They – just about everybody – say the EVO rules are “dead.” Since we haven’t yet seen an EVO rule, it’s hard to know what needs a burial. Do the current open and closed top prototypes remain legal after 2009? Probably. The devil is in the details, of course, so how competitive they will be is far less certain.
It’s those details Herr Ulrich referred to when he professed confusion at what Audi should build for 2009. But the manufacturers have been party to rules discussions with the ACO all along. Someone who should know said the report that the ‘EVO’ is dead “is news to me,” meaning the part of the rule that defines what you can race (as apposed to what you cannot). The adaptation of the Aston Martin GT1 motor to the Lola coupe is a demonstration of that, as is Zytek’s continued work on chassis that will accommodate some kind of hybrid powerplant.
A new LM P1 has already been extensively wind tunnel tested, and a corporate “go ahead” for the project is “just weeks away.” Clearly, someone thinks they know what the rule will permit, and that it includes prototypes with strong visual links to a manufacturer’s other automobiles. So there’s an American prototype on the way once again. Now that’s awesome.
Speaking of awesome, the word was used to describe a performance with a faux Ford. Murphy thought that was a stretch, so he asked his friends what they thought was awesome. Here’s a selection of their responses:
Tiger Woods sticking a three iron two feet from the pin to take the lead on the 17th hole on a Sunday. (An appropriate thought on Master’s weekend, though it didn’t happen.)
Yosemite Falls in late April.
The birth of a child, particularly one’s own.
One of Murphy’s close friends gave it some serious thought: ”At 8, I thought going to the Indy 500 was awesome. At 19, I thought seeing Pink Floyd in Atlanta Fulton County Stadium was awesome. At 30, I thought the birth of my son was awesome. As one ages, it takes a lot more to hit the “awesome” category.” Murphy was really impressed. Then his friend added, “Personally, I think bedding down Jennifer Garner would qualify as awesome.” Geez.
A space shuttle launch; better yet, a night launch.
Sleep in peace, comrades dear,
God is near. (link)
Murphy really paused over this one: At 3 am, flying 300 miles offshore to a sailboat sinking in 40 foot waves, and hoisting 6 people to safety in 80 knot hurricane winds. Semper Paratus. (link)
No one mentioned a DNF 186 laps behind the winner at Sebring.
There could be a Gil De Ferran announcement at Long Beach.
Note to…well, you know who you are. Since Murphy writes parody and other scurrilous stuff, he might of course pen something using a nom de plume. However, A.C. Guillermo is not one of those cases. The Bear in fact did receive an unsolicited contribution (well, now two, actually). Of course he knows who the author is – but it’s not the Bear and he’s not telling.
Peter over at autoextremist.com isn’t a recent convert to the idea that the General’s multiple divisions are a legacy of another time. Finally, though, after years of including Pontiac (which was a fondly remembered part of his childhood) in a streamlined GM, he figured out that every automotive segment is best represented by either Chevrolet or Cadillac. This may finally be the economic storm that forces the long-overdue reorganization.
Furia? Murphy thinks it’s homely and a monumental waste of money when you’re still four and half seconds off the pace in your fourth year. Just what Murphy thinks – and he hears it around the paddock, too.
The Bear was told that the second car for an Anglo-American-under-the-skin team “may be sooner than you think.” That’s good, but it appears there will be no car at all on the grid at Long Beach. A German team might yet find itself in the same boat. There is a cost to these street circuits, it seems.
Tags: autoextremist, Awesome, Coast Guard, Corvette, de Ferran, EVO rule, Ford, GM, Lola coupe, Tiger, Ulrich, Zytek
Awesome = Birth of a child, support from spouse, friends & family during illnesses, and faith.
Hmmm. Money can’t any of those. Well, I guess it can, but then is it really awesome. And then it’s a DNF……