Italian driver Francesco Dracone will replace Brazilian Mario Romancini in the No. 34 Dallara-Honda at Conquest Racing for the final two road course events of the IZOD IndyCar Series season. Dracone will drive the car at Mid-Ohio and Infineon with sponsorship from La Pasta and Halkin Jet.
Dracone has spent time racing in Euroseries 3000 (now AutoGP) for the past four years, improving his spot in the standings each of the past three years. Dracone's best finish in points was seventh place last season, with his best race finish coming at Monza, where he placed fifth.
Dracone has been inactive for most of this season, testing a Nissan LMP1 and an F3000 car in the past few months, but was not expected to drive an IndyCar this season until passing his rookie test at Mid-Ohio last week. Dracone is team owner Eric Bachelart's second strictly European driver signing of the season, with Dracone's teammate Bertrand Baguette a former Formula Renault champion.
Romancini currently ranks third in rookie points, behind only Alex Lloyd and Simona de Silvestro, while Baguette (having missed the season's first two races) ranks fifth. But Romancini has finished no better than 13th all season, has failed to finish in five of seven road course starts (crashing four times), and brings less sponsorship money than Baguette, who has his own Belgian backing. This is no small advantage, as team owner Bachelart is Belgian as well.
Romancini will most likely return to Conquest for the final four oval races of the season, as he was the highest-finishing rookie at Indianapolis and seemed to have his best luck in Firestone Indy Lights last year on the oval tracks.
Showing posts with label Mario Romancini. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mario Romancini. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Castroneves Paces Sunday Practice
For the second day in a row, Helio Castroneves and Team Penske set the pace in early Indianapolis 500 practice, and for the second day in a row, the two Chip Ganassi Racing cars were hot on his trail.
Castroneves' 39.639 second hot lap was under a tenth of a second better than yesterday's pace-setter, but was still good enough to beat the rest of the field. Scott Dixon, who was second best, actually turned a slower lap than his best yesterday, but still moved up a spot from Saturday's results. In all, 14 drivers turned slower laps on Sunday than they did on Saturday, with names like Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, and Danica Patrick included in that list. Wheldon's run, however, was sabotaged by an incident in Turn 4.
33 drivers participated in Sunday's practice, with seven rookies completing Rookie Orientation and gaining eligibility to drive with the experienced veterans. They included Ana Beatriz (22nd), Mario Romancini (28th), Takuma Sato (29th), Bertrand Baguette (31st), Sebastien Saavedra (33rd), Jay Howard (did not participate), and Simona de Silvestro (did not participate). Howard maintains the best single lap on any rookie, with a 40.397 run in the morning's rookie practice. Howard remains the only rookie to break the 222 mph barrier on any given lap.
Over two days of practice, Romancini has driven the most laps around the circuit, with 120 - 91 in rookie practices and 29 in today's feature. Thus far the only other driver to break 100 laps completed is Baguette, Romancini's Conquest Racing teammate. Ryan Hunter-Reay's 16 laps stand as the fewest completed of any driver.
As for drivers to break 40 seconds thus far, the list is short: Castroneves, Franchitti, Dixon, Wheldon, Will Power, Tony Kanaan, and Mario Moraes. Of those seven, only Wheldon failed to qualify on Pole Day last year; all should be a threat for this year's honor. These drivers have combined for six wins, five poles, and 1009 laps led at the track.
Indianapolis 500 practice continues through this week, with Pole Day set for May 22 and Bump Day on the following day.
Castroneves' 39.639 second hot lap was under a tenth of a second better than yesterday's pace-setter, but was still good enough to beat the rest of the field. Scott Dixon, who was second best, actually turned a slower lap than his best yesterday, but still moved up a spot from Saturday's results. In all, 14 drivers turned slower laps on Sunday than they did on Saturday, with names like Dario Franchitti, Dan Wheldon, and Danica Patrick included in that list. Wheldon's run, however, was sabotaged by an incident in Turn 4.
33 drivers participated in Sunday's practice, with seven rookies completing Rookie Orientation and gaining eligibility to drive with the experienced veterans. They included Ana Beatriz (22nd), Mario Romancini (28th), Takuma Sato (29th), Bertrand Baguette (31st), Sebastien Saavedra (33rd), Jay Howard (did not participate), and Simona de Silvestro (did not participate). Howard maintains the best single lap on any rookie, with a 40.397 run in the morning's rookie practice. Howard remains the only rookie to break the 222 mph barrier on any given lap.
