| | Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Bobby Rahal is taking on yet another
formidable task -- running Jaguar Racing in Formula One.
Rahal will remain CART's interim president and CEO and a team
owner until Dec. 1, when he will officially became CEO of the F1
team owned by Ford Motor Company.
|  | | Bobby Rahal, right, smiles during Wednesday's announcement. With Rahal from left are chairman Neil Ressler and Jaguar lead driver Eddie Irvine. |
The announcement was made Wednesday in a television studio
across the street from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Rahal
won the 1986 Indianapolis 500.
Neil Ressler, a longtime Ford executive and now the chairman of
Jaguar Racing, Cosworth Racing and Pi, a racing electronics firm,
will continue in those roles, but give up the day-to-day operation
of the team to Rahal for at least the next three years.
"He's shown himself to understand racing at the top level, to
have business acumen, get along well with people, to be a good team
builder, to have the type of leadership abilities that will help us
greatly at Jaguar," Ressler said.
"Doing it the way we're doing it will allow me to focus on the
three companies and it will allow Bobby to focus entirely on
running the team. ... That should be a very compatible and mutually
advantageous arrangement. This is the first building block. There
will be more to come."
Although he has had a long relationship with Ford, Rahal's
selection was something of a surprise.
"I'm sure some people might say what do I know about Formula
One?" Rahal said. "I think that misses the point to a large
degree. This a company whose main task is to enter motor racing
events and to win them and to represent Jaguar Cars in a manner in
which Jaguar would wish to be represented.
"It's not like I'm creating a race setup. We've got engineers
to do that. My task is to take the organization, work with the
various components within that organization and to assist in
turning it into a winning team."
The team was founded in 1996 as Stewart Racing by former F1
driving star Jackie Stewart and his son, Paul. Starting from
scratch, little was expected, but the team matured quickly and
showed promise in the second half of last season.
Johnny Herbert gave the team its first victory in the European
Grand Prix at Nurburgring and, with Ford on board as the new owner,
the newly coined Jaguar Racing finished fourth in the
manufacturers' points.
This year, however, the team, with Eddie Irvine and Herbert
driving the cars, has struggled to get competitive.
"Believe me I have no illusion about the immensity of this
task, irrespective of whether I have Formula One experience in the
last few years or not," Rahal said.
The 47-year-old Rahal said he will make a total commitment to
the team, moving his family to England.
"I'm ready to take on that challenge," he said. "By moving
there, I certainly see that as a sign of my commitment to this
effort."
Irvine, on hand to meet his new boss, said, "Bobby's job is to
go out to hire the people to get the job done. He's also an
ex-driver who can relate to my problems in the race car."
Rahal, 47, made a brief foray into Formula One early in his
career, but gained famed in American open-wheel racing, winning 24
races and three championships in 17 seasons in CART before retiring
following the 1998 season.
Rahal has been mostly hands-off on the team he co-owns with TV
personality David Letterman since taking over the top job at CART
in June, replacing deposed Andrew Craig.
Rahal said he never intended to keep the CART job and added, "I
regard my role the last three months in CART as getting the company
ready for the next CEO, so he can just come in and get on the with
the job without having to deal with a lot of the things we've dealt
with.
"Team Rahal has excelled without my continuous involvement and
is in a position to win the 2000 championship," said Rahal, whose
team has rookie Kenny Brack in the midst of the closest
championship battle in CART's history. "Knowing that the team can
carry on successfully, I have looked for challenges where my
involvement will better aid the sport of open-wheel racing." | |
ALSO SEE
Indy takes tight F1 title race into unknown territory
AUDIO/VIDEO
 ESPN's Marlo Klain talks with Bobby Rahal about his move to F1.
RealVideo: 28.8
ESPN's Robin Miller gives his analysis of Bobby Rahal's move to F1 and more.
RealVideo: 28.8
|
