We're at the point in the season again where those not involved in the Championship battle (basically everyone bar Franklin) is looking to next season, and so we're going to do the same. We'll go through each team, discussing the rumours and possibilities, and also predicting final line-ups for each team! Franklin
Jamie Franklin has made it fairly clear he is unwilling to pay the £17.5m price tag to retain the services of current Championship leader Will Hoskins, and so we're faced with the very real possibility that this season's Champion - if it turns out to be Hoskins - will not be on the grid next year. However if Ruiz can snatch it, Franklin will carry the number one, as the Brazilian is already signed up. It's well known Franklin prefer a young line-up and spending as little money as possible, so the most likely possibility is that a rookie will step into the second seat. Franklin lost out on the opportunity to sign Emma Wilson - refused to pay the amount of money that was warranted for her services - however have recently signed 2013 IJGPC Champion Luke Stokey to their youth academy. This may not seem like big news, but it's reported quite strongly that Franklin haven't actively been seeking out a feeder series team to place Stokey at next season, fuelling the rumours that he will take the seat likely to be vacated by Hoskins. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Enrique Ruiz and Luke Stokey Liverpool Both Adrien Simon and Karl Beckenbauer have shown strong at points this year, although both have also had poor moments, begging the question as to whether they are actually Championship material. Liverpool have a raft of Junior talent waiting in the wings in Jamie Gerrard, Olen Inman and Didier Arnaud, however all three are inexperienced, and give Liverpool must be looking at a serious title challenge in 2015, would they want an unknown quantity? Besides, all three already have feeder series contracts and both Simon and Beckenbauer are signed in the main team for next year. I'm not ruling out a late decision change by Mathershaw and Lapierre, but I think it unlikely. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Karl Beckenbauer and Adrien Simon Downton Nathaniel Powers and Marcus Thunder both have contracts with the team for 2015, although it's rumoured in the paddock that Downton is looking to replace Thunder next season after his failure to match Powers during 2014. While these have been denied by both team and driver, it's not un-plausible, Thunder has more often than not failed to match his champion team mate, although he is still only 19 and has a lot of learning to do. If Marcus were to be dropped, the likely replacement would be his sister Kiara, who has just finished 3rd in the 2014 IJGPC. This would be harsh on Marcus though and could cause a divide between the siblings, and Kiara has already signed with Formula Ocelot for a 2015 IJGPC title bid, something she'll surely want under her belt before making the step up. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Nathaniel Powers and Marcus Thunder Rossi Puccio Giodano and Enzo Domenicalli are both signed up with Rossi for 2015, and with both now turning in strong performances, it's hard to see anything changing in the line-up. 2014 test driver Manni Costello has been dropped in favour of Jonas Phipps, but after his poor race performances, it's unlikely he'll get a chance in place of either Giodano or Domenicalli. One rumour floating around recently however is that new Rossi junior driver Luca Andreolli could be in with a shout, however after a fairly unimpressive showing in the 2014 IJGPC, it seems unlikely. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Puccio Giodano and Enzo Domenicalli Meteor Peugeot have already confirmed they are leaving the series after one season and will hand control of the team back to Meteor, however will continue to supply engines. This appears to have prompted a shake-up in the driver line-up, as it's been confirmed all four of the drivers from 2014 will leave or be dropped. Lewis Ellington will head to Lucas, while Ivan Lesic switches to Warrior, and Regi Abott and Fillipio Fazio will both leave the team. The reason Ellington wasn't retained was his high price tag, and the fact Meteor had already spent a large portion of the budget on the services of Jean Mattson. The Frenchman will lead the team and while Ezequiel Tanner has also been signed, Kaz Armos has confirmed he will fulfil test and reserve driver roles only. Rumour has it that the second seat will be filled by one of the team's junior drivers, and Stuart Harrison is the only one currently without a drive for 2015. Will Hoskins was also reported to be close to a deal, but little had been heard for weeks, and it's rumoured to have broken down. