| Team |
Driver 1 |
Driver 2 |
Driver 3 |
Sponsors |
| CTE Racing - HVM |
Nelson Philippe
Björn Wirdheim |
Dan Clarke
Gareth Ridpath
Ronnie Bremer
Rodolfo Lavín
Fabrizio Del Monte
Homero Richards
Antonio Pizzonia
Milka Duno |
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Wellbox?
Corona?
Nextel de Mexico?
Liqui Moly?
Qbic? |
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March 28: Dan Clarke, who won in British Formula 3 last year, has been confirmed as second driver for CTE-HVM. |
| March 26: Autosport reports that Dan Clarke is set to be announced as CTE-HVM's second driver. |
| March 22: CTE-HVM is testing British driver Dan Clarke alongside Nelson Philippe at Sebring this week. |
| March 20: CTE-HVM has signed Nelson Philippe to one car for the 2006 season. Will Gareth Ridpath or Ronnie Bremer get the second seat? |
| February 24: Björn Wirdheim has signed to drive for a team in the Japanese Formula Nippon championship. |
| January 22: Former Williams test driver Antonio Pizzonia tells Brazilian web site Formulanews that he wants to race in the USA in either Champ Car or the IRL. He says he's talking to HVM, Newman/Haas, PKVR and Forsythe, but admits he doesn't have the required sponsorship. HVM seems his best bet, if he can scrape together some funding. |
| November 3: Fabrizio del Monte crashed during practice in Mexico today, sustaining a concussion, and counting him out for the rest of the weekend. This won't help him find a ride for next year. |
| October 6: Cedric "The Entertainer" is teaming up with HVM to run all but one car under the banner "CTE HVM Racing" for the remainder of this season, and all cars in 2006. Cedric will attend many of the races and work behind the scenes to attract sponsors. |
| September 28: HVM will add a third car for young Mexican driver Homero Richards with Nextel de Mexico backing for the Grand Prix of Mexico season finale. With Nextel and Corona coming back to Champ Car sponsorship, could HVM be looking at a return to Mexican sponsorship for the full 2006 season? |
| September 27: Björn Wirdheim's funding has dried up, so he's being replaced by Fabrizio Del Monte for the remainder of the 2005 season. If the young Italian has sponsors with deep enough pockets, he could remain for 2006. |
| September 6: HVM will test female Venezuelan sports car driver Milka Duno at Sebring this week. The test isn't expected to lead to a race seat. Mexican driver Homero Richards also gets to try the car. |
| September 1: There have been rumors for months that comedian Cedric the Entertainer wants a Champ Car team. It's most likely that he'll hook up with an existing team, possibly to support a minority driver. |
| August 1: Björn Wirdheim brings personal sponsorship to the team and is expected to return in 2006. Ronnie Bremer was farmed out to Dale Coyne when his funding dried up mid-season, but with a promise of a return to HVM next year. However, if Rodolfo Lavín continues to bring good money from Corona, he could be back in the second seat. |
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| Dale Coyne Racing |
Cristiano da Matta |
Jan Heylen
Nicky Pastorelli
Ricardo Sperafico
Michael Valiante
Ronnie Bremer
Luis Schiavo
Tonis Kasemets
Alx Danielsson
Tarso Marques
Gaston Mazzacane
Dan Clarke |
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Northern Illinois Steel
Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q
Vernon & Maz
Aurora Bearings
American Medical Response |
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April 6: The team confirms Jan Heylen as its second driver alongside Cristiano da Matta. |
| April 3: Dale Coyne will run either Belgian Jan Heylen or Dutchman Nicky Pastorelli in the second car. Or maybe both during the course of the season... |
| March 29: Dale Coyne Racing surprised the racing community today by announcing that the 2002 Champ Car champion, Cristiano da Matta, will drive for the team this season. |
| September 7: Venezuelan driver Luis Schiavo tested for Coyne at Sebring this week. He claims to have funding for the 2006 season, but the team may also be evaluating him to run in a third car at Mexico City this year. |
| September 1: Oriol Servia has shown enough talent filling in for the injured Bruno Junqueira, that he'll find a ride at another top team, if not at Newman/Haas. Dale Coyne's seats are therefore expected to go to the highest bidders. Ronnie Bremer could stay, despite his promise of a return to HVM. |
