Overheard at Long Beach Saturday
04/18/10 As we rumored on Friday that Tony George was in China looking for sponsorship for his Vision Racing team, there has been an interesting sighting in the Shanghai paddock this weekend. Tony George was CEO of the former US grand prix venue Indianapolis Motor Speedway until he resigned last year. He is credited with bringing F1 back to America in 200 on a novel road course inside the fabled Indy 500 oval, and until he stepped down was keen to pen a new race promotion deal with Bernie Ecclestone. We have word that George, 50, met with the F1 chief executive in Shanghai.
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| (L to R) Kevin Kalkhoven, Paul Tracy and Jimmy Vasser |
04/17/10 KV Racing announced today that they will run a 4th car for Paul Tracy in the Indy 500 with backing from Geico Insurance. As we reported yesterday, look for a May announcement that Honda will back Tracy in the two Canadian races……..Even though HVM Racing announced Dutch driver Robert Doornbos for one of their IndyCars in 2010, and Doornbos was even listed in the IndyCar media guide, the ride never materialized, we hear because his backer, Muermans, is some financial and legal issues to deal with. Doornbos is running in the Superleague for now. Dutch youngster Junior Strous, who we rumored will be starting in IndyCar later this year with backing from Shell, would have welcomed fellow countryman Doornbos. "I would have loved to have had him for a teammate. He drove in F1 and Champ Car and I could have learned a lot from him."…………Ex-IndyCar driver Dick Simon, who must be in his 70s now, got his first 2-seat ride today at Long Beach and was very impressed. "It felt strange not being in control. These cars have great brakes and the experience is absolutely fantastic for anyone who gets a chance to do it." The 2-seater was hitting 150 mph on the main straight today. Stefan Gregoire was Simon's driver and he drove for Simon in IndyCar over 10 years ago. See Scott Morris' article later on our home page from his experience in the 2-seater today……….Also see my home page article I promised on the controversy over the 3rd spring that some teams are running and that I alluded to yesterday…….Look for Americans Scott Pruett and Paul Gentilozzi to team with Belgian Marc Goossens in the Jaguar GT entry for the 24 Hours of LeMans…..Milka Duno never turned a qualifying lap today. We hear she voluntarily parked herself because she was too slow. If she does start tomorrow, look for her to get lapped quickly, get black flagged for being in the way, and park it. Rumor has it that Dale Coyne may get her in an Indy Lights car this coming off-season so she can get a lot of laps in an open wheel car on a road course. There is no limit in off-season testing for Lights cars……..There was another very large crowd here today in Long Beach, still everyone's favorite venue on the circuit……We hear there will be a big Playboy party during the Indy 500 weekend with over 100 bunnies in attendance. They won't have to twist our arm to attend that one…….Ryan Hunter-Reay's continued strong performance for the Andretti team (2nd in qualifying today) will hopefully land him a full-time ride. Right now we hear he is only contracted through the Indy 500, which is a downright travesty given this series needs more Americans capable of winning races….Patron Highcroft driver Simon Pagenaud made a great move on the last lap to beat the Aston Martin of Adrian Fernandez. Mark C. reporting from Long Beach