# Champ Car Racing enters a new era



## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Chief designer Marshall worked for Lola Cars in England before joining Panoz where he developed the company's recent IRL cars. Marshall commented on the challenges of coming to grips with Champ Car's design brief for the new DP01.

"When Champ Car approached us asking for our proposal for their product they gave us a three-page summary of bullet points," Marshall said. "These ranged from the performance aspects, which would be seen as lap times, weight, power and downforce, as well as safety considerations. There was half a page of bullet points which covered some of the toughest tests in racing we would have to put this car through. It's given us a good chance to wipe the slate clean, break away from certain regulations which don't make sense today, and rewrite the Champ Car rulebook."

The new Panoz makes around 5,500 pounds of downforce at 200 mph with the underwing accounting for nearly 50% of the downforce. The focus on increasing the proportion of downforce produced by the underbody is the key component in trying to improve the raceability of the DP01 compared to recent Champ Cars.

"We also had to look at the aesthetics of the car," Marshall added. "It's hard to put your finger on what a Champ Car is and what it looks like because in a competitive environment it has changed and evolved. It seems to be dominated by the dissolving shape and the low engine cover which are all products of the turbo installation and not requiring any cold air intake located high up but something that is more purposefully low. We don't have to ram air into the Cosworth engine."

Another important element in the appearance, let alone the performance of the DP01, relates to its F1-like high nose. "This was an area where Champ Car needed to break away from the traditional-looking car," Marshall commented. "It would give us some very good aesthetics with the suspended front wing and enhanced role of the underbody. Being remote from the nose itself, especially the center section, the high nose allows the front wing to work more efficiently. You've got to be careful that the sloping surface of the underside of the car doesn't produce its own lift, which it actually does. So you can negate the effect very easily."

Marshall's design team have been able to define some parts of the rulebook, particularly the underbody which was strictly specified by CART for many years going back the mid eighties. Chief aerodynamicist Alcock, who also worked at Lola as well as enjoying five years in F1 with Williams, was delighted with this element of the design brief.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

"Just to be given a free hand on the underbody and the fact that we've got no regulations to work to in that respect is a breath of fresh of air," Alcock remarked.
Added Marshall: "We've got no restrictions on the entrances and exits and with vortex generating devices. We were able to spend a lot of time in making the best underwing possible and generate most of the downforce on the underwing."

The Panoz design team does its aerodynamic testing and development in the Penske wind tunnel at the Penske Technology Group in Mooresville, NC. Built by Adrian Reynard, who had hopes of breaking into NASCAR, the tunnel was purchased by Penske after Reynard's company went bankrupt. Alcock and his aero people work with a half-scale model which can run up to 100 mph and so far the DP01 Champ car has spent five weeks in the wind tunnel.

"Your goal when you go to the tunnel is to work as efficiently, quickly and as accurately as possible," Alcock says. "Dr. Panoz is paying Roger Penske a lot of money to be there every day and we've got to make sure that me and my guys work as flat-out and efficiently as possible.

"You have to go to the tunnel very well-prepared with your test plan. All the changes you make to the model have to take place as quickly as possible so you can maximize your time. We would typically go and work four days in a row, twelve-hour days, working straight through with no lunch breaks. When the tunnel is running is sort of down-time for the model makers, and when they're making their changes provides some down-time for the rest of us, although there's always plenty of data to look at and work to be done. We take two model-makers and usually myself and one other aerodynamicist."

Alcock emphasized the importance of aerodynamics in influencing the layout of the car. "It is the key," Alcock said. "The car is laid-out aerodynamically. The intake area at the front of the sidepods is the most powerful part on the Champ car. There are three turning vanes in there which generate some very strong vortices down the tunnel. The vortices are very high-speed and very low pressure.

"Simon and I have a very good working relationship and he knows how important aero is. I'm not saying the mechanical side has to be designed around the aero, but it's a team effort. And of course, I understand the mechanical requirements. It's always a compromise and packaging your suspension is always your big nightmare."
Added Marshall: "It's no surprise why these cars go 'round the corner so fast. It's not the steel parts of the car that do it. It's the downforce-producing carbon bodywork parts.

"We have to package some of the ancillary items around that. It has an impact on what we can and can't do with the rear suspension and gearbox. Usually with cars of this magnitude of downforce, the suspension installation and a lot of mechanical items on the car have to take a back seat and play second fiddle to the aerodynamic performance. So there's a lot of give and take between the mechanical and aerodynamic sides of the design."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Alcock says a lot of work has gone into making the car as aerodynamically stable as possible on a typically rough street circuit. "The car will be running on bumpy street courses and not being sensitive to pitch and ride height changes will be very important in terms of controlling your downforce as you go over the bumps," Alcock commented. "The ultimate downforce we have to hit is the target but retaining that downforce at high ride heights is another important goal. We've done some work simulating braking and acceleration and turning the car, just so we can calculate how much downforce is on the car in different conditions and how the aerodynamic balance is affected.

"The very latest wind tunnels are getting into more dynamic, or quasi-dynamic testing, where the model moves in real time. We take ride heights from around the circuits. At Long Beach for example, we've looked at current car data and tried to simulate these changes in conditions around the tracks."

Marshall and Alcock have enjoyed working on the concept of creating a more raceable car with a less turbulent wake and proportionally less influence from the front and rear wings versus the underbody.

"We've been allowed to pursue the subject of raceability and less turbulence because we can write the aerodynamic rules ourselves and we're not constrained by performance-limiting factors, which we usually are," Marshall said. "Also, we're not giving anything away to a competitor. Usually you wouldn't dream of helping the guy behind with your aerodynamic wake.

"We worked with the whole package from the front to the back, optimizing around the new high nose and front wing. Then we would go back to the front and start again because the effect of the aerodynamic parts at the rear of the car have an effect upstream as well as downstream."

Like most of us, Marshall is interested in seeing the results of Champ Car's experiment in making a change to the aerodynamic equation. "It's a realistic goal to achieve in some manner. It's just the magnitude that is unknown," Marshall observed. "We are doing some CFD (computational fluid dynamics) studies where we can take the entire car as a model and calculate the flow characteristics at the back of the car and the wake, and then input that into the front end of another car and see what it does to the numbers.

