Champ Car's pre-season grapevine took an unexpected twist on the eve of the final group test at Laguna Seca, with whispers that series regulars RuSPORT and Rocketsports are to merge their operations for 2007. source: crash.net While the traditional Spring Training session was expected to contain a flurry of announcements, mainly about drivers, the potential loss of at least one seat will be a move in the wrong direction as Champ Car tries to maintain its momentum with the new Panoz DP01. Although unconfirmed by either team, Crash.net has learned that RuSPORT, now under the control of erstwhile PKV co-owner Dan Pettit, will join forces with Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports operation, taking the already confirmed Justin Wilson into possible tandem with Rocketsports favourite Alex Tagliani. Although the French-Canadian has yet to ink a deal with Gentilozzi, he has run every day of testing since the Panoz was unleashed at Sebring in January. RuSPORT has tested a succession of drivers in the two tests so far this year, including seasoned CCWS veterans Mario Dominguez and Oriol Servia, but it remains unclear whether either will have a shot at the vacancy created by the rumoured merger. Servia already appears to have missed out on a return to PKV, with Tristan Gommendy rumoured to be partnering Neel Jani in an all-new line-up. Although Rocketsports was expected to run just a single entry, the loss of the second RuSPORT seat will cause further ripples in the driver market, where a lot of drivers continue to chase deals for the coming season. The news, should it be confirmed this weekend, will also dent Champ Car's hopes of expanding its field, which it hoped the introduction of the new Panoz chassis would achieve. Already, proposed new entry Gelles has failed to show for testing, while talk of proposed third cars at PKV and Minardi Team USA has gone quiet of late. Forsythe Championship Racing has already hinted that it will run a single car for Paul Tracy, although rumours continue to suggest that it would enter a second should a sufficiently-funded team-mate appear.
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