source:
crash.net
Target Chip Ganassi team owner Chip Ganassi has said his is confident that
his new three driver line-up will help the team to overcome a disappointing 2004
when the new IRL season gets underway at Homestead next month.
Reigning champion Scott Dixon and Darren Manning secured only six top five
finishes, leading a combined total of just 15 laps, through the course of last
season - a season that saw both drivers forced to miss races for medical
reasons.
However, the pre-season testing performance of Dixon, Manning and new addition
Ryan Briscoe has left Ganassi optimistic that his team can return to form during
2005.
"When you have the mechanics on the team excited, you really know you've done
something," he said, "because those are the guys that are hard to get a rise out
of! When they're excited about it, it's a good thing.
"Obviously, the 2004 season was not the kind of year that Target Chip Ganassi
Racing is used to in terms of level of performance. We needed to make changes.
By augmenting our IndyCar Series count to three and with the addition of Ryan
Briscoe, we expect to bolster our engineering platform and strengthen our
relationship with Toyota and transform all our hard work into success in 2005."
With Dixon already a proven winner, Manning having shown flashes of form during
2004, and Briscoe bringing the knowledge of a number of years with the Toyota F1
team, Ganassi also expressed confidence that all three of his drivers would be
able to fight for honours.