'05 Silly Season

[bradrive]

[QUOTE=BootsOntheSide]Who's he Bradrive? Not a name I'm familiar with.

http://www.fabriziodelmonte.com/

[Kicking-back]

del Monte - fast but erratic.

Probably a better potential than slow and steady!

[Snrub]

Great to have one car more than required and it's one heck of a lineup, particularly when a lot of them are pay drivers or semi-pay drivers, but to a certain degree I have to wonder about things. Obviously some subsidization is going on, some of it is obviously substantial. Having 19 cars costs an extra ~$4M minimum. With all the painfull concessions that have gone on, why is the series helping to pay for an extra seat? For instance, if one was going to do that, why wouldn't they have ensured that Pat or Jourdain stayed in the series?

[StickShift]

Let's see. Fabrizio del Monte is a rookie who: hasn't ever driven a champ car, has no experience on a street circuit like Long Beach, and has a propensity for getting into incidents.

Now, consider this: Eric Jensen's team is by all accounts, a bit of a budget team, and he only has one Lola from Herdez.

Bad combination.

[mac]

However, to come from the clouds like he has, I am presuming that Del Monte has outbid Valiante and Gidley and actually has some $$$$ behind him that could help the team in the short term.

[enemy-ace]

It's officially official.

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/N...le.asp?ID=8837

[macdaddy]

Jos Verstappen:

"Therefore the possibility that I drive in Champ Car still in 2005 is not discarded."

SpeedTV article.

[Snrub]

To me Jos sounds to me like he's grasping at straws.

From what I've seen of him, Del Monte is very capable. I know I have no right to complain, particularly when the lineup is so strong, but it would have been nice to have more drivers from markets that are important to the series. I guess there has been some commitment by the series with RHR, Tag, etc. The upside is we've got at least 13 drivers who have F1-level ability. There are only one, maybe two drivers who don't obviously have huge potential.

I'm certainly not going to hold Jensen's choice against him, but read this quote from SpeedTV. I guess that means it isn't Konica's Canadian division sponsoring Jensen.
“It would be nice to complete the roster with a Canadian driver, but we are still a business first and foremost.… And primarily our corporate partners are all foreign companies anyway, so we mostly need to suit their needs to get the best possible return on their investment. If a Canadian company partners with our team, then we could look specifically at the merits of having a Canadian driver.”

Does Servia bring money or sponsorship to Coyne? (Jordi?)

[jjspierx]

Originally Posted by StickShift

Let's see. Fabrizio del Monte is a rookie who: hasn't ever driven a champ car, has no experience on a street circuit like Long Beach, and has a propensity for getting into incidents.

Now, consider this: Eric Jensen's team is by all accounts, a bit of a budget team, and he only has one Lola from Herdez.

Bad combination.

Why do you think that Fabrizio has a propensity for getting into accidents? Because Kicking-back said he was erratic? I'm not sure where you guys are getting your info from but Del Monte is not an erratic driver. He was on the podium for the first 5 races of the 2004 Superfund Euro 3000 series, including 3 wins. He DNF'd only twice during the whole season and at least 1 of those DNF's was through no fault of his own(I haven't seen the Nurburgring round, its still on my TiVo). Please be careful about what you state about drivers and not just listen to what others say.

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by jjspierx

Why do you think that Fabrizio has a propensity for getting into accidents? Because Kicking-back said he was erratic? I'm not sure where you guys are getting your info from but Del Monte is not an erratic driver. He was on the podium for the first 5 races of the 2004 Superfund Euro 3000 series, including 3 wins. He DNF'd only twice during the whole season and at least 1 of those DNF's was through no fault of his own(I haven't seen the Nurburgring round, its still on my TiVo). Please be careful about what you state about drivers and not just listen to what others say.

What I meant by erratic was not that he was a crasher - he's not.

I meant his speed tends not to always be consistent - and he was to an extent flattered by the relatively poor fields in Euro 3000.

However, he is a quick driver and has potential - and he could well shine in ChampCar.

[indycool]

With no rookie test and never having even sat down in a Champ Car, he goes into the weekend as a "pick someone out of the grandstand"-type driver. That is NOT a stable move.

