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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Cotman Consults; Ando To USF1
Tony Cotman falls back to the role of consultant for the IRL, and John Anderson leaves de Ferran Motorsports to become USF1's team manager, reports Robin Miller.
The IndyCar Series will lose Tony Cotman as a full-time employee as he develops his own track design business. (LAT)
Tony Cotman is going to continue officiating on race weekends and helping with new track preparation but he’s no longer a full-time employee of the IndyCar series.
Cotman, hired as the IRL vice president of competition in 2008 following four years of running the racing side of Champ Car, has left IndyCar to start his own company – NZR Consulting.
“I want to design and build race tracks and with the league going to more and more street and road courses this seemed like a good time to branch out,” said Cotman, who will continue to serve at chief steward for Indy Lights.
“I’ve got an agreement to be a consultant with IndyCar and I’m contracted for 17 race weekends so it’s all good.”
The 42-year-old native of New Zealand had a successful run with Barry Green’s open wheel teams in the ‘90s and earlier last decade before taking the job at Champ Car, where he earned universal respect with his even-handed officiating and common sense.
It was during the inaugural street race at San Jose, Calif. in 2005 that Cotman was thrust into track management. The downtown circuit was a disaster, with pavement breaking up on a narrow track that had a chicane barely wide enough for one car at a time.
“That got me interested in tracks because I caught all the grief that weekend and didn’t have any input in the track so I decided to get involved,” said Cotman, who is also a member of the FIA Circuit Commission, which makes safety recommendations for tracks all over the world.
His immediate project is overseeing the street circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil where IndyCar opens the season on March 14.
“I’ve designed a track that will both challenge the drivers and create excitement for the fans. It’s a massive job in a short period of time but the city of Sao Paulo has been exceptional to work with.
“I’ll spend a lot of time in Brazil between now and the race and NZR will have somebody there from this Wednesday until race day.”
A temporary circuit at Baltimore and one around Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. figure to be Cotman’s next assignments.
“I feel very lucky because I got to be with good teams in CART and the IRL and then got to work in both series so I’ve seen everything from all sides,” he said.
“Brian (Barnhart) has been very good about all this and working with me so it’s cool because I still get to be involved at the races.”
ANDO WITH USF1 TEAM
Another mainstay of IndyCar racing for much of the past 30 years is moving into Formula One.
John Anderson, who started as a CART mechanic for Bill Alsup in 1980 and spent more than a decade running the show with Team Green and AGR, has been hired as team manager for the USF1 Team.
“It looks promising,” said Ando on Sunday night from his new digs in Charlotte. “The car is coming along nicely. We’re putting the mechanics together and we’ll be testing soon.
“The travel looks a bit daunting but I’m looking forward to finally getting involved in F1. Peter (Windsor) is a very positive person and I’ve known Gary (Anderson) for a long time.”
The popular 64-year-old Aussie spent the past two seasons running Gil de Ferran’s ALMS team but had to go job hunting when the 2003 Indy 500 winner was unable to find funding for the 2010 IndyCar season.
“It’s a shame, Gil really beat the bushes trying to find a sponsor and keep that team going,” said Anderson. “Sadly, right now it’s in mothballs.”
Cotman, hired as the IRL vice president of competition in 2008 following four years of running the racing side of Champ Car, has left IndyCar to start his own company – NZR Consulting.
“I want to design and build race tracks and with the league going to more and more street and road courses this seemed like a good time to branch out,” said Cotman, who will continue to serve at chief steward for Indy Lights.
“I’ve got an agreement to be a consultant with IndyCar and I’m contracted for 17 race weekends so it’s all good.”
The 42-year-old native of New Zealand had a successful run with Barry Green’s open wheel teams in the ‘90s and earlier last decade before taking the job at Champ Car, where he earned universal respect with his even-handed officiating and common sense.
It was during the inaugural street race at San Jose, Calif. in 2005 that Cotman was thrust into track management. The downtown circuit was a disaster, with pavement breaking up on a narrow track that had a chicane barely wide enough for one car at a time.
“That got me interested in tracks because I caught all the grief that weekend and didn’t have any input in the track so I decided to get involved,” said Cotman, who is also a member of the FIA Circuit Commission, which makes safety recommendations for tracks all over the world.
His immediate project is overseeing the street circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil where IndyCar opens the season on March 14.
“I’ve designed a track that will both challenge the drivers and create excitement for the fans. It’s a massive job in a short period of time but the city of Sao Paulo has been exceptional to work with.
“I’ll spend a lot of time in Brazil between now and the race and NZR will have somebody there from this Wednesday until race day.”
A temporary circuit at Baltimore and one around Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. figure to be Cotman’s next assignments.
“I feel very lucky because I got to be with good teams in CART and the IRL and then got to work in both series so I’ve seen everything from all sides,” he said.
“Brian (Barnhart) has been very good about all this and working with me so it’s cool because I still get to be involved at the races.”
ANDO WITH USF1 TEAM
Another mainstay of IndyCar racing for much of the past 30 years is moving into Formula One.
John Anderson, who started as a CART mechanic for Bill Alsup in 1980 and spent more than a decade running the show with Team Green and AGR, has been hired as team manager for the USF1 Team.
“It looks promising,” said Ando on Sunday night from his new digs in Charlotte. “The car is coming along nicely. We’re putting the mechanics together and we’ll be testing soon.
“The travel looks a bit daunting but I’m looking forward to finally getting involved in F1. Peter (Windsor) is a very positive person and I’ve known Gary (Anderson) for a long time.”
The popular 64-year-old Aussie spent the past two seasons running Gil de Ferran’s ALMS team but had to go job hunting when the 2003 Indy 500 winner was unable to find funding for the 2010 IndyCar season.
“It’s a shame, Gil really beat the bushes trying to find a sponsor and keep that team going,” said Anderson. “Sadly, right now it’s in mothballs.”
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