2004 OWRS Champ Car Line-Up ?!?!

[Muzza]

Originally posted by Testure
Now, I know that we mighn't see all of those guys on the grid at Long Beach, but that's a remarkably good selection of drivers all things considered. (...)

Well, said, Testure. The above line-up is definitely more impressive than last year's.

[Dov]

From Champweb:

Rumor: Hemelgarn 1-Car Team posted on 03-24 19:27

One of the more recent rumors that has been buzzing around lately has Ron Hemelgarn fielding a 1-car Champ Car effort for the 2004 season. It is said that Forsythe Racing is currently preparing the Reynards that American Spirit used, for Hemelgarn.

The driver that has been rumored to be in the car, is Richie Hearn although we have also heard rumblings of Townsend Bell in the seat as well.

With this rumor now out in the open, we suspect that Tony George and Co. will do what it takes to see to it that Hemelgarn does not join Champ Car.

This will be an interesting development, but we suspect a Hemelgarn Racing car will be on the grid for Long Beach.

[BootsOntheSide]

I don't think it's an amazing grid, certainly not compared to the embarassment of riches in the IRL, but there are some good points. Forsythe and NHR have 5 great drivers between them, WIlson set to come in from F1, ALlmendinger and Phillippe are promising newcomers, Ryan's moving up the grid, and Rocketsports should be ever-more competitive. I don't view Servia as a major loss, although Fernandez is a shame - he did well last year, especially considering his managerial duties. Manning's the biggest lost though.

[Liz]

Let us not concentrate on what is "lost" but on what is "gained". Servia may not be lost yet from what is being said.

Fernandez who?

[Dov]

Are you joking with us Boots??? What's so special about the IRL grid??? Scott Dixon won 1 race when he was in CC's and that was on a oval track. Tony Kaanan didn't do that much in CC if I remember correctly. Sam Hornish hasn't proved that he can turn right as well as left. Dario Franchitti has looked awful since going to the IRL and Helio Castoneves couldn't beat his own teammate (DeFerran) for 2 years in the CCWS and then he had the same problem when Penske moved to the all oval leauge. I'm not going to mention anything about Kenny Brack for obvious reasons and Thomas Sheckter doesn't appear to have the same driving skills as his Father had!

The only reason the racing is so close in the IRL is because they race on ovals and the aerodynamics of their cars!! To me the racing in the IRL is manufactured or contrived......

[twinhermanos]

It look's conquest is the best choice to run a second car as they have the resources to do it. Therefore CC could help him to increased the grid to 17 cars by now.

[dominguezsport]

how many cars to the long beach

[racinthestreets]

Not sure dominguezsport - one thing for sure I have a parking pass and will be driving one car to the race.

[zerO]

Line-up update:

Eric Bachelart just announced Justin Wilson in one car (Lola) and a second car (Reynard), most likely for Mario Haberfeld will be announced within few days.

Ralph Firman has signed with Formula Nissan, so he is out of the picture at Dale Coyne Racing - now the most likely candidates are Jaime Melo or Geoff Boss and his daddy's wine money.

Oriol Servia is still waiting to see if the Gigante/Jourdain car will become a NHR entry or RuSPORT - when and if Jourdain gets his deal with NHR finalized then Servia may be considered as Russo's driver for the final 18th entry should OWRS deem it neccessary since there still is hope of seeing a car from Walker, Fittipaldi, and/or Hemelgarn ?!

Here's how the line-up is shaping up 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. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
7. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
8. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
9. COYNE - Michael Keohane
10. COYNE - Jaime Melo
11. BACHELART - Mario Haberfeld
12. BACHELART - Justin Wilson
13. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
14. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
15. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
16. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
17. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger

Possibles:

18. WALKER - Jonathan Macri or Michael Valiante or Ricardo Sperafico ?
19. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Christian Fittipaldi or Ricardo Sperafico ?
20. RUSSO - Oriol Servia or Townsend Bell or Michael Valiante ?
21. HEMELGARN - Townsend Bell or Richie Hearn or Robby McGehee ?

Also worth noting is that Conquest will be switching to Lolas for Wilson's car, but their second entry will be a Reynard and the only other Reynard that might be on the grid could come courtesy of Ron Hemelgarn should that "Forsythe Fantasy" team materialize. :wink:

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

zerO

[Testure]

It's useful to list the cars that are 110% confirmed, I think:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
3. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
4. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
5. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
6. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
7. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
9. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
10. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
11. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
12. BACHELART - Justin Wilson
13. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger

[racinthestreets]

Yo zerO and Stranger - change PT's number to uno on the picturesqe version of the lineup - please!

Although it is temporary IMO - Come on SeaBass!

[stmookeyj033]

Originally posted by Testure
It's useful to list the cars that are 110% confirmed, I think:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
3. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
4. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
5. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
6. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
7. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
9. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
10. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
11. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
12. BACHELART - Justin Wilson
13. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger

Don't forget the 2 Coyne cars son. They may not have drivers but the cars are confirmed.

[Muzza]

Two questions:

- Has Conquest Racing changed its name to Bachelart?(after its owner)

- Is Forsythe going to name all his entries as Forsythe Racing?

[Testure]

Originally posted by stmookeyj033
Don't forget the 2 Coyne cars son. They may not have drivers but the cars are confirmed.

