 | |
| Founded | 2003 |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Kevin Kalkhoven Jimmy Vasser |
| Folded | 2017 |
| Base | Indianapolis,Indiana, USA |
| Teamprincipal(s) | Kevin Kalkhoven Jimmy Vasser James Sullivan |
| Former series | Champ Car World Series,IndyCar Series |
| Teams' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
KV Racing Technology was anauto racing team that last competed in theIndyCar Series. The team was originally formed asPK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessmanKevin Kalkhoven and formerFormula One team managerCraig Pollock from the remnants of thePacWest team.[1]
The team has also sponsored drivers in theAtlantic Championship.
In its first season, the team fielded one car and employed several drivers includingPatrick Lemarié,Bryan Herta,Max Papis andMika Salo, the latter of which scored the team's best result of third late in the season.
For 2004, the team was significantly revamped. It was renamed toPKV Racing, as businessman Dan Pettit and veteran driverJimmy Vasser replaced Pollock as co-owners. The team also expanded to field two cars for Vasser and rookieRoberto González. Vasser scored the team's best finish and second podium with a second place atToronto, but the season was otherwise lackluster. In 2005, PKV replaced Gonzalez with former series championCristiano da Matta, who took the team's first win atPortland. Da Matta finished 11th in the championship, while Vasser scored two third-place finishes and was sixth overall.
For 2006, the team fielded full season entries for veteranOriol Servià and rookieKatherine Legge. Vasser retired from racing after driving a third car atLong Beach. Servià scored a third place atCleveland and finished 11th in the championship, while Legge struggled and finished 16th overall. The team's 2007 driver lineup wasNeel Jani andTristan Gommendy.Mario Domínguez subbed for Gommendy atEdmonton, and Servià replaced Gommendy for the final two races due to sponsorship issues. The team's best results were Jani's pair of second places finishes atToronto andSan Jose.
The team switched to theIndyCar Series following the unification of American open wheel racing in 2008. Dan Pettit ceased his ownership role in the team and the team changed its name toKV Racing Technology. Australian businessmenCraig Gore and John Fish brought theirTeam Australia branding fromWalker Racing along with driverWill Power to partner Servià.
Power won the Champ Car finale, the2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach a race which also counted towards the IndyCar Series championship. Vasser also competed in the race in what was his true final race. In the2008 Indianapolis 500, the first for the team and both drivers, Power qualified 23rd and finished 13th, while Servià qualified 25th and finished 11th.
In 2009, the team ran a full-time program for BrazilianMario Moraes.Paul Tracy also made five starts for the team: Indy 500, Watkins Glen, Edmonton, Toronto, and Mid-Ohio.Townsend Bell drove a third car for the team at the Indy 500. In 2010 the team ran full-time programs forTakuma Sato,E. J. Viso, andMario Moraes, plus a part-time program for Paul Tracy.James Rossiter tested for the team at Barber. For 2011, Sato and Viso returned to the team, as well as gaining technical support fromLotus Cars, re-branding the team as KV Racing Technology – Lotus, or KVRT-Lotus. The team addedTony Kanaan in a third car, the #82, as a tribute to the lateFormula One and Indy 500 championJim Clark.[2]
In the2011 Indianapolis 500, Sato and Viso were the first two cars retired from the race due to separate accidents.
For 2012, Sato would leave KV forRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, replaced by formerFormula 1 driverRubens Barichello. The team also announced that it would be partnering with Chevrolet. Although he was winless, Kanaan would finish 9th that season with a best finish of 2nd at Milwaukee. Both Viso and Barichello would struggle that year for results, with both drivers leaving the team at the end of the year.[3]
On 30 October 2012,HVM Racing'sSimona de Silvestro joined KV for the2013 IndyCar Series season.[4]
Kanaan's win in the2013 Indianapolis 500 was the first for KV, while de Silvestro scored her first podium at Houston. Kanaan departed KV to drive forChip Ganassi Racing for the2014 IndyCar Series season, while de Silvestro also departed the team at season's end.[5] They were replaced by Dragon Racing teammatesSébastien Bourdais andSebastián Saavedra for 2014.
