Junior Open Wheel Talent

A linkage post is long overdue and there has been a fair amount of news out there lately…

The GP3 Series made its debut this past weekend in Barcelona.  Canadian Robert Wickens leads the drivers’ championship after the first two rounds, he finished 2nd and 4th .  Fellow North American, Alexander Rossi won Race 2 by a huge margin and sits fourth in the current rankings – just three points shy of the lead.  Pal Varhaug won the first race and is currently second in the standings with Mexican Esteban Gutierrez in third.  Looking at the current points, there are three North American drivers in the top-five, not a bad start to the season.  LJ Hutchins over at BritsonPole.com put together a solid GP3 race report – you can read it here.

Originally, I wasn’t planning to cover GP3, due to time constraints, but given the quality of the field, the current entry numbers and the number of North American drivers competing in the series… you will likely see quite a bit more GP3 coverage on JOWT in the coming months.

In an effort to better understand the European feeder series, Tomaso over at NoFenders.net put together a brief summary of several junior formula series.  Plus, he was kind enough to link to me – so the least I can do is return the favor.

Doug Patterson of OpenPaddock.net has expanded his coverage to include the ‘Road to Indy’.  You can read his USF2000 Early Season Report- here and his Star Mazda Championship Early Season Report – here.

Spencer Pigot, who currently leads the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship, made his Ontario Formula Ford Challenge debut last weekend at Mosport.  Despite horrendous weather, Pigot won his first-ever race in the Series and managed to finish second in Race-2 – while driving without third gear.  He is actively pursuing the necessary funding to continue in the series.

Look for my F2000 Championship Preview to be posted sometime in the next few days.  In the meantime, check out their tentative 33 car entry list.

The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship will return to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the 2010-2011 Karting Shoot-Out.  The last time it was held there, (2005) it rained for three straight days.  Applications are due by September 30, 2010.

Last year’s Indy Lights’ champion J.R. Hildebrand tested an IndyCar yesterday with Andretti Autosport at Barber Motorsports Park.  Unfortunately, the test left J.R. wanting even more.  I know I’m not alone in hoping someone provides him that opportunity.

Frederic Vervisch, who competed in the 2009 Atlantic Championship, was back in a car last weekend for the first time since last October.  The 23-year-old Belgium driver had the opportunity to test a World Series by Renault car with Interwetten.  His results weren’t great but I was just glad to hear his name announced again.  He was one of the most impressive drivers in the Atlantic Championship last season and I truly hope he can land a solid ride for 2010.

Canadian driver Robert Wickens signed with Status Grand Prix this week for the 2010 GP3 season.  It’s nice to see him find a home after being dropped by Red Bull last season.

For those that haven’t already read it, make sure to stop over to BritsonPole.com and read Andy Darley’s piece on Indy Lights competitor Martin Plowman.  Good stuff.

EFCN’s Rob Howden had the opportunity to chat with Rob D’Amico and Michele Rahal last weekend during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  If you haven’t listened to the interview, make sure you do.  It sounds like the new IRL CEO Randy Bernard is taking a sincere interest in karting, which is the best news I’ve heard in a long time!

Lastly, for those that missed it, here is my latest piece on PopOffValve.com: The Ladder Report: March 30 Edition.

Well, we lost a couple more standout open-wheel drivers to the tintop world today as both John Edwards and Adam Christodoulou have committed to running a Newman-Wachs/SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 in the 2010 Grand-Am GT class.

The IRL has released their IndyCar entry list for the open test this week at Barber Motorsports Park.

Notable additions to the test could be Simona De Silvestro as the HVM car features the familiar #78 with a TBA note next to it.  Doug Patterson, of OpenPaddock.net, has his doubts about Simona’s presence though.

Matt Chamois of The Other Side is reporting that Conquest (who also has a TBA note next to their name) will field Mario Romancini in 2010. Romancini was extremely impressive in Indy Lights last season and would be an excellent addition to the IndyCar field for 2010.

I will post the Indy Lights entry list when it becomes available.

For those that haven’t already noticed, I’ve been asked to contribute over at Tony Johns’ IndyCar blog: PopOffValve.  I will be writing a weekly or biweekly feature entitled The Ladder Report which, for now, basically summarizes the week’s junior formula news.  If you haven’t been over to Tony’s blog… I highly recommend that you out click on this link and give it a read.  You won’t be disappointed.

On the international scene, it was announced earlier today that Formula BMW standout Gabby Chaves will drive in the 2010 Italian Formula 3 Championship with Eurointernational.  The 16-year-old American won the 2009 FBMW-Americas title.

