| Team |
Driver 1 |
Driver 2 |
Driver 3 |
Sponsors |
CTE Racing - HVM |
Nelson Philippe |
Dan Clarke |
|
A Bird & A Bear
Ticketmaster
Wellbox |
|---|
 |
December 18: Former F1 team owner Paul Stoddart has bought a controlling interest in CTE Racing-HVM, which will be run with current owner Keith Wiggins as Minardi Team USA. |
| August 1: Both drivers are settling into the team well with some very competitive runs recently. If Cedric the Entertainer can help to find the lower budget to run the new Champ Car chassis, it would make sense to keep both Nelson Philippe and Dan Clarke. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Conquest Racing |
Matt Halliday
Nelson Philippe
Andrew Ranger |
Nicky Pastorelli?
Andreas Wirth?
Jan Heylen?
Charles Zwolsman?
Guillaume Moreau?
Enrico Toccacelo?
Alexandre Prémat |
|
42 Below
Speed Racer?
Mi-Jack
Tide |
|---|
|
April 3: Despite reports to the contrary from the usual Internet rumormongers, Conquest Racing today announced that New Zealand driver Matt Halliday will pilot their car for the first three events of the season. Halliday tested for the team at Laguna Seca and brings sponsorship from Bacardi's 42 Below vodka brand. Kevin Kalkhoven has said that three drivers with funding remain unsigned: Jan Heylen, Nicky Pastorelli, and Andreas Wirth. Conquest and Coyne are the only teams with seats unnanounced prior to the Vegas Grand Prix. |
| March 7: Conquest will test New Zealand driver Matt Halliday at the Laguna Seca Spring Training this week. Halliday drove for the team's Indy Lights squad in 2001. |
| March 6: Alexandre Prémat has signed to drive for Audi in the 2007 DTM series. |
| February 12: Conquest has called on Nelson Philippe to test at MSR Houston this week. |
| February 7: Conquest Racing announces that it will enter one car in this year's Champ Car World Series after signing a new sponsor to replace Mi-Jack. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| November 30: Alexandre Prémat impressed the Conquest team with his performance at MSR Houston. He hopes to land a 2007 ride with the team. |
| November 21: The team will test Guillaume Moreau and Alex Prémat at MSR Houston this week. Prémat is the reigning A1GP champion and he also won the prestigious Macau Grand Prix in 2004. Moreau has competed in the Formula 3 Euroseries for the past two years. |
| November 5: We witnessed Andrew Ranger bidding farewell to the team with a few drinks after the Mexico City race. He plans to join another team for the 2007 season, but the identity of the team has yet to be revealed. |
| August 4: Mi-Jack Conquest is testing Enrico Toccacelo at Road America today. Is this as a favor for Euro International or could he replace Andrew Ranger, whose funds could run out before the end of this season? |
| August 1: Charles Zwolsman and Andrew Ranger are becoming more competitive, but Ranger continues to have funding difficulties. The cheaper Panoz DP01 Champ Car should help in 2007, but expect to see team owner Eric Bachelart testing new drivers during the off-season. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Dale Coyne Racing |
Katherine Legge
Mario Domínguez |
Bruno Junqueira
Jan Heylen
Andreas Wirth
Juan Caceres
Ronnie Bremer
Andrew Ranger
Alex Tagliani |
|
Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q
American Medical Response?
