RSPORTS
Encyclopedia
RSPORTS was an auto racing
team that competed in the Champ Car World Series
. It was founded officially in 2007 as a technological partnership, but started out originally as two different teams owned by former race car drivers Carl Russo, who owned RuSPORT, and Paul Gentilozzi who founded Rocketsports.
before he gave up his seat to young driver Aaron Justus. Justus and A. J. Allmendinger
were drivers in the team's 2003 Atlantic season, and Allmendinger cruised to the championship with seven victories from 11 starts.
Both RuSPORT and Allmendinger moved up to Champ Car in 2004, and added a second car at the 11th hour for Michel Jourdain Jr. to keep car count at the minimum of 18. Most of the team's resources were stretched and Jourdain and the team parted ways following the season. Justin Wilson was signed as a replacement for 2005.
The 2005 season was the team's breakout year with Wilson scoring two victories and finishing third in the championship. Allmendinger came close to victory, with four runner-up finishes during the season. For 2006 they were expected to be the top challengers to Newman/Haas Racing. Mid-way through the season, the team replaced Allmendinger with 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta
who moved over to the team from Dale Coyne Racing
.
Cristiano da Matta
was injured in a collision with a deer during testing at Road America
on August 3, 2006.
On September 17, 2006, the team announced that it would hold a "shootout" at Sebring Raceway
to determine who would drive the #10 car in the final two races of the season. On October 9, it was revealed that the winner of the shootout was Australian Ryan Briscoe
, who would make his first appearance for the team at his home race, the Lexmark Indy 300
.
. It competes in the Champ Car World Series
and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Series in the Daytona Prototype
class.
Rocketsports was founded in 1985 by racing driver Paul Gentilozzi
to compete in the Trans-Am series. It competed in Trans-Am until 2004, when the championship was cancelled, and achieved 57 outright wins in 20 years. It has also raced in the IMSA
sports car racing championship.
Rocketsports joined Champ Car in 2003 and has often fielded cars for pay driver
s and frequently changes drivers.
co-owner Dan Pettit had purchased the team from Russo.
On January 22, 2007, RuSPORT confirmed the return of Justin Wilson and title sponsor, CDW
. They reportedly signed Wilson to a multi year contract.http://www.rusport.com/news/archives/2007/01 Along with Wilson's return, RuSport announced that they would form a technological partnership with Rocketsports, to be known as RSPORTS. This would involve the signing of Alex Tagliani
to the team's #8 machine. However, success came in the form of the team's only 2007 victory with Wilson in Assen
. Nearing the end of the 2007 season, Petit and Gentilozzi announced that they would be splitting their operations for 2008, but Petit would partner with Gerry Forsythe to form Forsythe/Pettit Racing.
(2007) A. J. Allmendinger
(2004–2006) Cristiano da Matta
(2006) Ryan Briscoe
(2006) Michel Jourdain, Jr.
(2004)
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
team that competed in the Champ Car World Series
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
. It was founded officially in 2007 as a technological partnership, but started out originally as two different teams owned by former race car drivers Carl Russo, who owned RuSPORT, and Paul Gentilozzi who founded Rocketsports.
RuSPORT
Carl Russo drove for the team then known as Performance Development and Racing, or PDR which was owned by Steve Wulff before Russo drove in the Toyota Atlantic SeriesChamp Car Atlantic Championship
The Cooper Tires presents the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda was a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It is often colloquially referred to as the Atlantic Championship, Champ Car Atlantics , Toyota Atlantics , or just Atlantics or Formula...
before he gave up his seat to young driver Aaron Justus. Justus and A. J. Allmendinger
A. J. Allmendinger
Allmendinger again failed to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in 2 attempts , he was replaced by veteran driver Mike Skinner on a temporary basis. Allmendinger returned to the Cup series at Talladega...
were drivers in the team's 2003 Atlantic season, and Allmendinger cruised to the championship with seven victories from 11 starts.
Both RuSPORT and Allmendinger moved up to Champ Car in 2004, and added a second car at the 11th hour for Michel Jourdain Jr. to keep car count at the minimum of 18. Most of the team's resources were stretched and Jourdain and the team parted ways following the season. Justin Wilson was signed as a replacement for 2005.
The 2005 season was the team's breakout year with Wilson scoring two victories and finishing third in the championship. Allmendinger came close to victory, with four runner-up finishes during the season. For 2006 they were expected to be the top challengers to Newman/Haas Racing. Mid-way through the season, the team replaced Allmendinger with 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta is an auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Formula One driver with the Toyota team.-Origins and early career:...
who moved over to the team from Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne Racing
Dale Coyne Racing is a motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. It was founded in 1986 with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton as Payton/Coyne Racing. The team fields the No. 18 Acorn Stairlifts and No...