"We've been trying to head towards that but we can't forget that the performance of the car is a very important thing. The numbers we've had to hit aerodynamically to achieve a certain lap time have still been there. You can't throw away the performance to make it driveable. But we do the best we can with a solid underwing and less reliance on the front and rear wings."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Marshall confirms the drivers' opinions that we won't know how well the idea works until we get a pack of cars running together on the track. "Absolutely," he declared. "You never can tell what the car will be like for a driver running on its own, let alone in a bunch of cars interacting together. Every feature on the car has an influence on the balance and handling. We've had only nine months from a clean sheet of paper to a complete, manufactured car, so we don't have the luxury to simulate absolutely everything along the way.

"I think we'll be able to assess where we theoretically should be with our CFD model but it will come down to the first race. Racing on street circuits is not as easy to analyze as racing on ovals where the cornering is very much steady-state and you can accurately calculate and measure the effects of changes and driver lines.
"There's a lot more driver feel and seemingly random effect to ten or twenty cars on a street circuit. They'll all behave and handle very differently. It'll depend on the guy driving the car and a few millimeters here and there on the ride height when you're taking a turn or braking or accelerating. We'll find out at the first race whether we've actually achieved it."

Marshall and his design team are proud that the DP01 has exceeded the FIA's and Champ Car's crash test requirements. "We subjected the car to a number of different crash tests," he said. "Some of them are through static loading, some are through fairly abstract experimentation and some are dynamic crash tests. We've subjected the roll hoop on this car to a twelve-ton load, which is about five or six full-size passenger cars sitting on top of a purely carbon fiber structure. 

Other areas are poked and squeezed and prodded and the test car comes out of it looking a little second-hand and dented and dinged, but all within the standards set by Champ Car. "The frontal crash test is always the most impressive of these tests to watch. We run the car into a very unyielding concrete/steel wall at 12 meters per second and the car weighing in at 800 pounds. So it's got a fair amount of momentum to absorb and it converts the energy of the crash into heat and noise by the splintering of the crash structure at the front of the car.

"It takes a certain amount of energy to break each carbon fiber and split it away from its neighbor fiber. Hence, we use special carbon fibers and resins structured in such a way that it's crash resistant."

Marshall admits that meeting Champ Car's cost control requirements has been a serious challenge. "To design a car at the level of a Champ Car and also keep it economical is very difficult," he remarked. "If you look at the car, there are no cheap parts. It all comes down to the amount of time we spend designing this car. Hopefully, we've done it right and the investment upfront in the safety and performance of the car will continue for three or maybe four years, and we can spread that investment over a high-volume of parts and cars.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

"When we're competing, the drive to beat another manufacturer or team escalates costs, so by turning this championship into a single-make series, it should make things a lot more economical for the competitors. They can worry about their engineering of the car and working with the driver and the whole team aspect without getting more into redesigning of the race car."

Alcock says the cost control aspect has not put any serious restraints on the DP01's aerodynamic design and development. "It's something you've got to be mindful of, but in terms of the actual aerodynamic shape and surfaces, I don't design a car to be cheap in that respect," Alcock observed. "It's a bit of a different mindset for myself, coming from an F1 background where you're actively encouraged to spend money because that's what gets you to the front of the grid. But here, the company is very conscious about how they manufacture the cars and how they're made in order to keep the costs down."

Concluded Marshall:
"The single-make race series brings its own challenges. We just try to give the customer exactly what they want and in this case the customer is the race teams and also the series organizer. We work with them to try to create the best tool for them to use over the next few years and not leave out any options or adjustments they might need over those years.

"Hopefully, we're not designing the car like we did in the IRL to do just one job aimed at a single circuit. We're designing it to be adaptable to a lot of different situations, different drivers and team engineer requirements."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Panoz DP01 test pics

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Event/EventPhotos.asp?EventID=585


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The Panoz DP01 will now head back to Indianapolis to prepare for its public on-track debut, which will take place this weekend at Road America. The car will run demonstration laps on Friday and Saturday, and will also serve as part of the pace-car team leading the pre-race parade laps prior to Sunday's Champ Car Grand Prix of Road America.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Panoz DP01 without engine cover

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...eryDay=9/24/2006&AbsolutePage=1&PageMode=RACE


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Roberto Moreno made history today in China as he took the 2007 Panoz DP01 on track at Zhuhai International Circuit, marking the first time a Champ Car has run in China.

Moreno was in Zhuhai with an envoy of Champ Car representatives as officials from the City of Zhuhai, Zhuhai International Circuit and Champ Car announced the 2007 Champ Car China Grand Prix to a collection of local and national Chinese media.

"It was very important to everyone in China that we bring our 2007 Panoz DP01 to the Zhuhai Circuit to demonstrate the excitement of Champ Car," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. "It has been a very beneficial trip for us because we were able to meet with city and track officials as well as starting a media campaign for the Champ Car China Grand Prix. China is a wonderful country and I'm really looking forward to returning here for the race in May."

More than 150 local and national media attended the press conference at Zhuhai International Circuit, which included demonstration laps by Moreno. The Brazilian wowed the media by setting a new track record on his first lap and continuing to lower the mark finally setting the record at 1:23.619.

"I think there is going to be a very exciting race here in May," said Moreno. The track has really fast straights and three very slow corners with wide braking zones. There will be plenty of places to pass and the facility is excellent shape. I hope I get a chance to race here."

A full fleet of 2007 DP01's will cross the Pacific Ocean in May for the inaugural Champ Car China Grand Prix for Round Four of the Champ Car World Series. The series schedule begins on the streets of Las Vegas on April 8 for Las Vegas Grand Prix followed the next week by the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=11127


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

INDIANAPOLIS (December 18, 2006) - The lights were turned up even higher on what is already a bright future for the Champ Car World Series Monday when Paul Stoddart announced that he had purchased a controlling interest in the Indianapolis-based CTE Racing - HVM Champ Car team.

Stoddart comes to the U.S.-based Champ Car World Series after five seasons as the owner of the Minardi Formula 1 team, which enjoyed a 21-year F1 run from 1985-2005. The Australian-born Stoddart will run a multi-car Champ Car team, along with current CTE Racing - HVM owner Keith Wiggins, from the team's existing headquarters on Indianapolis' fabled Gasoline Alley.

"After taking a year off from motor racing following the sale of Minardi, we've had a chance to consider our options and examine how we might want to be involved with the sport in the future," says Stoddart. "After a lot of deliberation, we've come to the conclusion that Champ Car, with its blend of highly competitive, cost-effective racing and relatively level 'playing field', offers easily the best way forward."

