Post by daSilva on Dec 5, 2002 19:35:36 GMT -5
Takagi switches to the IRL
Former F1 driver Tora Takagi will compete in the IRL championship in 2003, the Japanese driver opting to switch to the series with the Mo Nunn Racing team to join their lineup alongside Felipe Giaffone. The team will use Panoz G-Force chassis and Firestone tyres and in addition, it was announced that Pioneer Electronics would continue its sponsorship of the squad for a third consecutive year. Pioneer will become the primary sponsor of Takagi's car in the IRL, continuing an affiliation that also started in 2001 and will be joined by associate sponsor Denso.
Takagi, the 28-year-old driver who campaigned a Pioneer-sponsored Toyota on the CART circuit the past two seasons, will enter his first year in the IRL with a team that, in its inaugural year of IRL competition, finished fourth in the championship, third at the Indy 500 and recorded 12 top-seven finishes, including a win at Kentucky.
"It is truly a privilege and an honor to continue my relationship with Pioneer and Toyota, and I am very excited to be joining Mo Nunn Racing in 2003," said Takagi, who recorded 11 top-10 finishes the past two seasons with CART career-bests of fourth place on the mile oval at Chicago in 2002 and on the streets of Houston in 2001. "The team was only in its first season on the IRL this year, but right away it was fighting for the championship with its amazing consistency. I think it is a great place to be as I start my third year of racing in America. And I'm really looking forward to racing in the Indy 500 in May."
After rising through the Formula Nippon Series and Japanese Formula 3 ranks, Takagi became a test driver for the Tyrrell F1 team in 1997, assumed one of its driving positions in 1998, then joined the Arrows F1 team in 1999. He drove to top-10 finishes four times in those two F1 seasons. Takagi then switched to the Formula Nippon Series in 2000, winning eight of 10 races on his way to the series title before joining Walker Racing's CART effort in 2001 and 2002.
"We are looking forward to providing Tora with the resources and environment necessary to compete at this level," said Morris Nunn. "A lot of people were surprised at how Felipe (Giaffone) excelled in our program, but I can tell you we were not. We knew Felipe could achieve the kind of results he did this year and we feel very much the same way in our evaluation of Tora and his potential. I am very pleased that Pioneer has elected to continue their sponsorship of our team. They are one sponsor that really gets behind their program and their ongoing support of our team is a real plus."
Mo Nunn Racing, based in Indianapolis, was formed in December of 1999. Nunn is one of the best-known and most successful engineers in Indy car racing history. While serving as chief engineer for Alex Zanardi in 1996, 1997 and 1998, he helped guide Zanardi to Rookie of the Year honors (1996) and back-to-back CART championships (1997- 98). In 1999, Nunn teamed with current Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya to win that year's CART title. Nunn also guided Emerson Fittipaldi to an Indy car championship and an Indy 500 victory in 1989. The 16-event Indy Racing League schedule for 2003 opens March 2 at Homestead, Fla.
Former F1 driver Tora Takagi will compete in the IRL championship in 2003, the Japanese driver opting to switch to the series with the Mo Nunn Racing team to join their lineup alongside Felipe Giaffone. The team will use Panoz G-Force chassis and Firestone tyres and in addition, it was announced that Pioneer Electronics would continue its sponsorship of the squad for a third consecutive year. Pioneer will become the primary sponsor of Takagi's car in the IRL, continuing an affiliation that also started in 2001 and will be joined by associate sponsor Denso.
Takagi, the 28-year-old driver who campaigned a Pioneer-sponsored Toyota on the CART circuit the past two seasons, will enter his first year in the IRL with a team that, in its inaugural year of IRL competition, finished fourth in the championship, third at the Indy 500 and recorded 12 top-seven finishes, including a win at Kentucky.
"It is truly a privilege and an honor to continue my relationship with Pioneer and Toyota, and I am very excited to be joining Mo Nunn Racing in 2003," said Takagi, who recorded 11 top-10 finishes the past two seasons with CART career-bests of fourth place on the mile oval at Chicago in 2002 and on the streets of Houston in 2001. "The team was only in its first season on the IRL this year, but right away it was fighting for the championship with its amazing consistency. I think it is a great place to be as I start my third year of racing in America. And I'm really looking forward to racing in the Indy 500 in May."
After rising through the Formula Nippon Series and Japanese Formula 3 ranks, Takagi became a test driver for the Tyrrell F1 team in 1997, assumed one of its driving positions in 1998, then joined the Arrows F1 team in 1999. He drove to top-10 finishes four times in those two F1 seasons. Takagi then switched to the Formula Nippon Series in 2000, winning eight of 10 races on his way to the series title before joining Walker Racing's CART effort in 2001 and 2002.
"We are looking forward to providing Tora with the resources and environment necessary to compete at this level," said Morris Nunn. "A lot of people were surprised at how Felipe (Giaffone) excelled in our program, but I can tell you we were not. We knew Felipe could achieve the kind of results he did this year and we feel very much the same way in our evaluation of Tora and his potential. I am very pleased that Pioneer has elected to continue their sponsorship of our team. They are one sponsor that really gets behind their program and their ongoing support of our team is a real plus."
Mo Nunn Racing, based in Indianapolis, was formed in December of 1999. Nunn is one of the best-known and most successful engineers in Indy car racing history. While serving as chief engineer for Alex Zanardi in 1996, 1997 and 1998, he helped guide Zanardi to Rookie of the Year honors (1996) and back-to-back CART championships (1997- 98). In 1999, Nunn teamed with current Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya to win that year's CART title. Nunn also guided Emerson Fittipaldi to an Indy car championship and an Indy 500 victory in 1989. The 16-event Indy Racing League schedule for 2003 opens March 2 at Homestead, Fla.
