Curt Cavin reported this morning in the Indianapolis Star that the Month of May would be shortened to the Two Weeks of May. The track will open on May 15th for practice and rookie tests, but qualifying will be condensed to a single weekend. Pole Day will be on Saturday, May 22, and Bump Day will be on Sunday, May 23. The reasoning behind the change is to reduce the operating costs for all parties associated with the event. The teams will spend less money on room and board, the…
Read MoreTag: 2010
F1 – What’s the Point of the New Point System
As long as things go to the FIA’s plans, the grid will be filled at Bahrain with 26 entries. Due to that, they have decided to revamp the current points system. Last week we heard rumors for the first time that this was going to happen, and before we could really digest it, the new point system was approved by the World Motorsport Council. The overriding goal was to pay out more positions, since the grid would be larger. The new system will pay out to 10th place. While this…
Read MoreF1 – Why Would Ferrari Release Michael?
As much as I hate to say it, I think the Michael Schumacher deal may be done. I know the sources stating the news are about as creditable as the National Enquirer. There is just so much steam behind the “rumor” and all of the press reporting has finally turned me into believing this is finally a reality. Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo helped the rumor along today stating he would release the 7 times champion if he requested. The question then comes to mind why? Granted we know that…
Read MoreF1 – Lotus Confirm Drivers
Team Lotus is the first of the new F1 teams to announce their full lineup for the 2010 season. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen were announced Monday as the main two drivers with Fairuz Fauzy being named as the official test driver. Trulli will continue his career in refugee status as he lost out in the Toyota pullout (not so sure he would have stayed anyways). As for Heikki, this drive has to be a bit sour after losing his McLaren seat. Both drivers will be looking to have some…
Read MoreF1 – 2010 Calendar Finalized
The FiA have fired off a number of news stories in recent days ranging from a new points system all the way to embracing modern media. One thing that was also released was next year’s final calendar. Listed below is the final 2010 calendar for the FiA Formula 1 World Championship. Key changes see Australia moved to second and Bahrain up to the season opener. This change was sought by the Australians as they host a number of sporting events in the February-March time frame. Canada is back on the…
Read MoreRally – Gronholm Returns to Sweden
Marcus Gronholm has tackled many every rally out there during his long career. However, one stands out more than others. Rally Sweden and the world famous Sagen stage have always been one of the Finns favorite. Gronholm has announced that he will be in an M-Sport Ford Focus for the Swedish round in 2010. The rally kicks off on 12 February and is the only snow event on the calendar this year. Gronholm has won Sweden five times and should be right back at home in the Ford Focus. It…
Read MoreIndyCar – The Road To Indy
There have been many things fans, teams, drivers, and sponsors have all been requesting/begging/demanding from the Indy Racing League. We asked for better racing than we were getting at the beginning of 2009, and we got it. We asked for multiple manufacturers for both the engines and the chassis, and it looks like we might get those. We asked for a title sponsor, and we got that, too. One big thing that people have been asking for that will do more to improve the influx of new talent and hopefully…
Read MoreIndyLights – Kimball Joins Plowman at Andretti Autosport
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…
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 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…
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