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Episode 169 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast

December 19, 2012 Doug Patterson

Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadThis week on the OpenPaddock.net Podcast Kevin, Mike, & Mike dissect new CEO of Hulman & Co. Mark Miles’ comments on the future direction IndyCar should take, recap the testing action at Sebring, and reexamine the prospect of Hoosier or Continental replacing Firestone. They also spend some time looking at developments in the Pro Mazda Championship as Andersen Promotions is already beginning to evolve the series, and they weigh in on Doug’s comments on the potential future direction of the series. Lastly, the trio…

F1 – Force India to Launch 1st of February 2013

December 18, 2012December 18, 2012 Shaun

Force India has announced they will launch their 2013 challenger on the 1st of February. The Indian team is the first to make such an announcement. Paul di Resta is thought to be the primary driver for 2013. However, the team has not officially confirmed its lineup with one seat still available. It is thought that Pedro de la Rosa is in the mix as well as newly cleared to drive Adrian Sutil. Regardless, I look forward to the launch of the 2013 cars. It will be very interesting to…

F1 – Driver Market News

December 18, 2012 Shaun

It has been a busy couple of days for the Formula 1 paddock this week. Two more drivers have confirmed their seats while another has given up on his 2013 race seat. Here is a quick look at the news. Romain Grosjean Confirmed at Lotus Renault – The French driver is having a great start to his holiday. After winning the Race of Champions gala race, the 2012 King of Crash (pictured airborne right) was confirmed to partner with Kimi Raikkonen yet again at the Lotus Renault team. Grosjean has…

Grand-Am—Ganassi Announces Rolex 24, Season Plans

December 18, 2012December 18, 2012 John Olsakovsky

This morning, Chip Ganassi Racing announced both their plans for the 2013 season as well as the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Returning to the 01 Telmex BMW-Riley are Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, who are making a run at their fourth consecutive Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype championship. Pruett and Rojas have essentially been on top of the DP Series since 2008, only missing out on the championship in 2009 to the Alex Gurney/Jon Fogarty duo at Gainsco/Stallings Racing. Pruett has five DP Series championships while his co-driver Memo Rojas…

Pro Mazda – Brabham Signs With Andretti Autosport for 2013

December 18, 2012 Doug Patterson

The 2012 Copper Tires Presents the USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda Championship Class champion (that’s a lot of championing!), Matthew “Matty Brabs” Brabham, has signed with Andretti Autosport to drive the #27 machine in the 2013 Cooper Tires Presents the Pro Mazda Championship. In 2012, Brabham raced Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s #83 Van Diemen in the USF2000 Championship Class, narrowly beating out his teammate, Spencer Pigot, by only seven points. 2012 was Brabham’s first season of racing in the United States after starting his career back in 2001…

Op-Ed – A Pro Mazda Carol: Part 3, The Future of Pro Mazda

December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 Doug Patterson

Finally, we come to last in our trio of articles on the new Pro Mazda Series which will succeed the Star Mazda Series as the second stage of the Mazda Road to Indy. We’ve seen the story behind the rise and fall of Star Mazda, and the phoenixal story of USF2000, now let’s put all the pieces together and see where Andersen Promotion may steer Pro Mazda in the coming seasons. Let me start with the caveat that the following speculations are solely my own based on the observations delineated…

F1- Romain Grosjean Takes Race of Champions

December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 Shaun

In what turned out to be a shocking event, Lotus Renault F1 driver Romain Grosjean was able to beat the world’s best at the annual Race of Champions. The event was held in Bangkok Thailand this year and featured the best racing talent from around the globe. Names like Vettel, Schumacher, Ogier, Hunter-Reay and Kristensen were all there to compete and find out who the best of the best is. Grosjean defeated 2012 IZOD IndyCar Champion Ryan Hunter-Reay in group D competition early on. His next challenge was fellow Formula…

F1 – How Much is Enough?

December 16, 2012December 16, 2012 Shaun

There is no offseason for Bernie Ecclestone and his constant running at the mouth. With news that HRT is all but done heading into 2013, Bernie has made some statements in regards to the number of teams involved. Ecclestone would rather there be 10 teams on the grid versus 11. “It’s just that 10 is easier to handle, for the promoters, for transport,” he said. “We’d rather have 10, so long as we don’t lose Ferrari.” – Bernie Ecclestone comments from BBC F1 The news of HRT folding up shop…

Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team from Trio to Quartet

December 16, 2012 Mike Shaw

This weekend the newly created Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team announced the rest of their driver lineup for 2013. As we already knew, Mads Østberg was picked as the number one driver, and Nasser Al-Attiyah will of course be on board but only attend some of the championship rounds while also competing in the Middle East Rally Championship. The surprise announcement was a decision to draft both Evgeny Novikov and Thierry Neuville to attend all 13 rounds of the 2013 World Rally Championship under the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team banner.…

Op-Ed – A Pro Mazda Carol: Part 2, The Present USF2000

December 16, 2012December 16, 2012 Doug Patterson

Part Two of my three-part series looking at the future of the new Pro Mazda Series focuses on the success the new owners of Pro Mazda, Andersen Promotions, has had with the revived Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. I feel safe in assuming that the leadership philosophy that has lead to a strong first step on the Mazda Road to Indy, the USF2000 series, will also be applied to the Pro Mazda Series in the coming seasons. The Evolution of USF2000 My thoughts on where the…