New two car IndyCar team?

[cleanupcrew]

Coming Soon....

Team Yellow Ribbon Racing has been established as a not for profit- support the troops effort around the Indy Racing League

The team concept is to feature and promote our armed services, Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines as a tribute to the men and women in harms way protecting the USA .

The Team will field a 2-car team featuring Air Force/Army livery on one racecar and Navy/Marine livery on the other racecar, liveries to be ‘split' down the middle of the chassis by a yellow ribbon.

(Air Force & Navy liveries depicted below)

Primary car focus will revolve around the armed services with secondary focus on sponsors who support and facilitate Team Yellow Ribbon Racing.

"Support for our troops is important at all times and especially when they are in harms way, the Yellow Ribbon Racing team is an outstanding testament of how important our men and women in uniform are to the fabric of America and free people around the world. This team will not only show the support to our troops in the field, but will honor their wives, husbands, children, mothers and fathers as well; there are few places were this is possible, Yellow Ribbon Racing is one of them"

Walt Kross, General, USAF(r)

The Indy Racing League (IRL) and the IndyCar Series are pleased to have Yellow Ribbon Racing as a part of the future of our sport. This team will represent a significant statement to race fans throughout the world representing the tremendous support for our Armed Forces and the significant role they have played in the history as well as the future of our sport. The IRL is assisting Yellow Ribbon Racing with the essentials of developing a team by providing them with the guidance and support necessary to be prepared for the 2006 season. We are excited about yellow ribbon racing's involvement in the sport and anticipate great things from their effort

We welcome all partners of Yellow Ribbon Racing and appreciate their interest in a marketing partnership with the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series. We look forward to and will assist in developing an activation plan that will provide measure results based on the partner's indentified goals and objectives.

Tony George, President & C.E.O.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Next to the Super Bowl, the Indy 500™ is the second most viewed sporting event by our troops in the field each year. During the 2005 race, many news stories and TV news shoots depicted the troops as intimately involved in the Indy 500 race literally bringing them home for a few short hours.

Providing a race within the race dedicated specifically to the troops will lend to a boost in moral and sense of honor needed to continue their mission.

The Team Yellow Ribbon Racing's focus combined with the armed services and IRL pageantry, we believe, makes a tremendous and exciting opportunity to pay tribute to our troops.

hmmmm ......

[cleanupcrew]

and an interesting video ....

link

[Chris Paff]

if this is true.. this screams for two American drivers.. add two for the car count..

[cleanupcrew]

Gen. Walter Kross, USAF, Commander-in-Chief, United States Transportation Command - Retired .....

[indyracefan]

...oustanding news if it indeed comes to fruition.

BTW - what about the Coast Guard?!?

[cleanupcrew]

more on Navicam which is also promoted by the same group - and which featrures IndyCars in its demo's

http://www.captimax.com/

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=750 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD> </TD><TD width="100%">Navicam®

Navicam® is a system that improves image acquisition in situations of complex dynamics, for instance when the targets to film - vehicles on land, sea or air - or the camera platforms - similar vehicles or specialised platforms - are moving.

</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD width="100%">Captimax™

Navicam® is offered to the sports industry in the form of a service.
The service is called Captimax™ and it brings added value to:

- the broadcasters, by enhancing the attractiveness of the programme to the audience, and therefore its advertising revenue to the broadcaster

- the sponsors on the participants: by increasing the number of seconds of on-screen visibility for their logos by 300%.

- the participants: by enabling them to attract sponsorship more easily or at a higher value

- the promoters (event rights holders), because if the broadcasters, sponsors and participants get more value out of the event, the promoter will benefit both in direct and indirect terms

The Captimax™ service also includes innovative formulas in order to implement Navicam® in the most attractive way for all concerned, including one where the service is entirely paid for by sponsors.

The problem

The main difficulty in such situations resides in the lack of synchronisation between the movements of target and camera. This leads to the image 'floating' around on the screen, blurred pictures and soft focus. It accounts for the main quality discrepancy that we have come to consider inevitable between TV images and still images.

The solution

Navicam® spectacularly improves the situation, by synchronising the movements of a camera with those of its target (subject to be filmed). Through state-of-the-art navigation technologies, the Navicam® system is at all times aware of the positions of all its targets. Based on this intelligence, it controls one or several robotised cameras with the required precision, smoothness and reliability.

