153 replies to this topic

[MaxScelerate]

Well that comes as quite a relief to this bulletinboarder here, 'cause I've been hearing talks of fran-am being flushed before even the season's end.. Seems they're not yet on the schedule for the montreal CART race, where they're supposed to participate as support material..

Meanwhile, Bruno Spengler is slowly getting up to speed after missing the first few rounds of eurocup f3, due to being hurt.

(EDIT: Ooops! Just saw Bruno's results in Zandvoort.. Not much to rejoice, but eh! Better luck next time! )

[Roots]

Well as of round 9 of the Fran-Am series, Ranger already has 7 podiums (4 wins + 3 second places)

This kid is only 16 and a rookie in the Fran-Am series (also his first season racing cars)

[dbltop]

Does anyone know how Billy Asaro has done in F3 this year?

[MaxScelerate]

Today...

Andrew Ranger took the checkered flag in first position again, at the Fran-Am event in Mont-Tremblant. Starting from second, he passed Juan Martin Ponte (Argentina) for the lead in the Namerow hairpin, on the first lap. Canadian Sean McIntosh took third.
http://www.fran-am.com/franam/home.htm

In Europe, at Zandvoort, was the Formula 3-Euroseries first of two races and canadian Bruno Spengler took second. Starting from 4th place on the grid, Spengler has benefitted from a first corner incident (at Tarzan curve) that took out a few of the leaders. I haven't seen it, but it seems the race was a borefest, ran under yellow/pacecar for all but a few laps. Neverthless, Bruno for a very nice comeback after his shunt earlier in the pre-season.
http://www.f3euroser..._code=gb&id=263

[CFD Dude]

Marketplace on CBC Newsworld just had a segment on Ashley Taws. They were reporting on her sponsorship deal with Mattel Canada and Walmart, and how the deal survived after her accident last year. They said that her manager is trying to expand the Mattel Canada deal to Mattel US and Mattel worldwide to try to get enough sponsorship money together so she can run in the North American Formula BMW championship next year. Let's hope they can work something out!

[RJL]

Quote

Originally posted by MaxScelerate
Eh!

Also, in the shadow, lurking, was that Richard Spenard guy from Mt-Tremblant's racing school. (Well, before the Skip Barber, that is.. ) He was coaching Ranger all through the race but didn't want any of the credit. While I think that indeed, the credit must totally go to Andrew-boy, I got to say that the guys sure hanged with a lot of very good canuck drivers throughout the years... Gilles, Jacques, Moore, Spengler or Ranger (countless others I'd think).

What makes someone a good professor/teacher as far as auto driving is concerned?

The Spenard school was based out of Shannonville (and occasionally Mosport(!!!) OMG what were they thinking?) for many years, and funded partially by Ray David's insurance empire (autoplan/ motoplan, I think???) so that Ray could go play race driver on weekends. He used to arrive to national F2000 events by helicopter, as I recall.

Some other notable names that passed through those gates were Stefane Proulx, Christian Van Dal, and of course Betrand Fabi. Proulx & Fabi both graduated from North American motorsports and went to Europe to contest the F3000 Championship. As noted previously poor Stefane was struck down with HIV, and eventually succumbed to the disease; and Betrand (possibly the most promising individual to pass through those gates in those early years, and Richard's original protege) died in Europe from injuries suffered in an F3000 crash. IMHO both Stefane & Bertrand had the goods to get very far indeed, but tragedy cut their careers short before they reached their respective peaks. Terribly sad. Claude Burbonaise (sp?) had an associationg with the school too, in the early days. He showed his teammate JV a thing or two in Formula Atlantic but was passed over for the CART ride as he didn't have the management or famous last name.

Richard, who was also teamate to Gilles Villeneuve for one Formula Atlantic season (IIRC), certainly had a gift for communicating the right stuff to his (favoured) pupils; but more than this, he had a knack for defining a role for himself in driver development and marketed this successfully to Ray David, and later to Player's, for whom he worked as a coach to many up & coming Canadians over the years. Richard was also a hell of a racing driver as I recall. In 1986 he won the national F2000 series, the national Players IROC Camaro series, and the national Rothmans Porsche cup, all while teaching fulltime at the school. He was the class of the field in all three series. Not bad for a short guy who favoured red pants. I'll never forget the sight of Richard smacking some poor soul on the top of the helmet and shouting "unwind 'da wheel!" Priceless stuff.