Markus Niemela, who won the 2008 Atlantic Championship, will try his hand at a different type of open-wheel racing in 2010; sprint car racing. I have a feeling that Markus will be absolutely thrilled with his decision.

Formula 3 Euro Series front-runner Valtteri Bottas will be Williams’ official F1 test driver in 2010.

Team PBIR recently announced that they will aim to fill two seats for 2010 through their  “Rookie Challenge Program”.  This is a really exciting opportunity for any up-and-coming driver.  It’s great to see Kane Williams, Ron Dixon and all the PBIR staff working together (along with numerous key sponsors) to make this program a reality.  Make sure to read the release linked above.

Joe Saward touched on the importance of Ferrari’s young driver program and hinted that it could really take off in the coming years under the guidance of  Luca Baldisserri.

The F2000 Championship released some big news this morning that GTP Motorsports will be fielding five cars in 2010.  They are hoping to enter 7-to-8 entries at their home track; Lime Rock Park.

Alexander Rossi, who recently committed to a season in GP3 with ART, will replace Diego Nunes at Meritus for the remaining GP2-Asia events.

Terrick Mansur, 20, recently tested a F2000 car at Sebring International Raceway with Liberty Motorsports and hopes to return to racing full-time in 2010 via the USF2000 National Championship.

Mike Foschi has teamed up with the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation and will donate every penny earned from his Foschi University sales to the SSPF.  On the Foschi U website, Mike (the Dean of Foschi U) states, “I ain’t keepin’ crap“.  He is referring to the sales he makes on Foschi U apparel.  This is a pretty classy move and it’s great to see people supporting the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation.

The FAZZT Race Team is working on putting together a driver development program and recently signed Maryeve Dufault.  The 27-year-old Canadian driver is a bit of a surprise pick for the program, but it’s great to see more teams stepping up to the plate to help develop drivers.

Charles Anti (former Star Mazda competitor) is working on putting together a F2000 program for up-and-coming drivers.  The team will run under the AntiSpeed Competition Inc. logo if they are able to come up with the necessary funding. It’s likely that Anti will return to the cockpit as well.

Alexander Rossi has committed to GP3 with ART.  He will be joined by Esteban Gutierrez and Pedro Enrique.  There were a few people who expected Rossi to go straight to GP2 in 2010 but in reality this probably isn’t a bad move, especially when you look at the quality of competition heading to GP3.

Ben Johnston, owner of the Atlantic Championship, is taking a proactive approach to the 2010 season by attending the Autosport Show in England.  He will be offering a test day at Palm Beach International Raceway exclusively for European drivers in February.  Now, if the series could just make an announcement on who will be attending the upcoming test at Sebring on January 23-24, 2010.  I am guessing Zach Veach will be there and perhaps Adam Christodoulou… anyone else?

In World Series by Renault news, Federico Leo will return to Pons Racing for 2010.  No big surprise here, I think most expected him to return for a sophomore season after looking at his 2009 results.  His best finishes of the season occurred during the final two events of the year at Motorland Aragon.  I expect we will see continued improvement in 2010.

Most traditional racing sites are just now reporting that Gianmarco Raimondo has signed with Lucidi Motors to compete in the 2010 Italian F3 championship but Norris McDonald confirmed it on New Year’s Day.  Raimondo, aka G-Mo,  spent the 2009 season in the Formula BMW-Americas series where he finished the year with 1 win and 9 podiums.

It was announced this week that the IndyCar and Indy Lights’ drivers will be testing at Barber Motorsports Park next month.  The schedule has some wondering if the teams will be testing snow tires.

Team JTR (Joe Tandy Racing) plans to launch a racing academy named after the late team owner Joe Tandy who was killed in a street car accident last year.  The academy will help assist up-and-coming drivers.

A few weeks ago, I linked to an article over at Planet-IRL written by Stephanie Wallcraft.  The article looked at a few of the flaws associated with the ‘Road to Indy’ program.  Since that time, a rebuttal has been posted by Tony George Jr. (the Manager of Business Development for the Firestone Indy Lights series) … read it here. It’s a solid read and just goes to show how serious the IRL is about this new program aimed at helping up-and-coming drivers.

Speaking of the ‘Road to Indy‘ … I received a few links and some kind words regarding my coverage of junior formula racing from Tony Johns over at the SBNation IndyCar blog: Pop Off Valve.  Thanks TJ.

I decided to take a short break over the holidays this year.  Subsequently, I’m a little behind on some of the latest junior formula news.  It seems like a good time for another edition of Linkage.