Over two days of practice, Romancini has driven the most laps around the circuit, with 120 - 91 in rookie practices and 29 in today's feature. Thus far the only other driver to break 100 laps completed is Baguette, Romancini's Conquest Racing teammate. Ryan Hunter-Reay's 16 laps stand as the fewest completed of any driver.
As for drivers to break 40 seconds thus far, the list is short: Castroneves, Franchitti, Dixon, Wheldon, Will Power, Tony Kanaan, and Mario Moraes. Of those seven, only Wheldon failed to qualify on Pole Day last year; all should be a threat for this year's honor. These drivers have combined for six wins, five poles, and 1009 laps led at the track.
Indianapolis 500 practice continues through this week, with Pole Day set for May 22 and Bump Day on the following day.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Baguette Makes Conquest Belgium's National Team
Conquest Racing, in its fourth year of IZOD IndyCar Series competition, officially announced today that they will add a second car for 15 races in this year's season, starting with the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11. The driver will be Belgian Bertrand Baguette, the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 champion, who tested for two Formula 1 teams this offseason, and the car will likely carry No. 36.
More significantly, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, that country's motorsports governing body, will back the team, creating a true Belgian national team in the IndyCar Series. Team owner Eric Bachelart, a former open-wheel racer himself, calls Belgium home.
Bachelart has pushed for a Belgian driver in his cars before - he sent countryman Jan Heylen to the series' winter meetings with the intent of fielding him in a car this season, but that deal did not come to fruition. The team was briefly rumored to be a two car, all-Brazilian pay-driver team this season, and to have signed Tomas Scheckter, but neither of those deals worked out, either. Brazilian Mario Romancini drove for the team in Sao Paulo and will campaign the team's No. 34 car for the full season.
Originally, the rumors suggested that Baguette would drive a second car for the team in Indianapolis only, similar to how the team fielded a one-off car for Bruno Junqueira last year.
Baguette comes to IndyCar off of a majestic Formula Renault season in which he won the championship by an incredible 57 points. He didn't win a race until the sixth round of the series, sweeping the doubleheader, but won three more races over the next three rounds to secure victory. Baguette only failed to finish one race all season, and that was the only event in which he did not score points. His worst finish otherwise was eighth place, enough to score points in the series, which follows a similar points system to the former Formula 1 structure.
Baguette will attend this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in order to familiarize himself with the team and the cars, but will likely not take part in any events behind the wheel.
More significantly, the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium, that country's motorsports governing body, will back the team, creating a true Belgian national team in the IndyCar Series. Team owner Eric Bachelart, a former open-wheel racer himself, calls Belgium home.
Bachelart has pushed for a Belgian driver in his cars before - he sent countryman Jan Heylen to the series' winter meetings with the intent of fielding him in a car this season, but that deal did not come to fruition. The team was briefly rumored to be a two car, all-Brazilian pay-driver team this season, and to have signed Tomas Scheckter, but neither of those deals worked out, either. Brazilian Mario Romancini drove for the team in Sao Paulo and will campaign the team's No. 34 car for the full season.
Originally, the rumors suggested that Baguette would drive a second car for the team in Indianapolis only, similar to how the team fielded a one-off car for Bruno Junqueira last year.
Baguette comes to IndyCar off of a majestic Formula Renault season in which he won the championship by an incredible 57 points. He didn't win a race until the sixth round of the series, sweeping the doubleheader, but won three more races over the next three rounds to secure victory. Baguette only failed to finish one race all season, and that was the only event in which he did not score points. His worst finish otherwise was eighth place, enough to score points in the series, which follows a similar points system to the former Formula 1 structure.
Baguette will attend this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in order to familiarize himself with the team and the cars, but will likely not take part in any events behind the wheel.
Friday, March 12, 2010
IndyCar Season Preview: Conquest Racing
Conquest Racing spent much of 2009 struggling to find funding for driver Alex Tagliani, eventually forcing the team to only run a limited IZOD IndyCar Series schedule with its lead No. 34 Dallara-Honda. They attempted to qualify a second car for the Indianapolis 500, but when that car made the race and the lead car didn't, Tagliani took the car over for the race. After announcing his departure to start the new FAZZT Race Team in 2010, team owner Eric Bachelart replaced Tagliani with a handful of pay drivers, with poor results.
