Ryan Hunter-Reay Signs New Deal With Andretti Autosport

Ryan Hunter-Reay has secured himself a new deal with Andretti Autosport for the next two seasons in the IZOD IndyCar Series, ahead of this evening’s season finale around the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway. The 31-year-old American is currently 2nd in the Drivers’ Championship, with a slim chance of clinching the title in this evening’s race.

Since making the switch from ChampCar in 2007, Ryan Hunter-Reay has quickly established himself as one of the top drivers in the IndyCar Series. After joining Andretti Autosport for the 2010 season, Hunter-Reay has taken six victories for the outfit. Four of those have come this season, with Hunter-Reay still a Championship contender alongside Will Power heading into this evening’s finale.

Although there was speculation floating around the IndyCar paddock that Hunter-Reay could jump ship once again, the Texan has finally put pen to paper and signed for a further two seasons at Andretti Autosport. The team, owned by former IndyCar and Formula 1 driver Michael Andretti, last won the Championship back in 2007 with Dario Franchitti.

“I have a lot of deep rooted relationships with the team and the team sponsors and I’m looking forward to continuing and further developing those relationships,” explained Ryan Hunter-Reay, who is currently locked in the Championship battle with Will Power. “I’m happy to be able to enjoy the off-season knowing what the next two years hold.”

It is believed that Hunter-Reay’s current team-mates, Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe, will also remain with the outfit next season. Marco Andretti has been an Andretti Autosport driver since his debut in the Series back in 2006, largely thanks to his family ties within the team. Ryan Hunter-Reay will be looking to celebrate his new deal with the team this evening, as he strives to take his first IndyCar Championship.

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Milwaukee IndyFest To Return In 2013

Only moments before issuing the command to start engines for Saturday’s Milwaukee IndyFest, president and CEO of Andretti Sports Marketing, Michael Andretti, announced that the IZOD IndyCar Series would return in 2013. This announcement comes months after the Milwaukee Mile looked in danger of being removed from the IndyCar schedule back in February.

With street and road courses greatly outweighing oval courses on the 2012 IZOD IndyCar schedule, the Milwaukee Mile was the latest oval that looked likely to be dropped after 2011. However, after Michael Andretti assumed promotion of the event with his company Andretti Sports Marketing, the Milwaukee IndyFest looks set to be a recurring event on the IndyCar schedule.

The 2013 Milwaukee IndyFest is scheduled for June 14-15th, and tickets can already be purchased at the tracks official website: http://www.MilwaukeeIndyFest.com/.

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Milwaukee Mile Confirmed On IndyCar Series Calendar For 2012

The Milwaukee Mile has been confirmed on the 2012 IndyCar Series calendar, this comes after Michael Andretti’s Andretti Sports Marketing company completed a deal to promote to the 2012 race.

The race didn’t take place in 2010 due to difficulties regarding the payment of sanctioning fees, however for 2011 the race returned with limited success after low tickets sales. This therefore fueled the belief that the 2011 Milwaukee Mile would be a one off, and sure enough for 2012 the provisional calendar didn’t feature a visit to Milwaukee.

Initially IndyCar looked set to visit only four ovals in 2012 with the Indianapolis 500, the Texas Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway and the Auto Club Speedway, resulting in an IndyCar schedule which featured more road and street courses than ovals.

However that number is now set to increase to five as the Milwaukee Mile joins the list of remaining ovals still in IndyCar. The 2012 Milwaukee Mile will on the weekend of June 15-16, slotting in between the Firestone 550K from Texas and the Iowa Speedway race weekend, creating three weeks of back-to-back oval racing.

“It’s a historic track in a great city, and it’s a place that has always been a favorite for my family,” said Michael Andretti, whose company will be promoting the 2012 event, “But, more importantly, it’s an ideal track for IndyCars and always produces exciting racing for the fans.”

The 2012 IndyCar Series kicks off on March 25th with the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello could well be on the grid, potentially racing for KV Racing Technology alongside good friend Tony Kanaan.

Ben Edwards Becomes BBC F1 Lead Commentator

Ben Edwards today announced on the social networking site Twitter that he will become the new BBC F1 Commentator, replacing Martin Brundle to commentate alongside David Coulthard in 2012. This comes after Martin Brundle switched to Sky for next season to front their commentary team alongside fellow ex-BBC commentators Anthony Davidson and David Croft.

Ben Edwards has recently been the British Touring Car Championship commentator for ITV and has also previously fronted EuroSport’s Formula 1 coverage alongside former F1 driver John Watson throughout the 1990s. Once EuroSport lost the rights to broadcast F1 at the end of 1996 he began commentating on ChampCar (CART) for EuroSport and ESPN International and had undeniably his finest moment during the final laps for the 2000 Michigan 500 where Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Andretti crossed the line side-by-side with Ben Edwards literally screaming in both delight and shock at such an exciting and close finish.

In 2002 Ben became the Lead Commentator for Bernie Ecclestone’s F1 Digital+ channel which was pay-per-view through Sky TV and was partnered by former colleague from EuroSport John Watson. However due to an unsuccessful 2002 season, F1 Digital+ ceased to exist and three years later Ben Edwards became the Lead Commentator for the new A1 Grand Prix Series launched in 2005. 

Although there has been no official statement from the BBC pertaining to Ben Edwards joining the team, he did say this on Twitter: “So, it looks as though it’s really happening. I will be the BBC F1 commentator in 2012 and I can’t wait! It took a while for things to be sorted, and thanks to ITV for being so understanding. Really looking forward to working with the crew.”

With both Sky and the BBC signing two superb commentators it’s going to be difficult to decide which channel to watch next seasons races on.