The Champ Car Summit Redux

There was a conflict of emotions in the paddock at Assen last weekend, scene of Champ Car's inaugural Dutch Grand Prix.

On the one hand, there was a huge thrill at the crowd, the quality of the facility, the quality of the companies already wishing to be associated with this first-time event, and its promotion.

On the other hand, many of the long timers, the people actually involved in the series, were as gloom laden as in the autumn of 2003, when CART was going through its death throes.

In light of the cancellation of the Chinese event (an open secret for some months now), the surprise binning of the Phoenix finale just days earlier appeared to many long-term Champ Car workers as a sign of the series suffering a terminal decline.

To set the record straight, Executive VP of Strategic Development and Communications, David Higdon arranged a meeting for four journalists to meet Kevin Kalkhoven, Dan Pettit and Paul Gentilozzi, as well as CEO and President of the series Steve Johnson. Here is what was said.

Steve Johnson: "This Dutch event has been the crown jewel of what Champ Car has done in Europe. It's been an exciting two weeks and the coverage of what we've been doing has been very good - a lot of people have been talking about what we're doing. So we appreciate what you've done for us.

"Obviously an event occurred last week that caught us all by surprise, and that was the cancellation of Phoenix. A lot of rumours have gone on, but the bottom line was that the costs far exceeded the potential revenues for the event, therefore the promoters didn't see a viable economic reason for continuing with the event.

"We supported their decision. This doesn't affect the Vegas race [also promoted by Phoenix promoters Dale Jansen and Bradley Yonover], this is just a Phoenix thing.

"We're not replacing it, not throwing an event on at the last minute, because that wouldn't be properly done and we're not going to race just to race. So Phoenix is off, and that's as disappointing to us as it was to everybody else.

"Sometimes things like this happen in business, and we're just going to concentrate on having 14 great events this year, and I think you guys will attest we have had very strong events this year, great crowds, and we'll finish this year in that way with Australia and Mexico. So we will end the season in Mexico City.

"So let's open it up to you guys to ask some questions."

Q: How do we get around the fact that this is a PR disaster - five cancelled events in three years?

Johnson: "It does, and it doesn't matter who's responsible - at the end of the day it's us who are responsible.

"So we're working on the 2008 calendar right now and we're going to pick the events and make sure the FIA approvals are in and the promoters are strong, and do our best to make sure this situation doesn't happen again.

"It's not good for any of us - it's bad for the teams, it's bad for the other venues, it's bad for the other series. It's not acceptable and we're putting together a schedule where this will not happen in the future."

Q: Is Phoenix off forever?

Johnson: "Never say forever, but it will not be on the 2008 calendar."

Q: How close are you to finalising the '08 calendar?

Johnson: "We have to submit it to the FIA. You remember what happened with China? Well a lot of people said it was a money issue, and it wasn't a money issue at all. We couldn't get the date change through the FIA, and they acted within their areas of authority.

"It was unfortunate, but we will follow the proper procedures, get the 2008 calendar to the council and have them approve our dates."

Q: Do you have any timeframe for that?

Johnson: "It goes to the FIA in mid-October. Will we put out a provisional calendar? I don't know yet - we may have to say 'this event pending...'."

Q: Do you think things are getting closer to having an event in Korea or China, or are we going to get to a point where you have to give up and move on?

Johnson: "Well it's night and day, China and Korea. In China we had a promoter, we had the funding, we had a race track, but we didn't have FIA approval.

"We're working with them to get that back on the calendar for 2008, we have a meeting with them in two weeks to finalise everything with them.

"We had a May listing for 2007, they did approve that, but then we had a change of promoters and the FIA did not approve the October listing. Korea was totally different, we didn't even have a race track finished to race on."

Q: Will our schedule look any more compact in 2008?

Kevin Kalkhoven: "It has to be - we won't be racing in Phoenix in December!"

Johnson: "Yes, we're looking to plug the gaps as best we can. We think that's important for us."

Q: And how many races will there be?

Johnson: "We're looking at around 15."

Kalkhoven: "Honestly guys, we shouldn't be going into the '08 schedule, because we've got to get approval from the FIA and anything we say now can be - may be - completely wrong by the time it's finished.

"So hold off those questions, and it's not because we're trying to avoid anything, it's just that we know positively that unless we get agreement from the FIA for some of the things that we're doing, we're going to be back in the same situation with them. So please excuse the fact that we're not going to answer those questions."

