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  1. #1
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    Bertrand Baguette

    I read up on Bertrand Baguette and he seems to be an interesting character. He won the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 series. He is a 2010 F1 near miss – tested with both Renault and BMW Sauber and was sure he had the second seat with Sauber until they gave it to Pedro de la Rosa (who’s really been tearing up the track so far this season… ...). According to him, he was offered the third F1 seat by more than one team for 2010. So, in the immortal words of Cal Naughton, Jr., “the boy can drive.” He wound up in IndyCar with Conquest alongside Mario Romanicini and now gets to look forward to racing at Indy along with the rest of the full season schedule – good for him.

    One thing I noted in his interviews was that he sees Indycar as a stepping stone to F1 and not the end of the line for his professional career. He cited Seabass as an example (gulp) of how that progression might work (even though Seabass technically never raced in the IRL). Also, it's my guess that he came with his own (sponsorship) money so someone else must think he can drive too. It would be interesting to see what he could do with better equipment than Conquest will provide him with, but as long as he races hard with what he has and doesn’t turn into the next Marty Roth I’ll be ok with it.

    BZ

    BTW - I don't have an opinion as to whether he's cuter than Marco or how his personality compares to Viso, and I don't want to marry him.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by bzcam

    1. ...now gets to look forward to racing at Indy along with the rest of the full season schedule – good for him.

    2. One thing I noted in his interviews was that he sees Indycar as a stepping stone to F1 and not the end of the line for his professional career.

    1. If he qualfies. And that will be a BIG challenge for him and this team this year.

    2. Yippee!


    Its obviously very early, but this guy has shown absolutely nothing yet. On a road and street course, where he should be most comfortable. Even a Richard Antinucci, who was with a dog crap team, showed some things last year on the roads and streets.

    Only reason he's here, is because of the check he brought. Period.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scotty G.
    Only reason he's here, is because of the check he brought. Period.
    Hmm, more...

    "Conquest Racing announced today that it will enter a second car in the IZOD IndyCar Series for Belgian driver Bertrand Baguette, beginning with the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 11th through the remainder of the season.

    The car will carry the colors of the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium’s National Team. The RACB is the Belgian motorsports governing body."

    Conquest is owned by Eric Bachelart, a Belgian. Baguette is Belgian. The car is sponsored by the Royal Auto Club of Belgium. Wonder if there is any connection between these things?

    Reading more, it truly does appear as though the boy can drive - he was seriously close to having an F1 seat for this season. He just showed up late, has had little time to learn the car and got a crappy car to boot. Let's see what happens.

    BZ

  4. #4
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    He would have been completely out of his depth in F1 this year and I'm glad that he didn't get the seat. I think he's really talented but he's too inexperienced - he's still being outperformed by his teammate in IndyCar, and he's a nobody.

    Having said that, Sauber's lineup this year is pretty shocking, and if the rumours of replacing de la Rosa with Filippi are true then that'll make things a lot worse. I hope that they're bringing the team a lot of money, otherwise it was a really stupid decision to drop Heidfeld.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nikki Katz
    I hope that they're bringing the team a lot of money, otherwise it was a really stupid decision to drop Heidfeld.
    $10 Million apparently.
    The Other Side - "2011 Silly Season Update" Dec 17/2010
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chamoo
    $10 Million apparently.
    Less than peanuts in F1.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by bzcam

    Reading more, it truly does appear as though the boy can drive - he was seriously close to having an F1 seat for this season. He just showed up late, has had little time to learn the car and got a crappy car to boot. Let's see what happens.

    BZ

    The last few teams in F1 are mostly filled with hacks, who are bringing serious money. So just "having a F1 seat" does not mean a driver has talent. Like Indy Car, those teams are looking for ride-buyers too.

    For the top 2/3 of the grid? Yes those drivers are there for their driving ability. For those last few teams? Nope. Just $$$. And those are the type of drivers Indy Car seems to be drawing. Guys who don't have enough coin to buy their way into F1 and aren't nearly good enough to ever get hired into F1.

    Sato seems to be another one, at least so far.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scotty G.
    Sato seems to be another one, at least so far.
    Sato has disappointed me so far this season, however, I'm not so sure if it is him or his team, as all three drivers have struggled until recently.

    As for Bertrand, he does have a track record of success in Europe, and seeing him driving for Conquest gives him an out for bad races as his car is sub-par. Hopefully having two full time cars will help this team get a little bit more out of the cars for the upcoming races. Don't forget, this team was 1-2 at Richmond for a number of laps two years ago until both cars DNF'ed, so they can be decent on the shorter ovals, just isn't very likely.
    The Other Side - "2011 Silly Season Update" Dec 17/2010
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  9. #9
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    Bertrand to me is just wasting everyone's time, and if he is a f1 prospect, then maybe the IRL is better for talent than people think. This guy shouldn't be at the back, I don't care WHAT team he is with. With his talent, there should have been some point in the two races he entered where you saw some glimmer of speed. Back of the field in qualifying..and not moving up during the races. It is a race car...and he knows how to race on a road course, so where is he not picking this up at some point?
    "Water for my horses, beer for my men and mud for my turtle".

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by bzcam
    I read up on Bertrand Baguette and he seems to be an interesting character. He won the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 series. He is a 2010 F1 near miss – tested with both Renault and BMW Sauber and was sure he had the second seat with Sauber until they gave it to Pedro de la Rosa (who’s really been tearing up the track so far this season… ...). According to him, he was offered the third F1 seat by more than one team for 2010. So, in the immortal words of Cal Naughton, Jr., “the boy can drive.” He wound up in IndyCar with Conquest alongside Mario Romanicini and now gets to look forward to racing at Indy along with the rest of the full season schedule – good for him.

    One thing I noted in his interviews was that he sees Indycar as a stepping stone to F1 and not the end of the line for his professional career. He cited Seabass as an example (gulp) of how that progression might work (even though Seabass technically never raced in the IRL). Also, it's my guess that he came with his own (sponsorship) money so someone else must think he can drive too. It would be interesting to see what he could do with better equipment than Conquest will provide him with, but as long as he races hard with what he has and doesn’t turn into the next Marty Roth I’ll be ok with it.

    BZ

    BTW - I don't have an opinion as to whether he's cuter than Marco or how his personality compares to Viso, and I don't want to marry him.
    Good research BZ. By the way, isn't a near miss a hit?? Just asking,lol
    "Believers that socialism is a one aspect theory are deluded and do not comprehend it"
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