The semi-offical IRL thread
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Rahal-Letterman team out of IRL, lacks sponsor
http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=ap-i...ov=ap&type=lgns
Rahal Letterman Racing has pulled out of the 2009 IndyCar Series because it cannot find a sponsor to support its program.
RLR becomes the latest racing team to be affected by the reeling economy. The team won the Indianapolis 500 with Buddy Rice in 2004 and brought Danica Patrick to the IndyCar Series.
http://sports.yahoo.com/irl/news?slug=ap-i...ov=ap&type=lgns
Rahal Letterman Racing has pulled out of the 2009 IndyCar Series because it cannot find a sponsor to support its program.
RLR becomes the latest racing team to be affected by the reeling economy. The team won the Indianapolis 500 with Buddy Rice in 2004 and brought Danica Patrick to the IndyCar Series.
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Originally Posted by Birel186' date='Jan 29 2009, 04:14 PM
That's wrong. They issued a press release that they don't have sponsorship yet, but they are still looking and have not pulled out. Check AUTOSPORT.com
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From: Gleening the apex
Bryan Herta is back in the news ........
"Six weeks ago, Steve Newey approached longtime friend Bryan Herta with the idea of starting a Firestone Indy Lights team. In three weeks, Bryan Herta Autosport will participate in the first Open Test of 2009."
bryanhertaautosport.com
"Six weeks ago, Steve Newey approached longtime friend Bryan Herta with the idea of starting a Firestone Indy Lights team. In three weeks, Bryan Herta Autosport will participate in the first Open Test of 2009."
bryanhertaautosport.com
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WTF!
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ind...n-hass-lanigan/
It's been a select fraternity over the past 26 years and it's featured Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Sebastien Bourdais, Christian Fittipaldi, Cristiano da Matta, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia and Graham Rahal.
For as long as the late Paul Newman, Carl Haas and Mike Lanigan fielded cars in CART and the IRL, they were able to hire the best drivers, as evidenced by that impressive list.
The winningest team of the past 20 years in open wheel racing has never gone with a rider buyer but, in these challenging economic times, that's about to change.
Boy, is that about to change.
SPEEDtv.com has learned that Milka Duno is signing on to one of the signature teams in motorsports and, as reported previously, Robert Doornbos is also joining the Chicago-based team for 2009. According to sources, Brian Lisles, the team manager at NHL, called the Indy Racing League office on Tuesday afternoon to reveal that young Rahal will have two teammates for the upcoming season. "I can't tell you anything right now because we have no signatures or contracts signed but we're working on doing the best we can," said Lisles. "We do hope to have some good news for ourselves and the series by the end of the week."
Duno, who decided at age 35 to become
an Indy car driver following several years of sports car racing, began with SAMAX Racing in 2007 and ran seven races before joining Dreyer & Reinbold in 2008 where she ran 11 times with a best finish of 14th at Chicago and 19th at Indianapolis. The native of Caracas, Venezuela has been sponsored by CITGO for a rumored $5 million but is thought to have another big sponsor on board for '09.
The news came as a surprise to Dennis Reinbold. "I don't know anything about that and, if it's true, I didn't see it coming," said Reinbold, who along with partner Robbie Buhl has fielded an IRL team since 2000. "We've been talking with her a lot about this season and I'm kind of surprised she didn't let us know.
"But I guess that's her prerogative."
Reinbold, who signed rookie Mike Conway last week, said he's still talking with Townsend Bell and some other drivers about '09. "I don't know what we'll end up as, one or two cars, and we're also working on some single-race deals like Indy and a couple other tracks."
Doornbos, a 27-year-old native of Holland, won two races for Keith Wiggins as a Champ Car rookie in 2007 but sat out last year except for a couple of A1GP appearances. He's thought to be bringing $4 million from ING sponsorship.
Not a fan of Doornbos, but at least its 1 more driver. But Milka???? this will prove that she sux even on a top team. And CITGO can go **** themselves
http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ind...n-hass-lanigan/
It's been a select fraternity over the past 26 years and it's featured Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Bruno Junqueira, Sebastien Bourdais, Christian Fittipaldi, Cristiano da Matta, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia and Graham Rahal.
For as long as the late Paul Newman, Carl Haas and Mike Lanigan fielded cars in CART and the IRL, they were able to hire the best drivers, as evidenced by that impressive list.