Q: Has that whole process over the China event been a sobering lesson in the power of the FIA?

Paul Gentilozzi: "I think we've always known the power. We perhaps didn't anticipate their desire to follow guidelines.

"They're very structured and honestly, they had a very valid point: it's their rules. We're going to race internationally, we have to abide by their rules. Sometimes in the US we're more willing to compromise. Here they're more 'Don't get out of line'."

Q: The goal was to team that race up with Australia. Is that what you're aiming for next year?

Gentilozzi: "Like Kevin said, it's probably not best to talk about dates yet. Anyway, it's still 10 hours from Australia to China. It's not like New Zealand. That side of the world isn't any smaller!"

Q: Are you happy with the support and co-operation you've had here in Europe?

Kalkhoven: "I think Bart Rietbergen has created a truly wonderful event, and the enthusiasm of Europeans for our racing is remarkable."

David Higdon: "I think this is something that's not always projected back adequately to the US, is that the enthusiasm for the racing and the open access to the drivers and cars is great. And it's what we do best."

Johnson: "I think the European media tour we did back in May was a great way to launch this series, and we know we have a great promoter. You go into any of the restaurants around here and there are posters up and everyone's talking about Champ Car. That doesn't happen everywhere we go."

Gentilozzi: "Everywhere you go, these folks are fans. We had a great dinner in a square in Amsterdam, and our waiter seemed to know everything about Champ Car..."

Kalkhoven: "And last night in Germany our cab driver heard we were from Champ Car, and he said, 'Ah! Surfers Paradise!', and he wanted to know if he could go and he just wanted to talk about it.

"What does that tell us? It tells us that here there is a passion for open-wheel racing in Europe, and I think we underestimate the popularity of our racing in Europe, I really do."

Q: What does that mean - that the future for this series is more international? Given NASCAR's dominance in America, our low TV ratings in America, some soft markets in America, not a lot of corporate support in America, what is our future?

Kalkhoven: "This is the Champ Car World Series, and we said that from day one."

Gentilozzi: "It isn't easy to break new ground, it isn't easy to go to China and Korea. If we can break through with perseverance, there are maybe several new places we'd want to go. We used to race in Brazil, but they have a stock car series like NASCAR there, so maybe we're not what they want."

Kalkhoven: "The same is also true in Asia. Maybe we've been battering our heads against a brick wall there, but eventually it will give way, because... well, because our heads are pretty solid. And that is a market which is huge, and which is fascinated by our style of racing. There's not a question over that."

Q: How do we know that? Everyone knows Formula One, and they can go to a country and race without a local driver. Here we have Doornbos and that has helped make us popular this weekend. Given that Champ Car doesn't have that big a name in Asia, how can we go to China and make it work?

Kalkhoven: "It's going to take time."

Gentilozzi: "They don't have a lot of racing, so any auto racing is unique and new. It takes time to develop drivers.

"And there are Asian drivers in the world, more every year, and to go to that market and once we've proven we can race there - and they will be skeptical at first - and that we're a good product, then corporate support will come. And once that support comes, we will start seeing the drivers.

"(It's the same as) the same way Brazilian drivers got into Champ Car, bringing the sponsorship with them. But we have to go there first - we can't say 'Sponsor a driver and we'll come race for you'. "

Q: Will the promoter be prepared to have a couple of soft years before it's supposed to take off?

Higdon: "My experience in Asia goes back to my previous job [working with the tennis governing body, the ATP] and those areas of the continent we're talking about, the spectators are looking for excellence in sports. They don't get into the whole nationalism thing like Europe does.

"So for instance, men's tennis went into Asia with no Asian players whatsoever - they just wanted to see topline sports."

Gentilozzi: "We took Roberto Moreno to Zhuhai to run the prototype DP01, and we had to have 10-15,000 people turn up to watch one car go around the circuit.

Johnson: "I've been there three times. There is a lot of interest, a lot of co-operation from the local government, the circuit there is an excellent facility, they know how to promote. I don't consider it will be soft at all."

Q: Can you talk about the possible problems of Sebastien Bourdais, our dominant champion, leaving the series?

Kalkhoven: "Champions have left the series forever. That's just a fact of life. I think what is more interesting to me is the way in which so many different teams this year have had good showings.

