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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Pagenaud In Talks To Join Series
“I’m actually not permitted to discuss the details, but if it happens, it could be a pretty big deal,” Simon Pagenaud tells SPEED.com.
Simon Pagenaud showed great promise during the 2007 Champ Car World Series season, and could be close to making his first IZOD IndyCar Series start. (LAT)
Provided the open-wheel gods smile on the IZOD IndyCar Series in the next few weeks, it appears that the Champ Car World Series and IndyCar unification process will finally be completed.
While 2003 Champ Car title winner Paul Tracy has made select starts since the CCWS folded after Long Beach in 2008, his participation has been sporadic, at best. With the possibility of at least a part-time, if not a full-time ride with Eric Bachelart’s team, IndyCar could have PT’s popularity and driving prowess at its disposal for the better part of 2011.
Four-time CCWS champion Sebastien Bourdais left America behind at the end of 2007 to try his hand at Formula One. While that foray proved to less than fulfilling for the star-crossed Frenchman, his likely return to open-wheel racing with Dale Coyne for roughly half of the 2011 calendar would mark SeaBass’ first serious venture into the IndyCar Series.
The most successful CCWS driver post-unification has been Will Power, who has quietly taken the reins at Team Penske and become the biggest threat to dethrone Dario Franchitti as series champion.
Power’s former CCWS teammate, Simon Pagenaud, has been at the opposite end of the spectrum, but that could be changing, possibly adding another major CCWS driver to the IndyCar grid.
Pagenaud, like Bourdais, has been the most glaring omission from the IndyCar Series since the two series became one, and Power says his Team Australia stable mate would be a smart choice by any IndyCar team that hires him.
“No question. Especially on the road courses. He’s very fast, very dedicated. He made life tough for me as a teammate, that’s for sure. He has some to learn on ovals, but he’s the kind of guy like Justin Wilson that you’d really want as your teammate because he’d push you so hard the entire time. A guy like [Simon] makes you and the team that much better because of that.”
Power’s vocal support for Pagenaud aside, it appears a few team owners have been seriously considering the 26-year-old for at least a part-time drive in 2011 as a precursor to a full-time ride in 2012.
“It’s a bit early to talk about the details—I’m actually not permitted to discuss the details, but if it happens, it could be a pretty big deal,” Pagenaud told SPEED.com while speaking from his home in France. “If it does happen, it would be a partial season for this year, with a full season the following year. It’s where I want to be, and where I’ve wanted to be since Champ Car ended. If I can do some races this year to get acclimated to the car and to some of the tracks, I think this would be the best scenario for me to be fully up to speed with the new car and the team for 2012.”
Pagenaud, who also lives in Indianapolis, won the 2010 ALMS LMP championship with Highcroft Racing, and while the Danbury, Connecticut-based team has also publically revealed their IndyCar aspirations, the Frenchman ruled out Highcroft as one of the teams he’s in discussions with regarding IndyCar.
“No, it’s not with my friends at Highcroft. I’ve been talking with several teams, not only one. It looks like I represent some kind of interest for those teams, which makes me really proud. It would be a few races this year. I was actually quite surprised to be contacted by one of the premier teams, but I have also received calls with some newer teams and even a start-up team, so all of this is quite nice for me. To have the range of interest by teams at every level is very fortunate. I think they see I have an asset to bring that would help them.”
Now that he’s closer than ever to landing a ride in IndyCar, Pagenaud says waiting for everything to fall in place has been a challenge.
“I wish the discussions could go faster because I’d have loved to do the complete championship this year, but I am being patient because that’s what you must do when something important like this is being evaluated. Driving for the right team is more important to me than driving for any team, honestly.”
Known as one of the sharper technical minds in open-wheel and sports car racing, Pagenaud says that in addition to his skills as a racer, his strengths as a test driver have been attracting a lot of attention, thanks to IndyCar’s sole engine supplier.
“My relationship with Honda has been really good over the past few years, with helping to develop a few new engines, and also chassis development with the different prototype cars HPD produces. And it appears they appreciate my work, too! When IndyCar teams call me, it seems they have spoken with Honda and HPD first and they have been very complimentary about my driving and my testing and development abilities.
“I think that is why the teams that have called have wanted me to help somewhat this year, but mostly planning ahead for 2012 with a new car, engines, aero and everything else that’s coming. [Honda and HPD] have been incredible advocates for me, and I am very grateful. I hope people realize how much I love the technical side of racing, and what I can offer there.
"Winning races is also very important, obviously, but you have to get the car and program to that place first. You can’t have one before you have the other.”
In addition to Pagenaud’s work with the Japanese manufacturer, his role as a factory Peugeot driver has added greatly to his testing and development skills. With an annual budget rumored to surpass what the entire IndyCar paddock spends on a season of racing, Pagenaud has been one of Peugeot’s primary test drivers for its new 3.7-liter twin-turbo V8 diesel prototype, the 908.
He has also been a key member of the private testing Honda has conducted with its new-for-2011 twin-turbo V6 ALMS engine, which Power believes will only add to Pagenaud’s value when the 2012 IndyCar arrives.