Tide
Muermans
Qbic7 |
|---|
|
April 5: Katherine Legge and Bruno Junqueira's names are printed on the sides of Dale Coyne's cars at Las Vegas. |
| April 3: Autosport says Katherine Legge and Bruno Junqueira are expected to be announced at Dale Coyne Racing. On Speed Channel's Wind Tunnel, Robin Miller agrees on Juqueira, but expresses doubts about Legge's signing. |
| March 30: Alex Tagliani picks up sponsorship from the Canadian arms of Wal-Mart and Proctor & Gamble for his RSports car, which adds credence to the rumors that Andrew Ranger has given up on a Champ Car ride this season and will instead run in the Canadian CASCAR series. |
| March 26: Ronnie Bremer announces on his web site that he'll be racing for Polestar in the Atlantic series this season. |
| March 8: With PKV Racing signing Tristan Gommendy, it seems certain that Katherine Legge will switch to Dale Coyne Racing for 2007. Andrew Ranger and Bruno Junqueira will also test for the team at the Laguna Seca Spring Training tomorrow and Saturday. |
| February 14: Bruno Junqueira stepped into the second Dale Coyne car at MSR Houston today. Could we see him racing with either Katherine Legge or Andreas Wirth at Dale Coyne this year? |
| February 13: Andreas Wirth tested for Dale Coyne alongside Katherine Legge at MSR Houston today. |
| January 22: Katherine Legge will test for Dale Coyne Racing at this week's Sebring open test This is most likely because Coyne has a car available, not because she's moving to the team. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| November 15: Robin Miller suggests Alex Tagliani could move to Dale Coyne, "who may have a nice sponsor already locked up for 2007." |
| October 20: Dale Coyne will run German driver Andreas Wirth, who finished third in the Atlantic Championship, at Surfer's Paradise this weekend. |
| September 20: Dale Coyne has announced Uruguayan driver Juan Caceres as Mario Domínguez's replacement for Road America after testing for the team at Sebring last week. Coyne says he will not race at all three of the season's remaining events, so he will not lose his rookie status, because he is being considered for a full program for next year. |
| September 18: Mario Domínguez has joined Rocketsports with Mexican sponsorship. |
| August 1: The new Panoz DP01 Champ Car should let Dale Coyne stretch his limited budget further, but he'll still be on the lookout for drivers that bring money. Mario Domínguez has bounced back from being fired by Forsythe with some impressively competitive runs, which should attract attention from better funded teams. Jan Heylen brings sponsorship from Muermans, but he could switch to Paul Stoddart's new team, if it ever materializes. Ronnie Bremer has been seen in the team's pit at recent races. |
|
|
|
|---|
Dreyer & Reinbold |
Buddy Rice |
|
|
|
|---|
|
January 10: D&R looks set to remain in the IRL with an entry for Buddy Rice. Curt Cavin from the Indianapolis Star says Rice dropped off his racing seat from Rahal Letterman with the team. |
| November 1: The Indianapolis Star says that IndyCar team Dreyer & Reinbold is considering a move to Champ Car for 2007. Now in better financial shape, the team has recruited veteran engineers John Dick and Chris Finch, who were part of the staff let go by Fernández Racing. |
|
|
|
|---|
Euro International |
Enrico Toccacelo |
|
|
|
|---|
|
February 12: No sign of Euro International at the pre-season tests. |
| August 4: Mi-Jack Conquest is testing Enrico Toccacelo at Road America today. |
| August 1: Antonio Ferrari announced that his Euro International team would run a limited 2006 Champ Car schedule with former F3000 driver Enrico Toccacelo in preparation for a full campaign with the new chassis in 2007. The plan failed to materialize, but the team has been running Robert Wickens, Simona de Silvestro and David Garza in Formula BMW, where it leads the team points standings. Could Champ Car still be on the agenda for 2007? |
|
|
|
|---|
| Forsythe Racing |
Paul Tracy |
Mario Domínguez
David Martinez
Adam Carroll
Andreas Wirth
Lawson Aschenbach
Jos Verstappen
Buddy Rice
Simon Pagenaud
Robert Doornbos
Jay Howard
Richard Philippe
Justin Wilson
A.J. Allmendinger |
|
Indeck
Telmex
Promenada at Rainbow
Red Bull |
|---|
|
