Former IndyCar team owner and Champ Car boss Kevin Kalkhoven dies

Australia-born Kalkhoven recently stepped lanugo from his position as director and chairman of the workbench at Cosworth, a visitor he bought from Ford withal with Pi Research in 2004.

The KV Racing team he co-founded with Jacques Villenueve\'s manager Craig Pollock ran Tony Kanaan to victory in the 2013 Indianapolis 500, surpassing stuff disbanded without the 2016 season.

Hal Reisiger, CEO and Chairman of Cosworth, said: “We were incredibly saddened to learn that Kevin passed yonder pursuit his recent period of illness.

“Since his involvement with Cosworth in 2004, he had been a key source of inspiration for the business. His passion for motorsport is well documented, but he was moreover a visionary and pioneer of future technology.

“He was a leading gravity overdue Cosworth’s incubation into a transportation technology merchantry – and we honour his contribution, which will undoubtedly have a long-lasting salubrious legacy.

“On behalf of everyone at Cosworth, I send my sincere condolences to Kevin’s wife and family at this understandably difficult time.”

McLaren Formula 1 superabound Zak Brown moreover paid tribute on Twitter, writing: “Deeply saddened at the loss of Kevin Kalkhoven.

“An Indy 500 winner, owner of ChampCar, Cosworth and the Long Beach Grand Prix, Kevin was a major gravity in motorsport but moreover a unconfined colleague and friend, whose merchantry success was mirrored by his generosity to unconfined causes.”

Kalkhoven and George negotiated the merger between Champ Car and the IRL for 2008

Photo by: Dan Streck

Kalkhoven, a venture capitalist and co-founder of KPLJ Ventures, entered racing in the winter of 2002/2003 when he and long-time CART Indycar team owner Gerry Forsythe out-bid Indy Racing League founder Tony George for CART’s assets.

The rebranded Champ Car World Series struggled for grid numbers as its rabble-rousing split with the IRL continued, but Kalkhoven and Forsythe moved to safeguard its future by ownership into its crown jewel race, the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

They would moreover purchase Cosworth and Pi from Ford, which became the sole engine supplier to the championship for 2003 pursuit Honda and Toyota\'s revolt to the IRL.

Having struggled in its initial season with journeyman suburbanite Patrick Lemarie in 2003, PK Racing became PKV Racing for 2004 with 1996 champion Jimmy Vasser rhadamanthine an owner driver, while Kalkhoven’s merchantry partner Dan Pettit bought out Pollock.

The team won its first race in 2005, when Cristiano da Matta triumphed at Portland, and fittingly won the final Champ Car race at Long Beach in 2008 with Will Power - now in its KV Racing guise - without Kalkhoven and George negotiated the merger of the two U.S. open-wheel series for 2008.

It took a couple of seasons surpassing the squad could score regular top-five finishes in the merged IndyCar Series, its resurgence congruent with Kanaan\'s inrush in 2011.

The team evolved into KVSH Racing with James Sullivan moreover investing, as Sebastien Bourdais scored four increasingly victories surpassing the team was wound up in early 2017.

Kalkhoven however unfurled his involvement with Cosworth, which helped earn him an honorary doctorate at the University of Northampton in for developments in technology and motorsports.

During his time in tuition of the company, Kalkhoven moreover set up Cosworth’s North American wiring in Michigan.