Team PRG close to finalising plans.

Team PRG will enter its second year of competition in 2001, headed by veteran general manager/owner Andreas Leberle and ex-Formula One and Champcar owner/driver Christian Danner.

The team has already announced its intention to continue with Brazilian Luiz Garcia Jr, and is reported to now be in the final stages of sponsorship negotiations to field a second entry for German Michael Krumm.

Krumm drove in the Japanese Formula Nippon Championship last season, finishing second to new Walker Racing driver Tora Takagi. Twice a competitor in the Le Mans 24 Hours - in 1998 and '99 - and the 1997 Japanese GT Champion, co-driving with current F1 pilot Pedro de la Rosa, the German has made quiet progress up the racing ladder, and now appears poised to break into the big time. His arrival on the Champcar scene coincides with CART's enlarged exposure in Germany, prompted largely by the decision to host a round of the FedEx series at the new Lausitzring facility close to Berlin.

Both of Team PRG's cars will be Ilmor-powered Reynards. Ilmor most recently built the Mercedes-Benz Champcar power plant, and has agreed to continue providing the team with updated engines, despite the German company's decision to quit the category to concentrate on F1 and DTM touring cars. The cars themselves will be 2000-spec Reynards updated to 2001 specification, while two additional cars will be on hand prior to the first race.

The team's first test is scheduled for Sebring in late January, and it will be adding several test days throughout February to catch up with those rivals that have been testing since before Christmas.

Mike Wright will return as race engineer, and last season's chief mechanic Garnet Beeput will serve the role of crew chief/team manager to replace Barry Brooke. More personnel announcements are expected later this month.

Team PRG is expected to confirm its 2001 programme and sponsors at this week's 'Sneak Preview' at Fontana, but Krumm's car, should it be finalised, is expected to carry the colours of German technology company Infineon, which also announced a deal to back the Jordan F1 team this week. The company also supported Audi's ALMS campaign in 2000.