The team's best run came at Toronto, when Tagliani led a good chunk of the race and may have won if not for a few bad breaks that put him back in ninth place at the finish.
This year, the team started on shaky ground when Bachelart sent Bruno Junqueira and Jan Heylen to preseason meetings, despite having no sponsorship for the car. Junqueira qualified the team's second car at Indy last year, while Heylen drove for the team in Champ Car and also calls Bachelart's native Belgium home. Later reports suggested the team had signed Tomas Scheckter, or would become a two-car Brazilian pay driver team (as it was in 2008) with Nelson Merlo in one of its vehicles.
Eventually, things shook out when Mario Romancini, one of the top young available rookies, signed to compete for the team for the entire 2010 schedule. Romancini was reasonably fast in preseason testing, usually hanging around mid-pack, and will bring Guarana Dolly soft drink sponsorship for at least the Brazil race.
Judging by his performance in Firestone Indy Lights last year, where he won two oval races, and his experience in various European open-wheel racing formulae, Romancini may be the perfect balance for Conquest as it attempts its first full-time IndyCar season since 2008. In the past, the team has struggled on ovals, mostly because its drivers have been road course experts, but Romancini showed an adeptness on the circle tracks last year that will certainly help improve their standing.
Romancini may not contend for wins this year, but he will contend for a place between 10th and 15th in the season standings. He may be the best young driver Conquest has had since Justin Wilson drove for the team in Champ Car in 2004. His development may be the key to establishing legitimacy for Conquest in the IndyCar Series, something they haven't seen since their debut season in 2002.
The team's best run came at Toronto, when Tagliani led a good chunk of the race and may have won if not for a few bad breaks that put him back in ninth place at the finish.
This year, the team started on shaky ground when Bachelart sent Bruno Junqueira and Jan Heylen to preseason meetings, despite having no sponsorship for the car. Junqueira qualified the team's second car at Indy last year, while Heylen drove for the team in Champ Car and also calls Bachelart's native Belgium home. Later reports suggested the team had signed Tomas Scheckter, or would become a two-car Brazilian pay driver team (as it was in 2008) with Nelson Merlo in one of its vehicles.
Eventually, things shook out when Mario Romancini, one of the top young available rookies, signed to compete for the team for the entire 2010 schedule. Romancini was reasonably fast in preseason testing, usually hanging around mid-pack, and will bring Guarana Dolly soft drink sponsorship for at least the Brazil race.
Judging by his performance in Firestone Indy Lights last year, where he won two oval races, and his experience in various European open-wheel racing formulae, Romancini may be the perfect balance for Conquest as it attempts its first full-time IndyCar season since 2008. In the past, the team has struggled on ovals, mostly because its drivers have been road course experts, but Romancini showed an adeptness on the circle tracks last year that will certainly help improve their standing.
Romancini may not contend for wins this year, but he will contend for a place between 10th and 15th in the season standings. He may be the best young driver Conquest has had since Justin Wilson drove for the team in Champ Car in 2004. His development may be the key to establishing legitimacy for Conquest in the IndyCar Series, something they haven't seen since their debut season in 2002.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
2010 IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie Preview
This year the IZOD IndyCar Series will welcome at least five full-time rookie drivers, with two others running limited schedules at the very least. A diverse crowd featuring drivers from four different continents will battle for rookie of the year honors in one of the greatest rookie classes that any form of American motorsport has seen in years.
The group is led by Japanese star Takuma Sato, a longtime veteran of Formula 1 who will join KV Racing Technology in its No. 5 Dallara-Honda. Sato spent parts of seven seasons in F1, all for Honda-powered teams, scoring a grand total of 44 points. His best season was 2004, where he scored 34 points to finish eighth overall, and his lone career podium at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sato was quick in preseason testing, besting many series veterans.
Joining Sato at KVRT will be British standout James Rossiter, whose F1 dreams fell through this year with the collapse of USF1. Rossiter was a former Honda test driver in the series who also ran in the American Le Mans Series for the former Andretti Green Racing team. Rossiter has experience in Formula 3, World Series by Renault, and British Formula Renault, where he formerly competed against 2008 F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Mario Romancini is among the Firestone Indy Lights Series graduates to step up this year, joining Conquest Racing for the full season. Romancini won two Lights races last season to finish sixth in points with Andersen Racing. Since beginning his racing career in 2006, he has scored five wins in 55 starts over four different series.
