to be seen, but - being the optimist that I am, I've listed them in the group with confirmed ones... to see who really is confirmed check = http://www.planet.nl/~f1/cart2k4.htm - "confirmed" is in black

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[zerO]

Line-up update:

The Gigante/Jourdain saga is about to come to an end: not only it will become a third NHR entry but Tecate will join in with their sponsorship - an announcement is expected verrry soon ?!

Also, Justin Wilson is about to test a Conquest car at Sebring and this combo is expected to become Eric Bachelart's second entry... it still isn't finalized whether Mario Haberfeld or Patrick Carpentier will be in the primary car - most likely Haberfeld will prevail and Carpentier will have to hope for Forsythe to field a third car for him, and the latest rumor is that's exactly what will happen...

Here's how the line-up looks like now:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
3. NEWMAN/HAAS - Michel Jourdain
4. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
5. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
6. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
7. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. COYNE - Michael Keohane
9. COYNE - Ralph Firman or Jaime Melo ?
10. BACHELART - Mario Haberfeld or Patrick Carpentier ?
11. BACHELART - Justin Wilson
12. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
13. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
14. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
15. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
16. FITTIPALDI - Christian Fittipaldi or Mario Haberfeld ?
17. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger

Possibles:

18. WALKER - Jonathan Macri or Mario Haberfeld ?
19. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
20. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Ricardo Sperafico ?
21. HEMELGARN - Robby McGehee or Ralph Firman ?

btw, updated picturesque version = http://www.planet.nl/~f1/cart2k4.htm - note: "confirmed" is in black ?!

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[Omega99]

Not hearing too much of Valiante's name lately, huh? Too bad, he deserves the shot he missed on on when Fontana was cancelled.

[Fogelhund]

So reality is at the moment.

Solid deals - or at least announced
1. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
2. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
3. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
4. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
5. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
6. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
7. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
8. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
9. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
10. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
11. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger
12. COYNE - Ralph Firman??
13. COYNE - Michael Keohane??
14. NEWMAN/HAAS - Jourdain
15. FORSYTHE - Carpentier


Looking for money/finalization

16. BACHELART - Carpertier??
17. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane

[indycool]

Fogelhund, I think reality would be to take the drivers off Coyne (there have been six or eight guys mentioned for these rides) and the Newman-Haas and Forsythe third cars are in question. The only thing we have on those are rumors. Last I heard on Fittipaldi from Muzza posted here, Mazzacane was headed a bit down the shopping list.

[macdaddy]

Optimistic? Yes. Impossible? No.

1. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
2. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
3. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
4. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
5. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
6. NEWMAN/HAAS - Michel Jourdain
7. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
8. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
9. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger
10. PKVR - Jimmy Vasser
11. PKVR - Roberto Gonzalez
12. ROCKETSPORTS - Alex Tagliani
13. ROCKETSPORTS - Nelson Philippe
14. COYNE - Ralph Firman
15. COYNE - Michael Keohane
16. CONQUEST - Justin Wilson
17. WALKER - Ricardo Sperafico
18. WALKER - Jonathan Macri
19. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane

[Fogelhund]

Indycool, you are correct. I didn't check to see how solid these N/H and Forsythe deals are, and was looking for good news. The only mention of the N/H deal is that one ESPN article, which suggest, "may land", certainly not a confirmation. Nothing stated anywhere that I can find about Carpentier.

So, the Real reality for the moment, pending further announcements.

Solid deals - or at least announced
1. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
2. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
3. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
4. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
5. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
6. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
7. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
8. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
9. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
10. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
11. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger
12. COYNE - ??
13. COYNE - ??

Rumours?

14. NEWMAN/HAAS - Jourdain
15. FORSYTHE - Carpentier
16. BACHELART - ??
17. FITTIPALDI - ??

[indycool]

That's the reality to me, Fogelhund....since you're listing rumours, there's Hemelgarn and a second Bachelart car in among those somewhere, too.

[Fogelhund]

Should I change the Rumours title to "Rumours I believe have a chance in Hades of happening"? At the moment, I might categorize Hemelgarn, Bachelart2 and Walker as speculative, but not much more.

[indycool]

Hahaha, yes, I agree, Fogelhund.....

[carsten66]

Two days back champweb reported that Justin Wilson will be testing a Champ Car at Sebring and is expected to be announced with Mi-Jack Conquest as one of their drivers... it's all speculation... but a possible sponsor for Justin could be JSP. Last year JSP backed Wilson's Jaguar F1 ride. They began their relationship with Wilson through Jonathan Palmer when they backed one of his Formula Palmer Audi race cars... and this year they didn't renew their sponsorship with Jaguar instead of the JSP logo we see Dupont... and JSP International has manufacturing, service, and sales centers strategically located in America, Europe, and Mexico...