[indybail]

The big holdup will be Honda giving BC an engine. Let Honda know you want to see him out there.

[rj1]

Originally Posted by openwheelKT DRR is usually good for 3 or 4 entries at Indy.

I think they're just doing Servia. Did Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl run into money trouble in the offseason? They were always a competent mid-level team, and you see Wilson left them to go back to Dale Coyne of all people.

I think they will get to 33 somehow.

I too think they'll get to 33.

Lotus doesn't make sense to me. I can't keep track of who owns/runs what with the name. A couple of years ago, two F1 teams fought over the use of the name. I don't really understand how Lotus is run and who can use the name.

Talking to a friend once that followed these things closer than I did, what effectively happened was when Colin Chapman's family sold the Lotus namebrand after his death, Lotus the car company and Lotus the race team brand name went to different people. What was once Renault and is running as Lotus this year in F1 were Lotus the car company (owned by Malaysian carmaker Proton). What was once Lotus and is now Caterham (a boutique British sportscar manufacturer) was a guy named Fernandes that got Lotus the race team brand name rights. Fernandes effectively gave up the battle by letting Proton have Lotus in racing in exchange for partial ownership of the Malaysian national airline according to Formula One blogger Joe Saward. I believe the person behind Lotus in Indycar is not Fernandes but instead a Proton person, but I think the legal battle has affected long-term commitment.

The Lotus engine in Indycar is built by engine builder John Judd. I believe the new rules require a marque on the engine so he's not allowed to build engines as just "Judd" and I doubt he would anyway due to the expense of running without a badge. I hope they can stay. The more people in the sport the better, but the whole thing does have the feel of something that's overextended.

[Vukie]

Originally Posted by openwheelKT That's pretty much the breakdown I see/hear. I'm not sure any Lotus teams will be able to add a car because of engine supply. They supply 5 now and I've read that they will do 6 (which will go to Alesi). DRR is usually good for 3 or 4 entries at Indy, but I don't think they will be able to do that this year based on what you hear. Maybe something will change. Davey Hamilton said his team will do 1 extra car (maybe 2). I think they will get to 33 somehow. I just don't see it going much past that this year. Lotus hasn't delivered their 33% of the field so it's good Chevy and Honda have already stepped up. Not much you can do. Those companies owe it to their orginal teams to not over-extend too much for Indy. Lotus doesn't make sense to me. I can't keep track of who owns/runs what with the name. A couple of years ago, two F1 teams fought over the use of the name. I don't really understand how Lotus is run and who can use the name. With the way things are run, I wouldn't feel too comfortable with their engine in my car for years to come. Far cry from what Colin Chapman started.

I forgot about the Schmidt/Hamilton car, Townsend Bell might in that one.