"This is an exciting progression for our company, which will allow us to take it to the next level" added Wiggins. "It puts together all the elements we have established at HVM, continues the progress with the CTE program and adds the resources and talent that Minardi brings. The chemistry between Paul and I is extremely good and I am looking forward to the stable long-term future."

The newly-christened Minardi Team USA is coming off of a resurgent campaign in 2006 in which Nelson Philippe finish fourth in the series points, a high-water mark for the team even dating back to its years as Bettenhausen Racing. The announcement comes two days before the team, along with the rest of the Champ Car World Series, will take delivery of their first Panoz DP01 Champ Cars.

"The addition of an owner with a proven racing background like Paul Stoddart only strengthens the series," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. "Combining his experience and resources with a team that showed last year that it can win races, provides even more reason to be excited about Champ Car's future."

Information concerning the formation of Minardi Team USA, including drivers and sponsors, will be released in the coming weeks as the team prepares for the first open test of the 2007 season, which takes place January 23-25 in Sebring, Florida.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Panoz DP01 Factory pics

http://www.wrxatlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10854


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Panoz DP01 Detail pics

http://www.rocketsportsracing.com/component/option,com_zoom/Itemid,171/catid,65/PageNo,1/


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

Unfortunately...it's seem's impossible to get tickets to their new race in Vegas tonight. Got hotel room at a good price (And you better hurry cause they are jacking the cost up big time)...and got a good SW air flight from KC...but they were filling up too. Would like to buy tickets on-line in advance, but sure wasn't working tonight. Oh yeah, they are charging for pit/paddock access in Vegas, that just sucks big time. God bless Road America where everybody gets to go everywhere for free.


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## carland (Oct 6, 2005)

woody underwood said:


> Oh yeah, they are charging for pit/paddock access in Vegas, that just sucks big time. God bless Road America where everybody gets to go everywhere for free.


No track is as good as RA!

When you go to Vegas, you pay a premium; 3-day reserved seats plus paddaock passes are $200+. (I think RA was $120ish.) But it should be a helluva show with the new circuit and the new cars! I'm lookin' forward to the race!


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

carland said:


> No track is as good as RA!
> 
> When you go to Vegas, you pay a premium; 3-day reserved seats plus paddaock passes are $200+. (I think RA was $120ish.) But it should be a helluva show with the new circuit and the new cars! I'm lookin' forward to the race!


Tip: I checked every hotel downtown and most were either sold out or way pricey...but Fitzgerald's had rooms for 3 DAYS total price $230!!!!!!


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Now that the first of the new Panoz DP01s have been delivered to Champ Car's teams we are able to reveal all the details about the new car's testing and development program with the DP01's chief designer Simon Marshall and Champ Car's technology director Scot Elkins.

As everyone knows, test driver Roberto Moreno was very happy with the feel of the DP01 and liked the aero package when he tested the prototype at Sebring in August and September. Marshall says the DP01's test program went surprisingly well with no major components having to be reworked or redesigned.

"Mechanically, I can't think of any changes we had to make," Marshall observed. "We had absolutely no issues with the suspension and steering, and the engine and turbo did absolutely what they should without any problems. Nor were there any surprises on the aero performance."

In finalizing the DP01's specification, Marshall and his design team had to rework some bodywork pieces to aid in ease of maintenance.

"During testing we changed some configuration of how the bodywork goes together to make it easier to put a sidepod on the car in the heat of a race weekend," Marshall commented. "As you know, they come on and off the car an awful lot during a race weekend.

"We changed some things a bit rudely in testing and then we came back and changed the molds so we could do it properly. In some detail like that, the production car will differ from the prototype."

Marshall reports that the DP01's Hewland gearbox worked fine but the shifting system required intensive development work. He complimented Hewland and Marc Hamblard for their work in sorting-out the paddle-shifting system.

"The shifting system and the software for the system took some work," Marshall remarked. "They were working on the fly on the software during testing. Some updated hardware parts came in between the breaks in the testing schedule, but they had a very good handle on exactly what they were doing.

"It's very complicated and we left that to the professionals at Hewland and Marc Hamblard from Octave in the UK. Marc has worked with Cosworth and Pi in the past and he had to work together with Cosworth, Pi and Hewland to join all their systems together to get his bit to work properly. He was well on top of it and we've got a system that was definitely bulletproof by the end of testing. Of course, you never know what you'll find when you get a full grid of cars...."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

There were some problems with the first two fuel cells built for the DP01, but those have been fully resolved to everyone's satisfaction. The fuel cells are built by FuelSafe in Bend, Oregon.

"FuelSafe do a solid job," Marshall said. "You always know what you're getting from them and they're here in the United States, which helps a hell of a lot as far as shipping and logistics."

FuelSafe provided the fuel cells for Lola's Champ Car and for both G Force and Panoz IRL cars. The first DP01 cell was shipped to the FIA for crash testing. The second cell was installed in the test car and presented some problem. Champ Car's technology director Scot Elkins explained the problem with the original cell.

"A typical part of the process is to send a tub to the fuel cell manufacturer and let them actually build the cell inside the tub itself," Elkins said. "And that just wasn't possible in this case. We were relying on the CAD drawing and as good as that stuff is there are times when things that fit in the CAD world don't fit in the real world. That was the issue we ran into there."

Simon Marshall takes up the fuel cell story. "We had a lot of trouble fitting the second cell which went in the test car," Marshall commented. "It was a very poor fit, and that was because it's always a problem to match the CAD drawings of rubber parts to fit with a molded composite surface. It had some little leaks, and then we installed a third cell in the test car. It was okay. It had a tiny leak and we dealt with that. It's a fairly normal process to use the right adhesive to patch these cells.

"In the end," he added, "we did something we've done with all our previous cars, which is build a properly constructed mock-up of the back end of the chassis and send it off to FuelSafe. The first cell we got back from FuelSafe after that was fairly noticeably different in shape as to how it mated with all the surfaces inside the chassis. It fits a lot better and goes in a lot easier as well. It takes a fifth of the time to fit and it's much less tortured when it's in place."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Marshall is pleased that the DP01 is expected to race without any heat shields surrounding the exhaust headers which have been common on Champ cars for many years.

"One of our big goals was to get rid of the header bags," he explained. "It's a small detail, but we've got rid of those and didn't experience any bodywork burning in testing. After a while, we didn't even use wet towels."

