If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that Fiat has been, for a while, a name bandied about as a possible new manufacturer for the IZOD IndyCar Series. The Italian marque was one of several groups that took part in the initial roundtables for the 2012 engine package.
But now, it appears that some hints may be emerging on what their plans are. Again, this is strictly in the rumor pile and we’ll have to see how it all plays out. I’m putting it up to keep a note of things just in case we’ll need it.
Anyway, Allen Wagner of the Grab Bag Sports blog was able to hunt down this bit from the blog of Teo Jose, a Brazilian sports commentator that works on Rede Bandeirantes’ IndyCar coverage. If you throw the piece into Google Translate (which I’m personally iffy about doing), Jose writes that Fiat may be leaning towards going into the sport and also mentions a return of Alfa Romeo, one of the Fiat group’s major brands.
Meanwhile, Dallara’s getting ready to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the Speedway, Indiana plant that will be the home of their next-generation IndyCars. The event is set for next Tuesday and, in addition to Dallara owner Gian Paolo Dallara being in attendance, the IndyCar Garage blog is reporting that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is expected to be there as well.
If Marchionne does show up for the groundbreaking, then something could definitely be up. But again, this is all just rumor at this point. Let’s wait and see where this leads…
