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Craig Gore applauds open whell unification |
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Saturday, 23 February 2008 |
Team Australia co-owner and Australian businessman Craig Gore has applauded
today’s announcement of a unification between the Champ Car World Series and the
Indy Racing League in 2008.
While the final details are expected to be
released over the next week, including the positioning of the annual Gold Coast
Indy 300 in Australia, a brief statement today confirmed an agreement to end the
12-year split.
During the last five weeks there has been plenty of speculation about the
‘players’ of both sides of the open-wheel fence, including Team Australia, which
Gore says will compete in the new unified series.
Gore was on the ground
in Indianapolis and was involved in initial meetings involving leaders from both
existing series, which eventually led the final unification announcement today.
“There is no doubt that this is a great day in world motorsport
history,” said Gore.
“The unification has been a long time coming, but
now we can all go forward together.
“Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerry Forsythe and
Tony George must be congratulated for getting the deal done. A deal that
obviously had so many variables attached to it.
“Both sides had their
loyal supporters, but at the end of the day we can now all be loyal to the
future of open-wheel racing and the fantastic sport that we have all had a great
belief in.
“Team Australia will be a part of the new series, but our
final make-up and structure will be determined after we see what is on offer
from the new controlling body.”
Gore has used motorsport successfully in
Australia and the US to promote both his WPS Financial Services brand and his
Aussie Vineyards Au brands and believes that the unification will offer some
great opportunities for Australian companies looking to expand internationally.
“This offers some tremendous opportunities for the Gold Coast’s race in
October, for Team Australia and for Australian drivers and sponsors,” said Gore.
“We have all endured some tough times, but that will only make us
stronger as we all head into this new era of open-wheel racing.
Gore
said there were so many exciting elements to the new deal.
“Not only
will we get to see a couple of young Australians the calibre of Will Power and
Ryan Briscoe going head to head on the streets of Surfers Paradise, we also get
the chance to win the Indy 500,” said Gore.
“I don’t know about you, but
that’s going to be pretty cool.
Team Australia driver, Will Power, was
excited about the future after today’s announcement.
“It’s great that
we’ve all got together for the future,” said Power.
“This will give the
sport a big boost and allow it to grow in many areas.
“Having one series
will put all the best open-wheel drivers in the United States in one series and
it’s going to be a really tough and exciting field.
“The unified
schedule will include more road and street courses than the IndyCar teams have
been used to over the past few seasons and obviously for the Champ Car teams, we
will have a lot to learn.
“But this is clearly the best outcome and I
think as drivers, we are all excited about finally all going head-to-head.
“I have only raced one oval event in the past. That was at the Milwaukee
Mile and I really, really enjoyed the challenge, I qualified very well and I am
looking forward to getting back to the challenge of ovals.
“The bigger
ovals will be something new for me and a lot of others on the Champ Car side of
things, but we are all up for the challenges involved in this decision.
“The Champ Car teams will be behind the eight-ball to begin with as we
will all be using a car that is new to us and the IndyCar guys will have several
years experience and development on the car.
“But as we saw in Champ Car
in 2007, when a new car comes onboard you get a very level playing field so the
future will be very good indeed and I am looking forward to being a part of it.
“My home race on the Gold Coast is one of the best motorsport events in
the world already, so it’s hard to think how it can get any better. But this
unification will make the race at Surfers even better and more exciting with a
bigger and more competitive field hitting that amazing street circuit. And one
thing remains the same - I’ve got to win that race.
“I can’t wait to get
to the Indianapolis 500 as well. I’ve been a bit jealous of my Aussie mate Ryan
Briscoe over the past few seasons, watching him run the Indy 500. I live in
Indianapolis during the season and the month of May in Indiana is something very
special and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
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