Montoya to leave F1 for NASCAR!

[Iliana]

Juan Pablo Montoya is to leave Formula One at the end of this season for a drive in the American NASCAR series with Chip Ganassi Racing. Ganassi announced that Montoya has signed a multi-year deal with his team.

Montoya's future in F1 has been the focus of much speculation over the past few months and when it appeared that McLaren had not taken up its option on his services, the Colombian looked set to return to the US.

Announcing the move on Sunday Ganassi said, "We are thrilled to be getting a driver of this caliber. Juan Pablo is one of the best race car drivers in the world. He is a former CART Champion, Indy 500 winner and Formula 1 driver that will bring a much needed veteran presence to our team."

Montoya will become the first regular F1 driver to move directly to the Nextel Cup when he contests his first race next year. The Colombian and Chip Ganassi are no strangers. Montoya drove for Ganassi's open-wheel team during the 1999 and 2000 CART seasons. Following his two years with Ganassi, Montoya made the jump to

Formula 1.

Until now Montoya has started 94 F1 Grand Prix, winning seven and finishing on the podium 30 times.

from f1racing.net

:blink:

[Iliana]

Montoya leaves McLaren, de la Rosa to race in France

11 July 2006

Juan Pablo Montoya will leave the McLaren team with immediate effect after coming to a mutual agreement. The move will let Montoya join NASCAR sooner and give him more time to get up to speed with the series. McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa will replace Montoya in France.

"Juan Pablo is an exciting driver and immensely likeable character who will undoubtedly make a successful transition to the NASCAR scene," said McLaren team boss Ron Dennis in a statement issued on Tuesday morning. "We have agreed that with so many things happening in Juan Pablo's life right now, he should take some time out of the car and prepare professionally and personally for the future."

De la Rosa will make his second race appearance for the team following a points scoring debut in the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix when he deputised for the injured Montoya.

"I'm of course extremely thrilled to have this opportunity to race the MP4-21 - a car in which I'm really comfortable," said de la Rosa. "I know the MP4-21 better than anyone else and I'm confident that I can achieve important World Championship points for the team."

F1Racing.net

that sucks for his fans who have already booked tickets for grand prix! he should stay for the rest of the season.

[Iliana]

JPM: F1 has exciting cars but boring races

Tuesday July 11 2006

Juan Pablo Montoya has cited the lack of real racing in Formula 1 as one of the reasons he has chosen to move to NASCAR.

The Colombian announced at the weekend that he is leaving F1 to rejoin Chip Ganassi's stable in the NASCAR series.

"Formula One has very exciting cars and technology. But anyone who watches the races knows it's not the most exciting thing you can watch," the McLaren driver complained. "How hard is it to pass a car in Formula One?

"You pass 'em and you touch wheels and you're an animal. I don't think you're going to be happy getting more money and being miserable all day.

"It's not how many millions you're making or how much money you're making. It's a matter of are you going to be excited about what you're doing or not three years down the line?

"I think three years from now when I look at my career I'm going to be happier here."

Despite claims that Montoya only decided to leave F1 once it became clear that he would have to accept a seat with a midfield runner in 2007, the Colombian continues to insist that he had decided to return to America long ago.

"When I called Chip I said 'Chip, I want to come back racing and I think the best place is here'. Chip told me I needed to convince him if I really wanted to do this.

"Chip actually asked my father, who said he had never seen me more convinced. It's that simple.

"I want to work with Chip and have a lot of fun. I'm going to enjoy it. What's your ultimate goal? For me it's racing."

[bar7]

obviously a step backwards

[Iliana]

Montoya: I need to learn NASCAR first

13 July 2006

Juan Pablo Montoya announced on Sunday evening he will race in NASCAR next season and thus leave Formula One after six years. Montoya revealed he has signed a multi-year deal with Chip Ganassi and told them the team shouldn't expect him to win straight away.

Montoya's multi-year deal was made because Montoya needed time to swap to NASCAR. He explained talking to Speed: "We needed to commit because I was going to swap from Formula One to NASCAR, and I know I'm not going to perform in my first year. Now, yes, I will have some success in two or three races or so, but generally, it's going to be a tough season. We're all going to be learning and there's going to be mistakes made by me. I know that's going to be part of it. That's why it's a multi-year deal."

Montoya believes the road courses could be an advantage for him but he has a lot to learn on the oval tracks. He explained: "Well, I'm sure when we go to the road courses we should do pretty well, or at least I hope so. I think I have more road course experience than any other driver here (in NASCAR). And I think going to a road course race, people will expect me to do well. We'll see. At the same time, this is a different deal and different ballpark and it's a different car - even though it's going left and right."

Schumi says NASCAR is boring

14 July 2006

With much of the talk in the Magny Cours focusing on the abrupt departure of Juan Pablo Montoya for NASCAR, it was only natural Michael Schumacher would face questions of whether he'd ever consider driving in the American series.

"What's exciting about NASCAR?" he asked. "I can't see it, running around in ovals. I just don't see the challenge in it for me. Personally I wouldn't do it."

[Crazy]

Schumi says NASCAR is boring

14 July 2006

With much of the talk in the Magny Cours focusing on the abrupt departure of Juan Pablo Montoya for NASCAR, it was only natural Michael Schumacher would face questions of whether he'd ever consider driving in the American series.

"What's exciting about NASCAR?" he asked. "I can't see it, running around in ovals. I just don't see the challenge in it for me. Personally I wouldn't do it."

He is so right about NASCAR.It is chalenging and takes skill but is just going around in a circle all day long.Most people watch it for the crashes only.

[bar7]

F1 is a world sport...Nascar is for toothless American rednecks

[Iliana]

from f1racing.net

Montoya - I was bored at McLaren

Juan Pablo Montoya has spoken out for the first time since he made the announcement he was leaving McLaren and Formula One for a drive in NASCAR, saying that he found himself bored at the Mercedes-powered team. The Colombian said he was not getting anything out of constantly finishing behind Ferrari and Renault.

"I was bored and no longer enjoying the races," Montoya told Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. "I had a good time in Formula One and achieved almost all my goals there - apart from winning the championship. I realised my chances of doing that were minimal."

"My chances of becoming World Champion at McLaren were very slim," he added. "It's not much fun always fighting to finish fifth. I wanted a new challenge and that's what I found in NASCAR. It will be another new experience for me, especially with so much more racing. NASCAR is a different world."

Montoya went on to describe the moment he told Ron Dennis he was leaving for NASCAR.

"The coversation lasted about twenty seconds," the Colombian revealed. "He had nothing to say and then they didn't want me driving the car any more because they thought I would no longer be completely focused on Formula One."