Ryan Briscoe Replaces Outbound JR Hildebrand At Panther Racing

It has been confirmed that Ryan Briscoe will replace JR Hildebrand at Panther Racing for this weekend’s Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit, following the 25-year-old American’s contract termination with the Indianapolis-based outfit. Ryan Briscoe finished 12th last weekend in the Indianapolis 500 with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Since storming to Championship success in the Firestone Indy Lights Series back in 2009 with AFS Racing, JR Hildebrand has enjoyed a relatively successful career in the IZOD IndyCar Series with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Panther Racing. However, after only five races this season, the Californian-born 25-year-old has had his contract terminated with Panther Racing. For this weekend’s dual races in Detroit, the outfit has appointed Ryan Briscoe as Hildebrand’s replacement, however a full-time replacement has yet to be confirmed.

JR Hildebrand began his IZOD IndyCar career in 2010.

“I want to thank Panther Racing for the opportunity to drive the No. 4 National Guard Chevrolet,” explained JR Hildebrand in a statement. “It was a privilege to represent our men and women in uniform, along with the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe and the team’s veteran employment initiatives. I’m very much looking forward to the next chapter in my IndyCar career.”

After numerous Formula 1 tests with Toyota in 2003 and 2004, Ryan Briscoe made his debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series with Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005. During his debut season, Briscoe was involved in a horrific incident at Chicagoland where he was launched into the catch-fencing. Despite being injured during the incident, the Australian driver made a full recovery and joined Dreyer & Reinbold racing the following season. After a season in the American Le Mans Series with Penske, Briscoe returned to IndyCar in 2008 with Team Penske.

Towards the end of the 2012 season it became apparent that Ryan Briscoe’s drive at Team Penske was under threat, and the Australian driver left the outfit after finishing 6th in the Drivers’ Championship with 370 points. Ryan Briscoe returned to the IZOD IndyCar Series last weekend for the Indianapolis 500 with Chip Ganassi Racing, and is understandably thrilled to be preparing to compete once again this weekend in Detroit.

“I’m unbelievably excited to be back in the IndyCar Series with Panther Racing and to have the opportunity to drive the National Guard Chevrolet this weekend,” enthused Ryan Briscoe. “I’ve competed against this team for a long time and it will be great to have the opportunity to work with John Barnes and the Panther guys. I’m confident we’ll all work well together and be able to hit the ground running this weekend in Detroit.”

Last season Ryan Briscoe finished 16th around the Belle Isle street circuit for Team Penske, a season when the Sydney-born 31-year-old only won one race at Sonoma. With a full-time replacement currently unconfirmed by Panther Racing, Ryan Briscoe will be out to impress this weekend in a bid prolong his time with the Indianapolis-based outfit.

Picture(s) Copyright © Jim Haines & Chris Jones/IndyCar

Conor Daly To Drive For Force India In Aero Test

Conor Daly will once again get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car with Force India on Wednesday, when the American ace partakes in an aero test at Duxford Airfield. The 21-year-old competed in the GP2 season opener at Malaysia for Hilmer Motorsport, and has been confirmed with ART Grand Prix in the GP3 Series for the remainder of the season.

Along with his commitments in Europe, Conor Daly will also contest in this year’s Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing. This will mark his debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series, with a team which has already secured one race victory with Takuma Sato this season. Daly’s test with Force India on Wednesday will be the 21-year-old’s third outing in a Formula 1 car, after he partook in two similar tests last year with the Silverstone-based outfit.

“These sessions are vital data gathering times for Formula 1 teams and I’m glad to be able to assist,” explained Conor Daly. “Formula 1 cars are very complex machines and the day provides me with a great opportunity to learn many of the systems.”

With in-season testing now non-existent in Formula 1, the various teams electing to carry out aero tests will naturally be striving to compile as much valuable data as possible before the next race weekend around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Force India in particular will be hoping to continue with their competitive start to the season, which has seen both Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta lead a combined 14 laps in the opening four races.

Picture Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service

Conor Daly Q&A

Although the 2013 motorsport season is only several months old, American 21-year-old Conor Daly has already enjoyed a tremendously busy year both in Europe and America. The son of the former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Derek Daly has tested in the GP3 Series, competed in the GP2 Series and has been confirmed for the Indianapolis 500.

Conor Daly began his open-wheel single-seater career back in 2008 in the Formula 2000 Series, and has since competed in the Star Mazda Championship, Firestone Indy Lights Series, GP3 Series, MRF Challenge and the GP2 Series. The American star has also partaken in a test for the IZOD IndyCar Series, where he managed to impress team owner A.J. Foyt and land himself a drive at the legendary Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing.

