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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Bourdais, Legge Set To Form Two-Car Dragon Racing Team
Jay Penske's plans to revitalize Dragon Racing could receive a major boost as Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge are set to join for 2012.
Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge competed against each other In Champ Car from 2006-2007, and appear to be headed to Dragon Racing as part of Jay Penske's revamped team in 2012. (LAT)
SPEED.com has learned that Jay Penske's ambitious plans to revitalize Dragon Racing could receive a major boost as four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais and Katherine Legge are close to forming a two-car team for 2012. Penske was unavailable for comment on Wednesday, and a formal announcement confirming the lineup is believed to be imminent.
Penske’s team struggled through the 2011 season after a last-minute split with co-owner Gil de Ferran, fielding limited programs for Paul Tracy and Ho-Pin Tung, but as he shared in December, expanding to two full-time entries was his ultimate goal.
An off-season move from the team’s Indiana base to southern California marked the first major change for Dragon, and with funding apparently in place from a number of internet-based companies to cover the acquisition of Bourdais and Legge, Penske has authored one of the most impressive year-to-year turnarounds in the IndyCar paddock.
Formed in 2007 by Penske and Steve Luczo as Luczo Dragon Racing, the team showed promise with drivers like Ryan Briscoe, Tomas Scheckter and Rafa Matos behind the wheel. With de Ferran’s ALMS program winding down at the end of the 2009 season, the two-time CART champion joined forces with Penske under the renamed de Ferran Dragon Racing banner in 2010.
The team announced the signing of Tony Kanaan at the end of the year, but the deal soon fell apart, resulting in significant debts and the team’s closure. Penske rekindled the program as Dragon Racing in time for the Long Beach Grand Prix, where Tracy made the first of five starts for the team.
Penske spent most of the season digging out from the financial problems that were left behind from the de Ferran Dragon Racing association, and with a clean slate to work from, targeted two of the more recognizable names in open-wheel racing to lead the charge.
Provided deals with both drivers are finalized, Penske, who is expected to use Lotus power this season, will have plenty of new crew positions to fill at his SoCal base.
Bourdais is coming off an impressive part-time campaign of road and street courses for Dale Coyne Racing, earning four top 6s along the way during the abbreviated IndyCar program.
Penske’s team struggled through the 2011 season after a last-minute split with co-owner Gil de Ferran, fielding limited programs for Paul Tracy and Ho-Pin Tung, but as he shared in December, expanding to two full-time entries was his ultimate goal.
An off-season move from the team’s Indiana base to southern California marked the first major change for Dragon, and with funding apparently in place from a number of internet-based companies to cover the acquisition of Bourdais and Legge, Penske has authored one of the most impressive year-to-year turnarounds in the IndyCar paddock.
Formed in 2007 by Penske and Steve Luczo as Luczo Dragon Racing, the team showed promise with drivers like Ryan Briscoe, Tomas Scheckter and Rafa Matos behind the wheel. With de Ferran’s ALMS program winding down at the end of the 2009 season, the two-time CART champion joined forces with Penske under the renamed de Ferran Dragon Racing banner in 2010.
The team announced the signing of Tony Kanaan at the end of the year, but the deal soon fell apart, resulting in significant debts and the team’s closure. Penske rekindled the program as Dragon Racing in time for the Long Beach Grand Prix, where Tracy made the first of five starts for the team.
Penske spent most of the season digging out from the financial problems that were left behind from the de Ferran Dragon Racing association, and with a clean slate to work from, targeted two of the more recognizable names in open-wheel racing to lead the charge.
Provided deals with both drivers are finalized, Penske, who is expected to use Lotus power this season, will have plenty of new crew positions to fill at his SoCal base.
Bourdais is coming off an impressive part-time campaign of road and street courses for Dale Coyne Racing, earning four top 6s along the way during the abbreviated IndyCar program.
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