"There isn't the complete dominance that we had in the Lola years with Sebastien, and I think he's going to have an... interesting time in Formula One. We've got young drivers coming up, including young American drivers and we'll be fine."

Q: The racing's good, the product is good, but from where I sit, what seems to be lacking is the marketing and as I've said a lot of times, the big stars. To my mind, Montoya, Villeneuve, Tony Stewart, Scott Speed are guys who should not have gone to NASCAR.

Gentilozzi: "The last big name we had was Nigel Mansell. That was the last coup, and that's what, 14 years ago? I don't think you can stop the train that is NASCAR. You have to define who you are and what your product is, and trying to 'out-star' them in the US isn't going to happen."

Q: But those people had an international following in what was a domestic product, and Champ Car wants to be a global product, and people like Montoya have a global name. AJ Allmendinger - he was beating Bourdais last year. There's a guy who was beating Bourdais on a regular basis, and he got away from us. So as owners of the series, at what point are you going to step up and say 'We're going to commit to these certain athletes and make them our stars of the future, and whatever it takes we're gonna get them and keep them'?

Kalkhoven: "You can't have a 'whatever it takes' attitude because that's never going to work. If someone wants to buy something and has the resources to do it, they will - simple as that. But I think what you'll notice - and only time will tell - is the lack of success these people have."

Gentilozzi: "Take AJ Allmendinger. How did that move work out for him?"

Q: Well, so far... but we don't know how well Toyota are going to go.

Gentilozzi: "Not to pick on AJ, because I liked him. But his team-mates are qualifying in the top half of the field and he's doing bench-presses on Sundays."

Q: The flipside to that is how did that work out for us? It robbed us of a US star.

Gentilozzi: "I agree, it was terrible. But do any of us think that Toyota has any conscience or limit on their cheque-book? The damage they're going to do to NASCAR is going to be severe. But somewhere in a kart race in Phoenix there is another AJ Allmendinger."

Q: But it takes time to build up a name, to make a star...

Gentilozzi: "Okay, given an open chequebook, who would you like to see here?"

Q: Marco Andretti. Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso. Scott Speed.

Gentilozzi: "We don't know that Scott Speed could run in the top five here."

Q: But that would serve us well too - it would make us look superb.

Kalkhoven: "Forget it guys. He's under contract, they'll put him in NASCAR. It's not even his decision or our decision. He's not even going to NASCAR per se, he's going to bloody ARCA!"

Q: So who are our stars going to be in Champ Car?

Gentilozzi: "Well Champ Car has invested big in Graham Rahal, and he is good. We've really gone out on a limb to make him a name everywhere we go."

Q: But he's talking about Formula One.

Kalkhoven: "He's talked about a lot of things, and it may well be at some point in the future it may well be that he goes to Formula One. But it's a two-way street: there will be a bunch of Formula One drivers coming to us.

"You raise a good point though: who are we going to build on? We're aware that's what we have to do. I don't know that we can go out and hire a big name; we have looked at it.

"We did look at Scott Speed, but Red Bull said 'Get your hands off - he's not even available'. So we have to build up people like Graham Rahal."

Q: Have we got anywhere to place them? What's the car count looking like for next year?

Gentilozzi: "There have been four or five Formula One guys - race and test drivers - looking for a drive in Champ Car. None of the ones you talk to are shy about saying 'We'd far rather come and race over here than wait for the day that won't come over there.'

"We need to be looking at the best drivers in the world that we can get. I spoke to Timo [Glock] the other night. He's leading the GP2 championship, and he thinks he's gonna get a ride. If he doesn't, he wants to come back where he can race, because he loves racing in GP2.

"And those kinds of drivers - it doesn't matter where they're from - are what we need. I think we've got a great field - just look at all the young talent this year. A great mix. And I think next year we're going to be prepared to lose a couple of our senior drivers, because they can no longer get it done."

Johnson: "Then look at the Atlantic field that we have. Are we cultivating young drivers? Yes we are - drivers, crew members, team owners. That is a development series for everyone to step up from.

"Are we in discussions? Yes we are in discussions with potential new Champ Car teams on a daily basis. Can I say how many cars we'll have? No I can't - I made that mistake last year!"

Q: But are we going to make sure some of those are US drivers? We have to stay a US-based series?

Kalkhoven: "Who was the last big star of our series? Alex Zanardi."

Gentilozzi: "Who was the last American champion? Jimmy Vasser."