[dpardyrx7]

Well last year I drove up to the Canadian GP through Vermont and into Quebec. After crossing the border and not wanting to get a speeding ticket I drove at about 130-140 KMH (Speed limit - 110). I was the slowest guy on the road. Cars went by me like I was standing still. So look no further than your highways (especially in Quebec) where I think everyone learned to drive at the Gilles Villeneuve Driving School.

[MaxScelerate]

RJL
Thanks for those stories, very interresting! And thanks for bringing back the memories of Bertrand and Stefan.

dpardyrx7

[IP_A_T]

Arizona Motrosports Park, Litchfield Park, Arizona

Andrew Ranger wins the 2003 Fran-Am Pro Championship

Montreal, Quebec, November 22 2003- After an amazing season in the 2003 Fran-Am Pro Championship, Quebec's driver Andrew Ranger was crowned the season champion in Litchfield Park, Arizona. Ranger finished second today to clinch the championship with one race to go.

Forced to retire in yesterday's race, the young 17 years old driver was hoping for a good race this afternoon to clinch the championship.

"I am very happy to win this championship today after the disappointing day we had Friday. The season was long but we can now celebrate, the mission is accomplished. I am so happy for the AIM Autosport team and all my sponsors. All year long we had great results and everybody worked hard for it and I am proud to offer them this celebration", said the young Ranger after the race. He finished the race in second place behind Brazilian Gustavo Sonderman and in front of his teamate at AIM, Mark Wilkins.

Team AIM owner, Ian Willis was visibly satisfied at the end of the day, the team having earned a double podium. "Without having any doubt about Andrew's capability, I feel relieved to end the championship today. Yesterday's events made me think a lot. Momentum is highly important in racing and I felt everybody needed to come back on the right track today. I am happy for the team and for Andrew. I feel privileged to have participated in the development of this incredible talent. I think Andrew has a great future in front of him", said Willis.

Andrew's rival in the championship, Britain's Charles Hall finished only sixth today, which removes any hope for him to win the championship. A "perfect" week-end (win, pole, and fastest lap) brings 36 points and Ranger (328 points) has a 40 point lead on Hall (288 points).


Source: http://www.aranger.com

[Roots]

He's the equivalent of hockey's Sidney Crosby

[cheesy poofs]

Ranger has recently tested with DAMS for a ride in next year`s Formula Renault V6.
The seat is supposed to be paid for by the Fran-Am organizers for winning the 2003 title.

Hope it works out...

[Roots]

Quote

Originally posted by cheesy poofs
Ranger has recently tested with DAMS for a ride in next year`s Formula Renault V6.
The seat is supposed to be paid for by the Fran-Am organizers for winning the 2003 title.

Hope it works out...

I spoke to Ranger's management yesterday evening and they have some worries relating to the fact that the Fran-Am administrators might not have the necessary funds to actually pay for his drive

[cheesy poofs]

Quote

Originally posted by Roots

I spoke to Ranger's management yesterday evening and they have some worries relating to the fact that the Fran-Am administrators might not have the necessary funds to actually pay for his drive

That's what I heard as well. It would be very unfortunate for him to miss out on a good opportunity like this.

[IP_A_T]

I'm sure that even if he doesn't get a drive in Renault V6 , some other series will be interested in this prodigy.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Thats not going to pay for his ride

[m.tanney]

  I wonder: aside from the financial considerations, would Renault's European V6 series really be the ideal place for him to go? How good a showcase is it?
  What would be the optimum career path for Andrew Ranger? He'd have to show some kind of progression each year. But winning a lot in a lower formula would be better than getting in over his head and not winning in a higher formula. I wonder if it would make sense for him to do British/European Formula Renault next year. Maybe the Fran-Am people could afford to pay for that. He's proven that he can win in those cars. It would be a good introduction to racing on the other side of the pond. Like Lewis Hamilton, he could use it as a springboard to a top F3 ride, which still seems to be the main road to F1.

