It’s been a big week here on Monterey Bay for Murphy and Heidi, with it all just catching up to the two of us on Sunday night at the big party. The proprietor of the Diablo Grande was on hand, as were his wines, which are Estate Bottled in the appellation’s own designated viticultural area. Murphy thinks he’ll have to add a couple to his cellar. Here we are, near collapse with the debris of the evening as the witching hour approached.
The Mazda announcement didn’t happen. Something is not yet in place. Murphy hopes it doesn’t all come apart – to be honest, the impression he gets is that the principals aren’t worried. In fact, they are pretty excited about their 2007 program, and though the Bear has been pretty hard on them this season, he’ll be happy if they can pull it off. The chassis are already on hand, he hears, and they are English, not French. Now, if they can just get that last piece to fit into the puzzle… Marcus Haselgrove has had a tough job bringing B-K Motorsport and the Mazda program along this year – he called it “character building” last night.
Creation will be the team in the ALMS – they are looking for a sponsor, not to sell the car. In Europe the team will field and develop a “full new rules” LMP1, then expect, if that goes well, to replace the hybrid here with that chassis. They will test soon with larger wheels and tires in preparation to contest the American Le Mans Series.
For all the stürm und drang, the Bear believes Audi will be back in the American Le Mans Series next season. That’s at least in part because Murphy thinks new technology – like that demonstrated by this very racing program – is going to contribute to a new paradigm in North American automobile sales, one in which diesel will have a much larger role. That doesn’t mean everything will be the same though. The team fielded this year as “Audi Sport North America has melded parts of Audi Sport AG, Joest Racing, and Champion Racing. The 2007 team will still be Audi Sport, the Bear hears, but will have much more Champion “content” as the others return to Europe and the Le Mans and LMS programs that will field the R10 next season. Murphy was afraid that press conferences and interviews around the pit and paddock would be far less entertaining next year without James Weaver, and if Emanuele Pirro left too, it all would become a vast wasteland, or nearly so. But there is hope. He hears that Emanuele is likely to be back, even if Frank Biela isn’t. Rocky? Mike Rockenfeller may already have signed with Audi Sport, and will be assigned to race in Europe in 2007. He’ll be able to get along with his education, too. The other story there is that the Italian accountant may have been bagged by Peugeot. But James, we’ll miss you most of all. Come back and visit, ya hear?
Autocon is racing ahead. They’ll be right back to testing in just a few week’s time. The second chassis seems to be a sure thing. Dunlops will be on the cars again. We may see one or more LMP2 teams on the British brand, too. Intersport, as you’ve undoubtedly heard, will be back with Clint and Jon sharing the driving duties, Richard Berry joining for the two enduros. How could they not? Though they finally succumbed to the full onslaught of the professional Penske Porsche Prototypes, there are many who believe that the little team from Ohio is the story of the season. Murphy certainly isn’t going to quarrel with that.
Well, Jörg had a good year didn’t he? Bergmeister, who on Wednesday at Laguna Seca with his favorite Bear, wrapped up the American Le Mans GT2 championship to go with the Daytona Prototype title over in Grand Am. Earlier he got married and became a father, and now to celebrate this last title, he and the entire Petersen Motorsport – White Lightning Racing family are headed for Hawaii. And the whole thing started with being canned. There has been speculation that Michael Petersen is reducing or withdrawing his support from this team. Not true, the Murphy’s been told. They’ll be back next year. Meantime, Ollie Gavin is telling us that Corvette and Pratt & Miller are celebrating by sending everyone to Detroit. That – Detroit – is where The Captain was on Sunday night. Seems there was a baseball game there, and Roger being not only a community leader but a (long suffering) fan, there was no doubt he had to be there.
“There’s more to come,” was the mantra of American Le Mans Series executives throughout the last racing weekend of the season. Porsche North America’s racing chief said there will be “at least ten” Porsches “in two classes” next season, so we’re still missing one GT, aren’t we? The Bear’s only accounted for seven, and unless we’re going 
to get a third Spyder there has to be eight. The ACO made a special point in its bulletin last week to note the provision of an ethanol-based fuel for this side of the pond in 2007, but not until the following year for Europe. So is there a program yet to be announced? Then there is the Cosworth-Courage combination. Murphy has reason to think that’s still in the cards, too. Some very trusted folks insist that the Mercedes deal is absolutely moving forward, and we’ve read about the Lou Giglioti Corvette – or two.