Despite competing in the opening round of the GP2 Series season at Malaysia several weeks ago, Conor Daly has dismissed plans to run in the category full-time this season. As the 2013 season of motorsport steps up a gear in the coming weeks, I caught up Conor Daly as we discussed his forthcoming debut in the IZOD IndyCar Series and his debut in the GP2 Series for Hilmer Motorsport.

Q: First of all Conor, many thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s been a busy start to the season for you, with competing in the GP2 Series in Malaysia, testing for the GP3 Series and the confirmation that you’ll compete at the Indianapolis 500 in May with A.J. Foyt Racing. What does it mean to you to be preparing to compete in such a legendary event?

Conor Daly testing at Sebring in December for A.J. Foyt Racing.

Conor Daly: It has definitely been a busy start to the year! I can’t really believe how much has gone on and it’s only April. The Indy 500 deal being announced was definitely an amazing feeling. I’ve been to that race every year of my life except for last year when I was racing in Monaco. The event means so much to me because it’s really my home town race. I grew up and still live only 30 minutes from the track and was always there as often as I could be. People don’t really understand how massive of an event it is until they experience it themselves. It is without a doubt the greatest race in the world. I am really excited to get to work and do the best job I can.

Q: Although you have competed in both the Star Mazda Championship and the Firestone Indy Lights Series in America, you have only competed on a handful of ovals in your single-seater career. Do you feel nervous with the prospect of competing in the 200-lap race, or are you confident ahead of your Indianapolis 500 debut?

CD: It will be a big challenge for sure because Indianapolis is a very unique oval. I’ve known the Indy deal could happen for the last couple of months and I have been reaching out to many people I know to get some advice or different bits of information on the track or car that might be helpful. I’m confident I’ll be able to get up to speed because the Foyt team does a great job in car preparation and A.J. [Foyt] knows how perfect everything has to be to win at Indy.

Q: As you will be regarded as a rookie at the Indianapolis 500, you will participate in the Rookie Orientation Program on April 11th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway alongside fellow rookies A.J. Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier and Carlos Munoz. For those who do not fully understand this program, could you please explain what it entails.

CD: You basically go out and do 10 laps at 200-205mph average speed and progress to faster speeds until you get to do 10 laps at 210 or 215mph+. It is a big track to get to grips with and extremely high speeds so they give the rookies a day to learn before the month of May begins.

Q: Meanwhile, you have also been competing in the GP2 and GP3 Series. Last month in Malaysia you made your debut in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport, finishing 13th and 7th respectively. How do you feel you performed during your debut in the category?

Conor Daly finished 13th and 7th respectively during his debut race weekend in GP2.

CD: I think I did pretty well considering how much time I had in the car before that weekend. I only had an afternoon in the dry at the Barcelona test to get to grips with the car. It was also a new track for me so to have the second fastest lap of the race in race two and to score points I was extremely happy. The team did a great job and they’ve got some really good engineers which was a massive help.

Q: Last season in GP3 you took your first victory in the category around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, and throughout the remainder of the season finished on the podium a further four times. However, at Monaco you were involved in a huge airborne incident with Dmitry Suranovich which saw your car launched into the catch-fencing at the exit of the tunnel. What went through your mind as you struck the rear of Suranovich?

CD: That incident should never have happened. The way he was driving was absolutely unsafe and was deemed “acceptable”. I don’t really care to talk about it anymore because it really ruined my season but what’s done is done and I learned from it and had a lot of strong races throughout the rest of the season.

Q: And finally, retuning to the topic of the IZOD IndyCar Series, can we expect to see you back in the No. 41 machine after the Indianapolis 500, or will you continue to compete in the GP2 Series in Europe and Asia?

CD: I don’t know if I will do any other IndyCar races or not. If I have the opportunity and no schedule conflicts I’d love to do a road course race in the IndyCar, but of course there also has to be a budget in place to do that. At the moment a lot of my racing plans are up in the air and they most likely will not include GP2. Many people think I am racing in GP2 full-time which is not actually the case. I had a great opportunity provided for me to do the first race and I took advantage of it. If I was racing GP2 full-time, I wouldn’t be doing all of the GP3 pre-season testing… I can’t say much about what else is going on but I will be racing something full-time for sure.

Many thanks to Conor Daly for the communication and time taken to complete this interview.

