Today, Belardi Auto Racing announced that Jorge Goncalvez would join Anders “The Viking” Krohn to round out their 2011 Firestone Indy Lights driver roster. Jorge has made it to the Firestone Indy Lights series through a somewhat unique route. While he has has some experience in karting, beginning in 2006, he also started racing cars that same year. He ran one race in the Formula Renault 1.6 Panam GP Series and made the podium! Not bad for your first time out. He then moved to Formula Renault Campus France in…
Read MoreINDYCAR – Wheels Fall Off for De Ferran Dragon
When the news broke a while back that Tony Kanaan had signed with De Ferran Dragon Racing, we here at the site were very excited at the variable that would add to 2011. TK is obviously a very talented driver who made charging through the field into a game last season. What would he be able to do in 2011 and for a team that had seen a best fourth position out of former driver Raphael Matos? It all ended on Tuesday night when Tony Kanaan was released from De…
Read MoreRally – Red Bull Skoda Ready to Attack SWRC
One of my top story lines for Rally Mexico is going to be the arrival of the Red Bull Skoda outfit and 2010 IRC champion Juho Hanninen. A seat that was previously held by Patrik Sandell now goes to one of the top all around drivers in rally and they will be looking to win south of the border. Skoda is currently fielding one factory level entry with their man Juho at the wheel while a second car will be fielded by Baumschlager Rally Racing. Hermann Gassner jr will be…
Read MoreRally – Manufactured Product?
So I know what you are thinking…”Shaun, rally is by far NOT manufactured results like some of our other favorite series.” I agree to you 100% minus the sly tactics the teams pull on occasion. I am talking about the grand scheme of things to be honest and my point is that rally is a sport of manufacturers…or at least it used to be! Audi, MINI, Lancia, Porsche, Peugeot, Ford, Subaru, Mitsubishi, and all the rest were at one time battling it out through the history of rally as full…
Read MoreIndy Hump Day Report: Kanaan out for now, future could be “Own”
First driver to lose their ride in 2011; Tony Kanaan, four weeks before round 1. So the only bigger shock than Tony Kanaan being released by Andretti Autosport, TK being cut from de Ferran Dragon Racing, just a month before the season opener. They did avoid telling people who would be the sponsor when they announced this deal in December 2010. TK went to his native Brazil and was said to have secured some sponsors there. So if the de Ferran Dragon team is on the verge of collapse as…
Read MoreEpisode 77 – OpenPaddock.net Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe are joined this week by Todd McCandless from Formula1blog.com to discuss Bahrain and all things F1 off season. We get into the Las Vegas announcement and all of the hot INDYCAR news. Doug hits us with his weekly Mazda Road to Indy topics and we prepare for the 100 Acre Wood Rally. GREAT conversation on the show and a must download for sure!
Read MoreUS F2000 – New Incentives Offered to SCCA, FF, and F2000 Drivers
The Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda is positioning itself to be the premier F2000 series in North America by reaching out to various amateur and semi-pro formula series throughout the country by offering scholarships to various SCCA, Formula Ford, and F2000 competitors to step up to the US F2000 National Championship. I understand that there’s some bitterness in the F2000 community about US F2000, but it is the first step on the Mazda Road to Indy program and the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder. That’s not…
Read MoreRally – Kim DeMotte Talks About Returning to Rally in the 100 Acre Wood as a Driver
F1 – Season Opening Bahrain GP CANCELED!
There’s been a lot of talk about this being a strong possibility throughout the interwebs in recent weeks, and we should give a loud shoutout to Formula1Blog.com for really leading the discussion and analysis of the potential implications. Today, the official word came down from Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, that the season opening grand prix at the Bahrain International Circuit has been canceled due to the explosion of civil unrest. There had always been protests in Bahrain as the Shi’a felt that their rights and…
Read MoreMazda Road to Indy Weekly Wrapup: 2/13-2/19
There’s not been a whole lot going on this past week in the Mazda Road to Indy Program, but we did get a couple of big driver announcements late in the week. The fields are starting to fill up, so in the coming weeks, we’ll be putting together a preview of the 2011 seasons for the Cooper Tires presents the US F2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, and the Firestone Indy Lights Series including a summary of driver/team combinations. For now, though, let’s…
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