2012 Silly Season Thread

[GRW1983]

Seems the latest news is that PT will be having one final season in Indycar with MSR. Although Shank intended to use Lotus engines, that isn't finalised so a Honda engine deal could still be a possibility for this team. Although PT has said it doesn't have to be a Honda, as he only has Personal Services links to Honda Canada. So, Shank could yet have any one of the three engines on offer.

Also, we are still waiting on a number of seats to be confirmed so here a my suggestions for those seats:

KV Racing (3rd car): Rubens Barrichello??? This would be a great move for IndyCar, even if it was only road/street tracks only. A full-time ride depends very much on his wife at this stage as he has promised NOT to race on ovals. Possibly Rubens does road/streets & Vitor Meira on ovals making KV an all-South American line-up.

Andretti (4th car): Things have gone pretty quiet on that front, but Michael Andretti did say that he wanted a veteran driver so, maybe a Townsend Bell, Tomas Scheckter or Alex Lloyd could be a surprise choice for this ride.

Rahal (Both cars): Although no official confirmation as yet, Takuma Sato & Honda will be with this team, and it seems that Jay Howard may be in the 2nd seat. Baguette & Pippa Mann could also be linked as well.

Coyne (2nd car): PT, I thought, was a cert for this ride with the Honda announcement, but if he ends up at Shank, then James Jakes should get another chance.

DRR (2nd car): Ana Beatriz a likely candidate, although Giorgio Pantano, Townsend Bell & Tomas Scheckter drove last year as well so they could land here as well.

Conquest: No driver, no sponsor, no engine & no news. Also, not on the testing list for Sebring. If they do compete this season, Mr (or Mrs) P.A.Y Driver should be driving.

SSM (2nd car): Sam Schmidt still hopes to field a 2nd car, so we shall see on this one. Martin Plowman, Wade Cunningham & AFS were involved last season, so let's see.

Panther (2nd car): Again, hoping to field a 2nd car but they might or might not. Maybe Buddy Rice can land a full time ride or a Vitor Meira could end up here.

If all of these rides materialise, then we'll be looking at a 33-car field. Honda would have Ganassi x 4, SSM x 2, Rahal x 2, Coyne x 2 & Foyt x 1. That would be 11 so if Shank secured a Honda, then that takes them to 12, although Sarah Fisher is also chasing Honda so 13 engines could be possible. Chevrolet would have Andretti x 4, KV x 3, Penske x 3 & Panther x 2. That would be 12, but Ed Carpenter Racing are chasing Chevrolet, so 13 could be possible for them as well. Lotus have factory status for Dragon x 2, HVM x 1, Herta x 1 & DRR x 2, giving them 6. If Shank does switch to Honda, then I expect Conquest to take Lotus engines.

Admittedly, most of this is speculation, but that's why it's called "Silly Season". It'll be interesting to see if certain deals come together or not.

[DBell]

I'm guessing too, but I think Conquest isn't coming back this year in IndyCar. They have only made it through the last couple of seasons by playing musical chairs with pay drivers. The cost of the new car is too much for them to absorb without a pay driver with a bigger check, I think. They obviously found money for sports car racing and I expect that's where they will concentrate their efforts this year.

But then I did also guess that Bourdais would resign with Peugeot for Le Mans. This guess may be as accurate as the Bourdais guess.

[heliocastroneves#3]

I hope Baguette finds a ride! He was definitely one of the surprises of last years' Indy 500.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I'm a bit concerned about engine availability. Honda and Chevrolet said they would supply 10 cars. Right now, Honda has Dixon, Franchitti, Rahal, Kimball, Conway, Pagenaud and Wilson. With Sato at RLLR, Tracy at MSR and Jakes in a second Coyne entry, Honda will reach the 10-car limit. Same goes for Chevrolet, if KVRT adds Viso and Barrichello. These are the most likely scenarios imho. That leaves Lotus as the only choice for Carpenter and Fisher. But it was said that Lotus might not be able to supply more than five engines for St. Pete, and they already have five cars (Bourdais, Legge, Tagliani, Simona, Servia).

[FIAT1]

Managing fair competition will be challenge for Indycar first time in a while.

[numanoid]

I'm a bit concerned about engine availability. Honda and Chevrolet said they would supply 10 cars. Right now, Honda has Dixon, Franchitti, Rahal, Kimball, Conway, Pagenaud and Wilson. With Sato at RLLR, Tracy at MSR and Jakes in a second Coyne entry, Honda will reach the 10-car limit. Same goes for Chevrolet, if KVRT adds Viso and Barrichello. These are the most likely scenarios imho. That leaves Lotus as the only choice for Carpenter and Fisher. But it was said that Lotus might not be able to supply more than five engines for St. Pete, and they already have five cars (Bourdais, Legge, Tagliani, Simona, Servia).

I thought I had read that there were exceptions in place for this rule. I think I read it in one of the "new car news" posts. This was back when Lotus was a no show.

Do we have any official news on MSR and Tracy? Shank's teams took first and third in the Rolex 24 hour at Daytona. Justin Wilson was on the winning team. I'd imagine such a win could really help the team finalize their Indycar plans.

[DanicaFan]

Takuma Sato has signed with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He will be driving the #15 car.

[DBell]

Yeah, I saw Autosport had reported that.

Takuma Sato seals Rahal Letterman Lanigan IndyCar drive - IndyCar news - AUTOSPORT.com

The article also says the team confirmed that it plans to run a second car. It doesn't say if they mean full or part time.

[Nikki Katz]

Filippi's confirmed in the second Rahal from Indy onwards (when they get an engine) now. I'm glad he's finally signed for at least a partial season, he's a great driver much of the time, if really really inconsistent. There's also talk that his 2011 season turned around when he moved to an Italian team, so if that actually does make a difference then US could be tough. But I'd really like him to at least get a good shot at it.

I wonder if others will join once there are engines free...