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2005 MOTOR RACING DRIVERS

• No more Jaguar Racing; sold by parent compnay Ford to Red Bull
• Honda buys 45% of BAR team
• Nick Fry to replace David Richards as CEO of BAR team
• Jordan to be powered by Toyota engine
• Montoya joins McLaren
• Ralf Schumacher joins Toyota
• Trulli joins Toyota
• Fisichella joins Renault
• Webber joins Williams
• Villeneuve returns to F1 with Sauber
• Gene joins Ferrari as a test driver
• Coulthard joins Red Bull racing
  COULTHARD: "... After speaking to team owner Dietrich Mateschitz I was impressed by Red Bull Racing's plans for the future. This is definitely an exciting new team."
• Christijan Albers and Patrick Friesacher join Minardi
• Vitantonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien join Red Bull racing
  F3000 champion Liuzzi will make his F1 debut and share the driving duties with ex Jaguar
  dri ver Christian Klien
  RED BULL "... The two rising stars from the Red Bull Junior Team have signed one-year contracts, with an option in both cases for renewal ... After the tests in January and February, the team management will decide which of the two will join David Coulthard in Melbourne for the first grand-prix race of the new season on March 6."
• Heidfeld joins Williams
  After a long evaluation period comparing Heidfeld and Pizzonia, Williams BMW has picked Nick Heidfeld. He will partner Mark Webber for 2005 season. Heidfeld is a Mercedes-Benz protege who won German F3 and F3000 as well as International F3000 championships. He made his F1 debut in 2000 with Prost/Peugeot team. He drove for Sauber for 3 years before moving to Jordan last season. He is the 3rd German driver in F1 alongside the two Schumacher brothers.

2005 WORLD RALLY DRIVERS / TEAMS

• FORD TO STAY IN WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
• CARLOS SAINZ RETIRES
• MARTIN JOINS PEUGEOT
• GARDEMEISTER JOINS FORD
• DUVAL JOINS CITROEN
• KRESTA JOINS FORD
• SKODA: 3 DRIVERS TO SHARE 1 DRIVE (Janne Tuohino, Jani Paasonen, Alex Bengue)
• ROVANPERA JOINS MITSUBISHI
• SARAZIN JOINS SUBARU
  ".... It's really a very big chance for me. After one year in rallying it's a great opportunity ... This year I pushed a lot to improve myself and I will push the same as this year to improve"
• ATKINSON JOINS SUBARU
  Subaru will have 25 year old Australian Chris Atkinson as its 3rd driver for 2005 season. He joins former world champion Petter Solberg and Stephane Sarrazin.
  SUBARU (D Lapworth): "... I'm confident though that both drivers(Atkinson and Sarazin) have what it takes to be competitive across the board ... Of course it's a high-risk strategy, but it's a fundamental part of Subaru's driver development philosophy. Our objective is to find another Subaru world champion and we'll do all we can to help Chris and Stephane reach that goal ... Chris and Stephane make a very balanced pairing. Chris has demonstrated his impressive pace on gravel but hasn't yet had the opportunity to show what he can do on tarmac, while for Stephane the opposite is true."
  ATKINSON: "... My aim has always been to reach beyond the national championships and to make it on the world stage ... It's been extremely hard work but now I've got the chance. I guess I'm out to prove that an Australian can be fast in Australia and fast in the rest of the world too."

2005 NASCAR DRIVERS / TEAMS

• RUSTY WALLACE TO RETIRE AFTER 2005 SEASON
• MARK MARTIN TO RETIRE AFTER 2005 SEASON
• TERRY LABONTE TO RETIRE AFTER 2005 SEASON
• JOURDAIN JOINS FROM CHAMPCAR
  28 year old Mexican Michel Jourdain Jr. will switch from Champcar to Nascar Busch in 2005. He becomes the first hispanic driver to drive full time in Nascar. He will drive a Ford Taurus for ppc Racing.
  JOURDAIN: "... I wanted to thank everyone who helped me in Champ Car the last nine seasons ... There were so many great crew guys, owners and drivers there. It's hard to leave the series, and I wish them the best, but this was an opportunity that I could not turn down. It's time for another chapter in my career."
  ppc Racing (Greg Pollex, owner): "... Michel's been great ... Our crew guys have already adopted him; he has a good sense of humor and gets along great with his new teammates. We know there's going to be a learning curve for him coming over from open-wheel, but he's got the talent and the right attitude to compete at this level ..."