The winningest team of the past 20 years in open wheel racing has never gone with a rider buyer but, in these challenging economic times, that's about to change.
Boy, is that about to change.
SPEEDtv.com has learned that Milka Duno is signing on to one of the signature teams in motorsports and, as reported previously, Robert Doornbos is also joining the Chicago-based team for 2009. According to sources, Brian Lisles, the team manager at NHL, called the Indy Racing League office on Tuesday afternoon to reveal that young Rahal will have two teammates for the upcoming season. "I can't tell you anything right now because we have no signatures or contracts signed but we're working on doing the best we can," said Lisles. "We do hope to have some good news for ourselves and the series by the end of the week."
Duno, who decided at age 35 to become
an Indy car driver following several years of sports car racing, began with SAMAX Racing in 2007 and ran seven races before joining Dreyer & Reinbold in 2008 where she ran 11 times with a best finish of 14th at Chicago and 19th at Indianapolis. The native of Caracas, Venezuela has been sponsored by CITGO for a rumored $5 million but is thought to have another big sponsor on board for '09.
The news came as a surprise to Dennis Reinbold. "I don't know anything about that and, if it's true, I didn't see it coming," said Reinbold, who along with partner Robbie Buhl has fielded an IRL team since 2000. "We've been talking with her a lot about this season and I'm kind of surprised she didn't let us know.
"But I guess that's her prerogative."
Reinbold, who signed rookie Mike Conway last week, said he's still talking with Townsend Bell and some other drivers about '09. "I don't know what we'll end up as, one or two cars, and we're also working on some single-race deals like Indy and a couple other tracks."
Doornbos, a 27-year-old native of Holland, won two races for Keith Wiggins as a Champ Car rookie in 2007 but sat out last year except for a couple of A1GP appearances. He's thought to be bringing $4 million from ING sponsorship.
Not a fan of Doornbos, but at least its 1 more driver. But Milka???? this will prove that she sux even on a top team. And CITGO can go **** themselves
Anyone who's been to race has seen how dangerous she is on the track (since they usually don't show her position on tv). WTF indeed.
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http://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/73311
IRL jokes about F1 licence row
The IndyCar Series has made a tongue-in-cheek offer to Formula One drivers who are unhappy about high superlicence fees to join its championship - because its mandatory paperwork only costs $1000 (USD).
In the wake of the ongoing dispute between the FIA and F1 drivers over the dramatic rise in superlicence fees, which means world champion Lewis Hamilton must pay $270,000 (USD) for his licence this year, IndyCar's official website has carried a spoof story letter relating to the subject.
Addressed openly to all F1 drivers from Indy Racing League management, it said: "Know that IndyCar Series teams would welcome your participation in the 2009 or beyond season should you follow FIA president Max Mosley's suggestion of looking elsewhere to ply your trade.
"Please note that an IndyCar Series license fee is only $1,000 (U.S.) - a bargain that includes your/three guest hard cards for venue admittance, participant accident medical insurance coverage and other benefits. There are no closing fees, user fees, points fees or even landing fees for your aircraft."
Although openly admitting the letter is a joke, IndyCar bosses have confirmed that their licence fee of $1000 compares with NASCAR's $4000 and the recent Champ Car World Series' previous cost of $2500.
IRL jokes about F1 licence row
The IndyCar Series has made a tongue-in-cheek offer to Formula One drivers who are unhappy about high superlicence fees to join its championship - because its mandatory paperwork only costs $1000 (USD).
In the wake of the ongoing dispute between the FIA and F1 drivers over the dramatic rise in superlicence fees, which means world champion Lewis Hamilton must pay $270,000 (USD) for his licence this year, IndyCar's official website has carried a spoof story letter relating to the subject.
Addressed openly to all F1 drivers from Indy Racing League management, it said: "Know that IndyCar Series teams would welcome your participation in the 2009 or beyond season should you follow FIA president Max Mosley's suggestion of looking elsewhere to ply your trade.
"Please note that an IndyCar Series license fee is only $1,000 (U.S.) - a bargain that includes your/three guest hard cards for venue admittance, participant accident medical insurance coverage and other benefits. There are no closing fees, user fees, points fees or even landing fees for your aircraft."
Although openly admitting the letter is a joke, IndyCar bosses have confirmed that their licence fee of $1000 compares with NASCAR's $4000 and the recent Champ Car World Series' previous cost of $2500.