AGR Drops Herta and Fittipaldi

AustinMartin · Jun 26, 2008

Was on the ALMS website when I found this

From Americanlemans.com

Marco Andretti will return to the American Le Mans Series prototype ranks at Lime Rock Park in two weeks and team with Formula 1 talent Franck Montagny for Andretti Green Racing, the team announced Thursday. Montagny will make his Series debut at the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix and will be the team's primary driver for the balance of the season in the Acura ARX-01b.

The 21-year-old Andretti was fantastic in his first Series race at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. He drove the first three stints for AGR, partially owned by father Michael, and moved from 12th overall to the lead in the opening two hours, the first time an Andretti led at Sebring since grandfather Mario in 1972. The Acura retired, however, after completing 287 laps due to overheating.

Marco Andretti will rack up the miles during the weekend. He also will compete at the IndyCar Series' Nashville, Tenn., round the same night as the Lime Rock race.

The Andretti name is steeped in sports car lore. Former F1 World Champion Mario Andretti, the patriarch of the family, made six starts at Sebring and won three times. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1972 and made four starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a runner-up finish in 1995. Throughout his stint in sports cars, he drove cars for Ford, Ferrari, Porsche, Courage and Panoz. He also teamed periodically with Michael, his oldest son.

Montagny is coming off a third-place podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Peugeot. The 30-year-old Frenchman has a decorated motorsport history that includes seven Formula 1 starts, all in 2006 with Super Aguri. He also served as a Formula 1 test driver and third driver with Renault and Jordan.

A veteran of six starts at Le Mans, he has been on the overall podium in his three most recent starts - this year with Peugeot, a runner-up finish in 2005 with Pescarolo and fourth in 2004 for ORECA. Montagny is a past champion of the World Series by Nissan with nine victories in 2003 and three in 2002. He also drove for the French A1GP team in the 2007-08 campaign and helped the team to a fourth-place result in the championship.

His most recent race in the US was a runner-up result in the final Champ Car World Series race at Long Beach in April. A variety of drivers will join him in the cockpit of the XM-sponsored Acura for the championship run in the remaining seven rounds of the American Le Mans Series season.

Montagny will help lead Andretti Green in LMP2 against one of the deepest and most competitive classes in the 10-year history of the American Le Mans Series. AGR is battling three other entries from Acura plus the Porsche RS Spyders of Penske Racing and Dyson Racing, along with B-K Motorsports' Mazda-powered Lola.

Andretti Green gave Acura an LMP2 victory in its debut race at Sebring in 2007.
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Andretti Green Racing (AGR) announced today it has signed Franck Montagny to become the primary driver of the #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01b for the remainder of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season, beginning with the next tour stop at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Ct.

Bryan Herta and Christian Fittipaldi handled the driving duties for Andretti Green in the four previous ALMS starts this season along with Marco Andretti, who rounded out the AGR lineup in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.

A variety of drivers will team with Montagny during the final seven ALMS events of 2008 beginning with Marco Andretti, who drives one of Andretti Green's four IndyCar Series machines. Andretti will qualify for the IndyCar Series event on July 11 at Nashville Superspeedway and then travel to Lime Rock for the July 12th running of the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix. Following the ALMS event, he will return to Nashville for the Firestone Indy 200 later that night.

Montagny brings a diverse background to AGR that includes seven Formula 1 starts, all in 2006 with Super Aguri, and stints as a Formula 1 test driver and third driver with Renault, Jordan Toyota. The 30-year old Frenchman owns three top-five finishes in his last three starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including a third-place overall finish earlier this month.

Montagny ran four races for his native France during the 2007-08 A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) season, scoring one top-five finish and helping his team to a fourth-place final ranking. He also has one IndyCar Series start to his credit, having made his debut at Long Beach this past April where he scored a runner-up finish.

Franck Montagny, #26 XM Satellite Radio Acura:
"I'm very excited to join Andretti Green Racing and the XM Acura program. I am looking forward to working with the team in the very near future and hoping to get off to a good start at Lime Rock. I know how competitive the American Le Mans Series is and know how challenging this will be, but I believe I am ready for it. I am eager to get started."

Michael Andretti, co-owner, Andretti Green Racing:
"We're looking forward to seeing what Franck can do in the XM Acura. He's got a lot of experience in different types of cars, including prototypes, and that should help him adjust pretty quickly to what we're doing here.

"Making a change in the middle of the season isn't something you enjoy, and I think it's even tougher in this case because we're talking about Bryan and Christian. Bryan has done everything we've ever asked him to do since he joined Andretti Green in 2003, including helping us win the 12 Hours of Sebring in our first American Le Mans Series start last year. Christian joined us this year and wanted to win as badly as we did. We will always appreciate the effort that both Bryan and Christian gave to the team."
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I personally met Herta and Fittipaldi, and they were both awesome guys. Really sad to see them go.

GuyIncognito · Jun 26, 2008

can't really see how this is an upgrade (although I suspect he's making a fraction what Herta and Christian were)

maxorido · Jun 26, 2008

Herta and Fitipaldi have had long and successful careers, so I don't feel sorry for them. I think Montagny is underrated as a driver. He was close to getting a Forsythe seat in Champcars until the series was absorbed. I remember seeing him testing at Sebring, and him outpacing Tracy easily.

ZUL8TR · Jun 27, 2008

It doesn't matter how fast you get the car to front if you drive it to death and it has nothing left to cross the finish line. Patience Grasshopper, its endurance.

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AGR Drops Herta and Fittipaldi

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AGR Drops Herta and Fittipaldi

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maxorido Formula 3

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GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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