Young drivers get Champ Car chance

Under a new driver development ladder scheme, the 2000 Indy Lights champion will be awarded a full test in a Champ Car, while the Atlantic title holder will test an Indy Lights Lola T97/20.

In addition, the Atlantic winner will also receive a free Indy Lights engine lease, worth about $48,000, if they contest the full Indy Lights Championship the year following their title win.

Both projects will be funded by CART, which established the first formal, three-tiered system of driver development in North American open-wheel racing in 1998.

'We are committed to fully enhancing the CART ladder system,' said CART President Andrew Craig.

'This includes introducing several advantage programmes to complement what aspiring drivers learn in PPG-Dayton Lights Championship and KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship races.

'These tests will allow future champions from out development series to literally see what the next step is like, while adding more value to the overall benefits of racing in both Lights and Atlantics.'

More than half of the 1999 CART grid is made up of graduates from Indy Lights and Atlantics, including Patrick Carpentier, Michael Andretti and Christiano da Matta.