Q: But they have to be people who are marketable. Drivers who have personality, and when you put them in front of a camera, they speak well...

Higdon: "That's my job - you're describing my job. That's what Steve hired me for. We have 17 guys here - well, 16 plus one - and it's my responsibility to get them better known.

"You can't just hand-pick a star and bring them into your series. It doesn't make sense financially. What you do is take a guy, you magnify their personality, you make them accessible, and you build around them.

"That's what we're doing with Rahal, that's what we're doing with Doornbos, and if they go to Formula One a year or two from now, that's fine, that will make us more famous, and there's a continual turnover. That's what happens in sports.

Kalkhoven: "One of the criticisms levelled against Champ Car two or three years ago is that the drivers weren't good enough go to Formula One. I remember certain journalists saying that. Now, when they do go to Formula One, that's bad.

"The reality is, drivers move between series - they always have done, and I'm kind of looking forward to next year, because I believe young Graham, as he takes over the number one role at Newman/Haas/Lanigan, will become a really developing star."

Q: Has anyone considered Jonathan Bomarito [Atlantic race-winner]?

Gentilozzi: "I like Jonathan, he would be worthwhile to a test, but I'm not sure he has the speed. If you said, 'Give me a list of the 20 most talented drivers you could get' and you threw in an Anthony Davidson or a Franck Montagny, Jonathan might be on the list.

"But wouldn't you rather have a Jon Fogarty [Atlantic champion 2002 and '04]. He's got eight poles in a row in GrandAm against some of the best drivers - but he is absolute Nytol [a sedative] in an interview. Alex Gurney is a nice guy, almost as quick as Fogarty, and quicker than Bomarito."

Q: But Bomarito's hardly been with the best team in Atlantics so we don't know...

Kalkhoven: "I think that will get resolved later in the season, I'm sure he's going to get a test. I'm sure a bunch of Atlantic drivers will."

Q: Can I move it off drivers and move it on to money? Where do you see the series attracting sponsorship money? The NASCAR train has left the station and sucked the oxygen out of every other series in terms of meaningful sponsorship with some exceptions. How do you go about getting sponsorship for teams and the series?

"With Formula One gradually leaving Europe, and Formula One not having a US Grand Prix, and the favourable exchange rate for Europe, will companies want to use Champ Car as a tool for marketing in the US?

Johnson: "Sure. It's a world series, and we're not just selling to North American customers."

Kalkhoven: "It's clear when you look at Zolder and Assen, that there is a very warm reception for the series and its drivers. It's also relatively clear when you just look at the level of marketing activity that for instance the promoter has done here, the promoter has no difficulty in selling sponsorship.

"When you see some of the things that will be happening, yes, I believe you are going to see more international sponsorship.

Gentilozzi: "Ask yourself, what's the difference between Assen and say, Road America or Laguna Seca. They're both natural road courses, but the difference in being here is night and day. Here, the media is interested, the people are interested, and that energy is there for us all to see."

Kalkhoven: "If you go into the Champ Car Club hospitality and see the names on the tables, you will see that those are serious companies showing a huge amount of interest in what we're doing. We have to translate that into positive sponsorship, but the level of interest is there. No doubt about that.

"We've all had meetings with potential sponsors this weekend, and they have said that relatively the exposure they get in Champ Car is very powerful when compared against, say, Formula One, and secondly, they really like the atmosphere."

Gentilozzi: "Why is the CEO of Holmatro, a company based here [who supply and sponsor the Champ Car Safety Team] spend all of their budget on racing in America? The attraction of Champ Car here is that it is American. They're still curious about us. We're different.

"We're not GP2, we're not a support series for anybody, we're not the little guy. A lot of the world feels we're better than Formula One because you don't have the huge class disparity that has been traditional.

"I was just speaking to a young driver's manager earlier, and he said "If you don't get one of those top six seats in Formula One, then you're just dirt" - he actually used the word 'dirt'.

"We fought hard - and it wasn't an easy fight - to get equality in engines, cars, and tyres. This year, the teams in Champ Car have spent 15 million bucks to convert to the new car, and that's a huge number and a huge commitment.

"But we bit the bullet, got the new car that everyone pissed and moaned about and criticised, but in the end it's a great race car, they're equal in competition and the Champ Car tech staff have done a great job. We have got a great bargain and a great-performing, safe race car.