March 29: Forsythe surprises everyone with the announcement that Mario Domínguez, who the team fired after the first four races last year, will return to the team for at least the first three races of 2007. He comes with sponsorship from Latin American phone giant Telmex and Las Vegas property developer Cabicorp. |
| March 19: Jay Howard, who tested for Forsythe in December, will return to the IRL Indy Pro Series, where he was champion last year. He has accepted a three-race deal with Peter Parrott's new SpeedWorks team. |
| February 12: Richard Philippe, younger brother of Nelson Philippe, has signed to race for Fortec Motorsport in the World Series by Renault in 2007. He drove for Forsythe's Atlantic team in 2006 and tested a Forsythe Champ Car in December. |
| January 23: Robert Doornbos is testing for Minardi at Sebring today. Paul Tracy is driving the sole Forsythe Champ Car. |
| January 20: Reports from Holland indicate that Robert Doornbos, who drove for the Red Bull F1 team in 2006, tested secretly for Forsythe in December. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| December 1: Forsythe will continue its testing at MSR Houston December 11 and 12, this time evaluating potential drivers Adam Carroll, Simon Pagenaud and Jay Howard. Adam Carroll tested this year for RuSport and was selected as reserve driver for Justin Wilson in Mexico City. He was Honda's F1 test driver in 2005 and 2006, and he has also won races in the GP2 Series. Simon Pagenaud took the $2 million prize for winning the Atlantic championship. Jay Howard won the IRL Indy Pro Series in 2006. |
| November 30: Forsythe team manager, Phil LePan, says the purpose of the test with the young drivers "wasn't to evaluate drivers; our goal was to test some components that we are working on for next year mostly for our data collection system." |
| November 28: Forsythe is testing this week at MSR Houston with three different drivers. 16-year-old Richard Philippe, Nelson's brother, runs on Tuesday. Richard drove for the Forsythe Atlantic team this season. On Wednesday, Atlantic veteran Andreas Wirth gets the seat, followed by reigning Speed GT champion Lawson Aschenbach. Buddy Rice may get to test at a later date. |
| November 24: Justin Wilson's manager, Jonathan Palmer, tells Autosport that RuSport, Forsythe, and Newman/Haas are all eager to have the Brit drive for them. |
| November 15: Persistent rumors suggest Justin Wilson will land at Forsythe next season, but owner Gerry Forsythe tells Robin Miller at Speedtv.com "We've been back and forth with Justins people with offers and counter-proposals for the past six weeks but it doesn't look like we're going to get together." |
| October 31: Forsythe will test Mexican driver David Martinez at MSR Houston on November 3 and run him in the season finale at Mexico City. |
| October 27: With A.J. Allmendinger's commitment to NASCAR, including several races in the remainder of this season, Forsythe has replaced him with 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice for Champ Car's Mexico City season finale. This is Rice's opportunity to prove he deserves a place in a Champ Car next season. |
| October 24: A.J. Allmendinger announces he will race in a Toyota for Team Red Bull in NASCAR next year. |
| October 20: Robin Miller reports at Speedtv.com that A.J. Allmendinger is set to move to NASCAR for 2007. |
| September 21: A.J. Allmendinger says he expects to remain in Champ Car next year, despite racing in two NASCAR Trucks races this fall. Forsythe has made him a contract offer and he will most likely be back with the team. |
| September 8: Christian Klien has rejected Red Bull's offer of a sponsored drive in Champ Car. Toro Rosso test driver Neel Jani may get to take up the offer. We hear rumors that Forsythe is taking Red Bull sponsorship for two of its Atlantic series cars in 2007 and that the team is considering an expansion to four Champ Cars. Could Forsythe be the home for Red Bull, with A. J. Allmendinger as one driver and Jani as the other, and not PKV Racing? |
| July 9: A.J. Allmendinger secures his third win in a row in Toronto. It should be an easy decision to keep him for 2007. |
| June 13: A.J. Allmendinger replaces Mario Domínguez at Forsythe. |
| May 11: Paul Tracy has signed a five-year agreement with Forsythe to stay in the series until 2011. |