Nor does Marshall believe the heat shields that were built and tested to keep the turbocharger plenum cool will be required.

"We had some shields made of stainless steel to keep hot air from the upper engine and plenum, but I believe we'll be racing without those," he said. "In the end, we were testing without them."

Marshall and his design team put a lot of effort into improving the water and oil cooling and aerodynamic airflows through the DP01 compared to the most recent Lola and Reynard Champ cars.

"Those cars exited their radiator air through an exit duct at the tail of the car," he observed. "We exit ours right over and through the exhausts out the back of the car, and also there's a louvered panel sitting right above the exhausts where air flows as well. So we've got two methods of allowing air to escape from the car, both of which cool the exhaust as they go. When the car is sitting in the pits, the hot air escapes directly upward through the louvered panel, and that works a treat.

"Again," Marshall adds, "because there's a lot more through-put of air through the engine bay than there is with the current Lola, we didn't experience any temperature problems during testing. This car was developed with the idea of the louvered panels and that type of radiator through-put all the way. The rear wing and the whole rear bodywork work in harmony with the radiator strategy."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

As part of the DP01's test program, the Panoz engineers tested both high temperature resistant carbon bodywork panels and less temperature sensitive and therefore cheaper pieces.

"We started with high temperature carbon on various bits of bodywork but we took along some regular carbon parts as well," Marshall commented. "When we saw the high-temp carbon stuff wasn't burning, we put on the regular carbon pieces and they worked fine.

"In terms of our own logistics we wanted to make sure we had all our bases covered and could use the more economic pieces on the car. As you know, economics is one of the driving forces behind this car, so we'll find the most efficient route for us as long as it works."

A variety of different water and oil radiators also were tried during testing to achieve maximum cooling.

"We chopped and changed between some different cores during testing," Marshall reported. "The configuration on the size of the radiators didn't change, but the manufacturer of the core did. On the oil side, we could see a performance difference just on heat rejection from one manufacturer to another. The radiators we ended up with balanced the water and oil more as we imagined. That was a change midway through testing.

"We turned up with four sets of radiators, two of one type and two of another, knowing that we were going to chop and change and see what was best. We sprang a few radiator leaks but we know that sort of thing happens and we had all the parts we needed on the truck. So we didn't lose any track time. When it was convenient, we swapped to a different type. So we did a lot of meaningful reliability testing and hopefully, no one will have to even consider doing any of that after this point."

As everyone knows, the testing took place in hot, humid mid-summer conditions at Sebring. "So we're not worried about the cooling side at all," Marshall added.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Marshall is aware that as they search for performance the teams will likely run the car at lower ride heights than used during the test program.

"I'm sure they will run the car somewhat lower than we were," he commented. "We were fairly low because we were touching the ground in places, but we were also reasonably soft because that's what Moreno wanted. That's the way he liked to drive it.

"It could be that to exploit the full potential of the vehicle some drivers might go to a stiffer set up with a lower car and therefore hit the ground a lot more. We were certainly hitting the ground, but we just didn't want to go through as many skid blocks as the teams are used to. They'll change skid blocks every session."

Another component of the finalized DP01 design are new BBS aluminum wheels which will replace the magnesium wheels used on the Lola chassis and in the majority of DP01 testing.

"Most of the testing was done on the existing magnesium BBS wheels but we did test one set of the brand new, thinner-wall aluminum wheels," Marshall reported. "They are about 0.2 pounds heavier per wheel, which is not a lot at all, but they should give a lot more service and shelf life. They're still in process because BBS has had to do all-new forgings for the thin-wall aluminum."

In this space a few months ago, Scot Elkins said that when selected areas of the new car are opened-up for development by the teams starting in 2008, it's most likely they will be strictly mechanical items. Aerodynamic development is likely to be forbidden for some years to come.

"That's still the philosophy we have right now," Elkins confirmed. "Once we get to the first test at the end of January, and actually run the cars, I'm not saying that our minds will change then, but obviously you start looking at things differently when you have twenty or so of these cars out there running. That's when we'll start getting the real input.

"Right now, everybody's view of the thing is based on kind of a virtual state, anticipating what they're going to have. But once everybody actually gets their hands on the car I'm sure we'll have a number of discussions."

Meanwhile, Elkins and Champ Car's operation bosses Tony Cotman and 'Ziggy' Harcus will continue to work through the DP01 project with the teams as the cars hit the track next month.

"We're being very realistic about it," Elkins remarked. "We're not going to hit the nail on the head with everything. We know that. We just have to be able to react to whatever issues come up, and do that in a very logical, reasonable way."

Finally, Marshall acknowledged the invaluable work turned in by test team crew chief Peter Parrott. "Peter was well prepared for anything," Marshall said. "He got stuck into whatever needed to be fixed. He was always ready to deal with any problem. Peter was definitely a very good choice as test team manager."

Well done Mr Parrott, and well done too Simon Marshall and everyone at EMT. Obviously, a great deal of thought and energy has gone into the new Panoz Champ car. Everyone hopes the finished product is as good as it looks and sounds.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Ten race teams took delivery of new cars in preparation of the 2007 Champ Car World Series season.

Newman-Haas Racing
Forsythe Championship Racing
Team Minardi USA
Rocketsports
PKV Racing
Team Australia
Mi-Jack Conquest Racing
RuSPORT
Pacific Coast Motorsports
Dale Coyne Racing

Each Panoz DP01 chassis costs $220,000, nearly half that of its predecessor. It is the first new car for the series since 2002. The plan is to have 35 built before the season begins.

"The first thing you do (as a team) is tear it apart to see what you've got," said Rob Edwards, general manager of Derrick Walker's Indianapolis-based Team Australia. "We've been doing a lot of planning and simulating; now we've got work to do."

The first of three testing opportunities will be Jan. 23-25 at Sebring (FL). The other dates are Feb. 12-13 in Houston (TX) and March 9-10 in Monterey (CA).

Fifteen races have been confirmed, but Johnson said two European races in September are expected to be added.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The new Panoz is a bit of a double-edged sword for Champ Car teams. On the one hand, the engineers now have a shiny new toy to learn about and develop; conversely, their hands are tied because series management will allow almost nothing on the cars to be modified for the 2007 season. Even staple development areas like aerodynamics, differentials and shock absorbers are now verboten by the rule book.

