Conquest interest in Giorgio Pantano

[Muzza]

Dear Folks,


Rumors heard in Southern California talk about a certain mutual interest between Conquest Racing and Giorgio Pantano for a partial season in the 2006 Champ Car calendar. Pantano, who as the story goes would not be required to bring cash to Conquest, would race something between five and nine races for Conquest next year in preparation for a full season with the team in 2007.

Regards,


Muzza

[marcus]

that would be great

I think he is very under rated at times and can do a solid job.

I certainly hope this happens

[mac]

I wonder why they are only talking about a partial season ......?

What would prevent both parties from negotiating a full season?

Perhaps Conquest will run pay drivers for the other rounds in a bid to fund Pantano's ride .....?

[marcus]

probably maybe Pantano has something else he is contracted to do as well ?

Is he going to be running GP2 this year ?
maybe he is only driving in non clashing events with that ?

im only speculating of course

[kipper]

I wouldn't have thought that another season at GP2 would be in Giorgio Pantano's best interests given that he has been at that level for a number of years (solitary F1 season aside). I would speculate that a part season would arise as a result of money shortages.

[ghinzani]

or IRL commitments?

[BrentJackson]

Who would Pantano be replacing, or is this a third car from Conquest?

[marcus]

welcome aboard Brent (and I have no idea to the answer of your question )

[gomick]

3rd car would be good - think nelson phillipe & andrew ranger deserve a full crack at it again this season, they had some good drives in 05 for really young blokes

has anyone seen glimpses of giorgio pantano to think that he could be another alex zanardi???? - just a thought

[macdaddy]

I sincerely hope that Ranger makes the 2006 grid, but I'm afraid that his funding may be very-much in doubt. Hopefully the Canadian arm of ProcterGamble steps up to the plate, more than they did last season.

[GBoehm]

Well this might mean one other thing... Is it possible PKV has already told him that they have already chosen their drivers???

[Muzza]

Originally Posted by BrentJackson

Who would Pantano be replacing, or is this a third car from Conquest?

In my opinion Conquest capacity of running a third car in 2006 is very small. Look at the team's material inventory (and its payroll as well): running three cars would be quite a stretch - and not recommendable for a team who is step-by-step, slowly becoming a player to be reckoned.

Originally Posted by GBoehm

Well this might mean one other thing... Is it possible PKV has already told him that they have already chosen their drivers???

My thought as well, GBoehm. I was actually told a over the Holidays that Vasser has decided to retire but is waiting for a definition on da Matta's case (whether the Brazilian is going to drive to PKV or not) to make an official announcement - thus minimizing disruption. Well, I think you may have heard this as well.

All these things are connected and da Matta is the key piece in this puzzle. I can tell you that right now there are not many top seats left open in the Brazilian Stock Car series - which was said to be da Matta's main option to Champ Cars. There were quite some shuffles in the BR Stock Cars top teams, with many drivers switching teams, and the best drives have been taken. In parallel, the likelihood of having Cristiano at IRL is very small. Thus, what are his plans for this year? Sportscars sounds equally unlikely.

In my opinion the logical outcome for all parties (Cristiano himself, PKV and Champ Car as a whole as well) would be for da Matta to renew his contract with PKV. He has gathered a better reputation at Champ Car than anywhere else, and this plays both ways (to himself and to the teams engaged in this championship). Also, it's valuable to Champ Car to state that one of its former champion (and a former Formula 1 driver) is racing with the series. The main hurdle to a renewal between Cristiano and PKV is that da Matta was disappointed (in a larger or lesser degree, depending on whom you talk with) with the team - both in the salary aspect as well as with the racing conditions. But then again, what are his options? Thus, I believe that at the end Cristiano will race for PKV, and Vasser will retire.

[Snrub]

Good lord we have some news!

Conquest obviously has some funding from Mi-Jack. It seems that they require their drivers to bring some money to the table, but the team has some of their own. My guess with Pantano is that because he doesn't want to bring money he can only race in some of the races. If he brought money he'd get to race the season.

[BootsOntheSide]

Conquest have the space and perhaps the infrastructure to run 3 cars - there was talk of they and Fitipaldi-Dingman running 3 cars between tehm for 2004 at one point. However, with the cost of having extra mechanics for only a partial season, the chances are that he would replace onte of the other drivers, unless the team can only run 1 car for the full season, which would be a pity.

I agree that Pantano has little to gain from racing in GP2 again, and unless a full-season IRL drive opens up, that is also a risk, even thoguh he did well in the non-oval races he did last year. Perhpas he is doing those and the Indy 500, and ChampCars around it?

[Alwaysfirst]

I would see that as being quite possible, as he impressed many in the IRL last year. However he is unproven on ovals & while teams like Ganassi may remain interested in him, they couldn't afford to run a 3rd car with a risk of as many wrecks as last year. However he could probably find an Indy drive without too many problems, with the road races, while filling in the time with champcars. I do think that he would be an asset to both series.

[perfectly_frank]

Can anyone add to this discussion? It's been a month & since the last post & most CC teams have been quiet about drivers. I wonder if Pantano is still a candidate at PKV...