|
|
|
|---|
Gelles Racing |
Robbie Pecorari
Colin Fleming
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
|
|
Western Union |
|---|
|
December 31: Gelles Racing issues a press release about its new Indianapolis race shop. It tells of the team's plans to compete in the Atlantic and Formula BMW series, but makes no mention of a Champ Car program. |
| July 28: Atlantic team owner Bob Gelles announces he will run two cars in the Champ Car World Series in 2007, in addition to his entries in Atlantic and Formula BMW. He says he hopes to run a seasoned veteran alongside a top quality rookie. Robbie Pecorari is under contract for a second Atlantic season, but Gelles says he doesn't think he's ready to move up to Champ Car yet. |
|
|
|
|---|
Jensen MotorSport |
|
|
|
Epson
Starwood |
|---|
|
December 17: No sign of Jensen purchasing a new Champ Car. The team's web site is even down. |
| August 1: Jensen MotorSport attempted to move up to Champ Car in 2005, but only ran a single race at Long Beach. In the meantime, the team has been running cars in Formula BMW and the Atlantic series. Could the new Champ Car chassis be an opportunity to try again? |
|
|
|
|---|
Johansson |
|
|
|
|
|---|
|
March 8: No sign of Johansson at Spring Training. |
| November 3: Stefan Johansson says he's still working on a one-car Champ Car entry for 2007. |
| July 30: Stefan Johansson says he's trying to start a Champ Car team to run the new chassis in 2007. He ran American Spirit Team Johansson in 2003 with drivers Jimmy Vasser and Ryan Hunter-Reay. |
|
|
|
|---|
McCaw |
|
|
|
|
|---|
|
January 22: No sign of Bruce McCaw going into the Sebring open test. Perhaps he'll continue to check out races through the year? |
| July 19: Former PacWest team owner Bruce McCaw was spotted at Portland and is rumored to be interested in returning to Champ Car. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Minardi Team USA |
Robert Doornbos
Jos Verstappen |
Dan Clarke
Katherine Legge
Nelson Philippe
Jan Heylen
Bas Leinders
Nicolas Kiesa |
Zsolt Baumgartner |
Ticketmaster
Australian Pink Floyd Show
Imagine
Mirage
Red Bull
Muermans?
Trust?
Wellbox?
A Bird & A Bear? |
|---|
|
March 28: Minardi Team USA confirms Robert Doornbos and Dan Clarke as its drivers for 2006. Doornbos brings personal sponsorship from Red Bull, while Clarke has several continuing from last year and more to follow. The team expects to announce two or more significant sponsors in Las Vegas. A third car is possible for the European races later in the season, with Zsolt Baumgartner the obvious choice as driver. |
| March 8: Minardi Team USA announces that former Minardi F1 Team driver Zsolt Baumgartner will serve as the team's "test and reserve driver" in 2007. He will be present at the majority of Champ Car races. but will probably drive only the Minardi two-seater F1 cars. Nonetheless, he will test for the team at Laguna Seca. Robert Doornbos will also test again, but his role as primary driver for the season has yet to be confirmed. |
| February 21: Jos Verstappen says he's giving up on finding a Champ car drive. The Dutch driver expected to be paid to drive without bringing any sponsorship money. |
| February 13: Robert Doornbos tests again for Minardi at MSR Houston this week. |
| January 29: Robert Doornbos tells Autosport he's talking to two Champ Car teams and close to signing a deal. |
| January 23: Robert Doornbos is testing for Minardi at Sebring today. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| December 18: Former F1 team owner Paul Stoddart has bought a controlling interest in CTE Racing-HVM, which will be run with current owner Keith Wiggins as Minardi Team USA. In this morning's press conference, Stoddart said Dutch businessman Harry Muermans, whose company sponsored Jan Heylen at Dale Coyne in 2006, will be involved with the team. Cedric The Entertainer will continue his relationship too. Drivers are yet to be decided, but Nelson Philippe and Dan Clarke are in the mix, along with several who have driven Minardi F1 cars, including Jos Verstappen, Robert Doornbos, and even Katherine Legge. |
| December 15: A Champ Car press conference has been set for Monday. This is expected to be the announcement of Paul Stoddart's plans. |
