The second season of Champ Car's revamped Atlantic Championship promises to be as exciting and hard-fought as the first, with at least 28 drivers lined up for a shot at the $2million first prize that saw last year's champion, Simon Pagenaud, make the jump to the senior series.
The untried streets of Las Vegas will host round one of the twelve-race campaign for the rebranded Cooper Tires presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda and, while the series won't quite be able to match its largest field from last season owing to Ryan Lewis' visa problems, a field packed with of the world's leading young racers will still see the 34th season of Atlantic racing kick off in style.
The international appeal of the Atlantic series will also be evident as eleven countries should be represented this weekend, yet the domestic talent is definitely on solid footing as half of the racers in action at Vegas call the United States home. Fittingly, in one of the homes of gambling, only a fool would try and predict where to put his money this season.
The smart money might be on either of the series' sophomores at Sierra Sierra Enterprises, itself running close to home in Nevada. Brazil's Raphael Matos is back for his second season with the team and is the best-placed returnee from last year, when he finished fourth in the standings on the back of a win and a four poles. After finishing with a top-three time in all three pre-season tests, 'Rafa' looks to be in fine form entering Vegas.
However, the Brazilian might face his stiffest competition - both this weekend and all season long - from close to home, as Canadian James Hinchcliffe brings his own year of Atlantics experience, including a win and a pole
en route to tenth overall in 2006. He joins the Sierra Sierra squad fresh from a winter of running up front in the A1GP series and, after dominating the second series pre-season test in Houston, appears ready to contend for the crown.
The Walker Racing team, which captured the '06 Atlantic title with then little-known rookie Pagenaud, also returns with a strong line-up. After an impressive first year that saw him claim three podiums in just nine starts, British driver Lewis appeared set for a full campaign with the Walker crew until his visa application became delayed. As a result, he won't be on the grid to line-up alongside teenage rookie Simona de Silvestro until round two in Long Beach. Swiss female driver de Silvestro was a winner last year's Formula BMW USA competition, and will be looking for a strong start after some promising test results.
The 2005 championship-winning team, Condor Motorsports, enters the season with a three-car line-up and high hopes of reclaiming the silverware. French rookie Franck Perera may have been a late addition to the squad, but dominated the final pre-season test at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on his first acquaintance with track, team and car. The former GP2 racer loves street racing - finishing second to F1 sensation Lewis Hamilton in Monaco last year - and should shine on many an occasion this season. Perera is partnered by fellow first-year pilot Junior Strous, representing the Netherlands, and experienced American driver Brian Thienes.
A pair of drivers looking to battle, not only for top rookie honours, but also the overall title, make up the new-look Red Bull Team Forsythe squad. After running four cars last year, including Hinchcliffe's, Forsythe has slimmed down to accommodate FBMW graduate Robert Wickens and Red Bull prodigy John Edwards. Both Wickens, the FBMW USA champion, and Edwards, who was a race winner in Europe in Formula Renault last season, are established members of the Red Bull Junior Driver Development Team and showed impressive speed in pre-season testing.
California-based US RaceTronics makes the jump from a one-car programme to field a strong two-car effort, with Mexican David Garza moving up from FBMW USA to join rookie team-mate Carl Skerlong - the winner of the 2006 Formula TR 2000 Pro Series title - who showed a good turn of speed in testing.
