Lavin lands Forsythe deal

Tracy will return to defend his title in one of Forsythe's Ford Cosworth-powered Lolas, and the Canadian star will be joined in all races by Lavin, who brings along his sponsorship from Corona Beer. Lavin drove for Walker Racing last season, partnering Darren Manning.

Patrick Carpentier, Tracy's team-mate at Forsythe last year, will remain with the team and his salary is guaranteed. However, the Canadian will only drive a third Forsythe entry if the necessary sponsorship can be secured. If not, the team says it undertake to ensure that Carpentier runs the full Champ Car schedule with another team.

"I heard the rumour but didn't think anything about it because I had my test schedule and no indication anything was wrong," Carpentier told speedtv.com. "But then Paul [Tracy] called me last Friday and said the guys in the shop had been told I was out. I finally got a hold of Jerry [Forsythe] late Friday night and he told me he didn't have the budget to run three cars but that he was going to see to it I had a competitive ride."

This is a similar situation to that of Alex Tagliani last year, who landed a ride at Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports team after his place at Forsythe was taken by Tracy.