"Our approach in the first year is that this car is a very important step," explained Champ Car co-principal Kevin Kalkhoven. "Just learning the car in the first year to produce the results that are required to win is going to be a fascinating engineering exercise on its own. It's also going to be a learning experience for the drivers because the car has a set of different characteristics to the existing car.

Kalkhoven said Champ Car's race operations team, led by Tony Cotman and Scot Elkins, are working to devise ways to permit individual team modifications to the cars in the future while maintaining a level playing field.

"We are allowing effectively unlimited shaker-rig development and mechanical changes this year," said Kalkhoven. "In Year Two we will open it up further, and in Year Three we will do even more. We will allow aero changes next year. We want to make sure that at all times that the fan is getting value for their money and that this isn't purely just an engineering exercise."

Shaker rigs are hydraulically actuated platforms that a car sits on. Engineers can then simulate road conditions, banking, cornering and aerodynamic loads.

But even before the engineers can get their hands on the new Panoz to try to make it faster, team mechanics will go over the car in an effort to make it easier to work on and more reliable. Most teams have been running the Lola since 2002, so there will be a big learning curve involved, especially given that the only testing allowed before the season are three Champ Car-sanctioned open tests (Sebring on Jan. 23-25, MSR Houston on Feb. 12-13 and Laguna Seca on March 9-10).

"We'll be fine with the timeframe," said Forsythe Championship Racing team manager Phil LePan. "I think the big thing is just having a new car is going to be totally different for us because we haven't had that for several years. Everybody is going to have to be more vigilant when we're running the car. We have become so confident with the Lola; we know what comes loose and what breaks. This car is going to be totally different and we're just going to have to be constantly watching it when it runs, and when it comes into the pits."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The Champ Car World Series announced that it will return to Europe for the first time since 2003 with inaugural races in Holland and Belgium. Events added to the Champ Car World Series calendar will take place September 2 at the TT Circuit in Assen, Holland and September 9 at the Zolder circuit in Belgium. It will be the first time that Champ Car has raced in either of the two European nations.

"2007 continues to shape up as one of the most exciting in recent memory for Champ Car and today's announcement raises the anticipation level even higher," said Champ Car President Steve Johnson. "We considered a number of options for our return to Europe and these two events will prove to be very successful for our teams, fans and sponsor partners."

The Assen circuit, long fabled for hosting exciting Grand Prix motorcycle events, underwent major modifications for the 2006 season, resulting in a 4.5-kilometer track that will provide a stern challenge for the Champ Cars.

Zolder is a 3.977-kilometer circuit which also underwent safety renovations for the 2006 season, after hosting Formula 1 events in the 1970s and 80s. The track will carry the process a step farther for the 2007 Champ Car visit, making further improvement to ensure a safe and challenging event.

"We are excited to bring the American equivalent of Formula 1 racing to Europe," said event promoter Bart Rietbergen. "Champ Car provides close racing that is easy for European fans to understand, and they will be very impressed with the access that they will have in the Champ Car paddock."

The addition of the two European events brings the number of races on the 2007 Champ Car schedule to 17, marking the most races on a Champ Car calendar since 2003. The last time that the series went to Europe served as the coming-out party for three-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, who took his first series victories by sweeping races in Brands Hatch and EuroSpeedway Lausitz.

On the first day of the Dutch event at Assen, Champ Car fans will be able to see the action up-close, as they will have access to all public areas including the paddock. On Saturday and Sunday there are several different grandstand tickets available as well as a 'general access' ticket. In addition to these, paddock entry tickets will also be on sale. Special VIP passes will be available for one or more days with guests enjoying full catering, a private terrace and grandstand, VIP parking and more.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

2007 Champ Car pic - Forsythe Racing

http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114027


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The early reports from the teams is that there was a big problem with the driveshafts (which has been addressed), some of the suspension needs beefing up and there's the usual fitting problems with certain components.

"Do we have some issues and concerns? Sure we do, just like with any new car," said Derrick Walker, who used to build his own car every year at Penske Racing. "Is it the end of the world? I don't think so. It could be a bit bumpy for a while but we can't go back."

Walker approached Champ Car management with an idea.

"I suggested that we get all the teams and Panoz in a room every night after testing and go front to back with all the issues.

"Panoz needs to understand the issues and realize there's work to be done. And I think we'll all be a lot smarter after three days of testing."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The following is a statement from the Champ Car World Series regarding the decision from the Ford Motor Company that it would not return as a sponsor of Champ Car racing in 2007. When used in the media, the statement should be attributed to Champ Car President Steve Johnson.

"The decision was made from a business standpoint on both sides and in no way should tarnish the long legacy of success that the Ford Motor Company has established in Champ Car competition. We thank Ford for what it has done for the series, but we are continuing building a bright future for the series and are exploring a number of other options for a manufacturer partner."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Sebring Test
http://www.sebringraceway.com/track_lay.lasso

Sebring (1.669-mile) Club Course Lap Times

Oriol Servia, PKV Racing - 50.741

Sebastien Bourdais, Newman-Hass Racing - 50.888

Neel Jani, PKV Racing - 50.904

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1663
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1661

Sebring pics
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Event/EventPhotos.asp


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Sebring (1.669-mile) Club Course Lap Time Comparison

750hp Champ Car Panoz-Cosworth _ 50.741

300hp Atlantic Swift-Cosworth _ 58.587

http://www.champcaratlantic.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=579

Sebring pics
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/select.asp?S=CHAMPCAR&E=Sebring_winter_test/Wednesday&Y=2007&O=48


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Drivers Feedback

Oriol Servia
“The rear end feels really planted, it gives you real confidence to go charging into the corners, much more than the Lola. The great thing is we’re still in the early stages of learning about this car. We need to learn about the roll center, the ride height... a lot of time we just tried different settings just to see what would happen, just to collect some data.”

Paul Tracy
“The car feels great, it feels like a Champ Car but it's obviously quicker, we were almost as fast as the old car today and we still have a lot of work to do setup-wise.”


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Cotman and series technical director Scot Elkins were pleased with the overall reliability of the Panoz in the test. Each team sent two representatives to a meeting with Champ Car and Panoz officials at the end of the test to identify problem areas. Most commonly reported at Sebring were issues with shifting the new semi-automatic gearbox, mainly on the downshift. Some suspension components will need to be strengthened for future production runs, and bugs are still being worked out of the engine and gearbox electronics.