“With the Panoz Champ Car, we worked on that a lot together to improve it overall,” he said. “His feedback was good and he had some really good ideas. Then he’s done all the crazy high-tech stuff lately with the Peugeot and the Acura, so I’d say he’d be good to help an IndyCar team develop a car.”
While 2003 Champ Car title winner Paul Tracy has made select starts since the CCWS folded after Long Beach in 2008, his participation has been sporadic, at best. With the possibility of at least a part-time, if not a full-time ride with Eric Bachelart’s team, IndyCar could have PT’s popularity and driving prowess at its disposal for the better part of 2011.
Four-time CCWS champion Sebastien Bourdais left America behind at the end of 2007 to try his hand at Formula One. While that foray proved to less than fulfilling for the star-crossed Frenchman, his likely return to open-wheel racing with Dale Coyne for roughly half of the 2011 calendar would mark SeaBass’ first serious venture into the IndyCar Series.
The most successful CCWS driver post-unification has been Will Power, who has quietly taken the reins at Team Penske and become the biggest threat to dethrone Dario Franchitti as series champion.
Power’s former CCWS teammate, Simon Pagenaud, has been at the opposite end of the spectrum, but that could be changing, possibly adding another major CCWS driver to the IndyCar grid.
Pagenaud, like Bourdais, has been the most glaring omission from the IndyCar Series since the two series became one, and Power says his Team Australia stable mate would be a smart choice by any IndyCar team that hires him.
“No question. Especially on the road courses. He’s very fast, very dedicated. He made life tough for me as a teammate, that’s for sure. He has some to learn on ovals, but he’s the kind of guy like Justin Wilson that you’d really want as your teammate because he’d push you so hard the entire time. A guy like [Simon] makes you and the team that much better because of that.”
Power’s vocal support for Pagenaud aside, it appears a few team owners have been seriously considering the 26-year-old for at least a part-time drive in 2011 as a precursor to a full-time ride in 2012.
“It’s a bit early to talk about the details—I’m actually not permitted to discuss the details, but if it happens, it could be a pretty big deal,” Pagenaud told SPEED.com while speaking from his home in France. “If it does happen, it would be a partial season for this year, with a full season the following year. It’s where I want to be, and where I’ve wanted to be since Champ Car ended. If I can do some races this year to get acclimated to the car and to some of the tracks, I think this would be the best scenario for me to be fully up to speed with the new car and the team for 2012.”
Pagenaud, who also lives in Indianapolis, won the 2010 ALMS LMP championship with Highcroft Racing, and while the Danbury, Connecticut-based team has also publically revealed their IndyCar aspirations, the Frenchman ruled out Highcroft as one of the teams he’s in discussions with regarding IndyCar.
“No, it’s not with my friends at Highcroft. I’ve been talking with several teams, not only one. It looks like I represent some kind of interest for those teams, which makes me really proud. It would be a few races this year. I was actually quite surprised to be contacted by one of the premier teams, but I have also received calls with some newer teams and even a start-up team, so all of this is quite nice for me. To have the range of interest by teams at every level is very fortunate. I think they see I have an asset to bring that would help them.”
Now that he’s closer than ever to landing a ride in IndyCar, Pagenaud says waiting for everything to fall in place has been a challenge.
“I wish the discussions could go faster because I’d have loved to do the complete championship this year, but I am being patient because that’s what you must do when something important like this is being evaluated. Driving for the right team is more important to me than driving for any team, honestly.”
Known as one of the sharper technical minds in open-wheel and sports car racing, Pagenaud says that in addition to his skills as a racer, his strengths as a test driver have been attracting a lot of attention, thanks to IndyCar’s sole engine supplier.
“My relationship with Honda has been really good over the past few years, with helping to develop a few new engines, and also chassis development with the different prototype cars HPD produces. And it appears they appreciate my work, too! When IndyCar teams call me, it seems they have spoken with Honda and HPD first and they have been very complimentary about my driving and my testing and development abilities.
“I think that is why the teams that have called have wanted me to help somewhat this year, but mostly planning ahead for 2012 with a new car, engines, aero and everything else that’s coming. [Honda and HPD] have been incredible advocates for me, and I am very grateful. I hope people realize how much I love the technical side of racing, and what I can offer there.
"Winning races is also very important, obviously, but you have to get the car and program to that place first. You can’t have one before you have the other.”
In addition to Pagenaud’s work with the Japanese manufacturer, his role as a factory Peugeot driver has added greatly to his testing and development skills. With an annual budget rumored to surpass what the entire IndyCar paddock spends on a season of racing, Pagenaud has been one of Peugeot’s primary test drivers for its new 3.7-liter twin-turbo V8 diesel prototype, the 908.
He has also been a key member of the private testing Honda has conducted with its new-for-2011 twin-turbo V6 ALMS engine, which Power believes will only add to Pagenaud’s value when the 2012 IndyCar arrives.
“With the Panoz Champ Car, we worked on that a lot together to improve it overall,” he said. “His feedback was good and he had some really good ideas. Then he’s done all the crazy high-tech stuff lately with the Peugeot and the Acura, so I’d say he’d be good to help an IndyCar team develop a car.”
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