What many scribes and snappers heard in the Le Mans paddock led them to conclude that the American LM-P1 will get its approval after all. What’s behind that upbeat attitude in the Corvette contingent? Murphy’s been told that one GM NASCAR groupie blocked the prototype project. He’s gone – to Europe – so when it’s submitted again the answer has a better chance to be “yes.” That’s assuming that the General’s dire financial straits don’t now torpedo that – and more.
Forsythe has been rumored to be likely to field one or more Zyteks by year’s end. According to Zytek sources, however, neither of the orders the company has in hand is from the Indy-based team. Still, the expectations for Forsythe run high in Georgia.
Could one of them be Walker Racing? Murphy reported earlier that the former Champ Car team had “proposals out,” and since then he’s been given another reason to believe that Walker expects to be in the ALMS this season.
Dario’s out of a Sprint Cup ride, but not out of his Ganassi contract as far as the Bear knows. If there’s to be any “sports car work” look for it to be in Grand Am. Otherwise, catch the Scot’s act in Nationwide. Next season, who knows?
If van der Steur Racing doesn’t show up at Lime Rock, will the team show up anywhere? ECO Racing hasn’t shown up on the Mid-Ohio entry, either. Probably won’t. Continuing not-so-good news, Black Swan may not make Lime Rock, but are “for sure” at Mid-Ohio. Since BS has Boston connections, it’s a fair bet the team will be very disappointed if it misses the Connecticut track. An indication the builder is struggling?
Soon-to-be-new ALMS drivers in the ALMS have finished 13th , then 12th , in two Atlantics seasons, and won the Star Mazda Senior Division, respectively. There’s no indication Audi fears the loss of its class hegemony.
It’s been clear to the rest of the paddock since Sebring that AGR was underperforming and its drivers were part of that. Much of the performance at Sebring was Marco’s doing. A while ago the Bear heard that AGR was in the Acura dawghouse. He reported the rumor – without naming the team, though many of you figured that out – back in May. Does this improve that situation? If Marco drives like he did at Sebring all that could change in a hurry – if it hasn’t already.
Is the Grand Am gravy train about to grind to a halt? If DP buyers are expecting continuing sweetheart deals, they might be disappointed. 1.7 billion in SunTrust write-offs and write-downs says so.
Dome-Toyota-Dome-Honda-Dome-Nissan. Selling customer cars isn’t Dome’s business model. They said so themselves. They also have written that it’s the company’s objective to “become the world’s leading racing constructor.” Dome’s business is contract engineering, design, and production of race cars. So, they’ll build you something if you contract them to do so. They’ll build for themselves. RFH was an anomaly that Dome says was a “substitute” for Dome’s own participation at Le Mans in 2006. An enigma wrapped in a mystery? Not really. Murphy’s bottom line: Dome will race it’s own car, but it will not sell and support it. Call it marketing. (Dome calls it “a demonstration.”) However, if you are a manufacturer and want to sign a contract for a car with your name on it…
Is the SunTrust write-down a big deal? Corvette fans should consider that GMAC, a sponsor of Corvette Racing. GM wrote down the value of its 49% share of GMAC to the tune of $1.45 billion in April. So the total GMAC write-off of nearly $3 billion makes SunTrust look pretty good. Then again, GMAC affects the future of one ALMS team. Trouble at SunTrust could affect most of the DP field.
The Green Challenge’s purpose is to attract participants, not fans. Good thing, too, since higher math is hardly a spectator sport. Perhaps the Green Challenge can bring the Mathematics Association of America on board as a title sponsor. The MAA sanctions the wildly popular American Mathematics Competitions (AMC), so calculating GREEP should be a snap.
Tags: Andretti, Corvette, Forsythe, Grand Am, SunTrust, Walker