As suggested, former Champ Car race director Tony Cotman has resurfaced at the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body for the IndyCar and Indy Pro Series confirming him as vice-president of competition.
Cotman, who started in his new position on Monday, will assist president of the competition and operations division Brian Barnhart in race control for all IndyCar Series events and act as the senior race official for all Indy Pro Series events. He quit his role at Champ Car last month, prompting rumours of the series' impending demise. Despite fielding 14 cars over the weekend's test at Sebring, speculation remains rife that there will only be one senior open-wheel class in the US next season.
"We're very pleased to have someone of Tony's calibre join our staff," Barnhart said, "Tony has earned the respect of everyone in Indycar racing by being hard-working, intelligent and fair. The addition of Tony enhances our competition and race operations efforts and he will be working closely with Les Mactaggart, Kevin Blanch, Jeff Horton and I in all aspects of IndyCar Series competition, and with Roger Bailey and Butch Meyer in the Indy Pro Series."
Kiwi Cotman has enjoyed a distinguished career in motorsports, including Indianapolis 500 victories with Galles Racing in 1992 and Team Green in 1995. He was promoted to team manager at the latter in 1998 and later to vice president of racing operations. He remained with the team as it transformed into Andretti Green Racing through the 2004 season, before serving as vice president of operations for the Champ Car World Series, where he oversaw the introduction of a new chassis, wrote and
enforced the competition and technical rules, and held the role of race director. He is also a member of the
FIA's Circuit Commission, which writes recommendations for safety standards at circuits around the world.