[flsp]

Well, Ranger will drive in Atlantic this upcoming season:

http://www.toyotaatl...News.asp?ID=580

: A shame he didn't got a seat in a stong european series.

[Roots]

I just spoke to Andrew's aunt and he is very excited at this opportunity!

[StickShift]

Andrew Ranger finished second in his first Atlantics race today. Only a couple of seconds behind his team-mate Ryan Dalziel.


Fin Str -- Fastest Lap --
Pos Pos Car# Driver Team Laps Time Mph Kph Lag Status

1 1 28 Ryan Dalziel Sierra Sierra Enterprises 31 50:20.986 72.701 116.998 0.000 Active

2 5 27 Andrew Ranger Sierra Sierra Enterprises 31 50:22.995 72.653 116.920 2.009 Active

3 4 19 Bryan Sellers Lynx Racing 31 50:24.379 72.619 116.867 3.393 Active

4 7 12 Ronnie Bremer Brooks Associates Racing 31 50:25.603 72.590 116.819 4.617 Active

5 6 24 Danica Patrick Team Rahal 31 50:27.621 72.542 116.741 6.635 Active

6 11 8 Jonathan Bomarito Transnet Racing 31 50:29.759 72.491 116.659 8.773 Active

7 9 4 Rocky Moran Jr. Polestar Racing Group LLC 31 50:30.610 72.470 116.626 9.624 Active

8 13 9 Alex Garcia Transnet Racing 31 50:33.693 72.397 116.508 12.707 Active

9 15 15 Josh Hunt Lynx Racing 31 50:34.258 72.383 116.486 13.272 Active

10 18 7 David Sterckx Jensen Motorsport 31 50:54.805 71.896 115.703 33.819 Active

11 10 25 Chris Festa Team Rahal 30 50:34.801 70.036 112.708 1 Lap Active

12 14 3 Philip Fayer Polestar Racing Group LLC 30 50:40.556 69.903 112.495 1 Lap Active

13 20 65 Justin Sofio Binder Racing 30 51:01.907 69.416 111.710 1 Lap Active

14 17 23 Tom Nastasi Jensen Motorsport 29 50:45.589 67.461 108.565 2 Laps Active

15 16 49 Dan Selznick The Room Store 24 39:24.448 71.913 115.730 9.832 Contact

16 0 34 Tony Loniewski Olsson Engineering 20 31:20.994 75.330 121.229 8.094 Contact

17 3 69 Alex Figge Pacific Coast Motorsports 16 22:58.222 82.249 132.363 3.543 Mechanical

18 8 6 Tonis Kasemets Brooks Associates Racing 16 22:58.774 82.216 132.310 4.095 Contact

19 2 96 Jon Fogarty Pacific Coast Motorsports 11 14:33.316 89.238 143.610 5.566 Mechanical

20 12 2 Eric Jensen Jensen Motorsport 11 15:27.203 84.051 135.264 59.453 Mechanical


----------------


OT, what's Jonathan Macri doing this year?

[MaxScelerate]

Well, well...

Slowly, the different racing series are embarking on a new season.

On the 16th, at Hockenheim, Bruno Spengler finished 7th in the F3 Euro Series race. I'd say he's at about the same level he was at the end of last year. Hopefully if he doesn't break a bone like last year, he could have consistent results for team Mücke-Motorsport. :thumbup:

On the 18th (that's today), rookie Andrew Ranger just finished 2nd (starting 5th) in his first Formula Atlantic start at LongBeach. That's a one-two for team Sierra-Sierra as his teammate Ryan Dalziel went on to win the race, two good seconds before him. I'm very happy for Andrew and wish him all the best for an (hopefully) amazing season. :thumbup: :thumbup:

In the same Atlantic race, fellow canadians Eric Jensen and Philip Fayer finished respectively with a DNF for the first and one lap down in 12th position for the latter.

In the 'where are they now?' category, I just learned David Empringham is now the Driver Devlopment dude at Sierra-Sierra..