| December 12: Champ Car president Steve Johnson says he will meet with Paul Stoddart this week to discuss his plans. Rumors over the past few weeks suggest he'll team up with CTE-HVM to run one or more cars in Minardi livery alongside the team's regular entries. |
| November 5: Robin Miller says on Speed Channel's Speed Report that Carl Russo has a new business opportunity in Europe that could lead to him selling RuSport to Paul Stoddart. This could reunite Stoddart with former Minardi driver Justin Wilson. |
| October 28: Robin Miller speculates at Speedtv.com that Paul Stoddart will team up with Dutch former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen in Champ Car next year. |
| October 22: Paul Stoddart spent much time with Kevin Kalkhoven at the Surfer's Paradise race. The Australian former F1 team owner still holds rights to the Minardi name. |
| September 9: Paul Stoddart tells Speedtv.com that he'll make a decision on a Champ Car team in October. He says he's most likely to take over an existing team and he would like to run drivers he knows from F1. |
| July 20: Former Minardi Formula One team owner Paul Stoddart tells Autosport that he's planning to set up a Champ Car team for 2007. He hopes to have financial backing from the Dutch Muermans group, currently sponsoring Jan Heylen with Dale Coyne Racing and expanding into the USA. He names Robert Doornbos, currently sponsored by Muermans as Red Bull's third F1 driver, and former Minardi pilots Bas Leinders and Zsolt Baumgartner as drivers on his wish list. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Newman/Haas/ Lanigan Racing |
Sébastien Bourdais |
Graham Rahal
Bruno Junqueira
Simon Pagenaud
Justin Wilson |
|
McDonald's
Medi Zone |
|---|
|
March 29: Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing confirms Graham Rahal will drive alongside Sébastien Bourdais this season. Medi Zone, which operates a chain of medically supervised weight-loss centers, will sponsor Rahal's car. |
| March 9: Texas businessman Mike Lanigan has become a partner in the team, which becomes Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Lanigan was previously a partner in Mi-Jack Conquest Racing. He runs the Mi-Jack, which manufactures specialized construction equipment, and promotes Champ Car's Houston race. |
| January 23: Sébastien Bourdais and Graham Rahal are in the Newman/Haas cars at Sebring today. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| December 13: Sébastien Bourdais is testing for the Toro Rosso F1 team this week, but he says he'll honor his contract with Newman/Haas for 2007. |
| December 3: Robin Miller says on the Speed Report that Newman/Haas quietly tested Graham Rahal at Homestead last week. He says Rahal has yet to sign on the dotted line, but the deal is close. |
| November 24: Justin Wilson's manager, Jonathan Palmer, tells Autosport that RuSport, Forsythe, and Newman/Haas are all eager to have the Brit drive for them. |
| November 15: Robin Miller suggests at Speedtv.com that Atlantic champion Simon Pagenaud could bring his $2 million prize to a third car at Newman/Haas. |
| September 24: Graham Rahal failed to win the Atlantic championship, but impressed enough with his recent test for Newman/Haas that he should get the Champ Car ride. |
| August 13: Robin Miller reports at speedtv.com that Graham Rahal's test for Newman/Haas will be at Sebring on September 12 and 13. Moreover, he says that the team is working on a major sponsorship deal that is contingent on a young American driver. With sufficient funding, Carl Haas says the team could add a third car. |
| July 30: Sébastien Bourdais expresses surprise at the recent rumors of him joining the BMW Sauber Formula One team next year. He admits that he and his manager have had discussions with the team over the past year or two, but denies that there have been any recent negotiations. Expect to see him involved in many F1 rumors once Michael Schumacher makes his 2007 plans public, but the chances are that he'll return to Newman/Haas for another season. |
| July 24: Robin Miller reports at speedtv.com that Graham Hill has lined up a Champ Car test with Newman/Haas. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Pacific Coast Motorsports |
Alex Figge |
Ryan Dalziel |
|
Playboy?
Vonage?
Ironclad Gloves?
Uniden?