Kalkhoven: "We all make mistakes, you know, but we are learning from those mistakes. It's hard, but we'll do it. We've learned that Europe really likes us, so we'll push on that. We've learned that there are other parts of the world, as Formula One departs, that have a great interest.

"We've learned they like the American approach - they like the open paddock, the accessibility of the drivers, and the fact that it's American."

Q: So why not make a point-blank statement, to get rid of all the confusion in America, that 'this is where we're going, we're a world series, here's where we're going'?

Kalkhoven: "Until we've got a schedule that's absolutely solid, until we know the FIA approves it - when you're playing internationally, you're playing to a different set of rules - the schedule itself will make that statement. A solid schedule with international sponsors.

"For too long we've had the ability to... overestimate some of the things we've said we'll do. It's hard. Going into China is hard. Going into Korea is clearly hard. A lot of these things were hard and we made mistakes. But our commitment to do it is still there, but we have to back up that commitment with solid fact."

Q: How's the quest for getting badging for the engines?

Johnson: "We've got discussions going, got meetings coming up."

Kalkhoven: "That's not a critical thing getting badging for the engine. The critical thing is getting a solid schedule and solid teams."

Q: But can't we capitalise on the fact that Audi is so discontent with the ALMS as they get their arses whupped by Porsche?

Gentilozzi: "You must not know Dr Ullrich very well. I do know him fairly well, and no way is he going to put the Audi name on anything they don't build. There are companies out there who want to be involved, but there is no way in the world they'll come if they can't build the engine. Maserati, for instance."

Kalkhoven: "In conclusion, I think we've come a long way. We've made mistakes but we've come a long way. And I think '08 will prove to be another step forward.

"Some of the things we've done have proved really, really hard. I remember after Las Vegas people saying the new car's a piece of shit, it's really unreliable, it's never going to work and they went on and on and on.

"Take a look at those lap times today - if you exclude Sebastien, the first 12 cars are covered by a second. And look at the different winners this year. I think the cars have proved remarkably reliable. But yeah, it was hard. A lot of people asked why we were doing it, what's wrong with the Lola."

Q: Let me say the product is a good product. There's no question in any of our minds about that...

Kalkhoven: "And similarly we recognise our marketing has to be better."

Q: Yeah, when you find the right places to race, it really works. Phoenix obviously wasn't one of them, but...

Gentilozzi: "Or the right timing: 10 days after Thanksgiving, three weeks before Christmas."

Kalkhoven: "Obviously NASCAR had a strong influence in Phoenix, pushing us out to a certain date that didn't work."

Q: But the Las Vegas race hasn't been harmed?

Kalkhoven: "Again you'll have to wait for the schedule but I don't think you'll see a problem there."

Q: And our relationship with Jansen and Yonover hasn't been harmed?

Kalkhoven: "They're good guys."

Gentilozzi: "Before the train-wreck, if you've got a chance to prevent it, let's prevent it. That's what they did."

Q: And your commitment to this is as strong as ever? Right now, there are a lot of people in the paddock worried about the series' future...

Kalkhoven: "Any time someone wants to ask me that question, I will respond in the same way. We are committed. We have to do better. Paul's committed."

Gentilozzi: "Every year something happens that spins everybody up - it spins through the media, spins to the team owners, and jeez, suddenly the whole sky's falling in."

Q: But from the outside it looks like Champ Car is being run as a low-budget operation. I'm sure you guys are spending millions, but is it enough? Does it need maybe a rich sheikh somewhere who'll come in and pump a lot more money in and make it work?

Gentilozzi: "How big do you think Champ Car's economy is, annually - including, promoters, teams and series?"

Q: Between quarter and half a billion dollars?

Gentilozzi: "Well that's a pretty big economy. Do you think spending an extra $20 million around the world would change the brand?"

Kalkhoven: "Spending $20 million in one country, by a promoter, would make a difference. That's the real answer. When a Formula One race promoter spends $30 million on a sanctioning fee, and $130 million on a track, they are putting in a huge amount of effort into aggravation of local market.

"Internationally, the heavy lifting is done by the promoter, not by the series and that's always been the case. We find good promoters, work with them, they put the money in. They know the local market, the local economy, the local businessmen.

Gentilozzi: "If you look at other kinds of shows - and Champ Car is just an event. Lionel Richie, say, gets paid a $1 million for a concert, how much does he spend on marketing? Nothing. He relies on the promoter. You establish a brand through exposure."