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Eurointernational |
Enrico Toccacelo |
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March 30: No sign of Eurointernational, even in the Atlantic series. |
| February 28: Eurointernational may wait until 2007 to enter the Champ Car World Series, preferring to run an Atlantic car this year. |
| September 2: Eurointernational confirms to Autosport that it is committed to run ten Champ Car road races with a single Lola next year, in preparation for a full two-car effort under the new regulations in 2007. The team will field a European driver from its new facility in Indianapolis. |
| August 10: Autosport reports that Antonio Ferrari's Eurointernational team will return to Champ Car in 2006, hoping to start out with a single car for Italian driver Enrico Toccacelo. |
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| Forsythe Racing |
Paul Tracy |
Mario Domínguez
Patrick Carpentier
Cristiano da Matta |
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Indeck |
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February 20: The team confirms Mario Dominguez as Paul Tracy's teammate for a second year running. |
| December 23: Paul Tracy tells reporters that he's driving Forsythe's Champ Car in 2006, but he hopes to run ten Busch Series races and a couple of Nextel Cup races in 2006 ahead of a full-time move to NASCAR in 2007. |
| October 2: Robin Miller says Gerald Forsythe has told him he has Paul Tracy under contract for 2006. |
| August 12: Paul Tracy says he enjoyed his test, but won't be racing a NASCAR car at Michigan. He'd like to try it when he can be guaranteed the best equipment. Mario Dominguez says his dream is to compete in Formula One, but with the Mexican Grand Prix off the schedule for 2006, he's unlikely to get his anticipated drive for the Midland team. There's a good chance both drivers will be back at Forsythe next season. |
| August 8: Paul Tracy continued his baby steps towards NASCAR today with a test of a Richard Childress Racing Nextel Cup car at Michigan International Speedway. He intends to compete in a 400 mile race there on August 21, leading to much speculation that he is NASCAR-bound full-time in 2006. His contract with Forsythe expires at the end of this year, although the team has made it clear they would like him to return. |
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Jensen MotorSport |
Fabrizio Del Monte
Leonardo Maia
Michael Valiante |
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Epson
Starwood |
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March 30: Jensen is busy with the Atlantic series, but shows no signs of running a Champ Car. |
| September 1: Jensen only ran at Long Beach in what they had hoped would be a full Champ Car season, but completed the season in Toyota Atlantic. Could the team realize its dream in 2006? |
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| Mi-Jack Conquest Racing |
Charles Zwolsman
Nelson Philippe |
Andrew Ranger
Tonis Kasemets
Alx Danielsson
Jan Heylen
Dan Clarke
Mario Haberfeld |
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Mi-Jack
Wellbox? |
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March 29: Mi-Jack Conquest Racing is testing at Fontana this week with Charles Zwolsman and Andrew Ranger in the cars. |
| March 22: Conquest has signed 2005 Toyota Atlantic champion Charles Zwolsman from Holland. |
| March 20: Nelson Philippe has moved to CTE-HVM for 2006. With Andrew Ranger almost certain to return, this explains why the team has been testing other drivers for the second seat. |
| February 24: Conquest tested Megane Trophy winner Jan Heylen from Belgium for a second time at Sebring this week. |
| December 15: Conquest also tested Atlantic champion Charles Zwolsman at Sebring this week. |
| December 12: Conquest will test Toyota Atlantic championship runner-up Tonis Kasemets, Megane Trophy winner Jan Heylen, World Series driver Alx Danielsson, and British F3 race-winner Dan Clarke this week at Sebring. |
| September 24: Mario Haberfeld was seen talking to Eric Bachelart at Las Vegas. |
| September 1: Mi-Jack Conquest will probably continue with its two young, well-funded drivers. |
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| Newman/Haas Racing |
Sébastien Bourdais |
Bruno Junqueira |
Cristiano da Matta
Oriol Servia
Michael Valiante |
McDonald's
UnitedHealth
PacifiCare?