The team had moderate success in 2014, with Saavedra claiming his first pole at theGrand Prix of Indianapolis and Bourdais taking his first IndyCar win atHonda Indy Toronto. Though Bourdais finished 10th in standings, a lack of results saw Saavedra's release from the team. His replacement for 2015 would be former GP2 driverStefano Coletti. Coletti would struggle heavily adapting to IndyCar, with a best finish of 8th at the2015 Grand Prix of Indianapolis.[6] Bourdais would take his second win at theChevrolet Dual in Detroit. KV would release Coletti at the end of the season, reducing to only Bourdais' No. 11 for the 2016 season. The team would take its second consecutive win in Detroit.
Despite the win, funding for the team was in doubt as Kalkhoven wished to sell the team's equipment. In response, Bourdais departed KVSH forDale Coyne Racing. Without proper funding, Kalkhoven and Vasser attempted to sell the team toIndy Lights ownerTrevor Carlin, but the deal fell through. On 16 February 2017, Vasser and Kalkhoven released statements confirming the end of KV Racing Technology, and the sale of equipment and technical data toJuncos Racing.
In February 2018, former KVSH co-ownersJimmy Vasser and James "Sulli" Sullivan formed a partnership withDale Coyne to fieldSébastien Bourdais for the2018 IndyCar Series asDale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan.[7]
Patrick Lemarié (2003)
Mika Salo (2003)
Max Papis (2003)
Bryan Herta (2003)Jimmy Vasser (2004–2006, 2008)
Roberto González (2004)
Cristiano da Matta (2005)Jorge Goeters (2005)
Katherine Legge (2006)
Oriol Servià (2006–2008)
Neel Jani (2007)Tristan Gommendy (2007)
Will Power (2008)Townsend Bell (2009, 2014)Mario Moraes (2009–2010)
Paul Tracy (2009–2010)
Takuma Sato (2010–2011)
E. J. Viso (2010–2012)Tony Kanaan (2011–2013)Rubens Barrichello (2012)Simona de Silvestro (2013)
Sebastián Saavedra (2014)Sébastien Bourdais (2014–2016)
Stefano Coletti (2015)Bryan Clauson (2015)Stefan Wilson (2016)(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pts Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PK Racing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | STP | MTY | LBH | BRH | LAU | MIL | LAG | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | MDO | MTL | DEN | MIA | MEX | SFR | |||||||
| Lola B02/00 | FordXFEV8t | B | Patrick Lemarié | 27 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 19 | 18 | 21st | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Bryan Herta | 11 | 25th | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Max Papis | 15 | 12 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 17th | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| Mika Salo | 14 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 16th | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||
| PKV Racing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | LBH | MTY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | DEN | MTL | LAG | LSV | SFR | MXC | |||||||||||
| Lola B02/00 | FordXFEV8t | B | Jimmy Vasser | 12 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 17 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 8th | 201 | |||||
| Roberto González | 21 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 15th | 136 | ||||||||
| 2005 | LBH | MTY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | EDM | SJO | DEN | MTL | LSV | SRF | MXC | ||||||||||||
| Lola B02/00 | FordXFEV8t | B | Jimmy Vasser | 12 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6th | 217 | ||||||
| Cristiano da Matta | 21 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 1* | 16 | 17 | 17 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 19 | 14 | 11th | 139 | |||||||||
| Jorge Goeters | 52 | 18 | 29th | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | LBH | HOU | MTY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | EDM | SJO | DEN | MTL | ROA | SRF | MXC | |||||||||||
| Lola B02/00 | FordXFEV8t | B | Oriol Servià | 6 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 6 | 11th | 197 | |||||
| Jimmy Vasser | 12 | 14 | 24th | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Katherine Legge | 20 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16th | 133 | ||||||||
| 2007 | LSV | LBH | HOU | POR | CLE | MTT | TOR | EDM | SJO | ROA | ZOL | ASN | SFR | MXC | |||||||||||
| PanozDP01 | CosworthXFEV8t | B | Neel Jani | 21 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 9th | 231 | |||||
| Tristan Gommendy | 22 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 12th | 140 | |||||||||||
| Mario Domínguez | 17 | 18th | 78 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oriol Servià | 14 | 3 | 6th | 237 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(key)
Media related toKV Racing Technology at Wikimedia Commons