Q: Rumour has it that you guys stumped up $15 million for TV coverage this year. Are you getting a decent return for that investment?

Johnson: "If you're asking if we're happy with the results, the answer is no. We're not happy with our ratings. So we're having a meeting with ESPN and ABC to develop a programme."

Gentilozzi: "We need people to watch to develop the brand, and where they watch is the difficult question. Domestically, maybe we've always overestimated how important that market was. In Europe, we've probably underestimated how important that market was."

Kalkhoven: "And we don't consolidate our numbers."

Q: What's consolidation mean in this context?

Gentilozzi: "If half a million people watch in the US, how many are watching over here? We don't ever put out a statement that says '14 million people watched our race around the world last Sunday'."

Kalkhoven: "We make mistakes sometimes, and we have not been consolidating our TV numbers, and we should find a way to do that."

Q: With Denver in some kind of limbo, and Phoenix proving uneconomically viable, has your opinion on the whole 'Three-day Festivals of Speed' on city streets changed at all?

Kalkhoven: "The perception that we have a majority of our races on street courses is not factually true. We've always had a balance. And yes, they're difficult to put on. But based on Long Beach, which is now back to the attendance that it had in 2000, you can make them into great events."

Q: I hate to ask this but I have to. What's the situation with the IRL?

Gentilozzi: "Someone wrote we were in negotiation with the IRL to leave the month of May open so our teams can compete in the Indy 500. I think the word in England is 'poppycock'. That is not influencing our schedule."

Q: One of the team owners in San Jose told me that six weeks earlier there had been a meeting where things were starting to get close again and people on both sides blew it out of the water because there were too many vested interests.

Kalkhoven: "No-one in Champ Car management, or Paul or Dan or Jerry or myself have had any conversations with the IRL in the last year. Now, are there people who would like to put it back together and are frustrated it won't come back together? Yes. But they're not in this room.

"Some people in the middle ground would like it to happen, but I think all the reunification talk is now almost irrelevant. We're moving in our separate distractions."

Q: Isn't it about time we had good strong race-purses, to entice people to join the series?

Kalkhoven: "What entices people in more than the prize money is schedule and their ability to sell sponsorship."

Gentilozzi: "The 20th-place team in NASCAR last year won $2,135,000. Between his two cars, he spent $36 million. So ratio of prize money to expense is much the same across auto sports."

Q: Yeah, but he probably has about 70 sponsors between his two cars. We haven't got seven sponsors between 17 cars.

Kalkhoven: "The point is, what attracts people into the series is their ability to get sponsorship. We could double prize money and it would make no difference."

Gentilozzi: "No-one lives off the prize money. GrandAm prize money? I know, because I did it. It cost over a million dollars to do eight races, and our prize money was $35,000. You win a GrandAm race and you get $5000 bucks. That's it. Commercial viability is the answer."

Kalkhoven: "Okay one last round of questions"

Q: What are your three priorities?

Johnson: "Schedule, TV - domestic and international, commercial success (sponsors)."

Q: Will there be a 2008 Champ Car World Series?

Gentilozzi: "What will you do if we don't have one?"

Kalkhoven: "Yes."

Q: Will there be a series sponsor in 2008?

Johnson: "We are working towards that. I am not going to jinx anything, but that's something we have several folks on right now."

Q: Mexico - are we going there? What crowds are we expecting?

Johnson: "We're ending our season there, but I don't know about crowds. I'm going down there at the end of September to check how things are going with them."

Gentilozzi: "The last three years everyone predicted that Mexico is doomed. Then we show up at the track, the straightaway grandstands are full, and we bitch about the traffic leaving. We have no reason to think in any way that we aren't going to have another great event there."

Q: But Mario Dominguez had a ride there.

Gentilozzi: "Yeah, I know - I put him in there. But it's beyond my remit to say who'll be driving for who this November. Maybe there'll be a couple of Mexican drivers on the grid."

Kalkhoven: "Okay, that's it. But I will also add this. The biggest mistake we could have made was not trying to do things and effect changes. Okay, in so doing we'll make a mistake every now and then, but we have to try."

Gentilozzi: "Who do you respect most as race drivers. The guy who drives conservatively and never makes mistakes, or the guy who drives fast, misses the corner once in a while, but gets back on and then sets fastest lap? You've gotta commit. We're committed.

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