Overheard at Infineon

UPDATE Randy Bernard and his team will be going to Italy and England next week to meet with interest car manufacturers who may want to compete with Honda in IndyCar. One can assume they are meeting with Fiat (Ferrari, Maserati) or Alfa Romeo in Italy and in England perhaps Jaguar or Aston Martin. Bernard said that he hoped to make a 2nd trip to Germany where we assume they will talk to VW/Audi/Porsche who previously expressed some interest in the series. For the rest of the Randy Bernard interview see this article.

08/21/10 We ran into Oriol Servia this morning in the Infineon Raceway paddock who reports that he has 4 possible opportunities for an IndyCar ride in 2011. "Just when it looked like there was nothing opportunities popped up and I am currently working on 4 different possibilities." When pressed he did say that the FAZZT Team is one he is talking to. "They have hired very good people, which explains why they are doing so well their first year," said Servia who has moved to Santa Monica, California and enjoys riding his mountain bike in the hills to the east. Servia, who is working the Hispanic sponsor market in the USA, is not giving up on resuming his IndyCar career. "When I am getting beat by my teammate week in and week out I will know it's time to retire from open wheel racing. But until that day comes I feel this is where I belong. People forget that when I was Will Power's teammate on the road and street circuits we outqualified each other 4 times, so I feel I have what it takes to be a winner in this series. I am not saying I am faster than Will, he is doing a great job, but look what he has done when given the chance in a top car."……..We hear that IndyCar will return to Infineon Raceway next year and the race will be on the same weekend, or possibly a week later. It will be a week or two prior to the Baltimore IndyCar Labor Day weekend race from what we are being told. The IndyCar race ticket sales are up 4 to 6% and it is the only race at Infineon that is up this year…..No word on the release of the 2011 schedule but it now sounds like early to mid-September because NASCAR threw the IRL a few curveballs with all the changes they made to their 2011 schedules. While Las Vegas is still in play it is by no means a slam dunk……As for an engine manufacturer joining Honda in IndyCar, one good source tells us there is a slim chance of the Chinese coming in because they are seriously looking at F1. They want the international market more so than just North America…….We hear KV team owner Kevin Kalkhoven has moved out of his big house in near Mountainview, California and bought an even bigger house across the East Bay of San Francisco……More to follow, including a Q&A session with IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard. Mark C. reporting from Infineon