Funny name. Serious racer.
While the IZOD IndyCar Series might owe Schlotzsky’s Deli some royalties, that appears to be a fitting slogan the series can use with Belgian driver Bertrand Baguette (no sandwich or soup jokes, please). The 24-year-old has made waves recently in European racing circles by capturing last year’s World Series by Renault championship, which in turn earned him Formula One tests with the Renault and BMW Sauber squads. Now he’ll set his sights on attaining American open-wheel success.
Baguette will drive a second Conquest Racing machine full-time starting April 11 at the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. A press release from the team states that his car will feature the colors of the national team for the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, which is the country’s motorsports governing body.
As for the driver himself, he appears especially keen on getting his first taste of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this May.
“I am looking forward to the 15 races this year with the [IZOD IndyCar Series] and I am thankful to the sponsors and for the support of the RACB National Team that have made this possible,” Baguette said in the release. “I will carry the yellow color of the Belgian National Team with dignity and pride, especially during the legendary Indianapolis 500. To run this race in front of 400,000 spectators will undoubtedly be a big moment of emotion for me as a driver and Belgian countryman.
“I will be counting on the experience of my new team owner, Eric Bachelart, to help me enter successfully into this new world of racing.”
Bachelart believes that his new driver can eventually evolve into a force on road and street courses and also praised his ability to adapt quickly to new equipment. He plans on helping Baguette get familiar with his new environs this weekend at St. Petersburg, where Mario Romancini will drive the team’s lone entry.
“It will be good for Bertrand to be able to attend an event, understand the communication between driver and team and get acclimated to IZOD IndyCar Series racing without the pressure of also having to learn the cars on the same weekend,” said the Conquest team owner. “This should make Bertrand’s debut event at Barber much smoother for him and for the team.”
Meanwhile, it appears an argument can be made that Baguette is just warming up for a crack at Formula One. On March 6, Crash.Net ran comments made by him to a Belgian paper saying that he’s convinced more F1 seats will become available over the course of the season. He also stated that F1 was his priority, that the IZOD IndyCar Series was an “alternative,” and that “[he] has to stay in shape in order to be ready for when an F1 opportunity arises.”
But in any case, it’s another car on the grid and that’s always nice to see.
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An “ICONIC” committee
The IRL is planning to create an advisory committee to help determine a chassis/engine platform for the 2012 season. According to a league release, the committee will have a league rep, a team owner, an engine expert, a marketer/promoter, and a racing engineer; the team owner will be determined by vote from full-time “Leader’s Circle” entries, while the others will be picked by IRL CEO Randy Bernard.
The full committee will be announced next week and the league hopes to have a recommendation in less than 90 days.
“As the league moves closer to making a decision regarding our new chassis and engine platform, we need to continue to have an articulate process in place that sets the criterion in a timely manner while taking into consideration the core areas of car development in our sport: competition, marketing, engineering, engine development and team ownership,” said Bernard in the release. “[Commercial division president] Terry Angstadt and [president of competition] Brian Barnhart have done an outstanding job researching and developing the future car for the past two years. Now we would like for the members of the advisory committee to review the research and make a collective recommendation, utilizing their respective industry sector’s point of view.
“Just as equally important in this process are the drivers and fans. The advisory committee will be encouraged to reach out to the drivers for their feedback and opinions about the engine and chassis. Additionally, we are currently conducting surveys to receive fan input on the new chassis and will look for similar ways to incorporate their voice into the committee’s research in the future.”
The committee, dubbed the ICONIC (Innovative, Competitive, Open-Wheel, New, Industry-Relevant, Cost-Effective) IZOD IndyCar Series Advisory Committee, will be chaired by retired four-star Air Force Gen. William R. Looney III, a former commander of air education and training command at Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio, Texas.
“Gen. Looney represents many of the characteristics that are important to this process and his Air Force background provides familiarity with speed, safety, technology and integrity,” Bernard said. “We are grateful to have someone with his vast experience serve as chairman, and I’m confident that he will set the appropriate procedures to oversee the advisory committee and facilitate a recommendation in a timely manner.
“Having an industry outsider chair should prevent any bias toward any certain industry sector when overseeing the advisory committee.”
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Baltimore Grand Prix closer to reality?
The Mid-Atlantic region may be just weeks away from getting the Indy Racing League back.
After a helicopter survey of the proposed Baltimore, Maryland street circuit — which is being considered for a 2011 event — Baltimore Racing Development’s Jay Davidson told the Baltimore Sun that he hopes to have the city and company sign a contract agreement and then wait for the IRL to make a final decision on giving Baltimore a race in another few weeks.
Baltimore and Boston have been mentioned as the two prime possibilities for next year’s docket. If Baltimore gets the nod, it would mark the IRL’s first visit to the region since leaving Dover (Del.) International Speedway after a two-year run there in 1998 and 1999.
Credit goes to Pressdog for catching this story.
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Yeah, I’m a bit surprised too…
Looks like ESPN is giving the IZOD IndyCar Series some promotional pop before Sunday’s race in St. Petersburg (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC). Check out the two 30-second ads below…and also note that the podium finishers from the season opener (winner Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Vitor Meira) don’t get mentioned in either of them.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
EuruUSmRhFg[/youtube]
http://youtube.com/watch?v=
SxwWU9v1NqQ[/youtube]