To me that means "not 110% confirmed" I think Conquest are still called Conquest, not sure why zerO had been using the owners name. As for Forsythe - they'll have two "Indeck Forsythe" cars and one "Corona Forsythe" car.

It was good to read in the teleconference transcript that Justin didn't need to bring cash for his ride - it's an honest-to-goodness paid job, for once. Cheers to Mi-Jack. Also interesting to hear how close they are to that second car - Eric sounds about 99% sure it'll be signed today and announced tomorrow.

[twinhermanos]

It's useful to list the cars that are 110% confirmed, I think:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
3. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
4. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
5. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
6. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
7. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. KALKHOVEN - Jimmy Vasser
9. KALKHOVEN - Roberto Gonzalez
10. GENTILOZZI - Alex Tagliani
11. GENTILOZZI - Nelson Philippe
12. BACHELART - Justin Wilson
13. RUSSO - AJ Allmendinger
14. BACHELART - Alex Sperafico

PLUS 2 DALE COYNE'S WE ARE PRETTY DCLOSE TO 18 CARS!

[zerO]

Line-up update:

TIDBITS: It's up to OWRS and Gigante as to whether Jourdain will and at NHR or RüSPORT, Walker will definitely field one car at Long Beach and is planning on adding a second car as well - Valiante is back in the picture here, Tomas Enge is mulling ditching F3000 and coming over to Coyne now that Firman went to F.Nissan, Emmo's team is very near being set, and lastly - Forsythe is prepping up Hemelgarn's Reynards that might materialize as a new team at Long Beach.

Overall, it's quite possible we'll see more than 18 cars on the grid come April 16-18 ?!

Here's the 18 car line-up that KK is talking about:

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

Possibles:

19. WALKER - Ricardo Sperafico or Christian Fittipaldi or Mario Haberfeld ?
20. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Christian Fittipaldi or Ricardo Sperafico or Mario Haberfeld ?
21. RUSSO - Oriol Servia or Townsend Bell or Michael Valiante ?
22. HEMELGARN - Richie Hearn or Townsend Bell or Jaime Melo ?

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

zerO

[Liz]

So as of now, isn't it:

Russo: Jourdain
Conquest: A. Sperifico

[racinthestreets]

Best I can gather that is the current rumor. MJ tested AJA's car at Sebring today. AJA had an oowiee (tennis elbow ). Muzza received a press release on Sperifico, but I have not seen any press annoucements yet. Today could be a big day for announcemnts. I hope.

[Dov]

Hey zerO,
Man, WHATEVER your smokin', can you pass that over here?!

[dominguezsport]

faltan 16 dias , si o si por contrato tiene que haber 18 autos en long beach ,con michel van 15 , cuales faltan.

[Marcel ten Caat]

Carl Russo, owner of the new Champ Car team RuSPORT announced today that Mexican driver Michel Jourdain Jr. will join the team alongside rookie driver AJ Allmendinger. Jourdain will drive the Gigante sponsored the Lola Ford, a car he previously drove for Team Rahal before they turned their back on the Champ Car World Series and switched to the rival IRL series.

[Marcel ten Caat]

So with RuSport announcing Jourdain it's now:

Confirmed:

1. NEWMAN/HAAS - Sebastien Bourdais
2. NEWMAN/HAAS - Bruno Junqueira
3. FORSYTHE - Paul Tracy
4. FORSYTHE - Rodolfo Lavin
5. FORSYTHE - Patrick Carpentier
6. HERDEZ - Mario Dominguez
7. HERDEZ - Ryan Hunter-Reay
8. COYNE - Michael Keohane
9. COYNE - Mario Haberfeld or Tomas Enge ?
10. CONQUEST - Alex Sperafico
11. CONQUEST - Justin Wilson
12. PKVR - Jimmy Vasser
13. PKVR - Roberto Gonzalez
14. ROCKETSPORTS - Alex Tagliani
15. ROCKETSPORTS - Nelson Philippe
16. RUSPORT - AJ Allmendinger
17. RUSPORT - Michel Jourdain

Possibles:

18. WALKER - Ricardo Sperafico or Oriol Servia or Mario Haberfeld ?
19. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Oriol Serva or Ricardo Sperafico or Mario Haberfeld ?
20. HEMELGARN - Richie Hearn or Townsend Bell

Updated picturesque version = http://www.planet.nl/~f1/cart2k4.htm - note: "confirmed" is in black

[Mags]

Hearn is FAR too busy with the IRL to be driving in CART! He just started a team in the Miata series as well. I don't see this happening.

[zerO]

Line-up update:

I have no clue why someone decided to bring this thread up - have stared a new one on this topic: "LBGP Starting Grid" ?!

Anyhow, there will not be any Hemelgarn team in CCWS this year - RH is currently getting ready to enter the Indy500 BS drama and getting a team together for the IPS series in IRL. case slosed

Here's how the line-up is shaping now:

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


Possibles:

19. WALKER - Ricardo Sperafico or Mario Haberfeld or Christian Fittipaldi or Townsend Bell ?
20. FITTIPALDI - Gaston Mazzacane or Mario Haberfeld or Christian Fittipaldi or Ricardo Sperafico ?

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

zerO

[Liz]

Update: 16. RUSSO -- Michel Jourdain Jr.