SpeedWire News - 98-01-10

SpeedWire http://come.to/speedwire http://www.marquesofdistinction.com/speedwire/ 10 January 1998 News by John Klender NEXT WEEK AT BUSY ONE AT JEREZ Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams are among the teams who have already announced their ...

SpeedWire http://come.to/speedwire http://www.marquesofdistinction.com/speedwire/

10 January 1998 News by John Klender

NEXT WEEK AT BUSY ONE AT JEREZ

Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams are among the teams who have already announced their intentions to test next week at the Jerez circuit in Spain.

Ferrari have had a change of plans, as Jean Todt has decided not to bring the new F300 to Jerez. Michael Schumacher will remain with the car at Fiorano all next week. Meanwhile, Todt has decided to send Eddie Irvine to Spain to test grooved tires on the 1997 car.

McLaren will be conducting Bridgestone tire tests, with both Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard in attendance.

Williams will be in full force, with Jacques Villeneuve, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and new test driver Juan Pablo Montoya coming along to test the modified 1997 car. Work on their 1998 chassis will not be complete until later this month.

ZAKSPEED TO RUN CUSTOMER PORSCHES IN FIA GT

An announcement is expected this week that Porsche will furnish Zakspeed with customer 911 GT1 chassis for the 1998 FIA GT Global Endurance Championship.

Drivers rumored to be linked to the team are Jorg Muller, Vincenzo Sospiri, and Uwe Alzen.

TOYOTA OPTIMISTIC FOR 1998 WRC

Toyota unveiled it's 1998 World Rally Championship challenger January 8th at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham, England. The team is very optimistic that the new Toyota Corolla will be competitive and challenge for this year's championship. The manufacturer's attack will be spearheaded by ace veterans Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz, who makes the move from Ford.

The opening round of the rally season begins January 19th with the opening stage of the Rally Monte Carlo.

BIAGGI MAKES THE MOVE TO 500CC

Popular Italian motorbike racer Max Biaggi will compete in the FIM 500cc class next season with, it will be announced on Monday at a press conference in Rome. He will remain with Team Kanemoto, running a Honda NSR cycle.

AUSTRALIAN TOURING NEWS

Jim Richards' new 'works' Volvo S40 for 1998, being built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing in England, will undergo it's first track test on January 20. The car is likely to be driven by BTCC driver Rickard Rydell, under the supervision of Volva Racing Australia's team manager George Shepheard and engineer Donald Kingston. The car will then be shipped to Australia, where Jim Richards will test it some time in February.

Elsewhere, the Greenfield Mowers-Redex Racing Team has purchased last year's championship winning car, Paul Morris' BMW 320I, to be raced by Cameron McLean in this year's championship.

CURRENT SCHEDULE OF FORMULA ONE LAUNCHES

TEAM                           CAR      DATE      LOCATION
Ferrari                       F300     7 Jan      Maranello, Italy
Stewart-Ford                  SF2      13 Jan     Essex, England
Benetton-Mecachrome                  B198     15 Jan     TBA
Jordan-Mugen Honda            198      19 Jan     London, England
Prost-Peugeot                 AP01     20 Jan     Barcelona, Spain
Tyrrell-Ford                  026      21 Jan     Chelseas, England
Sauber-Petronas               C17      21 Jan     Vienna, Austria
Williams-Mecachrome           FW20     TBA*       TBA
Arrows-Hart                   A19      TBA**      TBA
Minardi-Ford                  M 198    TBA        TBA
McLaren-Mercedes              MP4/13   TBA        TBA