2005 INDYCAR DRIVERS / TEAMS

• DANICA PATRICK'S DEBUT - WITH RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING
  "... Since I first started racing when I was just 12 years old, my dream has always been to run the Indianapolis 500 ... When I signed with Bobby in 2002 he told me to be patient, because this was a lengthy process designed to advance me to the highest levels of racing. Back then it was easy to say I could be patient, but as a driver you never want to settle to be happy with the status quo. Today all those years of hard work, moving to England at 16, all the sacrifices have paid off, because I am ready to race in the IRL IndyCar Series"
• BRISCOE JOINS GANASSI RACING
  23 year old Australian Ryan Briscoe will make his Indycar debut in 2005. He has been a test driver for Formula 1 Toyota team as well as winning the inaugural F3 Euro championship in 2003.
  BRISCOE: "... I came because of the professionalism of this team. It's a better option for my career and I am one hundred percent convinced I'm going in the right direction ... I am very happy to be in the IndyCar Series and looking forward to racing in the Indianapolis 500."
  CHIP GANASSI: "... We talked with Ryan about four or five years ago and knew he was a talent ... Ryan was at the top of our list ... Ryan has experience in varied open wheel cars, he has testing experience and he's a nice guy. He's also a student of the sport, interested in cars and how they work. He doesn't just get in and work the pedals ...Our team is going to try and get him to the front in IRL"
• RICE & MEIRA TO STAY WITH RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING
  RICE: "... Last year I came to Rahal Letterman as a substitute driver and I had to work on a race-to-race basis. Now I'm fired up for the future with Rahal Letterman Racing. We enjoyed a tremendous 2004 season. The team has a solid partnership with Argent, Pioneer and Honda, and that gives us a foundation to contend for the IRL IndyCar Series championship for years to come. Needless to say, I'm very thankful to Bobby, Dave, the team and the sponsors and I can't wait to get started on the 2005 season."
  MEIRA: "... I am thrilled to continue with Rahal Letterman Racing and to team with Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick ... I am looking forward to having a full off season to test the Honda/G-Force and prepare to run a full season effort. Last year was tough as I was adjusting to a new team and situation while focusing on a race weekend. Even with that extra burden we were still able to enjoy some success. As a team we have high expectations for this season, and I have some high expectations for myself."
• DANA & HEMELGARN'S INDYCAR DEBUT
  2004 Infiniti Pro series runner-up Paul Dana and Hemelgarn Racing will together move up to Indycars in 2005. They will run a single car operation with Dallara Toyota combination. 29 year old Paul Dana will make his Indycar debut while the Hemelgarn team was one of the original teams from IRL.

