About KV Racing Technology

PK Racing was founded in January of 2003 in Indianapolis, Indiana by Kevin Kalkhoven. The team made its on-track debut at the Champ Car World Series Spring Training in Sebring, Florida on February 4, 2003 with former BAR Formula One test driver Patrick Lemarie of France behind the wheel of the #27 PK Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone machine.

PK Racing’s inaugural season saw the team go through some growing pains as they employed four drivers in search of the right combination. However, led by Team Manager Russell Cameron, by the end of that first season the final results were solid. The team started all 18 races earning eight top-10 finishes including three top-five showings and one podium performance.

Lemarie started the first six races. He earned PK Racing’s first top-10 finish and recorded its first three championship points with a 10th place showing in the team’s first Champ Car race at the season opening event in St. Petersburg, Florida. Lemarie followed up with another top-10 performance placing 10th in the next race at Monterrey, Mexico. American Bryan Herta campaigned the PK Racing entry in the seventh race of the season at Laguna Seca finishing 11th. After which Champ Car veteran Max Papis of Italy was tapped to drive. Papis ran seven events scoring four top-10 finishes including the team’s first top-five finish, a fourth-place showing at Road America (placed ninth at Vancouver, Mid-Ohio and Montreal).

Following the Montreal race former Ferrari Formula 1 star Mika Salo of Finland took the reins of the PK Racing entry for the remainder of the 2003 season. In four starts Salo delivered two top-five finishes including PK Racing’s first podium when he placed third in the Grand Prix Americas in Miami. The third place performance made Salo the first driver since Nigel Mansell in 1993 to record a podium finish in one of his first two starts in the series. The Miami race was also the first time a PK Racing driver topped the leader board as Salo led six laps. In his next start, the third with the team, Salo placed fifth at Mexico City. At the season finale in Australia (the Fontana race was cancelled due to a fire) Salo matched PK Racing’s best qualifying effort starting 10th (Lemarie started 10th at EuroSpeedway in Germany).

In the season ending championship standings Salo took home team honors placing a team high 16th in the standings scoring 26 points in just four starts. Papis was 17th with 25 points in seven starts with Lemarie 21st, eight points in six starts and Herta, 25th, two points, one start.

Heading into 2004 the team was renamed PKV Racing and expanded to a two-car effort with Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 Series Champion, joining the team in the dual roles of co-owner and driver. Mexican rookie Roberto Gonzalez was also signed to drive the other PKV Racing machine.

In their second season PKV Racing continued to improve on the track, while off the track Gulfstream became the title sponsor of the #12 Gulfstream/PKV Racing entry piloted by Vasser. Running the same drivers for the full season the team posted solid finishes almost immediately. Gonzalez notched the first top-10 finish of the season in the second race placing ninth in his native Mexico at the Monterrey Grand Prix. Vasser followed with the team’s fourth ever top-five finish placing fourth at Milwaukee. In the fourth race of the season both drivers finished in the top-10 for the first time in team history with Vasser placing eighth and Gonzalez 10th. They repeated the feat a week later in Cleveland, Vasser taking his second top-five finish of the season, a fifth place performance, and Gonzalez finishing a career high seventh. Vasser continued to move up in the standings with three more top-10 finishes placing second at Toronto, 10th at Vancouver and eighth at Road America. The second place showing was the team’s second podium. Both drivers placed in the top-10 at Montreal and Las Vegas for the third and fourth time with Vasser setting a then team record by qualifying second on the oval in Vegas. At the finale in Mexico City, Vasser once again cracked the top-five placing fifth.

In 28 starts in 2004, 14 for each driver, PKV Racing scored 14 top-10 finishes including five top-five showings and one podium. Vasser, who established a new Series record for consecutive starts concluding the season with 197, notched nine of the teams top-10 finishes including all five of the top-five

placements, a team record, and the podium. He set or tied the then team records in every category including best finish (second Toronto), most podiums (tie with one), most top-five finishes (five), most top-10 finishes (nine), most consecutive top-10 finishes (six) and best qualifying position (second Las Vegas). In addition, he gave the team its first top-10 showing in the championship standings by placing eighth with 201 points. Gonzalez finished 15th in the championship standings with 136 points on the strength of five top-10 finishes including his Champ Car career best seventh place showing in Cleveland.

