Pantano joins Briscoe, Dalziel, Legge maybe even Premat and of course Vasser for 2 rounds of Sebring testing. (SPEED) What do you think, one or two openings?
What the heck, roll out some spares and have a race! :D
I can't remember when "testing" has taken on all the trappings OF a race and given KK's "no ridebuyer" quote from awhile back I think they really are looking for the fastest guy...uh, person available. Used to be only Haas could do that. Think of Jimmy. He gets the 2nd round of runs on Dec. 22nd-23rd with Legge. He'll know exactly how fast any of them need to be...to beat him. I have little doubt if one or more proves faster his incredible wealth of character will cause him to step aside.
theunions
12-06-05, 06:49 PM
What happened to Manning?
Gangrel
12-06-05, 06:58 PM
What happened to Manning?
We don't talk about that around here... :D
What the heck, roll out some spares and have a race! :D
Everybody has enough ancient Lolas to run three cars. Rent them out every race weekend and watch the fun!!!
What happened to Manning?
He's headed to the Super Bowl, we hope.
pkvracing12
12-07-05, 09:25 PM
He's headed to the Super Bowl, we hope.
hopefully not
trauma1
12-08-05, 03:51 PM
&A with Giorgio Pantano
Written by: Cassio Cortes
Indianapolis, Ind. – 12/8/2005 Destination Champ Car: Pantano is bent on becoming a professional road racer in the U.S. next season. (LAT Photo)
It seems every off-season since his successful F3000 days - when he was runner-up to Sebastien Bourdais in 2002 - Giorgio Pantano’s name always ends up linked to a possible Champ Car ride for the following year, a rather strange phenomenon since the Italian had never even strapped himself into a turbocharged Lola-Ford in his entire life.
That, however, changed this Thursday morning when Pantano, 26, stopped by at Methanol Lane in Indianapolis, specifically to do a seat-fitting at PKV Racing, ahead of a two-day test at Sebring next week.
The PKV outing will in fact be a so-you-wanna-be-a-Champ-Car-star audition between the former Jordan Formula 1 driver, Australian Ryan Briscoe and, in a way, Toyota Atlantic standout Katherine Legge, who’s also set to sample one of the squad’s Lolas.
Whatever the shootout’s results, Pantano, who finished sixth in points in a DNF-plagued GP2 campaign this season (and also performed impressively in two road course outings with Ganassi in the IRL, starting second and finishing fourth at Watkins Glen) has already made up his mind on one thing: he wants to drive - and win - in Champ Car next year.
And while his talent will be paramount to determine whether he reaches that goal, we think his Zanardi-like accent won’t hurt him at all…
Q: How did the opportunity to test for PKV came about?
“The team invited me to a two-day test at Sebring next week [December 12-13]. We did the seat-fitting this morning and should be headed down there on Monday. So far, I know that Ryan Briscoe and one other driver will also be there.”
Q: Any hints on whose spot on the team will the shootout be worth?
The Italian got poles and podiums but no wins in a DNF-plagued GP2 campaign this season, finishing sixth in points. (LAT Photo)
“To be honest they haven’t said anything about whether it would be for Jimmy’s or da Matta’s seat…”
Q: This will be your first-ever Champ Car test, right?
“Yes, it’s the first time I have come close to coming to Champ Car. I did have some talks with teams in the past but I landed the Jordan Formula 1 seat last year, then after that I tried to go into GP2 to win the championship this season. Unfortunately, since it was a new series, we had a lot of problems with the car…”
Q: With this test lined up, would you say a Champ Car seat is your priority for next year?
“My main goal is to see how we work together, PKV and I. My priority in the test will be to understand the team and build on that, build on a working relationship together with the team.”
Q: Is another season in GP2 something that you would consider?
“No, that is not a possibility at all. I’m looking to become a professional next year, in fact I’m looking to stay here in the United States, where I think the racing is a lot more professional [than in GP2].”
Q: What about the IRL?
“At the moment I don’t have anything lined up there, but of course if a good chance came up we would consider it. But since Champ Car has more road and street courses, that’s where I am more interested in driving - I’m a road course, not an oval, driver.”
Pantano was instantly quick in his two IndyCar outings with Ganassi, qualifying on the front row and finishing fourth at Watkins Glen. (LAT Photo)
Q: But you adapted quite well to Indy cars…
“I really enjoyed my experience in the IRL. The car is very different from a Formula 1 or GP2 car, since it’s built for oval racing. But it’s not bad to drive at all, in fact since the car is so simple compared to the electronics in F1, it is the driver that has to make the difference, the driver that needs to work together with the engineer to find the best understanding of the car.
“It’s also very physical, and very competitive - in one hand it was easy for me to run at the front right at the beginning because the team did a great job and we could quickly understand the car. But the races are long and there are lots of good drivers on competitive equipment.”
Q: What about A1 Grand Prix - is that something you have contemplated?
“No, at the moment I’m not interested in that. I need to become a professional next season, and I want to win races.” [Team Italy is currently 15th in A1’s points standings].
Q: You had a difficult experience at Jordan in 2004. Is that a move you regret? [Pantano was sacked during the season, after 14 races and eight DNFs].
“To be honest, yes. It was a bad situation for me there, a bad time to be at Jordan. The team was not able to spend practically any money during the season, so there was pretty much no development of the car at all.
"It didn’t hurt only me - my teammate Nick Heidfeld also couldn’t show anything with that car. [Heidfeld scored just three points and never qualified better than 13th in ‘04].
“And again this year, even after Midland bought the team, they had no development at all. Maybe Midland can ‘save’ them, but I think they’ll need to spend a lot of money if they want to get near the middle of the grid next season…”
And Richard Lyons for Rocketsports. I like that one. Double chamo in '04 in F-Nippon and Japan GT. If RHR to AGR rumors are correct it COULD mean daMatta won't be headed that way (if he's smart) and PG needs another guy. Even talk now of Pastorelli looking CC's way again as he lost his F-1 testing roll to Del Monte and/or Tarso Marques!
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