Stephanie Wallcraft, of Planet-IRL.com, wrote an interesting piece yesterday on the flaws associated with the ‘Road to Indy program’.  She brings up some valid points but I think it’s important to remember that the creation of an additional ladder system is definitely a step in the right direction.  I’m hopeful that a few of the issues will be sorted out shortly.  If you haven’t already read it, make sure to out-click on the link above and give her story a read.

Sort of old news by now but Radon Sport has introduced a new F2000 car.  Reportedly, several cars have already been sold and  a few teams plan to utilize them in the 2010 F2000 Championship.  USF1′s Ken Anderson was also involved with this project.

Doug Patterson, of OpenPaddock.net, recently completed his 3-part review of the 2009 Indy Lights season.  You can read them here:  Spring Races, Mid-Season Grind and the Battle for the Championship.

Jon Waldock, of The Feeder Series, added a Formula Renault 3.5 Guide to his site.  It’s a pretty basic summary but a worthy read for those interested in the World Series by Renault.

Brian Stewart Racing is planning to return to the Indy Lights series full-time in 2010.  The team is also planning to field an entry in the USF2000 National Championship.  The team linked to my Indy Lights quiz , so posting some news on their upcoming racing season is the least I can do.  Glad you enjoyed the quiz Brian.

My Spanish is very limited, but it sounds like Pablo Donoso has decided to retire from racing.  Try Google Translation.

Make sure to send me your news and/or ideas for future blog posts:  junioropenwheeltalent at gmail dot com

Time for a Friday edition of Linkage.

Formula BMW
In the past I haven’t given Formula BMW Europe a whole lot of attention (at least not on the blog)— strictly due to workload— but with the disappearance of Formula BMW-Americas in 2010…  that may change.  In any case, here is the Formula BMW-Europe 2010 Schedule.

Star Mazda
James Kovacic, who ran in the 2009 Formula BMW-Americas series, was recently awarded the AMSF International Rising Star Award and is currently discussing his options for 2010 with several Star Mazda teams.  The AMSF (Australian Motor Sport Foundation) scholarship wants Kovacic to compete in Star Mazda… so the 16-year-old is planning to drive in next month’s Official Star Mazda test at Sebring International Raceway.

Doug Patterson over at OpenPaddock.net has put together a review of the 2009 Star Mazda season:  Getting Started, The Mid-Season Grind, and the Battle for the Championship.

F2000 Championship
Ralph Firman, who founded Van Diemen, is planning to supply a new chassis to the F2000 Championship in 2010.  The chassis was designed by Firman’s new company RFR (Ralph Firman Racing)… which opened its doors in 2008.

For anyone that missed “Blogger Night” on Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee last night, make sure to check it out.  You can listen to the podcast here.

Team Autotecnica, of Formula BMW fame, will join the Star Mazda championship full-time in 2010, they also plan to do some F2000 races.  Several teams have committed to running F2000 races in 2010 (via press release) but no one will commit to a series.

Indy Lights competitor Stefan Wilson had the chance to sample a F1 car earlier today at Silverstone after winning the 2007 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

Cooper Tires will continue their support of junior formula racing by sponsoring the USF2000 National Championship in 2010.

The off-season is upon us, but that doesn’t mean the news has stopped.  There have been quite a few press releases hitting my inbox this week and I think it seems like a good time for another edition of “Linkage”.

Brooks Associates Racing, who won the 2008 Atlantic Championship, will return to competition in 2010 via the Indy Lights series after taking a year hiatus due to financial concerns.  They purchased their car from Guthrie-Meyer Racing who disbanded after being suspended indefinitely by IRL officials early this season.

In other Indy Lights news, it looks like Team E is planning a return in 2010.

I meant to provide a link on this last month, Chris Estrada over at Indy Racing Revolution wrote a piece on the new USF2000 National Championship.  It’s always nice to see IndyCar bloggers give the feeder series some attention.

Speaking of feeder series, I just found this site.

The RRDC (Road Racing Drivers Club) received a grant from the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund and will be hosting free workshops for young drivers.  They have organized a real solid group of field experts and panelists to speak at the Young Driver’s Symposium at the PRI trade show.  Looks like a pretty good opportunity for up-and-coming drivers.

In Star Mazda news, Corey Lewis won Round #1 of the Formula Mazda Winter Tour after Jorge Goncalvez was penalized one spot for accelerating too soon at the start of the race.

Alexander Rossi is no longer the only American sampling GP2 this off-season as Jake Rosenzweig turned the 13th quickest time in today’s Paul Ricard test.  Rosenzweig drove for Carlin Motorsport this season in the F3 Euro Series.  I didn’t do a formal write-up on this , but Alexander Rossi deserves some press after finishing inside the top-five in both GP2-Asia races last weekend in Abu Dhabi.  It was his GP2-Asia series debut.