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Jean Mattson and Stuart Harrison Ingram Ingram have both Nikolai Milkovich and Diego Campos signed for next season, but there are strong rumours that Ingram are looking for a replacement for Campos, who has continued to under-perform this season. An impressive - albeit lucky - win in the US makes up 25 of Campos' 26 points, while team mate Milkovich is on 50, and Ingram is rumoured to finally be at the end of his tether with the Spaniard. Only Daniel Bruner is in the Ingram driver academy but he has already been confirmed as Formation Competition driver in the IJGPC for 2015, so unless they decide to break contract, Ingram will have to look further afield. Regi Abott and Kurtis Gardner have both been linked to the seat, as has Will Hoskins, but his name pops up everywhere, while a number of junior drivers are also likely candidates. Among them Hilario Bull is favourite to replace his countryman, but Felipe Cesar, Alex Wright, Lowell Hamm and Edgar Hester are also linked. Aron Einarsson and Yohan Dubois from the IJGPC have also been rumoured to be in with a shout, but the most likely scenario in my mind is that Judson Sikes will make the step up to join his countryman in an all Russian line-up for Ingram in 2015. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Nikolai Milkovich and Judson Sikes Team 23 Team 23 will keep on board the in-form Elroy Wagner for what they hope is a season that will closer resemble 2013 to 2014, and they currently have Jarod Lindsey contracted to race alongside him. Lindsey has competed in two races this season however, and was appalling in both, so I think it unlikely he'll be given another chance, despite the team stressing he will. Jacinto van Slooten has been most strongly linked with a return to the team while fellow Dutchman Henk Dekzwabber is also reported to be close to a deal. The Team 23 young driver academy only houses Klaas van Snelheid at present, but he's signed for Formation Competition in the 2015 FSSC, and is too young to make the jump to the main series anyway. His older brother Jochem is another option if Team 23 can prise him away from Westwood while junior drivers Cesar, Sikes and Hamm have also been linked to the drive. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Elroy Wagner and Jacinto van Slooten Fun Fun don't need any more drivers, but will have to work out how to split the three drivers they have between the two seats. Current drivers Hugh Dwyer and Romano Agostino have contracts, but the team have also poached Carson Davenport from Lucas, creating the impressive problem of having too much talent. Out of the three, Agostino is probably the weakest, and the most likely to be moved to the sidelines, re-uniting the 2013 Lucas team drivers. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Hugh Dwyer and Carson Davenport Lucas The Lucas line-up is as good as sorted, despite only one driver being signed. The team have signed Lewis Ellington from Peugeot but it's largely known that Lucas fully intends to give the second seat to 2014 IJGPC Champion Emma Wilson, it's just a matter of finalising the details and confirming what we all already know. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Lewis Ellington and Emma Wilson Westwood Another team with three drivers signed for next season, Westwood will likely not sign any more, and choose two from the three they have. The stand-out Tumo Kinnumen has already been confirmed once more as team leader, while Kip Maxwell and Douglas Bacon are the drivers vying for the second seat. Sadly, neither have performed anywhere near Kinnumen's level in their outings in 2013 and it's rumoured Harry may dip into his funds and instead decide to promote one of this young drivers. Jochem van Snelheid is the favourite as Finn Schnyder is too young, but Will Taylor is a dark horse for the seat. All three have contracts though, and it would be messy to revoke them, so it's likely youth will triumph over experience and Maxwell will line-up alongside Kinnumen in Melbourne. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Tumo Kinnumen and Kip Maxwell Warrior Despite his accident in Malaysia, Warrior always hoped James Harding would recover in time to lead the team in 2015. He in fact recovered early and will return in Japan, replacing Michal Kubat, who is the only driver to have started every race but not scored a point. If Harding turns in some poor performances, the team may decide he's not ready to come back just yet, in which case it's likely new test driver Ivan Lesic will step up alongside Abel Osterhagen for the team in 2015. If Harding shows strong however, expect him to lead Osterhagen into Warrior's second season. 2015 Line-up Prediction: James Harding and Abel Osterhagen Force Australia Force Australia confirmed some time ago they would retain the services of both drivers currently racing. Beyer and Nakumaya will continue in 2015, although there have been rumours they are seeking a home driver. As such Bailey Növak and Lowell Hamm have been touted as possibilities for the team, although I think they'll stick with continuity. 2015 Line-up Prediction: Felix Beyer and Hiroto Nakumaya
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