Team St George to have bright future?

The level of interest in the All-England team to run in the CART FedEx series race at Rockingham on September 13/14, has been so great that Team St. George may continue into the 2003 season.

"We've been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of sponsors and drivers alike" said David Grace, CEO of Rockingham. "We've had a number calls from additional drivers and some seriously impressive sponsors. Some of these have said that they can't put a deal together at this short notice, but they have a lot of enthusiasm for continuing this initiative into the 2003 season."

Team St. George has received a further boost, with the acquisition of the former Sigma Motorsport Lola Cosworth, which finished in third place at this year's CART race at Milwaukee. "We've got a car which we know can run at the front at Rockingham" said Bob Berridge of Oval Racing Management, which is co-ordinating the project. "It's currently being prepared at Dale Coyne's workshop in Chicago, then it'll be flown over to Ray Mallock's team to start a test programme at the end of August."

In addition to Johnny Herbert and potential ASCAR graduates Darren Manning and Darren Turner, additional drivers linked with team St. George include the Devonshire former Indy Lights racer Ben Collins and former CART racer turned television pundit Mark Blundell.

"The new car will give the team a chance to be genuinely competitive at Rockingham. I'd love to have a crack at it" said Blundell. "I'm trying to
balance it with my other commitments, but even if I can't manage this year's race, I'll certainly be keen to have a full involvement next year".

Team St. George though, won't be making an early decision on the driver. "We've been amazed by the response" said Berridge. "The team is catching everybody's imagination and we've got the chance to choose between two of England's most experienced names, or go for a talented young charger. Whoever we choose, Team St. George has fired up British motor racing."