Albers (not Verstappen) and Trust to Champ Car
09/08/07 This rumor is close to being downgraded to 'false' today. Just announced on Dutch RTL 7 TV : Michel Perridon (CEO Trust) has decided not to move into Champ Car for 2008 but into the GP2 series, together with Carlin Motorsport in 3 year deal!
09/04/07 According to our sources in Europe, Trust and Verstappen have split again because Verstappen refuses to live in the USA to race in Champ Car (a must if he is to do well) and that there is a very good chance former F1 Dutch driver Christijan Albers will get the Trust Champ Car seat (as we previously rumored below). We hear Verstappen will now try to land a ride in DTM. Mark C.
07/29/07 Jos Verstappen looks likely to race in Champ Car next season with his backer Trust closing in on a deal to takeover a team, GPUpdate.net can reveal. The computer supplier is looking to purchase a team in the US series as it endeavors to break into the US market. Verstappen, whose sponsorship from Trust helped secure a drive with Minardi F1 in 2003, is in pole position to take one of the seats.
Trust founder Michel Perridon is currently in San Jose, where the ChampCar teams are competing this weekend, to bash out a deal. There are apparently two teams vying for Perridon's signature to become 'Trust Team USA'.
"We are here trying to negotiate a deal to purchase a team in the Champ Car Series for next year," Perridon told GPUpdate.net exclusively. "But it is still relatively in its early stages." When asked about the possibility of running 35-year-old Verstappen, he said: "It is a bit premature to be talking about drivers at the moment but the link (with Verstappen) is obvious." GPUpdate.net
07/28/07 Former Dutch Spyker F1 driver Christijan Albers (right) name is also being linked to this team. Perridon, stressed that everything is still in the very early stages. “At this moment we’re exploring our options to take over an existing Champ Car team," said Perridon. "It’s at this moment too early to tell if Verstappen might be in the picture. Everything is at this moment still very premature." The team would be called Trust Team USA….similar to Minardi Team USA.
07/28/07 Seems there might be more to this rumor than meets the eye because a high ranking official from Trust is here in San Jose this weekend. Whether they start their own team or buy into a team remains to be seen.
07/28/07 From the 'We'll believe it when we see it' category because we see this rumor almost every year now, this Dutch website article says that Michel Perridon is planning to enter Champ Car with his company Trust. They are looking to take over an already existing Champ Car team and that Arie Luyendyk might become its team manager. Jos Verstappen would be the primary driver and mentor for the second young driver, which would be either Arie Luyendyk Jr. or Renger van der Zande. It also states that the project is still in a very early stage. One team that comes to mind that they could buy into is the Eric Bachelart Conquest team, which is in need of a major cash infusion. (See related rumor from the off-season)