Palms? |
|---|
|
December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| November 23: Pacific Coast Motorsports tested at MSR Houston today with drivers Alex Figge and Ryan Dalziel using two Lolas from Rocketsports. They will return to Houston next week and also test at Fontana in December. |
| September 2: Pacific Coast Motorsports announces it will field a two-car team in the 2007 Champ Car World Series with former Atlantic stars Alex Figge and Ryan Dalziel. The team, which ran in the Atlantic series in 2004, ALMS in 2005, and Grand-Am in 2006, intends to continue its Grand-Am Daytona Prototype program. |
|
|
|
|---|
Parrott |
Roberto Moreno |
|
|
|
|---|
|
January 23: Peter Parrott has teamed up with a Michigan venture capitalist to form an IRL Indy Pro Series team. |
| August 1: Former Penske and Mo Nunn Racing engineer Peter Parrott will run the testing program for the new Panoz DP01 Champ Car with Roberto Moreno in the driver's seat. He hopes to put his own Champ Car team together, but the veteran Moreno seems a long shot for being the driver. |
|
|
|
|---|
| PKV Racing |
Neel Jani |
Tristan Gommendy
Katherine Legge
Oriol Servia
Clivio Piccione
Graham Rahal
Dario Franchitti
Christian Klein |
Jimmy Vasser? |
Red Bull
Gulfstream
Bell Micro |
|---|
|
March 8: PKV Racing announces that Frenchman Tristan Gommendy will be the team's second driver this season. The 27-year-old, who raced in GP2 and the World Series by Renault last year, will test for the team for the first time tomorrow at Laguna Seca. Katherine Legge is expected to switch to Dale Coyne Racing, where she has been testing in the new Panoz DP01 Champ Car. |
| January 23: Jimmy Vasser is testing alongside Neel Jani at Sebring today. Vasser's experience is perfect for shaking down the car and coaching Jani (we've watched him do the same in the past at tests with Roberto González and Katherine Legge). Could he race again in 2007? With Dan Pettit gone to RuSport, leaving Vasser the reins on race weekends, it would seem unlikely. |
| January 22: PKV Racing confirms that Neel Jani from Switzerland, who spent 2006 as test driver for the Toro Rosso F1 team, will drive the #21 car with Red Bull sponsorship in 2007. He will join the team for the official open test in Sebring this week. Katherine Legge will test for Dale Coyne Racing. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| December 4: Piccione is currently traveling to the USA to test for PKVR at MSR Houston. Neel Jani will also take part in the test. |
| December 3: Robin Miller says on the Speed Report that PKVR's deal with Red Bull to run Neel Jani is done. He also names GP2 series race winner Clivio Piccione as a possible team mate. |
| October 31: Dario Franchitti has re-signed with Andretti Green Racing to drive an IndyCar in 2007. This is the fourth year running that his manager has shopped him around to other teams during contract negotiations with AGR. |
| September 8: Christian Klien has rejected Red Bull's offer of a sponsored drive in Champ Car. Toro Rosso test driver Neel Jani may get to take up the offer. |
| September 6: Autosport reports that Christian Klien, who will be replaced by Mark Webber at the Red Bull F1 team in 2007, has been offered a Red Bull-backed Champ Car ride with PKV Racing. Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz says he can return to F1 if he becomes a hero in US racing. If Klien declines the ride, it could go to Toro Rosso test driver Neel Jani. Why PKVR? There could be a connection to Toro Rosso ending their Kalkhoven-owned Cosworth engine deal a year early. |
| August 30: Dario Franchitti could be set to drive for RuSport in the remaining three races of the 2006 season, but rumors link him to PKV racing for a full-season ride in 2007. |
| August 13: Kevin Kalkhoven tells Robin Miller that if Newman/Haas doesn't make Graham Rahal an offer after his test next month, PKV will. "He should be in this series and I think he will be." |
| August 1: Despite poor results, Katherine Legge is settling into driving a Champ Car--she ran the second fastest lap at the San Jose Grand Prix. Oriol Servia seems poised to give the team its first win. Jimmy Vasser tells us he won't race again this year due to a lack of equipment and his coaching duties for Katherine, but he's not ready to retire officially just yet. |
|
|
|
|---|
Polestar Racing Group |
Katherine Legge
Alan Sciuto
Ronnie Bremer
Alex Barron |
|
|
|
|---|
|
April 5: Katherine Legge will drive for Dale Coyne Racing in Las Vegas. |
| September 10: Robin Miller gives credence on Speed Report to the rumor that Katherine Legge may move to Polestar, with whom she ran in the Atlantic series last year, when that team steps up to Champ Car, as expected for 2007. |
