RGM Fan
25th May 2007, 16:05
I though all the last minute speculation was just BS, and reading into what Graham says in this Gordon Kirby article it is.
"I think we need to start right now, not at the end of September because by then we would already be too far behind," Rahal commented. "Look at Penske, Ganassi and Andretti-Green, and they're already well ahead of all the other IRL teams who are racing these cars full-time. At the same time, I think the caliber of the top Champ Car teams--Newman/Haas/Lanigan, Forsythe and Walker--are just as good if not better on their day than Penske and Ganassi.
"When everyone raced each other these teams were all very successful in their own right so I have no doubt these teams all can be very competitive at Indianapolis. But if we're going to go there next year we need to start working and testing now. We need to make sure we get wind tunnel testing and track testing so the teams and drivers are familiar with the cars because the IRL cars are a heck of a lot different from what we're used to.
So if there isn't someone on the CC side buying equipment in the next couple months, or at least by september there won't be any CC teams at Indy. Also I like Graham, but he does talk out of his skinny rear end a good bit.
What I found interesting is that no where in the entire article does he talk about driving for his father's team in the 500, its all about his hopes the CC teams will come over. I wonder if this is because there is some truth the several year old rumor that RLR will be moving back to CC or if he realizes his dad's team will never be a winner in the IRL and he wants to stay with a competitive team.
You can read the full thing here: http://www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=11595
"I think we need to start right now, not at the end of September because by then we would already be too far behind," Rahal commented. "Look at Penske, Ganassi and Andretti-Green, and they're already well ahead of all the other IRL teams who are racing these cars full-time. At the same time, I think the caliber of the top Champ Car teams--Newman/Haas/Lanigan, Forsythe and Walker--are just as good if not better on their day than Penske and Ganassi.
"When everyone raced each other these teams were all very successful in their own right so I have no doubt these teams all can be very competitive at Indianapolis. But if we're going to go there next year we need to start working and testing now. We need to make sure we get wind tunnel testing and track testing so the teams and drivers are familiar with the cars because the IRL cars are a heck of a lot different from what we're used to.
So if there isn't someone on the CC side buying equipment in the next couple months, or at least by september there won't be any CC teams at Indy. Also I like Graham, but he does talk out of his skinny rear end a good bit.
What I found interesting is that no where in the entire article does he talk about driving for his father's team in the 500, its all about his hopes the CC teams will come over. I wonder if this is because there is some truth the several year old rumor that RLR will be moving back to CC or if he realizes his dad's team will never be a winner in the IRL and he wants to stay with a competitive team.
You can read the full thing here: http://www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=11595