Richard Antinucci is the other full-time Lights graduate to run for rookie of the year, though he made five starts last season. He will rejoin Team 3G for a program that starts after the Brazil race. His best finish last year was a 15th at Infineon Raceway. He finished second in Lights in 2008, and has four career wins in 25 starts in the series.
The final full-time driver to compete for this year's rookie of the year honors is Swiss pilot Simona de Silvestro, already painted as the chief female rival to Danica Patrick. De Silvestro dominated much of last year's Atlantic Championship, taking the title fight to the final race. She scored four wins last season, making her arguably the most successful driver last year of all potential rookie candidates.
Each driver has something going for them to suggest their capability of winning the award. Sato and Rossiter drive for the best team competing for the award; Romancini and Antinucci are most familiar with the tracks; de Silvestro has the most momentum from a highly successful 2009. All are worthy candidates, and all should contend for the award.
As for the part-timers, Sebastian Saavedra will move up for up to five races with Bryan Herta Autosport while attempting to win this year's Lights title. He won two races last season for Andretti Green to finish third in points. One win took place on the oval in Kansas; the other win was taken from the pole on the streets of Toronto.
Jay Howard will make up for an aborted rookie campaign in 2008 to run five races for Sarah Fisher Racing in a second car. Howard scored two 13th-place finishes in 2008 before losing his ride at Roth Racing to John Andretti. The 2007 Lights champion then returned to the series for 2009, starting the first five races and accruing two top fives and four top-10s.
Finally, Ana Beatriz will compete in the season-opening Brazil race for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, with the possibility of more events if she can bring funding. Beatriz raced in Lights the past two years, finishing third in 2008 and eighth last year. She scored one win each year, and had six top five finishes last year despite missing two races.
The group is led by Japanese star Takuma Sato, a longtime veteran of Formula 1 who will join KV Racing Technology in its No. 5 Dallara-Honda. Sato spent parts of seven seasons in F1, all for Honda-powered teams, scoring a grand total of 44 points. His best season was 2004, where he scored 34 points to finish eighth overall, and his lone career podium at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sato was quick in preseason testing, besting many series veterans.
Joining Sato at KVRT will be British standout James Rossiter, whose F1 dreams fell through this year with the collapse of USF1. Rossiter was a former Honda test driver in the series who also ran in the American Le Mans Series for the former Andretti Green Racing team. Rossiter has experience in Formula 3, World Series by Renault, and British Formula Renault, where he formerly competed against 2008 F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Mario Romancini is among the Firestone Indy Lights Series graduates to step up this year, joining Conquest Racing for the full season. Romancini won two Lights races last season to finish sixth in points with Andersen Racing. Since beginning his racing career in 2006, he has scored five wins in 55 starts over four different series.
Richard Antinucci is the other full-time Lights graduate to run for rookie of the year, though he made five starts last season. He will rejoin Team 3G for a program that starts after the Brazil race. His best finish last year was a 15th at Infineon Raceway. He finished second in Lights in 2008, and has four career wins in 25 starts in the series.
The final full-time driver to compete for this year's rookie of the year honors is Swiss pilot Simona de Silvestro, already painted as the chief female rival to Danica Patrick. De Silvestro dominated much of last year's Atlantic Championship, taking the title fight to the final race. She scored four wins last season, making her arguably the most successful driver last year of all potential rookie candidates.
Each driver has something going for them to suggest their capability of winning the award. Sato and Rossiter drive for the best team competing for the award; Romancini and Antinucci are most familiar with the tracks; de Silvestro has the most momentum from a highly successful 2009. All are worthy candidates, and all should contend for the award.
As for the part-timers, Sebastian Saavedra will move up for up to five races with Bryan Herta Autosport while attempting to win this year's Lights title. He won two races last season for Andretti Green to finish third in points. One win took place on the oval in Kansas; the other win was taken from the pole on the streets of Toronto.
Jay Howard will make up for an aborted rookie campaign in 2008 to run five races for Sarah Fisher Racing in a second car. Howard scored two 13th-place finishes in 2008 before losing his ride at Roth Racing to John Andretti. The 2007 Lights champion then returned to the series for 2009, starting the first five races and accruing two top fives and four top-10s.
