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©2001 SpeedCenter Publishing MONTEREY, Calif.--Fernández Racing Team Owners Adrián Fernández and Tom Anderson announced today that engineering talent Don Halliday has become a partner in Fernández Racing, and will assume the new role of technical director as the team moves to the Lola B2/00 chassis beginning with the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series season. “I am very excited to have Don as a partner in our team,” said Fernández. “The relationship between Don, Tom and myself is very good, and I have no doubt that it is going to be a very successful partnership. We share the same philosophy and Don will help us to develop and build Fernández Racing into a championship contender. “I have known Don since my days at Tasman Motorsports. We became very good friends and I have a lot of respect for him. Through the years, after I left Tasman, we planned to build a team together at some point. Tom and I kept in contact with Don through the creation of Fernández Racing. We realized he had one more year in his contract, which he wanted to fulfill with Team Rahal. I’m very excited about next season, our new relationship with Lola and our prospects for the future. “My last experience with Lola was in 1997 and everybody knows that it wasn’t very good. However, my first [Champ Car] win also came in a Lola. Ben Bowlby and many of the people I used to work with are still at Lola, and there is a lot of support for our new program. I believe this will put us in a very competitive position.” “I am very, very excited about our 2002 package,” added Anderson. “Next year represents a different set of circumstances for us from this season. We have equipment, we have trucks, we have people, and now we are adding to our second year as Fernández Racing. I am very happy about the addition of Don Halliday as our new partner and technical director. Don has been a great competitor for a long time and it’s going to be fun to have him on my side of the fence for the first time. “I am also extremely happy with the new Honda/Lola package for 2002. We are looking forward to working with all of our friends at Lola and Honda, and to coming to grips with the new package in December.” New Zealand-born Halliday is one of the most respected engineers in open-wheel racing with a distinguished career that spans successful forays in Champ Cars, Formula One and Formula 3000. He made his CART debut in 1985 as a designer/engineer for the Kraco team and driver Michael Andretti. During the past 10 years, he has served as director of engineering for Tasman Motorsports -- which garnered Honda’s first Champ Car victory at Loudon, New Hampshire, in 1995 with Andre Ribeiro -- and as technical director for Team KOOL Green, engineering Dario Franchitti to a third and second-place finish in the championship during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Halliday joined Team Rahal in 2000 and engineered Kenny Brack to Rookie of the Year honors that year and a championship bid this season. “I have known Adrian since the Tasman days and he has been a good friend ever since,” said Halliday. “He’s a very genuine sort of chap. He has a lot of speed, which is exciting, and he’s an enthusiast. Tom obviously also has a lot of respect up and down pit lane, and I think the three of us, as a triangle, will be very strong. “I am looking forward once again to working with all our friends at Honda next year. In terms of Lola, I have a familiarity with the chassis and that should be a strength within the group.” Lola Cars International Ltd. has a rich history in Champ Car racing which dates back to 1983. In June of this year, Lola became the first chassis manufacturer in CART history to celebrate a 100th win in the series. “We are extremely delighted to have Fernández Racing join the Lola stable,” said Dan Partel, president of Lola. “In a sense, it is a renewal of an old relationship with Adrian, who we know quite well, and Tom Anderson, who we worked with last year at Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. We also worked very closely with Don Halliday and Team Rahal this year. “This is the first time since the turnaround at Lola that we will be working with Honda, and we are extremely enthusiastic about the prospects of winning with this package. All of us, from Lola to Adrian, Tom, Don and Honda, have worked together in the past, and we are looking forward to being a formidable package next season.” Fernández Racing, which made its Champ Car debut this season, currently fields entries for Fernández – the only driver/owner in the CART field – in the #51 Tecate/Quaker State/Telmex Honda/Reynard, and Japanese driving talent Shinji Nakano aboard the #52 Avex/Alpine Honda/Reynard.
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