[BootsOntheSide]

It's not an ideal situation for Jenson - the learning curve is steep for everyone in the team, and they might find themselves adrift at the back initially.

[Tim Northcutt]

Question:

Will OWRS Officials require Fabrizio del Monte to take soem sort of Rookie Orientation or anything during sessions at Long Beach???

The other series requires it...

What does the OWRS do in a stuation like this???

[indycool]

That's my question, Tim. There were plenty of guys already qualified and certified as being so. IMO, this is not a good thing.

[Tenoch]

Silly Season is over, I think we should let this thread go after nearly 1,500 post 86 pages and almost 45,000 views.

[Snrub]

I've never heard anything about a rookie orientation. I'm guessing that there is something... I don't think they have anything semi-rigourous like a FIA superlicense, etc. Recall back to Haberfeld's '03 debut @ St. Petes. Afterwards he came across as very ignorant on the basic rules, I genuinely think that no one told him what was acceptable. Also recall back when Emmo made a big fuss about Montiero being penalized. Emmo himself didn't know that the rules had changed!

Does anyone know what Nascar and the IRL do? I have a vague idea of what they do for Indy, but is it the same for other event participation?

[Tim Northcutt]

Before any driver gets a seat in an IRL car, unless he has experience on ovals in fast equipment, he must take laps in some sort of a test before being considered worthy to compete in the iRL in an oval race...

Derek Hill, Thomas Enge, Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick, anong others, have had to take this test before being allowed to enter races...

Additionally, the Indy 500 also does a Rookie Orientation Program, where drivers must complete a certain amount of laps at the Brickyard within a series of consistent speed ranges that are escalated as each phase is passed by the driver, with the final phase being a set of laps being at relatively competitive speed that must exceed a minimum speed set by the Chief Steward.

The Indy ROP is also observed by veteran retired drivers such as Rick Mears, Johnny Rutherford, Al Unser Sr., Bobby Unser and others, and the drivers are given pointers by these guys as they go through the process...

NOTE: a guy from OWRS or NASCAR that has raced on a super speedway does not have to take this test....but when Nigell Mansell came to Indy his first time, he had to take it...

[indycool]

NASCAR has no rookie test that I know of. The IRL has a rookie test requirement and Indianapolis has an additional Rookie Orientation Program that will take up the first two days in May. In the past, Indy has "waived" certain drivers from the test because of past experience in either F1 or CART.

[Kicking-back]

A driver coming from F3000, in my opinion, does not have anything to prove in a Champ Car "rookie test" on streets or road courses.

I appreciate ovals would be a different matter.

[indycool]

Maybe.......he was 6.7 seconds behind Bourdais, the leader, in the first practice.

[Tim Northcutt]

Originally Posted by indycool

Maybe.......he was 6.7 seconds behind Bourdais, the leader, in the first practice.

Maybe he's Hiro Matsushida's long-lost twin brother???

Sorry...couldn't resist...just kidding...

[bradrive]

Originally Posted by indycool

Maybe.......he was 6.7 seconds behind Bourdais, the leader, in the first practice.

Watch his progress from free practice to qualifying to the race, before you judge somebody you do not know. We know Del Monte is not a future F1 champion, but he did win races in Euro F3000.

[codename_47]

I don't know why there's so much focus on Del Monte.....your all focusing on the wrong end of the grid....

Besides, it was first practice, and that's just what he was doing....practicing....

[Tim Northcutt]

I was just kidding with my comment, guys....

I'm willing to give him all the time he needs...

But I think Jensen could have picked a lot of other drivers who have some Champ Car racing or testing experience...

[Snrub]

I do think drivers should be required to do some testing prior to racing. While top level racers adapt astonishly quickly to new cars/situations, I do think that sitting down with them and giving them basic tips on what they should be doing, etc. makes sense. There is safety and a lot of money at stake, so why not ensure they are at least ready for it? I'm not saying it has to be a pass/fail situation, but as I outlined above, there are good reasons to do this, even with a driver who will perform well in their first race.