Finally, Ana Beatriz will compete in the season-opening Brazil race for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, with the possibility of more events if she can bring funding. Beatriz raced in Lights the past two years, finishing third in 2008 and eighth last year. She scored one win each year, and had six top five finishes last year despite missing two races.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Romancini, Conquest Sign Sponsor For Sao Paulo
Guarana Dolly will back Brazilian driver Mario Romancini and Conquest Racing for the season-opening IZOD IndyCar Series Sao Paulo Indy 300 next weekend.
The name is unfamiliar to most Americans, nevermind American race fans, but the Dolly brand is prominent in Brazil. Dolly is a Brazilian-based corporation that manufactures soft drinks. Their lead product is Guarana Dolly, a soft-drink produced with guarana extract. Guarana is a common plant in Brazil whose extract contains a very high level of caffeine. According to a 2007 Wall Street Journal article, guarana soft drinks exceed the sales of cola-based drinks in Brazil. Dolly also manufactures soft drinks typical of American companies, such as cola, lemon-lime, orange, and grape-based beverages.
Dolly has a history in motorsports, sponsoring two cars in Brazilian stock car racing. Indeed, the most prominent image on the Dolly homepage is one of its stock cars, and the site features a handful of videos of Brazilian stock car racing, suggesting the company will be a valuable promotional partner to Conquest, IndyCar, and the race organizers.
Sao Paulo will be Romancini's first IndyCar race in only his second season running open-wheel cars in North America. Last season the young Brazilian finished 6th in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Despite European road course seasoning and limited oval experience, Romancini actually raced better on the circle tracks last season, scoring all four of his podiums and both of his wins on that style of racetrack. His best road course finish was sixth, scored twice, in the second St. Petersburg race and Toronto.
This will be Conquest Racing's fourth IndyCar Series season and third consecutive. The team debuted in IndyCar in 2002 before leaving for Champ Car until its demise. Last season the team fielded a handful of different drivers, often bringing their own sponsorship, but no one car or driver for the full season. They fielded one car in 2002, two cars in 2008, and a limited program for one car last year with a second car attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
So far nothing has been announced in regards to a full-time sponsorship, but rumors in the Brazilian press a few weeks ago suggested that two Brazilian drivers were going to join the team and bring funding. Almost all news related to the team thus far this season has been broken by Brazilian media outlets.
The name is unfamiliar to most Americans, nevermind American race fans, but the Dolly brand is prominent in Brazil. Dolly is a Brazilian-based corporation that manufactures soft drinks. Their lead product is Guarana Dolly, a soft-drink produced with guarana extract. Guarana is a common plant in Brazil whose extract contains a very high level of caffeine. According to a 2007 Wall Street Journal article, guarana soft drinks exceed the sales of cola-based drinks in Brazil. Dolly also manufactures soft drinks typical of American companies, such as cola, lemon-lime, orange, and grape-based beverages.
Dolly has a history in motorsports, sponsoring two cars in Brazilian stock car racing. Indeed, the most prominent image on the Dolly homepage is one of its stock cars, and the site features a handful of videos of Brazilian stock car racing, suggesting the company will be a valuable promotional partner to Conquest, IndyCar, and the race organizers.
Sao Paulo will be Romancini's first IndyCar race in only his second season running open-wheel cars in North America. Last season the young Brazilian finished 6th in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Despite European road course seasoning and limited oval experience, Romancini actually raced better on the circle tracks last season, scoring all four of his podiums and both of his wins on that style of racetrack. His best road course finish was sixth, scored twice, in the second St. Petersburg race and Toronto.
This will be Conquest Racing's fourth IndyCar Series season and third consecutive. The team debuted in IndyCar in 2002 before leaving for Champ Car until its demise. Last season the team fielded a handful of different drivers, often bringing their own sponsorship, but no one car or driver for the full season. They fielded one car in 2002, two cars in 2008, and a limited program for one car last year with a second car attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
So far nothing has been announced in regards to a full-time sponsorship, but rumors in the Brazilian press a few weeks ago suggested that two Brazilian drivers were going to join the team and bring funding. Almost all news related to the team thus far this season has been broken by Brazilian media outlets.
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