The Kimball lad got an extension. The HANS impetus. Bourdais is looking for a full time ride if you are hiring. Has anyone found an official schedule yet?
Bourdais? really he was so good in champcar and with peugot. why is he having a hard time getting with a better team? i admit his lackluster year but cripes a 4X champ.
I do not know anyone who has worked with him personally. But having listened to him on the radio often, I think he may be difficult to get along with. That is a hard pressed balance to be self confident enough to be a great driver, and humble enough to be nice to the people who probably matter most to you, your crew. It seems in Europe they kind of expect and accept their drivers being aloof, or self involved. In the US, you have a hard time finding a seat. I think that is where he may be....trying to find his equilibrium on this side.
I think the official schedule would have a lot of TBA in it if it was released right now. Going to China has got to be wickedly expensive, especially when considering the series is not rolling in dough. They should concentrate on building up the fan base here, and maybe countries to the north and south.
I have to wonder if China is subsidizing the series to come. I was kind of shocked by that news too.....
I have seen reports both ways on the Brazil events. Some say heavily subsidized, some say no taxpayer money. Maybe they have a new system.
Almost a given that they are, government subsidized racing is common almost everywhere except in the US. Tony George was really crying about that when dealing with F1.
The IndyCar press release says "full support" by various agencies. That could well be code for subsidizing travel costs, in addition to promoting the race. It's typical of China and its enormous population that they have a city of 8 million people that many (most?) of us have never heard of. Qingdao? Same thing happened in the Olympics, I'm scrambling with the map to locate these cities with huge populations.
I don't know squat about it by personal observation, but my neighbor travels there often. He tells me whole cities are being built and cropping up all over the country. Some of them are not even being utilized yet apparently. They build them and fill them, so I can see how this could easily happen on that basis.
Had she gotten the support she deserved early in her career, I think Danica would largely be an also-ran as far as driving accomplishments go. I hope she gets the funding to field a competitive team.
Great news, unless he is replaced by Cottman. I don't think Wally Dallenbach Jr. is busy. Might be worth a chat Randy.
I say Crapwagons 2 doesn't make the grid for 2012. But hey that's just me. http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-inside-the-2012-cars-design-development-issues
