I think I know what might be the obstacle to an 07 merger

[Andrew Longman]

Just assume that in 07 TG and KK decide to merge or at least share the DP01 spec for a period.

Assume 10 teams in CCWS and at least the top teams in IRL buy new chassis.

But then how does TG get to 33 for Indy? There will be no used DP01 chassis for the small time field fillers to rent or buy. It would be the first time since I think 1985 where every chassis in the field was new. Won't likely happen

That's sure to be a problem. They've got to get to 33 if a new merged series is to be seen as "saving the day".

They may need to wait until 08 when some used chassis hit the market or more likely wait until the DP01 tests in June or July to see if they can come up with some sort of interim equivilancy for Lolas and/or Dallaras for the 07 Indy.

Forgive me if this is deemed to belong in Others.

[Racing Truth]

Well, I would hope/think you could get 25-27 entries for yr. one. From there, 33 at Indy is more than manageable.

[cameraman]

The powers that be have enough cash in their checking accounts to buy 15-20 "extra" DP01s if they need to. Problems that can be solved with something as simple as cash are not the real problem.

[Spicoli]

The powers that be have enough cash in their checking accounts to buy 15-20 "extra" DP01s if they need to. Problems that can be solved with something as simple as cash are not the real problem.

bingo.

[Andrew Longman]

All right.

Then I'm not going to worry about that either.

First time in 22 years every car in the field is new. Sounds cool to me.

[NismoZ]

If Swift could produce 41 in even less time, could Panoz do 40-50 with a little more time by test time '07? Money is big, but what about production capacity?

[pferrf1]

Panoz quite likely has more resources than Swift does, plus there is probably a certain amount of outsourcing that could be done to allow for many more cars by the I500 2007.

[NismoZ]

That would be my thought if they plan on unity by May, '07. That was one reason I suggested earlier they might run old equipment at 2-3 of their own races UNTIL Indy practice in May so they would ALL start evenly. More likely to have enough tubs built up by March for testing than actually racing them in March and April. It would be awkward but doable I think. Anxious though we are it would still be better to do it correctly for '08 than rush unprepared into '07.

[Gangrel]

But then how does TG get to 33 for Indy? There will be no used DP01 chassis for the small time field fillers to rent or buy. It would be the first time since I think 1985 where every chassis in the field was new. Won't likely happen.

Begging to differ here, but the split was in 1996. They used the same equipment as Champ Car that year. 1997 they rolled out the 4.0 N/A and the associated chassis. Wasn't all the I-500 equipment new that year?

[Insomniac]

I don't think Panoz's schedule is nearly as constricted as Swift's was for the Atlantic Chassis. They should be in production well before Swift was. I'd imagine Champ Car teams could get them coming in December.

[NismoZ]

If true that is wonderful. I think I'll be looking more forward to the Panoz rollout at San Jose in July than the race! :)

[Andrew Longman]

Begging to differ here, but the split was in 1996. They used the same equipment as Champ Car that year. 1997 they rolled out the 4.0 N/A and the associated chassis. Wasn't all the I-500 equipment new that year?

And they updates the chassis again, what 3-4 years ago?

I don't know. I read that somewhere over the last few days but I can't recall where now. Was there no grandfathering of chassis? Lesser teams didn't buy chassis that had been used previously that season.

Still, 33 new turbocharged DP01 is a pretty sweet "vision" after waiting through 11 years of stupidity for something truly positive to happen.

[Sean O'Gorman]

Is there anything that necessarily says that the DP01 would be a spec chassis?

[NismoZ]

You mean ala "Reynske"? Or Dallara producing one as well? I don't think 2 engines AND 2 chassis will be introduced in year 1. Later, perhaps. I'm not aware of any chassis rules but can't imagine anything other than 1 spec to start.

[Andrew Longman]

Is there anything that necessarily says that the DP01 would be a spec chassis?

Not officially, but in the press releases around the original announcement they said they would likely freeze portions of the chassis from team development and then unfreeze them a bit at a time. For example they might allow development on the wings but nothing else. Then the next year they get to play with the diffuser. And so on. I assume they get to play with shocks and springs right away.

They made it clear that they wanted to include the team and engineering as part of the competition without letting the whole thing (and richer teams) run away with it from the beginning