Not that its a big surprise, but Danica confirmed the three-year deal everyone knew she had with Andretti Autosport. The mild surprise is her change in primary sponsorship. Motorola is out and no where to be seen on the new car. GoDaddy.com is now featured prominently adding yet another green car to the grid. I guess Andretti Autosport either isn’t superstitious, or has never heard that green is an unlucky colour for race cars. Either way, as anticipated, Danica is back with the IZOD IndyCar Series for no less than…
Read MoreF1 – Schumacher Contract Free?
We here at openpaddock.net have been trying our best to keep up with the Michael Schumacher to Mercedes circus and an interesting development has been posted at motorsport.com that may make things a little easier for the now German outfit. In September it was though that Michael Schumacher had signed a contract extending his stay at Ferrari as a consultant/test driver. According to some suspect media statements by Ferrari spokesman Luca Colajanni, the German may have actually not signed the agreement. Colajanni indicated he was not aware of a physical…
Read MoreF1 – Canada is Back!
A deal to secure the Canadian GP has been made official after the Canadian Government stepped in to secure the race for another five years. The race which was absent for the first time ever in 2009, has been given a new life and will be back on the calendar for 2010. We heard a lot of the chatter all season as the promoters of the event worked to restore it to the calendar. The plan is for 8.5 million pounds annually for the five year deal. This is only…
Read MoreF1 – Qadbak Out; Sauber In
BMW announced earlier this year that they would not be returning to Formula 1 next year. Shortly after that, the team was purchased by Swiss firm Qadbak who had been considered suspect. That deal has failed and will now be purchased by the man who started it all, Peter Sauber. Originally the team had been sold to Qabak who had some suspect issues come up. In recent days it would appear as though the deal was going to fall through. Now with the Swiss firm gone, Peter Sauber will now…
Read MoreF1 – Force India Reveal Line-up
Force India made amazing progress with the Mercedes package in 2009. They now will retain their current line-up for the 2010 season in hopes of adding consistency. Adrian Sutil and Viantonio Liuzzi will pilot the Force India Mercedes for 2010 which adds yet another full driver line-up to the grid. Lost is Fisichella who jumped ship in the later part of the season to have a sorry run with Ferrari. Fisi gave the Indian team its best ever finish of 2nd at Spa. However, Liuzzi and Sutil both had strong…
Read MoreRally – WRC Highlight Shows on YouTube
The WRC has done the best thing ever to help assuage the off-season blues. All of their highlight shows from the 2001 through 2008 seasons are live on their YouTube Shows page. This is brilliant, and hopefully a trend that will get picked up by other racing series. I’m lookin’ at you IZOD IndyCar Series! I would also say I was lookin’ at F1, but lets be realistic, Bernie is too much of a troll to allow people to watch old seasons of his circus for free. Here’s the announcement…
Read MoreIndyCar – Olá!, Brasil!
Well, its finally official. The IZOD IndyCar Series will in fact open the 2010 season in Brazil, but not in Rio as many originally thought, but in São Paulo. Here’s what Terry Angstadt had to say in an article posted at IndyCar.com: “While our primary focus continues to be building the IZOD IndyCar Series domestically, the race in Brazil affords us a unique opportunity to visit a country that has a huge passion for open-wheel racing. With strong support from our major partner Apex-Brasil, a significant television package from TV…
Read MoreStar Mazda – 2009 Season Review – Battle for the Championship
Star Mazda Series – 2009 Season Review Battle for the Championship: Circuit Trois-Rivières Headed into the home stretch for the 2009 Star Mazda Championship, rookie Adam Christodoulou and Peter “The Irish Steamroller” Dempsey were locked in a battle for the lead. Coming to Quebec, Dempsey had a slight edge on Christodoulou, but with four races left Peter’s 19-point lead was tenuous at best. The first weekend for the series north of the border wouldn’t turn out great for either contender, but especially not for Peter. He and his team missed…
Read MoreIndyCar – USF2000 Schedule Fun!
The newly reformed USF2000 series (sanctioned by the IRL) has released their 2010 schedule and it has a few interesting tidbits on it that we should talk about. First, here is the schedule. 3/27 – 3/28 St. Petersburg 5/29 O’riely Raceway Park 6/19 Iowa 6/26-6/27 New Jersey Motorsport Park 7/31 Autobahn Country Club, Joliet, IL 8/21-8/22 Road America 9/30-10/1 Road Atlanta Note that St. Petersburg, New Jersey Motorsport Park, and Autobahn Country Club will be double events. St. Petersburg and Iowa will be held on the same weekend as the…
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