American Bell Testing For Second Jaguar Seat; American Antinucci Earns F3 Glory
By Dan Knutson
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Monday, November 24, 2003
Townsend Bell of the United States is one of the drivers being considered as Mark Webber’s teammate at Jaguar Racing for the 2004 Formula One season, which includes the United States Grand Prix on June 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Bell, 28, will be one of several drivers testing for Jaguar at Spain’s Valencia circuit from Nov. 25-27. Austria’s Christian Klien, 20, who finished second in the Euro Formula 3 championship, and England’s Justin Wilson, who competed in five Grands Prix for Jaguar last year, will also test for Jaguar. The team also has expressed interest in Austria’s Alexander Wurz, now working as a test driver for West McLaren-Mercedes.
The upcoming test is not a shoot-out but part of Jaguar’s evaluation of potential drivers, a team spokesman said. Other drivers may test for the team before a decision is made.
Bell competed in the 2003 FIA International Formula 3000 Championship with the Arden International team alongside Sweden’s Bjorn Wirdheim, who won the title. The highlight of Bell’s season came in the Hungarian round where he took third and became the first driver from the United States to finish on a podium in an F3000 race. He ended up ninth in the final points standings.
This will be Bell’s second test in a F1 car. In September, he tested with the Lucky Strike BAR-Honda team. The three-day test, which took place at the Lurcy circuit in central France, saw Bell complete more than 930 miles (1,500 km) of straight-line testing on a one-mile (1.5-km) track as he worked closely with Honda engineers to collect data.
Bell competed in the Formula Dodge Western championship in the United States in 1997. He won twice and finished fourth in points. In 1998, he raced in the U.S. Barber Dodge Pro Series, and the following year he scored a win and finished third in that championship.
Bell moved up to Indy Lights in 2000 where he ended up second in the final standings after winning two races. In 2001, Bell won six times to become Indy Lights champion. In 2002, he competed in nine CART races with a best finish of fourth.
His goal is to become the first U.S. driver to compete in F1 since Michael Andretti in 1993.
“It is just a question of getting the right opportunity,” Bell said earlier this year. “Maybe that comes tomorrow; maybe that comes next year or the year after. Whether it is fair or not, I get a bit of an advantage because I’m an American, and that is nice, for once.
“I’d like to play a small part in making F1 more popular in the United States, which would be great for everyone, not just myself. None of it matters, however, unless you are getting the results on the racetrack.”
American wins prestigious Formula 3 event: United States driver Richard Antinucci won both heats of the Korean Grand Prix Formula 3 race on Nov. 23.
The Korean race, and the Macau event that precedes it, are two annual high-profile events that bring together the top Formula 3 drivers from around the world for two non-championship but prestigious races. Formula 3 has long been recognized as a one of the major feeder series for developing future Formula One drivers.
Antinucci, driving a Hitech Racing Dallara, never was headed by any of the opposition from the 34-car grid in Korea. He started the first race from third, but thanks to a superb start overtook front-row qualifiers Lewis Hamilton and Nelson Piquet Jr. (son of three-time World Champion Nelson Piquet, himself a F3 graduate) off the line. Despite Piquet catching him and at one point giving him a small tap from behind, Antinucci was able to keep in front and take the checkered flag.
Race two was a repeat of race one, although this time Antinucci started from pole. He built up a healthy cushion on the pursuing pack.
Antinucci, the nephew of 1998 Indianapolis 500 winner and F1 veteran Eddie Cheever Jr., led every lap of both races.
The Macau weekend saw Antinucci finish third in one race but retire in the other. France’s Nicolas Lapierre won the Macau event.
“It was awesome,” Antinucci said. “Wining these races and being the most successful driver overall in the two end-of-season events is a dream come true. Both tracks are very tricky as they are street circuits that no one has access to all year. It is all down to your driving on the day and a strong team.”
Canadian Grand Prix confirmed for June 13: The Canadian Grand Prix will take place June 13, 2004, now that organizers have succeeded in building a financial package to secure the race.
“We have reached a deal with Formula One Management and Bernie Ecclestone, representing the teams, and the Canadian Grand Prix will be on the calendar in 2004 and beyond (until 2006),” race promoter Normand Legault said at a news conference Nov. 18 in Montreal.
This means that F1 fans in North America will enjoy a “doubleheader” of back-to-back F1 weekends, as the Canadian race will take place one week before the United States Grand Prix on June 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Testing ban ends: The postseason F1 test ban ends Nov. 25, and most of the F1 teams will begin testing in Spain that day. On-track testing has been prohibited since the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix on Oct. 12.
The first tests will involve the Bridgestone teams at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya while the Michelin teams will be in Valencia. West McLaren-Mercedes will become the first team to run its 2004 car when it tests the MP4-19 in Valencia.
Reigning World Champion Michael Schumacher will not test until January so that he can rest and recharge his batteries for the upcoming season. He also is recuperating from a minor knee injury he suffered while playing soccer.
New car launch dates announced: Three teams have announced when they will unveil their 2004 F1 cars.
The new Sauber Petronas C22 will be launched Jan. 12 at the Red Bull hangar at Austria’s Salzburg airport. Jaguar will show its Jaguar Cosworth R5 on Jan. 18 at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Mild Seven Renault will launch it its R24 on Jan. 29 in Palermo, Italy.
Fitness testing: Sauber Petronas’ new drivers, Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa, undertook a fitness and health-training program for four days recently in Austria.
The training was based on prior medical fitness examinations, such as blood tests and comparisons of the current results with those of previous checks. The main focus was on senso-motoric activities. Indoor climbing, tennis, soccer and mountain walking were on the agenda to enhance coordination, physical strength and concentration.
“I enjoyed the fitness camp very much,” Fisichella said. “We did a lot of testing with very good results. I think this gave me a good start to my work with Sauber, and I feel absolutely fit for my first test with my new team next week.
“It was also the first time that I went climbing! It was a great experience and good training for the hands and body. You really have to figure out the best and most feasible way to reach the goal, and this makes it particularly challenging.”
Fisichella, who drove for Jordan for the past two seasons, will conduct his first test with Sauber from Nov. 25-27 at Barcelona.
Charity donation: Six-time World Champion Michael Schumacher donated $1 million to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
New sponsor: Lucky Strike BAR-Honda has signed the U.K. division of Haas Automation, an American machine tool manufacturer, as an official supplier to the team.
Haas is the largest machine tool builder in the United States, and employs almost 1,000 people in its 820,000 square-foot facility in California. Haas manufactures four major product lines: vertical machining centers, horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes and rotary tables. Haas Automation will supply BAR with two high-speed CNC machining centers.
USGP tickets: Tickets for the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis on June 20 are on sale, and the IMS ticket office encourages customers to place orders early to ensure the best possible opportunity to acquire good seats.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com or by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. Parking and camping information also can be obtained through the ticket office.
