Carpentier wants series union

IRL founder Tony George admitted last month he is in talks with Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven about bringing the two series together for the first time since they split in 1996.

Canadian driver Carpentier, who drove in the IRL last season after nearly a decade of Champ Car racing, believes that the mooted merger is essential if dwindling grids are not to destroy either series.

"It's about time," Carpentier told autosport.com. "All the drivers really want it. Everybody wants it.

"For them [the organisers] they don't see it and they have a lot of money I guess, but they don't see what is happening down here and everybody is suffering. The TV, everything, has gone. When you try to sell sponsorship in the series the return isn't there anymore.

"It's a shame when you look at it. You look at when I was racing Champ Car a few years back, it was so much fun it was unbelievable. The sponsorship and everything was there, but it keeps going down every year. They now realise that they better get back together if they want any cars left.

"Mix the ovals and road courses and add a couple of teams and then the series will be better, much better. Even if they had 22 cars it would be a lot for these series at the moment. It would bring all the best drivers back together and then you have two series for the sponsors.

"The amount of cars for both is at the point when it is not ridiculous but it is not far off. When both series split NASCAR took the opportunity to get big and now they are out of reach."

Carpentier is left without a drive this season, having pursued Champ Car and the second PKV Racing seat, which went to Oriol Servia. He is now likely to race occasionally in sportscars, in either the American Le Mans Series of Grand Am.

"We tried all the teams and everybody wants money," he added. "But you have to bring money to everyone now and I can't do that.

"It looks like being a quiet summer. I'll work on my Ranch in Canada I've just bought. It's a shame. If I do anything I'd like to be with a competitive team. I'll keep fit in case anything comes up."