.
Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta is an auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Formula One driver with the Toyota team.-Origins and early career:...
was injured in a collision with a deer during testing at Road America
Road America
Road America is a road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series , American Le Mans , SCCA Speed World Challenge Series, ASRA, and AMA Superbike series.- Current track and...
on August 3, 2006.
On September 17, 2006, the team announced that it would hold a "shootout" at Sebring Raceway
Sebring Raceway
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility located near Sebring, Florida.Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the United States, its first race being run in 1950...
to determine who would drive the #10 car in the final two races of the season. On October 9, it was revealed that the winner of the shootout was Australian Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe is an Australian auto racing driver who has raced open wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.In addition to his native English, Briscoe speaks Italian and French...
, who would make his first appearance for the team at his home race, the Lexmark Indy 300
Lexmark Indy 300
The Nikon Indy 300 was an open-wheel motor race event that took place at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in south east Queensland, Australia. Known generically as the Gold Coast Indy 300, Japanese camera giant Nikon was announced as new naming rights sponsor in early August 2008...
.
Rocketsports
Rocketsports Racing is a motor racing team from the United States based in East Lansing, MichiganEast Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
. It competes in the Champ Car World Series
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series
Rolex Sports Car Series
The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...
Series in the Daytona Prototype
Daytona Prototype
A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, replacing contemporary open cockpit sports cars, specifically Sports Racing Prototypes...
class.
Rocketsports was founded in 1985 by racing driver Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development, principally developing store sites for big box retailers....
to compete in the Trans-Am series. It competed in Trans-Am until 2004, when the championship was cancelled, and achieved 57 outright wins in 20 years. It has also raced in the IMSA
International Motor Sports Association
The International Motor Sports Association is an American sports car auto racing sanctioning body based in Braselton, Georgia. It was started by John Bishop, a former employee of SCCA , and his wife Peggy in 1969 with help from Bill France, Sr...
sports car racing championship.
Rocketsports joined Champ Car in 2003 and has often fielded cars for pay driver
Pay driver
A pay driver is a driver for a professional auto racing team who, instead of being paid by their car owner, drives for free and brings with him either personal sponsorship or personal or family funding to finance the team's operations...
s and frequently changes drivers.
Merge and disassemble
Towards the end of the 2006 season, Russo announced that he would be bringing his company public, a move that required that he divest himself of his sometimes unprofitable motorsports interests. It was unclear what would happen to the team until it was announced on November 28 that PKV RacingPKV Racing
KV Racing Technology – Lotus is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pollock from the remnants of the PacWest team.The team has...
co-owner Dan Pettit had purchased the team from Russo.
On January 22, 2007, RuSPORT confirmed the return of Justin Wilson and title sponsor, CDW
CDW
CDW Corporation, headquartered in Vernon Hills, Illinois, is a reseller of computer hardware, software and supplies. Along with its warehouse-attached showroom in Illinois, CDW takes orders from its catalog via mail order, telephone and the Internet....
. They reportedly signed Wilson to a multi year contract.http://www.rusport.com/news/archives/2007/01 Along with Wilson's return, RuSport announced that they would form a technological partnership with Rocketsports, to be known as RSPORTS. This would involve the signing of Alex Tagliani
Alex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...
to the team's #8 machine. However, success came in the form of the team's only 2007 victory with Wilson in Assen
TT Circuit Assen
The TT Circuit Assen is a motorsport race track built in 1955 and located in Assen, Netherlands. Host of the Dutch TT race, it is considered "The Cathedral" of motorcycling by the fans...
. Nearing the end of the 2007 season, Petit and Gentilozzi announced that they would be splitting their operations for 2008, but Petit would partner with Gerry Forsythe to form Forsythe/Pettit Racing.
Past Drivers
Justin Wilson (2005–2007) Alex TaglianiAlex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...
(2007) A. J. Allmendinger
A. J. Allmendinger
Allmendinger again failed to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in 2 attempts , he was replaced by veteran driver Mike Skinner on a temporary basis. Allmendinger returned to the Cup series at Talladega...
(2004–2006) Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta is an auto racing driver, winner of the American CART Championship in 2002, and former Formula One driver with the Toyota team.-Origins and early career:...
(2006) Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe is an Australian auto racing driver who has raced open wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.In addition to his native English, Briscoe speaks Italian and French...
(2006) Michel Jourdain, Jr.
Michel Jourdain, Jr.
Michel Jourdain Jr. is an IndyCar driver. Jourdain Jr. started racing cars in the Mexican Formula Junior series at the age of 12. He then moved to the Mexican Formula K and Formula 2 series.-Champ Car:...
(2004)