Van Diemen to help develop Reynard CART chassis.

Walker Racing LLC, the company that Derrick Walker established last year to continue the supply and support for the Reynard Champ Car program, has announced that it has entered into an agreement with British constructors Van Diemen to continue development of the chassis for the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Van Diemen Racing International Racing Service Ltd is based at the Snetterton circuit in South East England and will work on the few updates the Reynard chassis is allowed during the current chassis 'Grandfathering' period. Van Diemen have long been one of the most prolific suppliers of customer chassis in junior formulae in addition to running a factory team in Formula Ford for many years.

"We are pleased to have additional support from Van Diemen to focus exclusively on areas of development under the current rules and of course on the much-needed future development of the 2004 update packages," said Derrick Walker, president of Walker Racing, which runs Briton Darren Manning in this year's Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford.

"We are delighted that our group will be able to offer development and manufacturing support to the teams competing with the Reynard chassis in the Champ Car World Series and we are particularly pleased to be entering into partnership with Derrick Walker on this project," said Ralph Firman, Chairman of Van Diemen and father of current Jordan Formula One pilot Ralph Firman Jr.

Keeping its close ties to Briton, Scottish born Walker also announced the renewal of his team's agreement with Oxford Racing Developments (ORD) to continue to supply technical support and manufacture current car parts.

"Since the unfortunate closing of Reynard and Reynard North America last year, we have been able to subcontract the production of Reynard parts needs through Simon Dowson and the employees at Oxford Racing Developments in the UK," Walker said. "We are pleased to say this relationship will continue and the teams running Reynards will benefit from the combined efforts of Van Diemen and ORD."

"ORD is very pleased to remain involved in the Champ Car program with Walker Racing LLC," said Simon Dowson, ORD's managing director. "With the resources of all the teams running the Reynard coming together and the combination of LLC, ORD and Van Diemen, the package looks in a strong position going forward."

As Van Diemen begins this venture, it marks the company's initial involvement in the Champ Car World Series.

"We enthusiastically welcome Van Diemen to Champ Car," said Champ Car Vice President of Racing Operations John Lopes. "Van Diemen delivers a deep pool of talented engineers and experience as a chassis constructor to the Champ Car paddock and we are pleased that the Reynard chassis and our teams will benefit from these resources, particularly for aerodynamic development."

Walker Racing LLC will supply six drivers with the Reynard chassis for the 2003 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford including Walker Racing rookies Rodolfo Lavin and Darren Manning, Conquest Racing's Mario Haberfeld, Fittipaldi-Dingman Racing's Tiago Monteiro, and America Spirit Team Johansson's Jimmy Vasser and Ryan Hunter-Reay.