Centrix Financial?
LG Electronics? |
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March 8: Oriol Servia has taken the second spot at PKV Racing. Does this mean no third car or a return for Cristiano da Matta? |
| December 15: Bruno Junqueira confirmed at his Sebring test that he will return to Newman/Haas for the 2006 season. The team is still working on sponsorship for a third car for Oriel Servia. |
| November 3: Bruno Junqueira says he will test for Newman/Haas on December 12 and 13. A good sign that he'll be back with the team next year. |
| October 25: Sébastien Bourdais reveals in today's Champ Car conference call that he has signed a contract to return to Newman/Haas in 2006. He will be allowed to test for Formula One teams with an eye to an F1 seat in 2007. |
| October 23: Robin Miller reports on Speed News that Carl Haas says he wants to run three cars in 2006. He'd like to have Oriol Servia, but wouldn't mind having Cristiano da Matta back. |
| October 4: Autosport says Newman/Haas has confirmed that Oriol Servia will see out the season with the team, giving him the chance to secure second place in the championship. This also increases the possibility of a third car for the newly recovered Bruno Junqueira in Mexico. |
| October 3: We hear Michael Valiante is pitching a good sponsorship package from LG Electronics to several teams, including Newman/Haas. |
| September 24: Carl Haas confirms in Las Vegas that the team is working on sponsorship for a third car for next season. Rumors suggest that it could be for Cristiano da Matta! |
| September 2: Rumors of a third car for Oriol Servia next year got a boost with the Spaniard hinting today that the team may run all three drivers in Mexico, when Bruno Junqueira returns from his injuries. |
| August 14: Robin Miller says on Wind Tunnel that Newman/Haas may run three cars next year. That would be good news for Bruno and Oriol. The additional sponsorship could be from Centrix Financial, perhaps as they reduce their involvement in NASCAR. |
| August 13: Officials from UnitedHealth, the new owners of PacifiCare, have been in Denver learning about the series and the opportunities sponsorship bring. |
| August 7: Sébastien is looking strong for the championship - Newman/Haas is certain to invite him back for 2006, but rumors suggest he could still pick up one of the remaining Formula One seats. Will Bruno be back in the second car, or can Oriol hang onto the ride? |
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Panther Racing |
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February 10: Panther will return to the IRL with a slimmed down team running Vitor Meira. |
| December 19: Panther is auctioning off its entire stock of equipment through Key Liquidators in Indianapolis. The team is unlikely to appear in either series. |
| July 30: Panther has been in discussions with Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe. Will they jump to Champ Car? We don't think so... but they could be Cosworth's outpost in the IRL and could help Champ Car teams that want to run in the Indy 500. That way Champ Car sponsors get exposure at Indy without having to go the whole season with an IndyCar team. |
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| PKV Racing |
Katherine Legge |
Oriol Servia
Michel Jourdain Jr.
Patrick Carpentier
Franck Montagny
Ryan Briscoe
Cristiano da Matta
Giorgio Pantano
Ryan Dalziel
Darren Manning
Alexandre Premat
Jorge Goeters |
Jimmy Vasser |
Bell Micro
Gulfstream
Vista Broadband Networks
KPLJ Ventures
Puma?
Optium?
