Scuderia Corsa, the Verizon IndyCar Series’ newest entrant, is working to transition its one-off debut at the Indy 500 into a full-time effort in 2019.
Team co-owner Giacomo Mattioli, who founded the Ferrari-affiliated team with Art Zafiropoulo, says IndyCar is where he wants to expand Scuderia Corsa’s footprint to complement their championship-winning sports car programs. Their initial foray into IndyCar has come in a partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing for Oriol Servia, who qualified 26th for the 500.
“It might be crazy, but that’s what we’re working on,” Mattioli told RACER. “It’s 50/50 [for a] full season for next year; we’re not there yet. But we are in advanced talks. We would love to add a full-time IndyCar program to our platforms. Obviously, we’ll stay in Ferrari Challenge and GT racing with Ferrari, but also it would be nice to have an IndyCar program so we’re working towards that. I can’t say much more for now, but hopefully.”
MonteCristo wrote: ↑6 years ago
Your grid* for the 2018 Indy 500:
*Until Hinch subs in somewhere.
Vassago wrote: ↑6 years ago
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Hinch will be drafted in for Howard most likely.
From the man himself it is not going to happen...
Despite speculation that a seat might be bought for the man who qualified on pole for the Indianapolis 500 only two years ago, Hinchcliffe has now stated categorically that no such deal will take place.
James Hinchcliffe has himself ruled out taking over another car to start this year’s Indianapolis 500 after missing the cut on Bump Day.
“Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will not be racing in the Indy 500 this year,” the Canadian advised on social media.
“The decision was made to stop pursuing options to get us in the race.
“There really aren’t words to describe how missing this race feels.
“At the end of the day, we simply didn’t get the job done. No excuses. This is our reality and we will face it head on, we will use it as motivation and we will come back stronger.
“We have a great team, incredible partners and the best fans, all who have been so supportive through this. I’m sorry we can’t be on track for you Sunday, but we will be pushing hard for the wins in Detroit.
“I wish all 33 drivers a fast and safe race. I’ll be watching and cheering on my SPM teammates. See you in Detroit.”
Unforseen circumstances? Unlikely given he admits they are no longer looking for or pursuing options.
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
... something not lost on Wheldon, who, to much personal annoyance, found that even the specialist motorsport outlets had chosen to put Danica on the cover rather than himself. Especially as he had become the first Brit to win the event since Graham Hill in 1966.
Two weeks later at Texas, Wheldon arrived with personalised T-shirts for himself (“I actually WON The Indy 500”), Buddy Rice (“Danica’s Team-mate”) and Vitor Meira (“Danica’s Other Team-mate”) in humorous, but loaded, aim at the blinkered focus the media had taken
* I started life with nothing, and still have most of it left
“Good drivers have dead flies on the side windows!” (Walter Röhrl)
* I married Miss Right. Just didn't know her first name was Always
If Danica was born like 10 years earlier, she'd be IRL megastar. I mean, a real star with multiple wins and perhaps a championship to her name. Sarah Fisher was fast in her own right but crash-prone tbh and she was a star herself. Once the road/street tracks began to pile up on the schedule, she bolted for NASCAR money. Alas the open-wheen/stock car switch always proves more difficult than vice versa. Tim Richmond and Tony Stewart were the only two exceptions in the last 35 years or so.
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
Danica was what the IRL needed during its boom period of the early-mid 2000s, a reasonably fast young attractive female with a strong personality who had a fairly decent junior record including a podium at the Formula Ford Festival (and boy did her team play upon that one...). While Indycar were competing for the American open wheel fan base and ChampCar was in its decline, Danica was a key aspect that Indycar could utilize.
Danica did well during her early Indycar career, and back then I was a fan (dating back to meeting her in England during her FF and Formula Vauxhall Jnr days) however its often forgotten that she had a significant advantage due to her weight. Only the weight of the car was measured during scrutineering, which gave Danica a multiple KG advantage. Much to the dissatisfaction of her competition.
Back in 2005 the old CART boys began to dominate the IRL. Buddy Rice's 500 win is the high-water mark for the IRL gang and he was like out of the series within the next three years or so while still in his prime tbh.
Btw, did Cheever lose the Red Bull backing bc Mateschitz went full-NASCAR? I don't remember the details anymore.
Sarah Fisher could have easily outperformed Danica if she didn't crash that often and drove for a better team tbh.
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
kals wrote: ↑5 years ago
Only the weight of the car was measured during scrutineering, which gave Danica a multiple KG advantage. Much to the dissatisfaction of her competition.
Which was why she was far better on ovals. IRL cars were low HP, so most of the tracks were flat, and with her weight advantage, she was towards the pointy end.
On the road courses she struggled, which given her background on circuit racing showed that she wasn't really all that crash hot a driver.
Fair play to her though. There are worse drivers around, and she made a very nice career for herself.
Oscar Piastri in F1! Catch the fever! Vettel Hate Club. Life membership.
She seemed to have a knack for low/medium-speed flat track racing, which is why she was at her best on a track like Martinsville in NASCAR as well as the road courses in both NASCAR and Indycar.
But in the end, she was mediocre as fuck. If she was a man, I doubt she'd have even gotten past the grassroots stage but she's used her non-driving talents well to make a good life for herself and for that, I give her some credit.
I think it's two hours after the F1, maybe three, it was three last year but with F1 shifting their start times about its kinda thrown me off, I do know our BTSports coverage starts at 3.30, unfortunately it seems they have not learnt from last year and will be providing their own pre-race show rather than taking ABC's which last year involved two washed up touring car drivers, a miserable Indycar failure and Suzie Perry, none of which knew their arse from their elbow.
I am very sorry if you find my posts long and boring, I like to type and often go off on a tangent.
If this is the case, you may click here to solve the problem, or alternatively here too.
I think it's 1.5 hours after the F1. Indycar says 1hr 05minutes. But that's not counting some of the final pre-race festivities (Back Home Again, etc).
It was usually 6:10-6:15 PM CET or something like that IIRC. Though this could be where Gomer used to sing so the race could start closer to 6:30 (or 5:30 in the UK).
Should be 1 hour and a change after Monaco GP ends.
07.04.1968 - Flower of Scotland when will we see your like again? 01.05.1994 - We'll never forget...