Following 2004 PKV Racing went through an off-season of change. Racing legend Jim McGee was brought on board to be General Manager of the team. Working from the solid foundation established by former Team Manager Russell Cameron, McGee immediately went about the process of building a team that would compete for race wins. One of his first major moves was the signing of 2002 Series Champion Cristiano da Matta to drive the #21 Bell Micro/PKV Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone car, which was sponsored by another new addition, Bell Micro Products. Vasser, who for the second season was behind the wheel of the #12 Gulfstream/PKV Racing Ford-Cosworth/Lola/Bridgestone machine, teamed with da Matta to form a formidable lineup.

With two former champions piloting the PKV Racing entries, the team went on to tie or establish a number of team records in route to the best season in its history. Among the records: Vasser earned the team’s highest season ending finish, placing sixth with 217 points; da Matta scored the team’s first victory winning in Portland (round #4), while Vasser earned the team’s first pole in round #3 at Milwaukee. The two drivers combined to set team records for best combined qualifying, first and fourth at Milwaukee and best combined finish, first and sixth at Portland. They also established team records by both qualifying in the top-five, a team record twice (Milwaukee and Las Vegas, Vasser – third, da Matta – fourth) and in the top-10 in 11 races (in 13 attempts); including a team record six consecutive races. Da Matta and Vasser finished in the top-10 in the same race three times (eighth/10th at Long Beach; first/sixth, Portland and sixth/seventh, Montreal) and at least one of them placed in the top-six in nine of the 13 events including five consecutive races, the last two also team records. In 26 total starts in 2005, the duo combined to tie team records by earning 14 top-10 finishes, five top-five finishes and set a team record with three podium performances (da Matta’s win in Portland and back-to-back third place performances by Vasser in Las Vegas and Australia).

Individually, Vasser, who extended his consecutive start streak to 210, tied his own team record for most top-10 finishes with nine, including four top-five showings and a team record two podiums (thirds in Las Vegas and Australia). He qualified in the top-10 in a team record 12 consecutive races and in a team record 12 of the 13 events. His sixth place finish in the championship standings was the ninth time in the last 11 years that Vasser placed in the top-10. Da Matta finished in the top-10 five times including the team’s first victory. He also qualified in the top-10 in 12 of the 13 events, tying Vasser for the team record, and set records with six top-five starting spots including a team record four starts in the first two rows. Da Matta placed 11th in the standings with 139 points.

The 2006 season saw further change. Veteran motorsports manager Mark Johnson took over from McGee, who stepped aside early in the season, in Toronto (the sixth race of the season) and immediately went about the process of shaping a competitive team. Johnson, who has a long history of success in motorsports, expanded and upgraded the engineering department and added to an already highly experienced crew. Campaigning two cars for the entire season, and three at the season opening Long Beach Grand Prix (Vasser’s last Champ Car start, 232, and a record 211th consecutive start), PKV Racing had a solid 2006 season. Oriol Servia in the #6 Gulfstream – PKV Racing entry qualified in the top-10 in 12 of the 14 races with five top-five starting spots. His qualifying record earned him the team record for consecutive top-five starting positions and tied him with Vasser and da Matta for the most top-10 starting spots in a season. Servia finished in the top-10 eight times in 14 races in 2006 including four top-five showings with one podium performance. In the six races he did not place in the top-10, he DNF’ed (did not finish) each time, only once due to pilot error and only twice as a result of a mechanical problems. All six times he was running in the top-five when he went out of the race.

