Dan Clarke

[BobGarage]

racing in A1GP this weekend but claims he's in negatiations for an indycar ride this season.



Dan Clarke is confident that he will return to racing full-time this year, and expects to secure a drive in the IndyCar Series.

The Briton lost his drive when the Champ Car World Series merged with IndyCar on the eve of the 2008 season, and spent last year on the sidelines.

But he has returned to action with Team Great Britain at the Taupo A1GP races this weekend, and while he wouldn't rule out more A1GP appearances, he said his priority was getting an IndyCar seat.

"I'm still living in Indianapolis, and we're still gearing up for a season in IndyCar," Clarke told autosport.com.

"But if the opportunity arises to do more of these (A1GP) races then I will jump at them, of course. But after this race I will go back to Indianapolis and continue with the negotiations that we're having there with the teams in IndyCar."

He remains optimistic that he can find a drive despite many IndyCar teams struggling for funding amid the economic downturn.

"It's really wide open right now," said Clarke. "A lot of people are feeling the economy. And the sad side to that is that a lot of people are losing their jobs. Motor racing is a tough business for that, because it costs a lot of money and that's stressful, but at the end of the day there are other people that are losing their jobs. And that's not funny either.

"You've just got to keep working. We have some sponsors that we're working with, and we have negotiations with teams, so I am really confident that I will be in a race car this year."

[DanicaFan]

I wonder what team or teams he has been in contact with.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I think one of them must be his old team, HVM. EJ Viso and Crazy Dan would make an interesting team.

[FormerFF]

I would read that as, "I've talked to some teams but nothing's come of it yet".

I don't want to be recurrently negative, but I don't see much hope for many new drivers or teams this year. The US economy may very well be going into its worst recession since World War II.

[gm99]

I think one of them must be his old team, HVM. EJ Viso and Crazy Dan would make an interesting team.

Well, if that's true, HVM had better start to pile up on spare parts...

[dataman1]

Well, if that's true, HVM had better start to pile up on spare parts...\

Good one!

FYI, HVM has layed off several staff this winter.

[beachgirl]

I got to watch Speedy Dan Clarke a lot in Champ Car. He had a lot of enthusiasm, but not much common sense. Unfortuantely he lacked the brain connections that would process braking markers. He left a lot of carnage in his wake. And in a series that had Bonzai Paul Tracy, that is saying a WHOLE lot.

IMHO.

[ykiki]

I got to watch Speedy Dan Clarke a lot in Champ Car. He had a lot of enthusiasm, but not much common sense. Unfortuantely he lacked the brain connections that would process braking markers. He left a lot of carnage in his wake. And in a series that had Bonzai Paul Tracy, that is saying a WHOLE lot.

IMHO.

Dan is one of those drivers that is young, fast, and... impatient.

The potential is there and everyone could see it in his lap times. However, Dan needs to actually finish ALL of the laps in a race in order to win. Kept waiting for the Lightbulb of Maturity to turn on and it never did.

Some guys arrive far too early but observe what's going on, learn from their mistakes and eventually "get it" - like Nelson Philippe and Michel Jourdain.

Dan on the other hand...

[El Libertador]

There are many guys I'd rather see get seats (RHR, Wilson, Tracy, Scheckter, etc), but I don't have anything against Dan Clarke. Accident-prone? Yes. Entertaining? That too. Clarke had some flashes of potential and if a team is willing to take that risk, more power to them. I say give him a shot, ovals may suit his style better.

[garyshell]

There are many guys I'd rather see get seats (RHR, Wilson, Tracy, Scheckter, etc), but I don't have anything against Dan Clarke. Accident-prone? Yes. Entertaining? That too. Clarke had some flashes of potential and if a team is willing to take that risk, more power to them. I say give him a shot, ovals may suit his style better.


The problem is, it is not just HIS team that is taking the risk. The risk extends to every driver within striking distance of speedy Dan.

Gary

[millencolin]

Going by his A1gp results this weekend... He would prolly be a tail-end charlie in the Indycars. He was crap!

