SPM to run Gommendy in 2018 Indy 500 (3rd Update)
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| Gommendy at Mont Tremblant in 2007 driving a Champ Car for Kevin Kalkhoven |
UPDATE "Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Calmels Sport have mutually agreed to end their partnership of a 2018 Indianapolis 500 program," SPM said in a statement.
"SPM will continue to focus on raising the level of performance of its involvement in the Verizon IndyCar Series. Both parties wish one another well in the future."
11/08/17 Word is this deal is not going to happen. Calmels, who murdered his wife and spent years in prison for it, may be backing out after the wave of negative press that followed the September announcement.
The headlines read "Partnering With a Murderer Proves Racing Teams Will Take Money from Anyone" to "Man who murdered his wife to co-own 2018 Indianapolis 500 entry" means none of the other team sponsors want to be associated with Calmels.
09/12/17 Frenchman Didier Calmels, owner of Calmels Sport, along with racing driver Tristan Gommendy, has partnered with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for an entry in the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 in May 2018.
Gommendy, of Le Chesnay, France, will pilot a blue, white and red No. 77 Honda, in honor of his native country, following completion of his Verizon IndyCar Series’ rookie orientation program. The 38-year-old, who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, captured a third-place finish overall at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and has previously competed in Champ Car, GP2, World Series by Renault, Formula Renault and French F3.
"Competing in the Indianapolis 500 is a dream come true; it was a career goal when I was racing in Champ Car," noted Gommendy. “Even though I grew up driving open-wheel cars, everything is completely new when you get to Indy. The Speedway and this race demand a lot of respect. Racing at 230 mph with four 90° turns is far from the European motorsport culture. I know I’ll have to work very hard to get ready for next May. The first steps, including my first simulator test, went well, but much more work needs to be done. Everything so far has shown me that this partnership between Calmels Sport and SPM is extraordinary. In the United States, everything is possible … provided you earn your spot. It's up to us to write a beautiful French story in Indiana!"
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports co-owner Sam Schmidt commented, "Ric and I are pleased to announce this partnership with Didier Calmels. Compared to him, we are relative newcomers to team ownership but have similar backgrounds of success in the business world. We look forward to learning a tremendous amount from Didier regarding the business of racing and his innovative approaches which have resulted in great success in European formulas. In addition, SPM has already shown results with French drivers such as Pagenaud and Vautier, so we look forward to having the talented and experienced Tristan Gommendy join our team for 2018. He has a similar background to Simon, so we have very high expectations."
The partnership will see major support on French television throughout the month of May with coverage on Canal +, Infosport + and C8, as well as a 52-minute documentary about the creation of the Calmels Sport IndyCar program which will air on Canal+ in France a week prior to next year’s 500-mile race.
SPM, Calmels Sport and Gommendy’s partnership will kick off later this fall with the Frenchman’s first Verizon IndyCar series oval test in October. SPM PR
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| Tristan Gommendy |
09/11/17
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports will partner with former Formula 1 entrant Didier Calmels to run France's Tristan Gommendy in the 2018 Indy 500 according to RACER.
"Didier has a long history in racing in Europe, just sold his company, and we've had some meetings in Indy," said SPM co-owner Sam Schmidt.
"He has high hopes, and it's going to be huge in France. He's got a couple of large companies behind him, [and] the car will be in the French red, white and blue colors. French TV is going to broadcast live every day. It's fantastic, and it's a very patriotic entry, bottom line."