| August 17: Alex Barron has left Polestar's Atlantic team "to explore some new opportunities for his future." Ronnie Bremer, who raced for the team in 2004, will take his place starting in Montreal. Ronnie has been keen to return to the Champ Car World Series, where he raced for HVM and Dale Coyne last year. Perhaps this is a sign that he's able to bring more funding than Barron could muster to support Polestar's move up to Champ Car? |
| July 26: Atlantic team Polestar co-owner Jim Griffith tells the Associated Press that it hopes to step up to Champ Car "almost sooner than later". They could bring one or both of their Atlantic drivers, including former Champ Car and IndyCar driver Alex Barron. |
|
|
|
|---|
Rahal-Letterman Racing |
Graham Rahal |
|
|
|
|---|
|
January 22: Graham Rahal looks set for Newman/Haas. |
| July 27: Bobby Rahal releases a statement saying he does not know the future plans of Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, and that Rahal-Letterman Racing intends to compete with multiple entries in the IRL in 2007. However, he doesn't rule out competing in both series. |
| July 24: Robin Miller reports at speedtv.com that Graham Hill has lined up a Champ Car test with Newman/Haas. This further stokes the speculation that his father's team, Rahal-Letterman Racing, will return to Champ Car in 2007. However, if that were the case, why would Graham need to test with another team? Surely the aim is to impress a Champ Car team enough to take him, otherwise a road course test in an IndyCar would be sufficient to prove he can handle a powerful car. |
| July 23: In an interview with the Edmonton Sun, Bobby Rahal says "Penske, Ganassi or ourselves are probably 50-50 odds" of making a move to Champ Car if a merger doesn't happen. This leads to widespread speculation on the Internet... |
|
|
|
|---|
Rocketsports |
Alex Tagliani |
Mario Domínguez
Tonis Kasemets
Nicky Pastorelli
Antonio Pizzonia |
|
Red Paw Backup Box
Race World
Flexovit
Pemex |
|---|
|
March 30: Rocketsports and RuSport announce they will operate a joint program in 2007 under the name RSports. |
| March 8: Rocketsports confirms that Alex Tagliani will return to driving for the team this season. |
| January 22: Alex Tagliani will drive the Rocketsports car at this week's open test at Sebring. This is a good indication that he's out at Team Australia and he'll return to Rocketsports for 2007, assuming contracts and sponsorship come together. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| December 7: Antonio Pizzonia has signed to drive for Giancarlo Fisichella's GP2 team in 2007, taking himself out of the running for a Champ Car seat. |
| October 20: Antonio Pizzonia returns to the Rocketsports team for Surfer's Paradise. |
| September 18: Rocketsports has signed Mario Domínguez to drive the final three races of the season, culminating at Mexico City, with backing from Mexican sponsors including the national oil company, Pemex. Team owner Paul Gentilozzi said the team had been in discussions with potential sponsors to run Domínguez at Mexico City in preparation for a full season in 2007 and the deal came together sooner than expected. It reunites him with his old race engineer at HVM, Brian Ma. Nicky Pastorelli and Tonis Kasemets will share the second seat for the remainder of the season. |
| August 1: Rocketsports has found it a challenge to run two cars this season. Hopefully, the lower costs of the new Panoz DP01 chassis will help in 2007. Dutch star Nicky Pastorelli and the persistent Tonis Kasemets stand a good chance of returning. |
|
|
|
|---|
| RSports |
Justin Wilson |
Alex Tagliani |
|
CDW
HP
Wal-Mart
Tide
Edge
Plantronics |
|---|
|
March 30: Alex Tagliani picks up Canadian sponsorship from Wal-Mart and Tide. |
| March 29: Rocketsports and RuSport confirm they will collaborate on efforts in the 2007 Champ Car World Series with a technical and operational merger under the name RSports. They will run cars for Justin Wilson and Alex Tagliani. |
|
|
|
|---|
RuSport |
Justin Wilson |
Oriol Servia
Adam Carroll
Ronnie Bremer
Mario Domínguez
Cristiano da Matta
Ryan Briscoe
Dario Franchitti |
|
CDW
HP
Edge
Intel
Pemex
Western Union |
|---|
|
March 30: Rocketsports and RuSport announce they will operate a joint program in 2007 under the name RSports. |
| February 13: Oriol Servia tests alongside Justin Wilson at RuSport at MSR Houston this week. |