"We've got a few little niggling problems that we have to deal with," Cotman acknowledged. "That's probably to be expected, I guess, but we have to deal with them and it's far easier if we're all on the same page and deal with them together to work out a plan of how and when we're going to deal with them and directing it to the teams.”

"One of the goals coming into this was to all test together preseason, and it's very good that we're running at one time because it makes it easy to diagnose and dissect problems. Shifting is at the top of everybody's priority list, but we hope to minimize the issues for the next test at Houston (February 12-13) and then have a trouble free final test in March at Laguna Seca.

Coyne said:"We had electrical problems...there are three sets of computers on the car now, from Pi, Hewland and Cosworth, and we've had small problems with all those that cost us a lot of track time.”


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The Panoz DP01 is well-balanced mechanically and aerodynamically and the new car works and performs extremely well. The car looks good on the track, braking, turning and putting the power down well, and this year's slightly revised Cosworth XFE engine sounds sharper and smoother than ever.

"I think the whole exercise of building the car and going there with this many cars was a success," Walker commented. "Our team had a lot of teething problems. We lost a lot of time with the gearshifting and coils on the engine going and an oil filter collapsing. We also had some issues with the brakes. So we never got any clear runs to really get into it and we were struggling to know where we really are with the car. But at the same time when you look at all the problems we had, they weren't really big ones. For a new car, I think it was pretty impressive."

The DP01's chief designer Simon Marshall left the test with a long work list, but he was pleased to see his creation working well on the track and giving the drivers plenty of confidence.

"The good news is that the rear end of the car is very secure and the rear end especially is secure under braking," Marshall observed. "That's due to the fact that we've changed the underbody of the car so it's less pitch sensitive. We were allowed to do that by changing the regulations to obtain a big diffuser and it's good to see that has actually transpired in a positive handling effect for the driver. They're going to be able to drive this car hard and hustle it and not be afraid of the rear end.

"Basically, the car puts the power down and it supplies the engine with the cool air it needs. The brakes work very well. There are some mods we are proposing on the braking system. The Zuhai race is potentially very hard on the brakes and brake fluid so we'll put some more cooling at it for that particular race."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Marshall is convinced the DP01 will be able produce quicker lap times at most tracks than the retired Lola B2/00.

"The brief going in was to keep the engine and keep the tires," Marshall commented. "With the laws of physics in mind, if the car weighs the same and the downforce is at least what the Lola was, it should do exactly the same job. We are at the same weight. The engine is slightly improved so if anything the car can only be faster than the Lola."

It's not clear what everyone was doing with ballast and weight at Sebring and Marshall freely admits it's hard to gauge how much the DP01 has actually leveled the playing field.

"You tend to find on a new car that some parts start wearing early and whereas it's not a really dramatic thing you need to nip it in the bud and do do something about it," he commented. "So we need to look at strengthening some materials and various things. The only parts we've seen that are actually breaking are the front wing flap pivots. There have been some unexpected issues where we were using old parts we've used before but in a new way and they're seeing some different loads and scenarios. There are also some fit and finish issues.

"There are three or four immediate, urgent items that we need to change. Everything else is less important. If the teams were making their own parts they would do it differently. But we've got to look at the economics of the situation. We can't give everybody everything they want because of the budgetary constraints on the program."

Marshall believes the detail problems encountered at Sebring with the DP01's paddle downshifting system have been rectified.

"That's a Hewland issue together with Pi and Cosworth," Marshall noted. "Everything seemed to be fine during the summer testing we did. The downshifting issues they were having at Sebring seemed to be able to be tuned out using software parameters, and I think they've done that. The problem is you try to work out the fix on one car it seems like the other guys are being ignored. But we had to concentrate on one car, get it fixed, and then apply that to the software. I think they've got it fixed."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Marshall said Panoz will build a raft of improved rear suspension rocker arms over the next few weeks.

"The biggest issue has been over the rear rocker strength," he said. "I was okay with it, but when the teams play the safety card, or the wild card, you can't ignore it. So we supplied some steel strengthening plates at Sebring and we're going to make some stronger rockers."

The DP01's design team will also take a look at ways of improving the design of the chassis to aid the teams in maintaining and repairing their cars.

"There are some parts of the car which we glue on like the front pylons which are bonded to the nose," Marshall commented. "Also, the rear wing is bonded to the pylons and the sidepod fixings are bonded to the chassis. That makes a better race car because that's the lightest, stiffest, strongest way to do it. Bolts and carbon don't go together. Fiber and glue is what goes together. But it doesn't help the teams as far as serviceability.

"So we've got some issues like that. We're not just going to start bolting things on because that would mean a compromise in the car. Sometimes we're not the mechanics' best friends because accessibility and ease of maintenance don't make the best race cars. But maybe they make for the best race season because the mechanics have got to be able to respond and fix things on the go."

At this stage of the game none of the teams have many spare parts, but both Marshall and Scot Elkins are confident that all the required parts will be built and delivered over the next two months.

"There are very few spares. We've made twenty chassis and we can build two cars a week, so it looks good for being able to at least make all the cars that have been ordered by the start of the season. When we've caught up with car delivery, we'll be able to start cranking out spares. There won't be any problem come the start of the season."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

The venerable Cosworth XFE turbo V-8 that will power each and every Champ Car in the 2007 season, sounds even better this year.

Refinements to the engine's electronics and a new exhaust system and wastegates to suit the new Panoz DP01 have resulted in a slightly smoother, sharper sound. The latest version of the XFE also runs without a pop-off valve thanks to a new electronic boost control and the duty cycle on each engine has been increased from 1,200 to 1,400 miles. Another change for this year is that Cosworth has ceded all the engine-related electronics to Pi Research.

Ken Deagle is Cosworth's Champ Car track support manager working with his team of engineers and engine builders out of Cosworth's US headquarters in Torrance, California. Deagle has been with Cosworth for fifteen years and has worked on the XFE engine program since its introduction as the XF in 1999.

"The plan for '07 was to take advantage of every element of the new Panoz race car from all the suppliers that were involved," Deagle explained about the approach to this year's Panoz DP01. "Until this year we always did our own electronics, using various components from throughout the industry to make our own bits. We made our own ECUs, our own wiring harnesses, everything. But this year, Pi is doing that because that's what they do best. Pi is supplying all the electronics, from ECUs, to wiring harnesses, data logging, sensors and gearbox control units."

