After having a single day of practice, Buddy Rice has decided that he wants to switch to Forsythe Racing…like now. Eurosport has the quotes.
"I don't know what Gerry is thinking for next year but, after just one day with this team, I know I'd love to drive for them next year," said Rice. "I just need to do my job and the rest will take care of itself…I was super impressed with this team and their professionalism made the transition easy."Clearly The Rainman is just trying to demonstrate enthusiasm and show a great employee he would be, but who can blame him? The truth is Forsythe is one of the top rides in Champ Car and he would stand a lot better chance of scoring wins with them than he would by hooking up with any of the currently available rides in IndyCar. After the last two season he’s endured, a win of any kind would be especially appealing to him.
I don’t want to see Rice go, but snagging the Forsythe ride vacated by NASCAR-bound AJ Allmendinger is far and away Rice’s best bet for 2007.
The larger concern is if this is a developing trend. While the top drivers in the IndyCar series will all be returning in 2007, the likely reduction in car counts means that there will be guys like Rice, Ryan Briscoe, and perhaps others who migrate to Champ Car (or any other series) for next year. There are more drivers than rides, so the issue is one of basic math.
High costs, lack of parity, poor marketing, etc - you may now start flogging your favorite horse.
I think Rice has this ride hands down, regardless of his performance on race day in Mexico. Champ Car now has an American driver quota to fill and Buddy Rice is the best place to start. As far as American open-wheel drivers go, his name isn't as recognizable as Sam, Danica, and Marco, but he is an Indy 500 winner.
Agreed. It's Buddy's to lose. If you're a road racer, Champ Car is the place to be, not the IRL. Besides, Buddy and many others maybe tired of driving on the edge to get 8th.