[MaxScelerate]

Hehe stickshift.. I see I took too much time writing that post of mine, by the time I was done yours was already posted.

Guess I'll have to be content with 2nd place, a few minutes behind 1st placed Stickshift..

[StickShift]

Michael Valiante and Andrew Ranger had their first taste of a Lola Champ Car today at Sebring, and both did very well.

Quote

Atlantic Drivers Keep Digging
Second day of Champ Car testing at Sebring brought impressive showings by Michael Valiante and Andrew Ranger.

“It's testing - not qualifying,” explained multiple Toyota Atlantic race winner Michael Valiante, in an attempt to justify why had he left a few tenths on the table upon climbing out one of Dale Coyne Racing’s Lolas.

It may be only “testing,” but for Valiante and the other Champ Car hopefuls gathered at Sebring - fellow Canadian Andrew Ranger and Czech Jarek Janis, plus Yankees Alex Figge and Bryan Sellers, who tested yesterday, and Australian Marcus Marshall - being conservative was not an option in their opportunities sitting ahead of 750 horsepower. The show is “Who wants to be a Champ Car star?,” and these drivers need to be on top of their games. And that means “fast.”

That - being fast - is something Valiante has done before, and in a Champ Car already: he outqualified and finished ahead of rated teammate Mario Haberfeld in his first competitive outing in the series, driving one of Derrick Walker’s Reynards in Mexico City.

Now in Coyne’s Lola, Valiante can feel the pain Haberfeld endured for a whole season: “The Lola is just way more consistent [than the Reynard] as a whole: easier to drive, less tire wear and so on.”

Seeming satisfied with his Sebring performance, Valiante thanked Dale Coyne before expressing his future plans: “The team seemed happy with me, and we got along very well. Hopefully that can lead on to something for next year, though I’m also still working with Derrick [Walker]. Either way, we expect to be on the Champ Car grid soon.” Maybe “finally” would have better described the Canadian’s feelings.

Valiante set the fastest time of the day, but considering his total lack of previous Champ Car experience, Andrew Ranger came in a close second.

“The car is so fast, it’s almost crazy!,” he exclaimed. “You push the gas so hard, and immediately you have to brake hard - your body just never stops moving! In an Atlantic car, since it so much slower, you can get some rest on the straights, something you never get to do in a Champ Car.” Considering Ranger completed 133 laps, that must have been quite a workout. But the youngster is not complaining. Far from it.
Michael Valiante experienced a Lola Champ Car chassis for the first time today at Sebring (LAT Photo)

“Of course I’m a bit tired, but not that much. I’ve been training [in the gym] a lot, and it seems to be paying off,” he grinned. Echoing Alex Figge and Bryan Sellers’ remarks from yesterday, Ranger affirmed he got comfortable with the Champ Car “pretty quickly.”

Like his more experienced countryman, 18-year-old Ranger is nurturing hopes of contesting the big league next year. “It all depends on whether my sponsor [Proctor & Gamble Canada] decides to move up,” he revealed.

Czech Jarek Janis, who ran with Dale Coyne’s team at Surfers Paradise this season, also took to the track - in one of Forsythe’s cars. Janis is still weighing his options for 2005 - he had a DTM test a couple of weeks ago. But his priority for the moment is to come stateside for good: “I believe Champ Car presents a great option in terms of long-term future. But unfortunately, it’s still too early to tell. Only my manager knows the real odds,” he joked.

In any event, Champ Car’s wide-open driver market will make for one of the best silly seasons of the past few years - Justin Wilson jumping from Conquest to RuSPORT last week perhaps being only the first of many surprising announcements to come. By pressing the right-side pedal as hard as they can, the Atlantic kids hope to be part of the upcoming “silliness”.

I'd love to see these two get a shot in Cart. They'd more than make up for Carpentier leaving.

[cheesy poofs]

It seems Ranger may just get his wish. It looks more than likely that the 17 year old will get his chance to make the jump into ChampCars for 2005...

I might just add that Bruno Spengler is eying the DTM series for 2005 with the help of Mercedes.

[StickShift]

RDS.ca (roughly translated) says Andrew Ranger is closing in on a Forsythe ride for 2005.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Why...Why...Why...

