We'll cover some of the very significant news items from last night in just a second but, first off, let's start with Katherine. The story of Katherine Legge is pretty much well‑known now. In the fall of 2004, she went to go speak with Mr Kalkhoven at the Cosworth headquarters in England. She was able to convince Kevin to give her a chance in the Champ Car Atlantic Series, where she took full advantage of the opportunity, winning three races to become the first woman to ever win a major open‑wheel race in North America. She ended up finishing third in the championship. After three successful Champ Car test sessions, two with PKV Racing, in the off‑season, she also had a
Formula One and A1 Grand Prix test, and found herself with a very special Valentine's Day present last night - a multi‑year contract to drive for PKV Racing in Champ Car.
Your emotions, I'm sure, are just going crazy right now. Can you think back and tell us what it felt like last night when you were presented with that multi‑year contract and you knew you were going to be a Champ Car driver?
Katherine Legge:
Yeah, absolutely, it was an awesome feeling. I don't really know how to describe it. Everything is happening so fast and I've got such a huge mountain ahead of me that I need to climb. I'm really excited, but I'm apprehensive, as well, and fully aware of the enormity of the task. I hope that I can make the team proud.
MC:
And Kevin, where do we start, after such an exciting evening for Champ Car. First off, please talk about the opportunity that Katherine has with PKV, and why this was the right time for her to move up to Champ Car?
Kevin Kalkhoven:
The story, of course, as you say, goes back through Atlantics. She had done well in Atlantics and proved that she was a competitive racer. The big question was whether or not she was going to be fast enough in one of these brutal Champ Cars and, secondly, whether she had the physical endurance to be able to do so. We determined that by doing two sets of tests.