Servia finished the 2006 season 11th in the points with 197, just three points out of 10th place and 22

points out of fifth. Meanwhile, Katherine Legge, who earned her 2006 Champ Car ride in the #20 Bell

Micro – PKV Racing car by virtue of a record setting performance in the 2005 Atlantic Championship Series (won three races, placed third in the standings and became first female to win a major open-wheel race in North America), continued to establish records. During her rookie Champ Car season, Legge became the first female to start a Champ Car/CART race since Lyn St. James at Michigan in 1995 and the first female to lead a Champ Car race (Milwaukee, 12 laps). Her sixth place finish at Milwaukee set a new Series high for a female driver (her eighth in Long Beach and Cleveland gave her the three best finishes) surpassing a ninth place finish by Janet Guthrie at the 1978 Indianapolis 500. In 14 races, Legge qualified in the top-10 twice and earned four top-10 finishes. She was third in laps completed (1157 of 1251), 11th in laps led with 12, fifth in the Roshfrans Rookie of the Year race, and 16th in the final standings with 128 points.

In 2007, PKV Racing campaigned two cars with two rookie drivers, 23-year-old Neel Jani and 27-year-old Tristan Gommendy. Despite the relative lack of experience on the part of the drivers, the team took another step forward. Johnson, working his first full season as the team’s General Manager, along with co-owner Vasser, who took a much more active role in the team’s operations, plus an experienced and veteran engineering staff and crew led by new Team Manager David Brzozowski, kept the team competitive throughout the season while establishing a number of individual and team records. Among the records set: most points in a season by a driver, 231 by Jani; most total podiums in a season, four; most podiums by an individual driver, Jani, three; most total top-five finishes, seven; most total top-10 finishes, 18; most top-10 finishes by an individual driver, Jani, 12 and most consecutive top-10 finishes, Jani,10.

Jani, a native of Jens, Switzerland with European open wheel experience, piloted the #21 Red Bull Gulfstream PKV Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone machine for all 14 races. He qualified in the top-10 in 11 of the 14 events including five top-five starting spots with a season high of fourth in Houston and Assen. Jani finished in the top-10 in 12 races including four top-five showings and three podium performances placing a season high second at Toronto and San Jose. The former Formula One test driver, was in the top-10 in the standings for most of the year, getting as high as fifth. He ended up ninth in the championship race and fourth in the rookie of the year race.

Gommendy, another veteran of the European open wheel scene, was behind the wheel of the #22 Pay By Touch PKV Racing Cosworth/DP01/Bridgestone entry for 11 events. The 27-year-old Frenchman finished in the top-10 five times in his 11 starts with two top-five showings and a best performance of fourth (Assen). He placed 12th in the championship standings and fifth in the rookie of the year race with 140 points. The highlight of Gommendy’s season came in Mont-Tremblant where he captured just the second pole in PKV Racing history and the team’s first on a road course. The pole and a third place qualifying position at Assen tied Gommendy with Jimmy Vasser for the two best combined starting spots by a PKV Racing driver in a single year (Vasser pole at Milwaukee and third at Las Vegas in 2005).

Champ Car veteran Mario Dominguez took over at Edmonton when Gommendy was injured, while former PKV Racing driver Oriol Servia climbed into the cockpit of the #22 machine for the final two races. Servia qualified in the top-four in both his races including a second place starting spot in Surfers Paradise. He earned the team’s fourth podium of the year placing third in the season finale at Mexico City.

The 2008 season was a year of transformation. The team was re-branded as KV Racing Technology (KVRT) and contested its first IndyCar Series season. KVRT fielded a two-car effort with Oriol Servia piloting the KV Racing Technology #5 Honda/Dallara/Firestone entry and Will Power, driving the KV Racing Technology #8 Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine. Despite little time to prepare following the announcement of unification between the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series, KVRT had a solid season. The team was the most consistent and highest ranked of the teams transitioning to IndyCar earning 14 top-10 finishes including eight top-five showings with one victory (Power in the CCWS’ final race at Long Beach). Both drivers spent much of the season in the top-10 in the standings with Servia eventually placing ninth, 358 points, and Power 12th, 331 points, in the championship race. KVRT also scored one victory, when Power captured the Champ Car World Series finale at Long Beach (team placed all three cars in the top-10 with Servia placing fifth and Vasser 10th), and one pole, Power at the exhibition race at Surfers Paradise, Australia.