Nextel (Mexico) |
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March 10: Jimmy Vasser will drive a third PKVR car at Long Beach and possibly other races before he retires. |
| March 8: Oriol Servia has been signed to the second seat at PKVR. Kevin Kalkhoven says he's happy to have an experienced driver who's capable of winning - Vasser and da Matta weren't? We hear rumors that Jimmy Vasser may make a farewell drive at Long Beach before retiring - also maybe to make up the numbers? |
| February 24: Patrick Carpentier tells Autosport he's hoping to hear today whether there's a seat for him at PKVR. He had also been looking to Forsythe, but that possibility closed when the team re-signed Mario Dominguez. If PKVR doesn't pan out, his long-time backer Mecachrome wants him to look at NASCAR Busch or Trucks. |
| February 17: Mexican racing web site Atodamakina.com says it has talked to Michel Jourdain Jr's PR representative. Jourdain is traveling to Daytona this weekend to discuss his position with the PPC NASCAR Busch team. The site says that if PPC doesn't have a 2006 ride for him, he has an offer from Kevin Kalkhoven to join PKVR, providing he brings some partial sponsorship. |
| February 14: Autosport says Katherine Legge will get one of the seats at PKV Racing and is due to be announced at this evening's Champ Car banquet at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. |
| December 12: PKVR is testing Ryan Dalziel and Ryan Briscoe this week at Sebring, with Giorgio Pantano and Katherine Legge planned for next week. |
| December 7: Giorgio Pantano will join the PKV Racing shoot-out at Sebring next week. Alexandre Premat and Katherine Legge may test for the team the following week. |
| October 27: Timo Glock tells speedtv.com he knows nothing of a PKVR shoot-out, but says he wouldn't mind being part of it. The shoot-out is supposedly to decide the replacement for Jimmy Vasser, assuming he retires, but Cristiano da Matta's seat is far from certain. Kevin Kalkhoven says he'd like da Matta back, but won't negotiate with his manager due to last year's frustrations. |
| October 23: Robin Miller, reporting on Speed News, suggests PKVR will have a shoot-out during the off-season to choose its drivers. Names mentioned include Ryan Dalziel, Darren Manning, Timo Glock, Ryan Briscoe, and maybe even Oriol Servia. Briscoe is racing in the IRL with Toyota money, so we don't understand why he would look to Champ Car. |
| October 23: David Phillips, writing on speedtv.com, quotes Jimmy Vasser as saying Cristiano da Matta hasn't re-signed and is unlikely to return next year, but Cristiano says there's a good chance he'll be back. |
| September 19: On the Champ Car Garage TV show, Jimmy Vasser says he hasn't decided yet whether he will retire at the end of the season. |
| September 9: Katherine Legge raced with PKVR sponsorship in Toyota Atlantic this year, winning her first race and finishing third in the championship. Kevin Kalkhoven has offered her a Champ Car test at the end of the season, to help decide whether she should move up to Champ Car next season or spend a year in the new, higher-horsepower Atlantic series. |
| August 1: Cristiano da Matta is expected to return for a second year, especially after his race win in Portland. Jimmy Vasser could retire at the end of the season, to take a stronger role in the running of the team, but will probably be back for another year - we can't see him going out without more of a fanfare. |
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| Rocketsports |
Nicky Pastorelli
Antonio Pizzonia
Katherine Legge
Timo Glock
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Tonis Kasemets
Rocky Moran Jr.
Michael McDowell
Enrique Bernoldi
Franck Montagny
Richard Lyons |
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Red Paw Backup Box?
DHL Global? |
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May 24: Rocketsports has signed Estonian driver Tonis Kasemets to drive six races this season, starting in Portland. He finished second in the Atlantic series last year. |
| April 28: Afetr successful tests at Portland and Milwaukee, Rocketsports announces it has signed Dutch driver Nicky Pastorelli for the rest of the season. It sounds like Antonio Pizzonia's Brazilian sponsorship never came together to run him in a second car. Franck Montagny has signed up as test driver for the F1 Super Aguri squad, so that rules him out of a possible second spot. |
| March 29: Rocketsports announces it has signed Antonio Pizzonia. So far, the deal is for Long Beach only, but could be expanded for the whole season. |
| March 17: Antonio Pizzonia and Enrique Bernoldi impressed in testing. Paul Gentilozzi says he's still working on the Team Brasil concept, but doesn't know if he can complete it in time. Franck Montagny is still in the picture if the deal falls through. |
