OCTOBER 11, 2006

Briscoe gets Rusport drive

Australia's Ryan Briscoe will pilot a Rusport Champ Car in Surfer's Paradise, Australia on October 22 and in Mexico City on November 12. He will be replacing the injured Cristiano da Matta and partnering Justin Wilson. The deal is presumably being funded by Australians keen to have some more Australian involvement in the Surfers event. Briscoe has been looking for regular work in America since losing his job as Toyota test driver in F1 at the end of 2004. He competed in the Indy Racing League with Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005 and this year has raced as and when he can. It remains to be seen whether or not this will lead to more work in Champ Car as Rusport is still waiting to see how well da Matta recovers before deciding what to do in 2007. The opportunity should draw Briscoe to the attention of other Champ Car teams but these days most of the rides in the series seem to involve bringing funding so it may not be easy.