He's so young, and show's a lot of promise; why rush him?

[StickShift]

Where else is he going to go?

Atlantics might not even have enough cars for a season next year, and one bad year in Europe can kill a career. Now he's being offered a shot with a top team in Champ Car, who not take it? It's as good as anything he'll get in Europe, and he knows the tracks.

[Arrows4Ever]

Quote

Originally posted by StickShift
Where else is he going to go?

Atlantics might not even have enough cars for a season next year, and one bad year in Europe can kill a career. Now he's being offered a shot with a top team in Champ Car, who not take it? It's as good as anything he'll get in Europe, and he knows the tracks.

Why not Japan? Isn't there any decent series left there?
Didn't a certain Jacques bloom a little in the Land of the Rising Sun?;)

[StickShift]

Japan is a world unto itself where the drivers who have exhausted all other options go. Drivers who have been shunned by European F3 and F3000, those damned souls, them.

Ranger on the other hand is giggling full of options. He's a talented driver, who *has* sponsorship.

[lower case writer]

Quote

Originally posted by StickShift
RDS.ca (roughly translated) says Andrew Ranger is closing in on a Forsythe ride for 2005.

well thanks for that bit of info. stickshift.


fortunately, the article wasn't to hard to decipher, and i've just enough of my grade school french left in my head to understand the article.

[StickShift]

There is an Andrew Ranger update from RDS.ca today

A rough translation of the article says:

• Ranger is confident he will be in Champ Car next year.
• He does not know which team he will drive with yet.
• He will be testing with several teams in the preseason.

Sounds good. I hope he gets a ride with Forsythe.

[cheesy poofs]

Quote

Originally posted by StickShift
Where else is he going to go?

Atlantics might not even have enough cars for a season next year, and one bad year in Europe can kill a career. Now he's being offered a shot with a top team in Champ Car, who not take it? It's as good as anything he'll get in Europe, and he knows the tracks.

Indeed. My source as been telling me he will be heading to Champ Cars in 2005 either at Forsythe, Walker or Conquest.

[Cadence]

Quote

Originally posted by cheesy poofs


Indeed. My source as been telling me he will be heading to Champ Cars in 2005 either at Forsythe, Walker or Conquest.

OUTSTANDING!!

[GoHabsGo]

I spoke to his manager a couple of days ago and they're not betting on Forsythe since they're trying to increase Corona's sponsorship to two cars and thus prefer a second Mexican driver to partner Tracy...

I also met Andrew a few weeks ago and for an 18 year old kid, he sure has his head on straight. He's currently competing (and winning) in the Quebec motorcross ice racing league. He's proving that he has the raw talent for speed (two & four wheels)

[TailG]

Dany Heatley?

[RRT1963]

Quote

Originally posted by Todd
Didn't many of the Canadian drivers appearing on the open wheel scene in the '90s come out of the Players driver development program? It seems to me that the chances of new Canadian drivers have been lessened substantially by anti-tobacco legislation.

Bingo! T
There aren't that many Canadian companies that have a large international profile that would be willing to put the money into any type of development program.

[billm99uk]

Surprised no-one has mentioned Sean McIntosh, winner of last year's Graduate Cup in British Formula Renault (and winner of one race outright) in this thread....

[cheesy poofs]

Quote

Originally posted by billm99uk
Surprised no-one has mentioned Sean McIntosh, winner of last year's Graduate Cup in British Formula Renault (and winner of one race outright) in this thread....

That's because, until last year, no one seems to have heard about him back home...!
he did have a good season in F Reanault UK and is one of the champioship favorites in 2005.

[metz]

Quote

Originally posted by RRT1963


Bingo! T
There aren't that many Canadian companies that have a large international profile that would be willing to put the money into any type of development program.

Are we all speculating that something may come of the Midland Russia/Canada connection?
If he wants a Russian driver, he'll get one. (he's said as much)
And if he wants a Canadian driver to partner him, he'll get one.
He could partner with Forsythe or someone to structure such a development program.


Help me. I think I'm running out of dope...

