Asian Motor Sports

As the A1 Grand Prix enters the seasons second half it appears there are two courses of action being taken by teams. Some are calling in “the Big Guns” and replacing current drivers with ones of much greater experience, while others have been forced to drop theirs due to prior commitments.

A1 Team Canada - lying 10th overall ahead of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations South Africa - falls into the first category. Team seat holder John Surtees is expected to announce today in a Montreal press conference that IRL veteran Patrick Carpentier will be added to its line-up. It’s expected Carpentier will be behind the wheel in both North American stops on the tour at Mexico’s Fundidora Park circuit in Monterrey and for the following round at Laguna Seca.

Going in the opposite direction, and losing it’s “ringer,” is A1 Team New Zealand. It was previously announced the IRL’s Scott Dixon would compete in the Kiwi’s “Black Beauty” in Mexico and Laguna Seca. Chip Ganassi Racing, wants him to focus on pre-season IndyCar testing and the sorting of a new Dallara chassis and Honda engine after campaigning a Toyota powered Panoz in 2005.

Dixon is due to start his IRL testing commitments at Phoenix next week, working towards the opening round at Miami on 26 March, and New Zealand’s seat will continue to be shared between Matt Halliday and Jonny Reid.

Cross Posted @ Full Throttle and Fast Machines.