Picture(s) Copyright © Malcolm Griffiths/GP3 Series Media Service, John Hendrick/IndyCar & Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Conor Daly Confirmed For 2013 Indianapolis 500

It has been confirmed that 21-year-old American driver Conor Daly will compete in this year’s Indianapolis 500 with A.J. Foyt Racing, alongside the team’s full-time driver Takuma Sato. Conor Daly, who is the son of former Formula 1 and IndyCar driver Derek Daly, is currently competing in the GP2 Series with Hilmer Motorsport.

This announcement comes after Conor Daly tested for A.J. Foyt Racing in mid-December at the Sebring International Raceway, in doing so getting his first taste of the Dallara-spec IZOD IndyCar Series machine. In 2011, Conor Daly competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series, the support category for the IZOD IndyCar Series. During his time in the feeder category, Daly took one race victory and two further podium finishes whilst also competing in the GP3 Series in Europe for Carlin. Last year the American ace continued in the GP3 Series for Lotus GP, securing his maiden victory at Barcelona whilst also storming to Championship success in the MRF Challenge.

Conor Daly took his maiden GP3 victory at Barcelona in 2012.

For 2013 Conor Daly has graduated from GP3 to GP2 with Hilmer Motorsport, a new team in the support category. The American driver made his debut in the Series several weeks ago in Malaysia, in support of the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix. Conor Daly managed to finish 13th and 7th respectively in the feature and sprint race, and will make his second appearance in the Series in several weeks in Bahrain. The 21-year-old, from Noblesville, Indiana, is understandably thrilled to be preparing to compete in the Indianapolis 500, undoubtedly one of the most prestigious races of the year.

“I almost can’t describe what it means to have the opportunity to race in the Indianapolis 500,” explained Conor Daly. “I am so thankful that A.J. and [team director] Larry [Foyt] have given me my first shot at the greatest race in the world. I know this will sound cheesy but I’ve never been happier in my life; this race means so much to me.”

Conor Daly greatly impressed A.J. Foyt during his test with the outfit at Sebring in December, a test which featured many of IndyCar’s top drivers including Scott Dixon and Will Power. Even the Penske driver was impressed with both Conor Daly and Tristan Vautier’s performance during their first laps in an IZOD IndyCar Series machine, hence A.J. Foyt’s optimism ahead of the 97th Indianapolis 500. Last season A.J. Foyt racing endured a dismal Indianapolis 500, with both Mike Conway and Wade Cunningham retiring by Lap 78.

“He ran well at Sebring when we needed someone to do some testing in the offseason,” said A.J. Foyt, who became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. “He was fast, smooth, and didn’t get in trouble. When we made a change on the car he felt it. I found him to be very savvy on the chassis setups. In fact, when we made a minor change which was really nothing, he thought about it and said it felt no different. I told him that was the right answer because we didn’t do anything he’d be able to feel, so that impressed me, too. I’ve run a lot of rookies at Indy and I think Conor will do a good job for us.”

Conor Daly will complete his first laps around the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway on April 11th, when the American driver is joined by fellow rookies A.J. Allmendinger, Tristan Vautier and Carlos Munoz in completing the Rookie Orientation Program. The opening day of the Indianapolis 500 is a month later on May 11th, with pole day on May 18th and the all-important 200-lap race on May 26th.

Picture(s) Copyright © Glenn Dunbar & Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Series Media Service

Scorpion Racing Eying Up HRT Takeover

It has been confirmed that a group of Canadian and American investors are eying up a possible takeover of the HRT Formula 1 Team, after the Madrid-based outfit failed to stay afloat in the expensive world of the sport. The group of investors, known as Scorpion Racing, are allegedly striving to secure the twelfth slot on the grid for the 2013 season.

Although Formula 1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone appears to be backing Scorpion Racing’s bid to purchase the ailing Spanish team, it is widely believed by many within the paddock that the planned resurgence will have to wait until the 2014 season. With the forthcoming season only weeks away, it is highly unlikely that the sports governing body, the FIA, will permit the team to compete in the new season.

When HRT entered liquidation at the end of last season, it is believed the final slot on the 2013 grid was closed. This naturally means that Scorpion Racing will have to wait until 2014 before they can begin competing in the sport. Although Scorpion Racing is only in the early stages of its purchase of the HRT F1 team, German newspaper Bild is already linking former Force India driver Adrian Sutil to the outfit. However, F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes it is too late for Scorpion Racing to be included in the forthcoming season.

“I’ve spoken to them and told them to get in touch with the FIA and ask for an entry,” explained Mr. Ecclestone to the Press Association. “They want to buy all the bits from HRT, then form a company and ask for an entry, but I personally don’t think it will happen. It’s all a bit too late. Maybe they could do it for next year.”