| January 22: RuSport confirms that Justin Wilson will return to the team with CDW sponsorship for 2007. In more surprising news, the team announces that Mario Domínguez will test the #10 RuSport car at the Sebring open test this week. Ryan Briscoe has signed to drive full-time for Penske's ALMS Porsche team in 2007. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| December 3: Robin Miller says on the Speed Report that the deal to keep Justin Wilson is almost done and RuSport is still trying to secure Ryan Briscoe for the second seat. |
| November 28: Dan Pettit, the "P" in PKV Racing, has bought the RuSport team. Team manager Jeremy Dale says the team's top priority now is to keep Justin Wilson. |
| November 27: Cristiano da Matta tells Brazilian racing site Grande Prêmio that he's almost 100% fit and wants to race again. He hopes to be driving a go-kart before the end of April. |
| November 24: Justin Wilson's manager, Jonathan Palmer, tells Autosport that RuSport, Forsythe, and Newman/Haas are all eager to have the Brit drive for them. |
| November 5: Robin Miller says on Speed Channel's Speed Report that Carl Russo has a new business opportunity in Europe that could lead to him selling RuSport to Paul Stoddart. With his protégé A.J. Allmendinger gone, Russo may be ready to move on himself. This could reunite Stoddart with former Minardi driver Justin Wilson. |
| October 31: Former Formula One test driver Adam Carroll, who tested for the team as a potential replacement for Cristiano da Matta, will be on standby in Mexico City in case Justin Wilson's wrist injury prevents him from driving. |
| October 1: RuSport tested Ronnie Bremer, Adam Carroll, and Ryan Briscoe last week as possible replacements for Cristiano da Matta at the remaining two races of 2006. On Speed Report, Robin Miller said Dario Franchitti was unlikely to drive for the team without assurances of a drive for next season, but the team is still waiting to see how da Matta recovers. |
| August 30: Speedtv.com reports that Dario Franchitti will take the seat of the recovering Cristiano da Matta for the remaining three races of the 2006 season once his contract to drive for Andretti-Green expires at the end of the IndyCar season. If da Matta isn't ready to return, he could take the seat full-time in 2007, but rumors also link him to PKV Racing. Autosport points out that Franchitti could prove a major asset in the off-season testing of the new Champ Car. |
| August 3: Cristiano da Matta suffered a terrible accident while testing at Road America today. We hope he'll make a full recovery and can return to RuSport soon. |
| August 1: Justin Wilson is challenging for the Champ Car championship with quality sponsorship from CDW. Cristiano da Matta is finally getting up to speed, taking his first podium for the team at San Jose. On this form, RuSport will want them both back in 2007. |
|
|
|
|---|
Target Chip Ganassi Racing |
|
|
|
|
|---|
|
December 20: Ganassi is branching out into another series, but it's the IRL's Pro Series, not Champ Car. |
| July 26: In the light of comments made by Bobby Rahal, Chip Ganassi denies that his team will leave the IRL. It's interesting to note that he says nothing about competing in both series in 2007. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Team Australia Racing |
Will Power |
Simon Pagenaud
Alex Tagliani
Ryan Briscoe
Mark Webber |
|
Aussie Vineyards
Visa |
|---|
|
February 14: Team Australia confirms that 2006 Atlantic champion Simon Pagenaud will drive the team's second Champ Car this year. |
| January 23: Simon Pagenaud is testing the single Team Australia Champ Car at Sebring today. |
| January 22: Ryan Briscoe has signed to drive full-time for Penske's ALMS Porsche team in 2007. In his column on the Champ Car web site, Robin Miller suggests Simon Pagenaud is set to take the second Team Australia seat with his money from winning the 2006 Atlantic championship. Alex Tagliani will drive for Rocketsports at Sebring this week. |
| January 6: Derrick Walker says the team will keep Will Power but is still working on a driver for the second seat. Alex Tagliani is looking less likely to return and continues to be linked with Rocketsports. |
| December 20: The team collected its first Panoz DP01 chassis from Champ Car headquarters today. |
| September 24: Simon Pagenaud has won the Atlantic Championship driving for Team Australia, which comes with a $2 million prize to be spent on a Champ Car ride. It would be natural for Pagenaud to stay with Team Australia, possibly taking Alex Tagliani's seat. |
| August 1: Alex Tagliani and Will Power are looking very racy, but accidents and penalties have stood in the way of top results. Both drivers stand a good chance of returning to Team Australia in 2007. |
|
|