Servia, a 34-year-old native of Pals, Catalunya, Spain, competed in his first IndyCar season in 2008, but was not considered a rookie because of his extensive oval experience. He finished the highest in the championship standings of the drivers transitioning from Champ Cars to IndyCars, ninth, just 21 points out of sixth, and was the second highest ranked driver not a member of Andretti Green, Ganassi or Penske Racing. Servia was the best of the transition drivers on ovals, tying for the best finish on an oval, fifth in Richmond, and had the best finish of the transition drivers on five of the 10 ovals (Homestead, Indy, Milwaukee, Richmond and Kentucky). He scored seven top-10 finishes in 2008 (five on road/street circuits) including five top-five showings (season high fourth at Detroit and fifth’s at Long Beach, Richmond, Mid-Ohio and Edmonton) Servia, who campaigned in his ninth open-wheel season, finished in the top-10 in the championship standings for the fifth time in the last six years.

Power, in his fourth U.S. based open-wheel and first IndyCar season, started the year with just one oval race on his resume. The 27-year-old Australian earned six top-10 finishes in 2008 (two on an oval), with three top-five showings (won in Long Beach, fourth in Mid-Ohio and fifth on the oval in Chicagoland) including one victory (the Champ Car World Series finale at Long Beach). Power’s fifth place finish on the Chicagoland oval tied teammate, Servia, for the best oval showing by a transition driver. He recorded the best oval finish of the transition drivers twice in the 10 oval events this season (Chicago and Iowa), and the second highest three times (Indy, Texas and Nashville). Power, the third highest ranked transition driver, 12th in the championship standings, was third in the Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year race 15 points behind Hideki Mutoh, who finished 10th in the standings.

KVRT co-owner Jimmy Vasser returned to the cockpit of an open-wheel car for the first time since April 9, 2006 (at Long Beach), for one start competing in the Champ Car World Series finale at Long Beach placing 10th.

In 2009, KV Racing Technology will contest its seventh season of open-wheel completion and second in the IndyCar Series. KVRT will open the 2009 season with a one-car effort. Second-year driver Mario Moraes will pilot the #5 KV Racing Technology – Votorantim Honda/Dallara/Firestone machine.

Image by Michael Levitt, LAT Photographic

KV RACING TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHTS YEAR-BY-YEAR TOTALS:– 2003-2008:

KV RACING TECHNOLOGY DRIVERS:

DRIVER

Lemarie

Herta

Papis

Salo

Gonzalez

Vasser*

da Matta

Legge

Dominguez

Jani

Gommendy

Servia**

Power

Moraes

Total

YEARS

2003

2004

2004-2006/2008

2005

2006

2007

2006/2007-2008

2008

2009

STARTS

164

WINS

POLES

***

2***

*Jimmy Vasser drove the Champ Car World Series finale at Long Beach in 2008

**Oriol Servia drove the entire 2006 and 2008 seasons and two races in 2007.

***Will Power captured the pole at 2008 Surface Paradise exhibition race (not counted in official statistics).

Total as of 12/31/08

Boldface indicates active driver

YEAR

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Total(7)

STARTS

164

WINS

PODIUM

TOP-FIVE

TOP-10

POLE

MOST

POINTS

201

217

197

231

358**

358*

TOP

RANK

*Will Power captured the pole at 2008 Surfers Paradise exhibition race (not counted in official statistics).

**2008 was first season of IndyCar competition for KVRT. More points awarded per race than Champ Car.

Total as of 12/31/08

Top-five includes wins and podiums, top-10 includes top-5.

Boldface indicates current year of competition