It has been rumored that Scorpion Racing would operate out of a base within Silverstone, instead of utilizing HRT’s still relatively new factory in Madrid. It is expected that the investors will complete the takeover of HRT towards the end of the week, enabling them to begin preparations for their endeavor into the tough world of Formula 1.

Picture Copyright © HRT F1 Team

Jake Rosenzweig To Partner Rio Haryanto At Barwa Addax In 2013

Spanish GP2 team Barwa Addax have confirmed that American driver Jake Rosenzweig will partner Rio Haryanto at the outfit in the forthcoming GP2 season, after the 23-year-old competed in the final two rounds of the season for Barwa Addax last year. Rosenzweig will become the first American to compete in the Series since Scott Speed.

After enjoying Championship supremacy in 2011 with Romain Grosjean, Barwa Addax endured a relatively tough 2012 season which yielded only two victories at the hands of both Johnny Cecotto jr. and Josef Kral. The Spanish outfit finished the year only 8th in the Constructors’ Championship with 131 points scored, a tally they will be aiming to better in the coming season with a revised driving line-up which includes Rio Haryanto and American star Jake Rosenzweig.

Jake Rosenzweig’s path to the GP2 Series has included stints in both the GP2 Asia, Auto GP and Formula Renault 3.5 categories. Towards the end of the 2012 GP2 season, Jake Rosenzweig was called upon by the Spanish outfit to partner Johnny Cecotto jr. in the final two rounds of the year at Monza and Singapore, where the American driver managed to finish all four races albeit well outside the points paying positions. However, Barwa Addax were impressed with Rosenzweig’s performances during both the final two rounds of the season and the post-season tests, and he will therefore compete in his first full season of GP2 action in 2013 alongside Indonesian ace Rio Haryanto.

“I am excited to be joining Addax for the 2013 GP2 season and wish to thank all involved for making this possible.” Said Jake Rosenzweig, “Having raced in the final two rounds of the 2012 Championship with Addax, I know what an opportunity this represents to be working with them again. The race calendar has some great circuits and I am looking forward to hitting the ground running. I will do my best to score as many points as possible over the course of the season.”

Barwa Addax have become the sixth team on the grid to confirm their full driver line-up for the forthcoming season, along with DAMS, Lotus GP, Arden International, Racing Engineering and Carlin. With so many Championship contenders on the grid for the new season, 2013 is expected to be yet another sensationally exciting season of GP2 action. Both Rio Haryanto and Jake Rosenzweig will be hoping to add to the excitement once the action gets underway in March at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Formula 1 Considering Launching American Feeder Series

Formula 1 is considering launching an American-based feeder series for the sport, similar to that seen in Europe with the extremely popular GP2 and GP3 Series. In the past seven years, GP2 and GP3 have produced some of F1’s biggest stars including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Sergio Perez.

However, despite a brief series based in Asia named GP2 Asia, direct feeder series to Formula 1 have remained European-based, with the majority of the grid consisting of European drivers. Only a handful of drivers from outside Europe have shone in both GP2 and GP3, including the likes of Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Mitch Evans. However, this could all change in the near future, with a feeder series similar to GP2 and GP3 currently being planned for America.

According to ESPN, this would see races scheduled across the likes of Canada, the United States and Brazil with a hope of one day discovering a new F1 star from that part of the world. Although there has been many American drivers throughout the history of F1, Mario Andretti remains the last American driver to win an F1 race back in 1978 with Lotus. With Formula 1 returning to the U.S. for the first time since 2007 this weekend, the sport is eager to cement itself within the nation alongside popular national series’ such as NASCAR and IndyCar.

If such a feeder series finally came to fruition, it would have to battle for supremacy alongside other American feeder categories such as IndyCar’s IndyLights Series and NASCAR’s Nationwide Series. Although the series would be able to support the Canadian, United States and Brazilian Grands Prix, it remains to seen whether or not such a category could sustain itself when F1 races in Europe and Asia.

Picture Copyright © Andrew Ferraro/GP2 Series Media Service

Jake Rosenzweig Replaces Josef Kral At Barwa Addax For Monza

American driver Jake Rosenzweig will make his return to the GP2 Series this weekend in Monza, as the 23-year-old prepares to replace Josef Kral for this weekend’s penultimate race weekend of the season. This comes after Kral won last time out in Belgium, and is the second time the Czech driver has been replaced this season.