[billm99uk]

Quote

Originally posted by cheesy poofs

That's because, until last year, no one seems to have heard about him back home...!
he did have a good season in F Reanault UK and is one of the champioship favorites in 2005...!

I guess that's because he's only 19 still. Mind you, that hasn't stopped people hearing about Ranger. According to his website he did his first year in cars in US FF2000 has also done Fran-Am (must have been towards the back, I guess ;) ). Pretty decent website, by the way, available at www.seanmcintosh.com if anyone is interested. Seems to be updated fairly regularly, unlike some.

[F1 Tor.]

Quote

Originally posted by Louis Mr. F1
That is, with Jacques Villeneuve seemingly on his way out of F1, sooner or later, (I know a lot of people are going to dispute this) is there any young good Canadian racing driver that will move onto the international race scene? I really want to have a fellow young Canadian driver to cheer for, and if Jacques retires, the Canadian media will probably go quiet on F1 coverage (not that it makes a lot of noises now)........so anyone have any idea? btw, capentier, tracy don't count.

Louis, do you have a driver's license?

[StickShift]

Did anyone just watch the Champ Car race from Monterrey? Andrew Ranger just had a terrific race from 14th on the grid, to 2nd on the podium in only his second race in the series. The best part was, Ranger did it all through passing cars on the track, and not by fuel strategy.

The race was live on TSN, but there is a replay of the event on at 11:00est/8:00pst on SpeedTV.

The kid is the real deal.

[cheesy poofs]

Quote

Originally posted by StickShift
Did anyone just watch the Champ Car race from Monterrey? Andrew Ranger just had a terrific race from 14th on the grid, to 2nd on the podium in only his second race in the series. The best part was, Ranger did it all through passing cars on the track, and not by fuel strategy.

The race was live on TSN, but there is a replay of the event on at 11:00est/8:00pst

The kid is the real deal.

Just saw the results via ChampCar`s website.

[Dino G]

Quote

Originally posted by StickShift
Did anyone just watch the Champ Car race from Monterrey? Andrew Ranger just had a terrific race from 14th on the grid, to 2nd on the podium in only his second race in the series. The best part was, Ranger did it all through passing cars on the track, and not by fuel strategy.

The race was live on TSN, but there is a replay of the event on at 11:00est/8:00pst on SpeedTV.

The kid is the real deal.

I have never seen a younger looking driver then Ranger...he looks 16!

No matter how you cut it, his accomplishment this year is mighty impressive, more so than other years. I find this year that the pedigree of Champcars makes it more interesting to watch. You have guys like Wirdheim, Wilson, Da Matta, etc...beaten by an 18 year old Canadian who hasn't had the same type of machinery to hone his skills. I say he is signed by an F1 team by the end of the year. Not necessarily to racemind you, but to "own" him for the future.

[ScuderiaFerrari]

Ranger is the best canadian talent coming up but it's to early to tell if he's F1 caliber.

[AcuraF1]

http://www.tsn.ca/au...ame=auto_racing

The Toronto Star reports that Michael Valiante will race with Dale Coyne Racing this weekend. 4 Canucks in this race

[StickShift]

Any word on where or what Sean McIntosh is going to be racing during the regular season?

[cheesy poofs]

I thought I'd bring this thread back since it looks more than likely that JV has driven his last GP - well according to many on this board anyway !!

What are the chances for Canadian drivers like Spengler, Ranger, McIntosh, etc... to make it int F1 in the near future ?

[Exit716]

I read on the Conquest Mi-Jack website that they weren't all too pleased with Ranger's work ethic or commitment apparently in 2005.
It's hard to guage how good he is racing in that series.
Maybe someone could recommend him moving over to Europe to race.
He doesn't seem to have a boat load of sponsorship cash at the moment, either.

[cheesy poofs]

Ranger has money for the Montreal round of the Champ Car calendar and that's it. Who knows what will happen after that.

I know that when he ran out of money in Montreal last year because of accident damage related issues, Kevin Kalkhoven personally signed a cheque of 100K to enable him to finish off the season.

[AcuraF1]

Robert Wickens is doing very well in the Formula BMW USA series as well.