MotorSport Magazine wrote:Venturi enter technical partnership with rookies Euromotor
With the off-season silliness, amidst these the most notable is the two new teams; Eric Vincent Racing and Euromotor International. Venturi, knowing the struggle of small teams, have entered a technical partnership with the latter, with the main benefits of a significant access of data for Venturi's 2018 machine.
"We are very pleased with this partnership" said Venturi principal Samuel de Sauveterre. "We are hoping that this will benefit the both of us."
Euromotor have chosen to use Goodyear rubber, as well as an Audi engine, to pair the chassis. The drivers were confirmed to be Dun Lon, who comes off from a sabbatical due to pregnancy, and Takuma Taki, a Japanese driver with experience in second-tier series.
The other rookies, Eric Vincent Racing, have announced their brand new chassis, the FA.2, as well as a semi-works supply deal with Daihatsu powerplants. The drivers for Vincent's squad are Hansuke Shioya and Danny van Rijkens.
MotorSport Magazine wrote:Our fallen comrades; the teams that wound up in 2018/19
Following a rather hectic 2018 season, a lot of teams have either wound up, withdrawn or just flat out changed during the off-season. The teams are:
Equipe Gauthier were the first ones to fall. The main issue was caused by lack of money, which hampered the perfomance of many of their other outfits. In the end, Gauthier had to pull out of ARWS in order to not go further into debt, and despite their early pull, they still managed a fine 10th place in the WCC.
In the same round, Revolution Engineering was merged with Kamaha Motorsports, after it was clear Revolution couldn't be as competitive. Revolution and Kamaha have a long and stable relationship, and so we hope they can get along well in the future.
A few rounds later, the Tassie Racing fiasco came to a halt. Following incompetent managing, questionable driving choices, poor equipment, abysmal in-track perfomance, and a sexual scandal involving former driver Tomo Kazama, Tassie's slow degradation was an enternaiment for most of the paddock as the team imploded in on itself in every round.
After some no-shows, Rosenforth Engineering was kicked out of the series. It is unknown what the exact reason for the withdrawal is, but their team was struggling severely, and it was clear that no improvement was on the horizon. Maybe lack of patience?
Lastly, Fusion Motorsports when through changes, when Lotto Racing took control of the outfit. It is unknown what the exact sum it was sold to, but it must have been pretty high. Lotto, who somehow has a lot of teams in various categories and isn't bleeding money, is now on ARWS via the easy way. However, the questionable Badu will raise some eyebrows in the paddock, as this could just be another repeat of 2018 in that regard. Also, Kjellerup have catched up signficantly and have a far better line-up and package, so maybe it won't be for Lotto?.
MotorSport Magazine wrote:Bridgestone sign works contract with Venturi
Bridgestone, after fearing that it would lose all customers on the off-season, Venturi have jumped in and signed a contract with the manufacturer.
"The tyres Bridgestone are making are a perfect fit with what we are trying to do with the V-500, a very good wet-weather tyre is what we need right now." said a spokeperson for Venturi. "We are looking forward for a long-lasting partnership."
Bridgestone have decided to go for a tyre that has a lot of grip in the wet, without losing too much in other grounds, as well as being a low-deg tyre.
arwsfanatic.co.uk wrote:Lomas to use Great Walls?
After a RLR higher-up was seen near Great Wall's ARWS departement in Shanghai, it has been rumored that RLR, with a shoestring budget, will have to use Great Wall engines, which are known for their very cheap price. That being said, it's not all doom and gloom; their team might be able to make a decent amount of money to bounce back in 2020 and maybe pose a threat in the front in 2021.
On the tyre front, the team has also been in the Goodride headquarters. Goodride's tyres are quite cheap and bad, but they do have a good wet weather perfomance. Maybe they could bounce back, but it will not be the year they wanted for RLR.
La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote:Venturi to switch partnership?
With the recent downscaling of Venturi, from many operations to just ARWS, many are wondering if the team might change partnership. Indeed, as Venturi Automobiles brand deal is only good until the end of 2020, we might see some changes in 2021. If a recieving fund in Venturi's bank account if anything to go by, the team could change partnership in 2021.
It is unknown who dropped the fund, but it was acredited from a bank account somewhere in Norway. We haven't been able to get the precise details, but we know for a fact something is up here.
Another interesting fact is that Venturi's car, which underwent private testing at Le Grand Sambuc in early February, was seen with Statoil petroleum, a Norwegian fuel supplier. Needless to say, the pieces are starting to come together of a Norwegian ARWS team. Many have speculated the reason, but one of the biggest was the inclusion of the Scandinavian GP held at the Norwegian As Fartway.