Jake Rosenzweig raced for Super Nova Racing in last season’s non-Championship final at Abu Dhabi, and has this season raced in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series (World Series by Renault) for ISR, albeit yielding slightly uncompetitive results with a personal best of 6th at Spa-Francorchamps earlier in the year. This is the third driver change ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, after Stefano Coletti moved from Coloni to Rapax, forcing Coloni to re-sign Luca Filippi to fill his vacant seat.

This change is the second time Barwa Addax have replaced Josef Kral, after the Czech driver was replaced by HRT reserve driver Dani Clos for the two back-to-back Bahrain races at the start of the season. Although the Czech driver has endured a highly uncompetitive season throughout 2012, Josef Kral did win last time out at Spa-Francorchamps. However, this was only Kral’s second finish in the points all season, and could well be the reason behind why Addax have replaced Kral with Rosenzweig.

Jake Rosenzweig will become the first American driver to partake in an official GP2 event since the inaugural season back in 2005, when Scott Speed raced for iSport International alongside Turkish driver Can Artam. Barwa Addax have won three races so far this season, with both Josef Kral and Johnny Cecotto jr. victorious throughout the year. Jake Rosenzweig will undoubtedly be striving to emulate those results, and battle at the sharp end of the field for a competitive race result once the action gets underway this weekend.

Picture Copyright © Drew Gibson/GP2 Series Media Service

Danica Patrick Hints At Possible Indy 500 Return

Danica Patrick has insisted that a race winning car is imperative if the female star is to make a return to the Indianapolis 500, a race where she made her name in IndyCar racing during her debut season back in 2005. The 30-year-old female driver left the IZOD IndyCar Series at the end of last season, to pursue a career in NASCAR.

Danica Patrick’s one and only IndyCar victory in 2008

Arguably one of the most famous female sport stars in America, Danica Patrick’s shining moment in motor sport came in 2008 when she became the first female driver to win an IndyCar race at the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi. Since making the full-time switch to NASCAR, Danica Patrick has been hinting at a possible return to the Indianapolis 500.

“The Indy 500 next year, I would love to do it,” enthused Danica Patrick. “I’ve said that all along; I love the track, I love the race. I feel like it was always one of my strongest races of the year in IndyCar, so I feel like that’s something I would like to do, and maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t. But I can tell you the only way it’s going to happen is if it’s with someone I really feel I can have a shot to go out there and win.”

Danica Patrick enjoyed a highly successful IndyCar record at the brickyard, finishing within the top ten in all but one of her seven Indy 500 appearances. She also led the race on several occasions, most notably in 2005 during her debut season with the Rahal Letterman team. Danica Patrick would therefore only return if she had the opportunity to equal or even better her previous results at the legendary race, which is the crown-jewel of the IZOD IndyCar Series.

“It’s unfair to the history I’ve had and to my memory to do anything less than that,” continued Danica Patrick, explaining her desire to battle for victory. “I wouldn’t want to wreck anything I’ve experienced here with something to take away from that. So if we do it, it’ll be with a shot to be able to win. On top of that, there’s a whole lot of logistical issues to iron out. But first and foremost, a good car.”

Danica Patrick failed to make a return to the Indy 500 this season, due to commitments with the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. With the NASCAR calendar for both tiers of the sport consisting of over 30 rounds, Danica Patrick will be lucky to one day fit in the Indianapolis 500 around her exceedingly busy NASCAR schedule. She currently sits 9th in the Nationwide Series, with 443 points scored.

Picture(s) Copyright © Getty Images for NASCAR & AP Photo

Conor Daly To Complete Aero Test For Force India

GP3 driver Conor Daly will get his first taste of F1 machinery later today, as the American driver conducts a straight-line aero test at Gloucestershire’s Cotswold Airport for the Force India team. This test will allow the Silverstone-based team to compare their data acquired from the wind tunnel with actual track data.

Fresh from his sprint race victory during the opening round of the GP3 Series in Barcelona last weekend, the 20-year-old American visited the Force India factory on Tuesday. During his visit, Daly completed a seat-fitting in preparation for his run in the car and also met the engineers which he’ll work with throughout the day. This was also a perfect time for Daly to familiarize himself with the various systems on an F1 car, including the vast amount of dials and switches on the steering wheel.

Conor Daly, son of former-F1 driver Derek Daly, is currently lying 2nd in the GP3 Drivers’ Championship after a highly competitive opening weekend in the series. He’ll be hoping his outing for the Force India team set him up in good stead for the remainder of the 2012 season, as he strives to win further races in GP3.

Picture Copyright © Force India F1 Team