The result

Just like a pilot will use "fly-by-wire" controls to fly a modern aeroplane, a Navicam® camera operator has "fly-by-wire" controls to his cameras. First of all, the system spectacularly improves the rendition of the participants on the screen. Also, the system's awareness of their position - in relation to their surroundings and to each other - gives the system super-human reactions and sense of timing. This makes Navicam® ideal for filming sports events. There are applications for Navicam® also in film production, including motion pictures, and several industrial applications.



</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD width="100%">The technology

Navicam® uses "sensor fusion", whereby it combines the information from several positioning technologies, including GPS (Global Positioning System) and IMS (Inertial Motion Sensors) in its most sophisticated applications. The type of sensors are selected in relation to the circumstances of the shoot. When possible, both targets and camera platforms are equipped with Navicam® transponder, which continuously transmit their position data to the control console. In other cases, no sensors are required on the targets.

Markets

The patents on Navicam® are owned by Wells & Verne Investments Ltd, which has appointed Captimax Sports Media Ltd to identify potential licensees to commercialise the system in various sports disciplines. Typically, licensees would be companies that have an interest in enhancing the value of the TV exposure for sponsors participating in the sport, and the value of the TV rights. The accessible market for Captimax™ comprises motor-racing, motor-cycle-racing, skiing, yachting, equestrian, airborne and other action sports.



</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD></TD><TD width="100%">Typical pictures you can expect from Navicam®

· Zooming - Up to 1/2deg angular field of view. This means the car would fill the TV screen at a distance of 500m, or the cockpit section at a distance of 200m.

· Prolonged panning - Prolonged panning at various levels of zooming magnitudes, without incurring screenfloat. This feature has a significant impact on the visibility of sponsors on sports objects.

· Autofocus - Automatic focus control based on known distance between a camera to car.

· Screen positioning - Manual or automatic offsetting of car position on screen (ex offsetting car to accommodate graphics on screen, or to include interesting feature of the background).

· Detailing - Manual (joystick) or automatic (pre-defined) framing of details on selected car.

· Crash-zooming- Energetically zooming in or out from the car, with very ample angle variations. Perfect focus throughout.

· Zoom tethering - System adjusts zoom to maintain constant perceived distance to car. This gives viewer the feeling to "travel with the target", and to study detail as well as in a still image. This is a spectacular feature, which will clearly set a Navicam assisted broadcast apart from a traditional one.

· Speed boosting - The opposite to zoom tethering. System to manipulate zoom in a non-linear fashion for increasing the perception of speed. This is achieved by applying a focal length that is inversely proportional to the distance between car and camera. In order to make his job easier, a human operator will typically work the zoom in the opposite way, thereby reducing the perception of speed.

· Re-appearance - Car re-appears from behind obstruction (crest of hill, building, tunnel, etc.) at the centre of screen and in perfect focus.

· Anchors - The position of geographically fixed features (for instance advertising billboards) is programmed in order to ensure reliable compliance with precise framing orders from client.

· Fixed positions - Memorised fixed positions can be instantly recalled, switching between moving cars and fixed positions such as a geographical feature, a position in the grandstands, the scoreboard, a billboard, etc.

· Soft transitions - When switching from one car to the other, the system will do so in accordance to a harmonious pre-defined path, agreeable to the eye.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Refutation]

Someone give Jeff Simmons and PJ Chesson a call.

[Sea Fury]

Someone give Jeff Simmons and PJ Chesson a call.

Are Buddy Lazier and Alex Barron in good shape for next year?

[speed up]

Vitor Meira and Tomas Enge Hey, bring their foreign sponsorship money to support our American troops. About time we get some help from other countries

[cheeseczar]

Indy only effort?

[speed up]

Indy only effort?

We welcome all partners of Yellow Ribbon Racing and appreciate their interest in a marketing partnership with the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series.


Looks like maybe both. I won't care who the drivers are, they immediately become my favorite team. Great idea for a good cause.

[Kaaveh]

In regards to Navicam, what benefit is there to the viewer if the ENTIRE screen is all car? You don't see the track, what's going on around, and most importantly, you lose the sensation of speed!

[rev-ed]

In regards to Navicam, what benefit is there to the viewer if the ENTIRE screen is all car? You don't see the track, what's going on around, and most importantly, you lose the sensation of speed!

OTOH, you see what the driver is doing and how he/she reacts...

[USMarine2041]

If this happens...

[Plectraholica]

OTOH, you see what the driver is doing and how he/she reacts...

Wish they had this at the 05 Indy 500.