Cosworth has made more space available in the ECU by reverting from an electronic to a mechanical ninth butterfly in the XFE's turbo system. "We've gone back to a mechanical ninth butterfly," Deagle commented. "For the last ten years we've used an electronic system to fine-tune the boost curve. But we've learned so much in the last several years that we've put the burden of finite boost control back onto the wastegates and made the ninth butterfly mechanical. That in turn has freed-up some of the processor space in the ECU.

"The SQ6M ECU provided by Pi is the latest generation of electronics available. I would say the ECUs we had developed were a bit dated and we pretty much had them running at full capacity to do everything we wanted. It handled the boost control and shifting so there was an engine control and a gearbox control. But the processors were maxed-out. They were at their capacity."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

With no competition from a rival engine manufacturer, Cosworth has been able to eliminate the top-heavy pop-off valve, a thirty-plus year-old dinosaur of Champ Car racing.

"We no longer need to have a pop-off valve," Deagle remarked. "The pop-off valve was there to insure parity across the grid when there were multiple manufacturers competing in the series. For the last three years, we've frozen the boost adjustment to the teams. They couldn't adjust it. They could go down in boost if there was a problem, but they couldn't raise it, and with the advent of power-to-pass we more or less narrowed the range they could even adjust it down.

"Without the pop-off valve, the system controls to a set point which is 41.5 inches in normal conditions," Deagle continued. "We used to cycle through wastegates and keep pushing the set point until it about dumped the valve and back it off a tenth from there. The teams can do whatever they want with the wastegates and our control system will recognize it and compensate. In the worst-case scenario where a team gets really creative, the system will recognize that and shut the engine off. It'll start misfiring and the driver will come in with an alarm reading 'overboost conditions'.

"By removing the valve we've also eliminated the potential for a race-ending failure if a pop-off valve would break, and we've made a little weight-saving off the top of the engine as well. So by and large the system is more simplified and has been put back into the Cosworth engineers hands in regards to adjusting and optimizing."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Deagle also explained the reasons why the latest version of the XFE sounds sweeter and sharper.

"I think the different exhaust note that you notice is from the wastegates and a slightly different tailpipe arrangement compared to the Lola's system which was a bit longer and a bit more directional. The new exhaust is shorter and dumps straight out. We've also tuned-up some of the fuel-mapping in the new ECU and because we have a split system where the gear control unit is a separate ECU altogether. And that probably has some effect on the sound as well. The end result is that the engine is a little bit more powerful with a smoother power curve.”

"A lot of people over the years mistake rev-limiter for valve popping," Deagle added. "But the valve has never been audible in any capacity except for perhaps on a very high-speed oval where if the engine speed was below the maximum rev limit and the valve dumps, you probably would hear that. But on any circuit that Champ Cars typically have run on for the last three or four years, you would never hear that."

Improved pistons and oil control system have enabled Cosworth to add 200 miles to the duty cycle of each engine.

"The engines now will run to 1,400 miles," Deagle said. "The limiting factor on running more than 1,200 miles was the piston. After 1,200 miles they were pretty much used up. The duty cycle just beat them up and certainly, if a driver was a little overzealous on downshifting, that was a negative as well. What we learned in the last two years and last year in particular with piston development with our CA Formula One engine were some slightly different approaches for piston design in materials and manufacturing that carried over to this new program. We've also improved the oil control a little. So while the horsepower output is the same, the internal components have been improved to get an extra 200 miles between rebuilds."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Cosworth's engineers reckon the DP01's pneumatic paddle gear shifting system will have zero net effect on the life and performance of the latest XFE V-8.

"It shouldn't have any effect on the engine as long as any team doesn't get their calibrations wrong and finds out a way to over-rev it," Deagle observed. "It shouldn't have any effect for or against engine reliability."

Cosworth's rebuild agreement with the teams will start the new season from a clean sheet of paper.

"We have the same pool of just about one hundred engines," Deagle reported. "When we first started this single manufacturer engine program we offered the teams thirteen, 1,200-mile engine lives for a year, and that was entirely too many engine lives. A lot of teams had four or five lives left over so we started having carry-overs to the next year and going into the fourth year it all started to get a bit muddy.

"So as of January of this year there's a clean slate. Everybody starts with zero and they get six engine lives for the season. So the teams will have their usual three engines per entry with them at any given time. They rotate through those until one of them reaches its minimum mileage figure and we'll give them a fresh engine. With the addition of the two European races we may have to add another engine life for each team. Hopefully, each entrant will utilize all six or seven engine lives all the way through the last race of the year."

As in recent years, Deagle is one of twelve Cosworth engineers who work with Champ Car's teams at each race.

"We offer one engineer per team for a typical two-car team," Deagle said. "If it's a one-car or three-car team we'll close the gap up with dual support. At the moment we're at twelve people per event. We had three or four additional engineers from the UK at the Sebring test to help with software development and any bugs but the main maintenance staff you see at any event comprises twelve of us."


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

MSR Houston Test

MSR Houston (2.4-mile) Lap Times
http://www.msrhouston.com/msrhouston/track_aerialview.asp

Will Power, Team Australia _ 1:10.040

Graham Rahal, Newman-Hass Racing _ 1:10.079

Neel Jani, PKV Racing _ 1:10.168

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1667

MSR Houston pics
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...eryDay=2/12/2007&AbsolutePage=1&PageMode=RACE


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

MSR Houston (2.4-mile) Lap Time Comparison

750hp Champ Car Panoz-Cosworth _ 1:10.040 (track record)

300hp Atlantic Swift-Cosworth _ 1:18.345

http://www.champcaratlantic.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=584

MSR Houston pics
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...eryDay=2/13/2007&AbsolutePage=4&PageMode=RACE


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

For those attending the Champ Car Race in Vegas...I got e-mail today that tickets will be mailed March 19th.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

woody underwood said:


> For those attending the Champ Car Race in Vegas...I got e-mail today that tickets will be mailed March 19th.