[El Libertador]

The problem is, it is not just HIS team that is taking the risk. The risk extends to every driver within striking distance of speedy Dan.

Gary

Fair point and I agree, and I know now more than ever a lot of teams won't want to see another guy out there who is accident-prone, but on the same token, if you can only fund a racing team banking on not getting in accidents, it's probably not a good idea to try. That's racin'. You can't control what the other teams are going to do and it's a competition, so I don't see a team saying "well, Dan, we'd like to hire you but the other teams don't want us to so I guess you'll have to look elsewhere." Besides, he's hardly more of a hazard than Andretti, Viso, Sceckter (don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of all three and think they all should have IndyCar rides). In short, if IndyCar is going to give him a license (and they will; they've let worse in), and a team owner is going to hire him, that's the end of it, whether or not the other teams like it.

[elis]

Going by his A1gp results this weekend... He would prolly be a tail-end charlie in the Indycars. He was crap!

He finished 12 after not being behind 'the wheel' for well over a year.

Plus he kept his nose clean & didn't incure any official penalties for careless driving.. unlike some of the more 'established' drivers. *cough, cough Andretti* to name but one relevant to this thread

[millencolin]

He finished 12 after not being behind 'the wheel' for well over a year.

Plus he kept his nose clean & didn't incure any official penalties for careless driving.. unlike some of the more 'established' drivers. *cough, cough Andretti* to name but one relevant to this thread

Out of 19 cars? the top 12... A1gp is a great series, but there are certain cars and drivers that are not at this level, but are due to the unique nature of A1gp. Drivers such as Cheng Cong Fu and Satrio Hermanto are perfect examples. Team GBR are a race winning, championship fighting team, Dan Clarke currently doesn't fit that mould.

If he is only top 12 in A1, Indycars would not be any better for him

[AndyRAC]

Going by his A1gp results this weekend... He would prolly be a tail-end charlie in the Indycars. He was crap!

He was interviewed on Midweek Motorsport last night - and after the interview finished, one of the presenters basically said the same thing.

[BobGarage]

team GB have been crap in A1 all season. Dont just blame the drive. They missed the first round because the car wasn't finished and they;ve been behind the other teams ever since.

katie clements isn't running the team as well as her father and john surtees ran it before. Even if they put Justin Wilson in the car I wouldn;t expect a decent result from the team this season.

Yes dan wasn't great in taupo but neither were the team.

[elis]

Out of 19 cars? the top 12...

And Andretti, y'know the established indycar driver. finished 11th.. after a full year of racing competition, testing, & several A1 races behind him.

I'm not necessarily saying Dan is a good fit for ICS, but if you're denouncing him on the fact he finished 'only' 12th after being out of ANY race car for more than a year, what in the heck does that say about Marco's effort? ;)

[Jimmy Magnusson]

I'm not calling Dan a future star or anything, but I think he did a reasonable job during the last weekend. It's not like things worked in his favour:


Had not driven a race car for a year[/*:m:10fps8x6]
Had never tested the car before[/*:m:10fps8x6]
Had never driven at the track before[/*:m:10fps8x6]
Didn't get any new tires until qualifying[/*:m:10fps8x6]
Was working with a seriously reduced team - I mean, James Winslow (the team's test driver) was a jack man during the pitstop![/*:m:10fps8x6]Do I want to see Dan in Indycar this season? Yes, why not.

[Will Rogers]

Do I want to see Dan in Indycar this season? Yes, why not.

Why not? Because Dan is not a good competitor and he's too risky to the other drivers. Spend 2 minutes with any of the drivers and they'll tell you he's a menace. His danger on the track is exceeded only by his inability to admit his faults when he recklessly and needlessly takes someone out.

I got to see a wonderful vignette at Mexico City a couple of years ago--Dan Clarke leaving the session of drivers signing autographs, wearing his signature silly hat. A man came up to him and asked him "Where can I get one of those hats? I've been invited to a costume party and I want one of those hats because I'm planning to go as a drooling moron."