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INDYCAR: Barrichello, KV Racing Making Progress On Deal
It's not quite done, but former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello and KV Racing continue to make progress on a contract that would see the Brazilian switch to Indy cars.
Marshall Pruett  |  Posted February 13, 2012  
With the IZOD IndyCar Series looking to fill the void left by Danica Patrick, Rubens Barrichello's international acclaim and status would be a major asset. (Photo: LAT)
Nothing is finalized, and every piece of the puzzle has yet to be completed, but if the willingness to work together is an indicator of what’s to come, it won’t be long before KV Racing has secured the services of former Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello.

“It’s no secret all parties are working incredibly hard to make this thing come together,” KV Racing General Manager Mark Johnson told SPEED.com. “Rubens is working hard in Brazil and we’re working hard in the States. We get closer on a daily basis. We talk to Rubens three to five times a day to push this thing forward and we all believe this is going to happen.”

Johnson, along with KV Racing’s ownership, spent Monday at IndyCar’s State of the Series meetings and came away with more positive momentum in their quest to hire the 39-year-old Brazilian.

“It was good today,” Johnson continued. “We had everybody in the same place at the same time, excluding Rubens, and I think we’re just a whisker away from making it happen. It’s not there yet; we can see the finish line and now we just need a few final things to take place.”
INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard, left, has been a staunch supporter of the efforts by KV's Mark Johnson, right, and the team's ownership to bring Barrichello to the IndyCar Series. (Photo: LAT)

After Barrichello sampled the Dallara DW12 and Chevrolet’s 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 engine for the first time at Sebring earlier this month, it quickly became apparent that the veteran of more than 300 F1 starts would be a major asset to the team during the chassis setup and development process.

“We have another test coming up with Rubens,” Johnson confirmed. “He has a huge desire to come race here in IndyCar, and after our test at Sebring, the input we were able to get from him pertaining the car made us really want to get him back in the car as soon as possible. Tony [Kanaan] will test at Texas on the 21st, and then we have Rubens and E.J. [Viso] slotted into the Infineon Raceway test (on February 25th and 26th).”

Compared to the flat and forgiving Sebring short course, throwing Infineon’s roller coaster road course at Barrichello should make for some lively debrief sessions with KV’s engineers. But after spending nearly two decades on some rather perilous F1 circuits, Johnson says he isn’t worried about Barrichello’s ability to adapt to Sonoma’s daunting layout.

“When you’re talking about Rubens Barrichello, you’re talking about one of the most seasoned professionals in the sport today, anywhere,” he said. “After working with him for three days in Sebring, he’s the consummate professional. His influence was quite impressive in a short amount of time already so, naturally, we want to get him testing again and working with the team.”
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