Enjoy the race. Paul Tracy and Jimmy Vasser live in Las Vegas.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Laguna Seca Test

Laguna Seca (2.238-mile) Lap Times
http://www.laguna-seca.com/generalinfo/index.cfm?FuseAction=TrackMap

Sebastien Bourdais, Newman-Haas Racing _ 1:05.880

Will Power, Team Australia _ 1:06.424

Neel Jani, PKV Racing _ 1:06.516

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1671
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1670

Laguna Seca pics
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...eryDay=3/10/2007&AbsolutePage=3&PageMode=RACE


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Laguna Seca Test pics
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/se...=&N=&E=Laguna_Seca_Spring_T%/Friday_afternoon


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Laguna Seca Champ Car video


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## Paul Christian (Jan 23, 2007)

WOW....some very good reading there thanks...Oh yes is it me or are they starting to us F1 noise wing set-up too.....can't wait for the race season to start....


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

2007 Champ Car Racing Schedule

Apr 8 _ Las Vegas, NV

Apr 15 _ Long Beach, CA

Apr 22 _ Houston, TX

May 20 _ Zhuhai, China

Jun 10 _ Portland, OR

Jun 24 _ Cleveland, OH

Jul 1 _ Mont-Tremblant, Canada

Jul 8 _ Toronto, Canada

Jul 22 _ Edmonton, Canada

Jul 29 _ San Jose, CA

Aug 12 _ Road America, WI

Sep 2 _ Assen, Holland

Sep 9 _ Zolder, Belgium

Oct 21 _ Surfers Paradise, Australia

Nov 11 _ Mexico City, Mexico

Dec 2 _ Phoenix, AZ


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

2007 Champ Car Racing Teams

Newman-Haas Racing
No.1 Sebastien Bourdais
No.2 Graham Rahal
http://www.newman-haas.com/

Forsythe Racing
No.3 Paul Tracy
No.7 Mario Dominguez
http://www.forsythe-racing.com/

Team Australia
No.15 Simon Pagenaud
No.5 Will Power
http://www.walkerracing.com/

RSPORTS
No.9 Justin Wilson
No.8 Alex Tagliani
http://www.rusport.com/
http://www.rocketsportsracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=6&Itemid=37

Minardi Team USA
No.14 Robert Doornbos
No.4 Dan Clarke
http://www.minarditeamusa.com/index.html

PKV Racing
No.21 Neel Jani
No.22 Tristan Gommendy
http://pkvracing.homestead.com/

Dale Coyne Racing
No.19 Bruno Junqueira
No.11 Katherine Legge
http://www.dalecoyneracing.com/

Pacific Coast Motorsports
No.28 Ryan Dalziel
No.29 Alex Figge
http://www.pcmracing.com/

Conquest Racing
No.42 Matt Halliday
http://www.conquestracing.com/


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

2007 Champ Car Racing Schedule (Revised)

Apr 8 _ Las Vegas, NV

Apr 15 _ Long Beach, CA

Apr 22 _ Houston, TX

May 20 _ Zhuhai, China

Jun 10 _ Portland, OR

Jun 24 _ Cleveland, OH

Jul 1 _ Mont-Tremblant, Canada

Jul 8 _ Toronto, Canada

Jul 22 _ Edmonton, Canada

Jul 29 _ San Jose, CA

Aug 12 _ Road America, WI

Aug 26 _ Zolder, Belgium

Sep 2 _ Assen, Holland

Oct 21 _ Surfers Paradise, Australia

Nov 11 _ Mexico City, Mexico

Dec 2 _ Phoenix, AZ


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Las Vegas Qualifying

Will Power, Team Australia _ 1:17.629

Robert Doornbos, Minardi Team USA _ 1:18.515

Alex Tagliani, RSPORTS _ 1:18.850

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1677

Las Vegas pics

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...leryDay=4/6/2007&AbsolutePage=2&PageMode=RACE


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Las Vegas Track Map
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Event/Tracks.asp?GoSeason=2007&ID=63

TV Race Coverage - Apr 8 (Sun.) NBC 3:30pm ET


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Las Vegas Race

1. Will Power, Team Australia

2. Robert Doornbos, Minardi Team USA

3. Paul Tracy, Forsythe Racing

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1679

Las Vegas pics

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...leryDay=4/8/2007&AbsolutePage=5&PageMode=RACE


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

And CART (I like that better) put on an excellent show! Good racing...my fav Bourdais crashed out...but it happened 20' from where I was sitting but at least I got to see it. The locals wern't too happy about the disruption of traffic, but that's their problem. Will Power is an up and comer.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Las Vegas (2.44-mile) Lap Time Comparison

750hp Champ Car Panoz-Cosworth _ 1:17.629

300hp Atlantic Swift-Cosworth _ 1:30.770

http://www.champcaratlantic.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=592

Las Vegas pics
http://www.motorsport.com/photos/select.asp?S=CHAMPCAR&E=Las_Vegas/Sunday_race&Y=2007

Las Vegas video
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...7&NavPage=1&ClipID=4141&FileID=9121#MainOuter


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## woody underwood (Feb 9, 2004)

The interesting thing was that the 40 year old Brabham was turning 1.36's.....


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Paul Tracy has suffered a compression fracture to his first lumbar vertebrae and will miss this weekend's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Tracy suffered a frontal impact in Turn One during Saturday morning's Champ Car World Series practice at Long Beach. He was taken to St. Mary's Hospital after reporting back pain, where x-rays and further MRI examinations confirmed the injury.

Tracy will be replaced in the Forsythe Championship Racing #3 entry by 2005 Champ Car World Series runner-up Oriol Servia.

Paul Tracy may return to Champ Car racing in three months.


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Long Beach Qualifying

Sebastien Bourdais, Newman-Haas Racing _ 1:07.546

Will Power, Team Australia _ 1:07.695

Simon Pagenaud, Team Australia _ 1:07.883

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1686

Long Beach pics
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...2007&AbsolutePage=4&PageMode=RACE&scrolly=577


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Long Beach Track Map

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Event/Events.asp?ID=592

TV Race Coverage - Apr 15 (Sun.) NBC 4:00pm ET


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

Long Beach Race

1. Sebastien Bourdais, Newman-Haas Racing

2. Oriol Servia, Forsythe Racing

3. Will Power, Team Australia

http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=1688

Long Beach pics
http://www.champcarworldseries.com/...2007&AbsolutePage=3&PageMode=RACE&scrolly=524


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## #98 (Nov 26, 2003)

MCSL, you seem well-abreast of the series. Have attendance/tv ratings/business in general been improving at all this year?


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## MCSL (Jan 30, 2005)

NASCAR gets most of the sponsors. As soon as Champ Car & IRL merge, American open-wheel racing will take off.


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