2005 CHAMPCAR DRIVERS / TEAMS

• DA MATTA RETURNS FROM F1
  2002 Champcar champion Cristiano da Matta will rejoin the Champcar series after 2 years in F1 (Toyota).
  DA MATTA: "... The Champ car is more physical than the F1 car, but the F1 car is difficult on your neck .... With the steel brakes, no power steering and the fact that you have to shift the car you use more of your body than you do in F1. My heart rate in an F1 race ranges from 150-160 beats per minute but in the Champ car it's 160-175bpm ... From a racing standpoint it (Champ Car) is the most competitive series in the world and one that puts a premium on a driver's ability. The decision to join PKV Racing was not a difficult one. I really only talked to three teams and, in the end the best opportunity for me was here."
• WIRDHEIM & BREMER JOIN HVM RACING
  Two scandinavian drivers will make their Champcar debut with HVM Racing team. 25 year old Bjorn Wirdheim from Sweden won the International F3000 championship in 2003. He has tested with several Champcar teams as well as Formula 1 Jaguar team. His team-mate will be 26 year old Ronnie Bremer from Denmark. He competed in Toyota Atlantic Championship in 2003.
  WIRDHEIM: "I've been looking to Champ Car for a long time. This series has been at the top of my list and I look forward to the interesting races on the Champ Car calendar"
  BREMER: "This is a dream come true for me. Champ Car has been a goal of mine since I started racing and I can't wait to get started in Long Beach. I had a very good test with HVM in Sebring and was impressed with their teamwork and communication. The engineering staff is top-notch; I knew this was the team I wanted to drive for."
• 18 YEAR OLD RANGER JOINS MI-JACK CONQUEST
  2004 Atlantic series rookie-of-the-year Andrew Ranger will make his Champcar debut with Mi-Jack Conquest Racing team.
  RANGER: "I've worked hard to get where I am and I'm really pleased to see that my efforts and those of my sponsors that have supported me from the very beginning of my racing career have been rewarded ... I'm extremely grateful to Mr. Bachelart for the confidence he has expressed in me and I intend to prove that he made the right choice in giving me a ride with Mi-Jack Conquest Racing."
  MI-JACK (Bachelart): "I had heard a lot about Andrew and I had been watching him for some time, but I was really struck by his composure and dexterity in handling the car ... This is a very exciting time for MJCR. We have worked extremely hard during the off-season to improve the technical and engineering program, and we feel that we have two very capable drivers in Nelson and Andrew to take full advantage of our technical package. "

2005 DTM DRIVERS / TEAMS

• HAKKINEN'S RETURN FROM RETIREMENT - he joins DTM AMG Mercedes
• McNISH'S DTM DEBUT - he joins DTM Audi
• FINAL SEASON FOR OPEL

2005 WORLD TOURING DRIVERS / TEAMS

• Chevrolet US enters WTCC
• Alain Menu joins Chevrolet
• Nicola Larini joins Chevrolet
• Chinese car maker Brilliance enters WTCC
• Rickard Rydell, Jordi Gene and Peter Terting join Seat

2005 GRAND AMERICAN DRIVERS / TEAMS

• BOBBIE & GOLLIN JOINS DORAN RACING
  Matteo Bobbie and Fabrizio Gollin from FIA GT championship will race for Doran Racing team in US. Bobbie and Gollin are both FIA GT champions (2004 FIA GT co-champion Gollin; 2003 FIA GT champion Bobbi). They drove Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrives with the BMS Scuderia Italia team.
  BOBBIE: "... I'll be taking on this American adventure with great determination, as I know that we can be competitive right from the start ... I am fully aware of the excellent reputation of Kevin Doran's team, therefore, when I had to choose from the offers made to me, the decision I took seemed almost obvious. Racing in a team with Fabrizio (Gollin) is also a dream come true. We have been friends for years and we have always admired and respected each other as rivals. Racing together will give us new stimulus and motivation."
  GOLLIN: "... I am very impressed with how the Daytona Prototype class has grown in the last two years. I'm sure that this will be a big step forward for my career."
  DORAN: "... Both Gollin and Bobbi have solid resumes, and I'm sure they'll be a great addition to the Grand American Rolex Series ... We're looking forward to a competitive 2005 season, and especially the Rolex 24."
• BINGHAM RETURNS TO DAYTONA PROTYPE
  Former 2 times GTS champion Chris Bingham will return with a new Daytona Protype team - C.B. Motorsports. The car will feature Riley MKXI chassis powered by a Lexus 4.3L V8 engine. Drivers will be Hugo Guénette and his father Jacques Sr. Hugo.

2005 V8 SUPERCAR DRIVERS / TEAMS

• STONE BROTHERS TO SUPPLY ENGINE TO 888 RACING
• GLEN SETON JOINS DICK JOHNSON RACING
• LOWNDES JOINS TRIPLE EIGHT RACING
• ELLERY JOINS TRIPLE EIGHT RACING
• MURPHY JOINS PWR RACING
• RADISICH & MORRIS JOINS TEAM KIWI
• BRIGHT TO FORM HIS OWN TEAM
• GREG RITTER JOINS FORD PERFORMANCE RACING
• ANDREW JONES JOINS GARRY ROGERS MOTORSPORTS