| March 3: Rocketsports will test Antonio Pizzonia and Enrique Bernoldi in Houston on March 9 and 10. Team owner Paul Gentilozzi is talking to a group of Brazilian businessmen about running an all-Brazilian team linked to a Brazilian date on the calendar for 2007. Where does this leave Franck Montagny? |
| February 28: Autosport quotes Paul Gentilozzi as saying he hopes to sign French driver Franck Montagny by the end of the week. Two other F1 test drivers, Antonio Pizzonia and Enrique Bernoldi, are alternatives, or could run alongside Montagny if the team decides to run two cars in 2006. If Rocketsports runs just a single car, how will Champ Car get the field up to 18 cars in time for Long Beach? |
| December 12: Katherine Legge has been invited to join the Rocketsports test at Sebring tomorrow. She told Autosport that she doesn't expect this to lead to a drive with Rocketsports. She thinks Paul Gentilozzi just wants to help her get ready for next week's PKV test. |
| December 10: British driver Richard Lyons, who is the Japanese Formula Nippon champion, will test for Rocketsports at Sebring on December 12 and 13. |
| October 14: Ryan Hunter-Reay has been replaced by American driver Michael McDowell for the final two races of the season. The team says it is evaluating him for a race seat for next year. Hunter-Reay's funding may have run out. |
| October 4: Young American driver Michael McDowell, the 2004 Formula Mazda champion now driving for Finlay Motorsports in Grand-Am, tested for Rocketsports at Putnam Park yesterday. |
| September 1: Timo Glock fits in well with the team. Expect him to return with his DHL sponsorship next season. |
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| RuSport |
A.J. Allmendinger |
Justin Wilson |
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CDW
Intel
Red Bull
Western Union
Sandisk?
BG Products? |
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| September 9: Justin Wilson confirms to Autosport that he has a signed contract for 2006 with RuSport. The team was built around A.J. Allmendinger, so he'll be there too. Will they get a major sponsor, such as Red Bull moving over from the IRL? |
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Target Chip Ganassi Racing |
Scott Dixon |
Dan Wheldon |
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Target
CompUSA |
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November 28: With the team's switch to Honda engines in the IRL, that's probably put paid to any plans to run some Champ Car races. |
| October 23: David Phillips, writing on speedtv.com, says Cristiano da Matta is in the mix for Chip Ganassi, should the team return to Champ Car next year. Ganassi tells Speed News the team isn't leaving the IRL, but chooses his words carefully. |
| October 6: Chip Ganassi may be running in the Champ Car World Series as soon as November's Mexico race. Target transporters have been spotted at Champ Car's warehouse and there are rumors of the team dusting off its old Lolas. The team will be in Mexico for the Grand Am support race, so why not take a couple more transporters and run a Champ Car for Luis Diaz? |
| October 2: On Speed News this evening Robin Miller said that Chip Ganassi told him Target would like to be represented at five or six Champ Car events next year, including Long Beach, Houston and Denver. |
| August 21: Robin Miller reports a rumor on Speed News that Ganassi, faced with the prospect of uncompetitive engines in Toyota's final year in the IRL, may switch to the Champ Car World Series for 2006. |
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| Team Australia Racing |
Alex Tagliani |
Will Power
Michael Valiante
Matt Halliday
Charles Zwolsman
Ryan Briscoe
Darren Manning
Marcus Marshall |
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Aussie Vineyards
Visa |
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April 4: Team Australia today confirmed that Alex Tagliani will return to drive alongside Australian rookie Will Power. |
| March 12: Ryan Briscoe tells us he was hoping to get the second seat at PKV Racing. Team Australia was never really an option despite various Internet rumors. |
| October 31: Newly crowned Toyota Atlantic champion Charles Zwolsman will drive the third Team Australia car in Mexico. |
| October 28: Marcus Marshall has been fired from the team with immediate effect due to unspecified contract breaches prior to the Surfer's Paradise race. That leaves Will Power, who recently signed a three-year deal with Team Australia, in the seat, starting in Mexico City. |
| October 14: The team will run a third car for Australian driver Will Power in the Surfer's Paradise race. He has been signed to a three year contract. Does that mean he will replace Marcus Marshall or will the team run three cars in 2006? |
| September 1: Team Australia is a multi-year deal where Australian principles Craig Gore and John Fish provide the sponsorship for Walker Racing to run cars on their behalf. The experienced Alex Tagliani will probably stay. Marcus Marshall may remain, or be replaced by another Aussie driver. |
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