This morning, it was announced that Charlie Kimball will join Martin Plowman on the AFS Racing/Andretti Autosport Firestone Indy Lights team for the 2010 season. This marks a significant step up for Charlie who raced last year for Palm Beach International Racing, as well as for Plowman (aka Plowey) who raced for the now defunct Panther Racing FIL team. AFS/AA has won the past two series championships with Raphael “Rafa” Matos in 2008 and JR Hildebrand in 2009. There’s no doubt that the AFS/AA rides are currently the best in…
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WRC – Todt Holds Rally Development Forum
Well, many of us F1 fans were greatly disappointed in Todt’s victory over Ari Vatanen for the FIA presidency, but there are some positive things that M. Todt is doing. First of all, surpasses his predecessor by realizing that there’s more to the FIA that Formula 1. The WRC isn’t as strong as it used to be, and in response, the FIA held a forum to discuss ways to improve the FIA involvement in rallying at all levels. The forum was attended by several manufactures, Ford and Citroen who are…
Read MoreGran Turismo 5 Indy500 Contest
For those of you with a Playstation 3, get ready to download the Gran Turismo 5 trial when it hits the Playstation Network Store on December 17th. This trial will include only two cars, the Nissan 370-Z in stock configuration, and the Nissan 370-Z in tuned configuration, and only one playable track. Ordinarily, my first reaction to this would be to rant about how lame and how this is not even worth being called a tease. However, Polyphony Digital has significantly sweetened the pot with an offer that will have…
Read MoreLe Mans – International Cup 2010
The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) has announced today that 2010 will be the first year for a new competition called the International Cup that will be comprised of three races from the various Le Mans series across the world. The first year will see three races act as the cup decider with three more being added in 2011. Thus far, Silverstone, Petit Le Mans, and a TBD race from the Asian Le Mans series are on tap. What makes this news even better is the news that Audi has…
Read MoreIndyCar – Double Duty for Patrick
Just when I thought things had calmed down on the NASCAR front, I was made to eat my words. Danica Patrick announced today that she is going NASCAR while still focusing on IndyCar. The news should be no surprise considering ESPN has reported the living crap out of this story. In fact, ESPN rumored this so much that it actually became ridiculous and annoying. Yet here we sit weeks later and the news has finally been released. If all goes according to plan, Patrick will debut for the ARCA series…
Read MoreF1 – Rosberg Would Welcome Schumi
As speculation about a Schumacher return picks up steam, the man forgotten in all of this finally speaks. Nico Rosberg left Williams F1 in pursuit of a winning team and a championship. That was of course until the greatest F1 pilot in history started stirring the pot. Not all is bitter in the Mercedes garage however. Rosberg has been recently quoted as saying he would welcome Michael Schumacher to the german marquee’s team and would gladly share a seat with the seven times champion. Rosberg was quoted as saying to…
Read MoreIndyCar – Viso to Test DRR
E.J. Viso will be testing with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing on December 9th at the famous Sebring Circuit in a one day event. Hugo must really be tossing a lot of money in support of his Venezuelan talent, and DRR is taking all of it. With Venezuelan Milka Dunno already racing (or pretending) under the DRR flag, a much more talented Viso will be brought in to test new data systems and equipment. Viso, whom currently is without a drive will be looking for employment before season prep really takes…
Read MoreRally – Welcome IRC!
While it is no secret that we here at Openpaddock.net love the WRC and Rally America, we can no longer turn away from the headlines being made in the IRC as well. That is why we will now carry IRC news and opinion for the 2010 series and beyond. There are good drivers and a lot of cars and we would be doing an injustice to the rally community if we contine to shrug it off. So we will begin coverage with Monte Carlo and also keep track of all…
Read MoreRally – Subaru to IRC
After a year removed from rally, arguably one of the greatest manufacturers in the sport makes its return to competition. This week it was announced that Subaru would return to competition in the IRC as a Group N participant. It is unclear as to what capacity the Japanese marquee will operate, however they will provide customers with Group N specifications to anyone interested. We will have to wait and see if an actual Subaru works team is stood up because to this point, the press release is very vague and…
Read MoreRally – Hirvonen/Fiesta @ Monte
The World Rally Championship runner up Mikko Hirvonen will compete in the Monte Carlo Rally as he debuts the new Fiesta S2000. Hirvonen and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen will utilize the event as they prepare to take the fight to Sebastian Loeb and Citroen in the 2010 championship. The Finn is a five time veteran of the Monte Carlo event and is familiar with route and conditions. Mikko has been very impressed with the Fiesta to date and looks forward to running it through its first paces in January. Malcom Wilson…
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