So Mr. Carroll we meet again!

Posted by Declan | 4/29/2010 | 10 comments »
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Adam Carroll really ought to be racing in Formula 1, thank goodness he's not. It is stupendously good news for IndyCar Racing that Andretti Autosport has secured his signature for a select number of races later on this season.

Marco Andretti will have few doubts about the wee man from Portadown can be competitive straight away, particularly on road courses, having spent almost a whole A1 GP season watching Carroll vanish into the distance week in week out. The Ulsterman clinched the title in the Spring of 2009 and has been in professional limbo ever since.

Danica Patrick also has more than a basic working knowledge of Carroll's ability having raced against him in British Formula Ford in 2001. The footage below is all that is left of their time together in the UK. It's nice to see Danica's mania was fully formed almost a decade ago.

10 comments

  1. Leigh O'Gorman // April 29, 2010 1:15 PM  

    brilliant news - an absolute shame he was ever left on the sidelines

  2. The SpeedGeek // April 29, 2010 1:17 PM  

    Ooh, let me pre-empt everybody. Waaaahhhhh! Ride buyer! Ride buyer! Waaaaaahhhhhh!

    Seriously, though, Adam Carroll's really good. He is a top shelf kind of guy that IndyCar ought to be atttracting from Europe. Seriously, this second paragraph is not snark, I am being serious.

  3. Chris // April 29, 2010 1:24 PM  

    Agreed—nice addition, and so is Bertrand Baguette, but he's destined to toil away in obscurity until he can hop in a better ride.

  4. Iannucci // April 29, 2010 1:46 PM  

    That video is truly revealing. I had no idea Danicker went OVER THERE as a youngster in order to develop not only her racing talents but also her now infamous hand puppet shows. Learn something new every day.

    Oh, and Andretti Autosport now has so many drivers their next announcement will involve the acquisition of Dallara.

  5. Declan // April 29, 2010 2:01 PM  

    @Jeff

    lol! :)

  6. pressdog // April 30, 2010 3:22 AM  

    them are some funny lookin' cars!

  7. Declan // April 30, 2010 4:56 AM  

    Formula Fords are funny looking? I suppose its in the eye of the beholder.

    The Swift DB1 is/was one of the prettiest racing cars ever made.

    http://www.pistonheads.com/pics/news/20337/tn_HondaFF-L.jpg

    Ditto for the Reynard 84FF

    http://www.mohud-scca.org/FiftiethAnniversary/photos/Racing/TarielloPJ1984Reynard1997Glen.jpg

    The latest designs are pretty cool too!

    http://gallery.photo.net/photo/4555133-lg.jpg

    I grew up watching them and the were the launch pad for almost every top road racer in the World.

    I was always jealous of US fans as they got to watch Formula Ford racing with slicks. The cars looked much better than the ones racing in Europe where they raced on grooved racing tyres.

  8. Leigh O'Gorman // April 30, 2010 6:22 AM  

    "...them are some funny lookin' cars!"


    Oh, but they make for some class-A racing
    :D

  9. The SpeedGeek // April 30, 2010 9:24 AM  

    @Declan

    Yeah, but don't at least some British FFs have the Zetec engine? Because I'd rather watch those on treaded tires than the US ones with the Kent or FFit engine, both of which make between 115 and 120 HP. Talk about high HP/low grip. Give me that.

  10. Declan // April 30, 2010 12:18 PM  

    The top class of Formula Ford in the UK runs with the Zetec engine but there is a Kent class at the Formula Ford Festival which gets a huge number of entries. Josef Newgarden won the Kent Class at the Festival in 2008.

    Bizarrely, Honda, are now a player in Formula Ford on this side of the Atlantic, which means that American Formula Ford Racing is now simply FF. HPD are making quite a substantial push into grass roots racing, territory that, up to recently, has been pretty much owned by Mazda.