What Forsythe wants is Lola

By Flagworld (Auto123.com),

Sunday, December 01, 2002

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More surprises in stock from Gerald Forsythe

source: CART.com - John Oreovicz

Paul Tracy's move from Team Green to Player's/Forsythe Racing was one of the worst-kept secrets of the 2002 Champ Car season.

But the Indianapolis-based team did manage to keep one tidbit under wraps until recently--its impending switch from Reynard to Lola chassis.

Player's/Forsythe was one of only three teams that chose to stick with the Reynard in 2002 after chassis constructor Reynard Motorsport went into liquidation (the British equivalent of bankruptcy) in April. Of course, Player's/Forsythe had a secret weapon that Walker Racing and Visteon/Patrick Racing (the other Reynard stalwarts) could not count on--P/F Technical Director Bruce Ashmore served in the same capacity from 1994 to 2000 for Reynard's North American sales and service outlet. As such, Ashmore worked closely with the car's designer Malcolm Oastler to develop the car as well as help all Reynard teams implement upgrades as they became available.

Perhaps Ashmore saw the writing on the wall for Reynard when he took the Player's/Forsythe job. But the career change has suited him well. The Player's Reynards were modified considerably compared to the "standard" cars run by Walker and Patrick, and they were consistently quicker. Patrick Carpentier earned two race wins in 2002 and finished third in the CART standings, while Alex Tagliani notched a pair of podiums and finished a career-best eighth in the points chase.