The saxophonist with the band at the Awards seems very familiar…
The Bear, contrary to some other points of view, is very much expecting Alex Job Racing to field a second Daytona Prototype in the Ruby Tuesday Grand Am team next season, and hope in some quarters that the top-flight Porsche team will enter a GT2 at Sebring and Petit Le Mans is likely to be disappointed. That is the best looking of the DPs isn’t it? Rudy the Rabbit – the Bear’s assistant in Indianapolis – tells Murphy he’s hearing that Fernandez is winding up his IRL operations, and that along with Luis Diaz, the CompUSA funding will move to him from Chip Ganassi’s Grand Am team. Does that mean another Acura? Some have Scott Sharp piloting a third Chip Ganassi IRL entry. Montoya signed for Nextel Cup…just how far can Chip and Felix spread themselves? One less Ganassi Daytona Prototype entry for Chip? Just another scurrilous rumor and more irresponsible speculation – from Rudy, who’s right in the middle of all that Indy action.
When Murphy speculated – based on things heard around the paddock, of course – that Porsche would be ready to field a LMP1 “when the rules turned favorable for gasoline-power in that class,” he got the comment back “not before 2008,” but not a denial. Now with the preliminary announcement of 2007 rules from the ACO, it’s pretty clear what that meant. Especially when the Bear considers other things being said around the sport. The diesel “advantage” will continue through 2007 – how could it not, with Peugeot entering? Come 2008, there will be that “favorable turn” that Porsche is waiting for. Remember when the ACO said earlier this year that they wanted LMP1 to become a place for manufacturers? That came back to Murphy in a flash of bear insight when he heard Audi’s big cheese in America lay out exactly that vision at the Hyatt Regency, and directly challenge Porsche and others.
Meanwhile, it’s another year for Penske Porsche in LMP2, and of course here comes Honda. But shouldn’t such entrants be encouraged to move along to the premier class? That’s the theme of some in the paddock, where smaller teams are faced with the might of some of the world’s largest auto builders, while Audi gets a free ride in LMP1.
The Bear ended his week at the big party, but he started it at his favorite neighborhood bar – the Sardine Factory, above Cannery Row. Ken, Big Mike and the rest were there, so Murphy and his friends hit the happy hour tappas. No hefeweizen? No problem. Assistant manager Ken will go out and buy a six pack! Walter the Walrus was surprised, and very pleased. David Conley was at the keyboard at seven.
Yes, Oliver Gavin was asked by Dyson Racing if he would consider replacing James Weaver. No, he had to respectfully decline, and yes, the guys at Dyson understood completely – you don’t leave a deal as good as Oliver has at Corvette. The Englishman will drive at Daytona January 27-28, and test there with the Dyson team in November. That will get the nattering nabobs talking, but it’s all about Dyson’s Grand Am adventures. Oliver will stay with Corvette, and Corvette will stay in the American Le Mans Series.
Why is it that the Bear seems this week to be killing rumors rather than promoting him – has he suddenly acquired a “responsible” streak? Horrors! But not to worry, it’s all in the same spirit. What Murphy hears, he tells you. The annual “Scott Atherton’s leaving” story was back in the paddock at Laguna. Seems the big guy was said to be pining for home – that being Seattle. What he’d do there, the Bear’s got no idea. But Murphy’s been told that roots or not, when he’s done with this gig – and that won’t be for a while – he’s more likely to find a little cottage well south of all that rain. Oh, and while we’re on this topic, Uncle Don assured Murphy that he’s still very much alive, and yes, he will be back from Australia in time for Sebring. Heidi snapped this shot on Sunday night in Monterey. Looks pretty healthy to me – but what does a stuffed Bear know, anyway?
The Bear’s not expecting to be able to hibernate this year, he’ll just have to get along on the occasional cat nap. Just too much going on. Murphy will be back soon with some stuff he’s sure you’ll like. So stick around.
It seems Alex Job Racing is that missing Porsche team for next season.
The “missing GT2 Porsche” to which I referred in the headline is one as yet to be announced. A Porsche executive said at Laguna Seca that there would be “at least ten Porsche entries” in 2007. Subtracting two for the Spyders, that leaves eight GT2 entries. The Bear can account for seven, not eight. Thus a “missing” Porsche.
That is NOT a “missing (from ALMS) Porsche team.” It does not refer to the Alex Job Racing withdrawal from American Le Mans in 2007. Read down a bit further, and you will see that Murphy has that one completely nailed…”hope in some quarters that the top-flight Porsche team (AJR) will enter a GT2 at Sebring and Petit Le Mans is likely to be disappointed.”