New power generation for Panoz G-Force.

IRL IndyCar Series chassis manufacturer Panoz G-Force has set its sights firmly on a championship title and an Indy 500 victory for 2003 after putting in the hours creating what it believes is the best new generation car on the grid.

The new Panoz G-Force GF09 is the third generation of IndyCar Series chassis to be built by the American-owned manufacturer - the past two cars tasting success at the Indy 500 with Arie Luyendyk in 1997 and Juan Montoya in 2000. The new car will be used by two-car outfits Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Mo Nunn Racing and AJ Foyt Enterprises. Additional teams are expected the join forces with the Braselton, Georgia-based constructor.

"We have put double the man hours, double the wind tunnel time and double the resources into building our new car, and the initial indication from testing so far is that things have gone very well," Elan Motorsports Technologies/Panoz G-Force CEO David Bowes said, "Obviously, our target is to win both the championship and the Indy 500 - that is a tough job to achieve, but everybody believes we have to aim high.

"However, we certainly never underestimate the opposition. They will have also improved their product and we have a new rival this year as well. Competition amongst the constructors is very good for the sport."

After a strong showing at last year's Indy 500, Mo Nunn Racing's Felipe Giaffone is confident the new GF09 will again provide him with a strong chance of victory in 2003.

"Overall, I think the G-Force helped give us a very solid combination last year," the Brazilian said, "We were able to be consistent all through the season, even though there were some tracks where we weren't very competitive in terms of overall speed and for qualifying. That could probably be attributed to the fact that the car last year generated a little too much downforce for the big tracks. But the good thing is they listened to us and came back with a car for this year that I think should be very competitive everywhere we go.

"My first impression, especially with our new Toyota engine - which I think is very, very strong right out of the box - is that we will be even happier with our choice of the Panoz G-Force chassis for 2003."

One of the original chassis suppliers of the Indy Racing League, this third generation of G-Force chassis and the first to be known as a Panoz G-Force, underlining the involvement of the respected sportscar constructor in the partnership.