98. Detroit 3 Reduced to Begging (Corvette Racing Soon Gone?). Not time for Primetime? (More on “a pickle.”)
By the time you read this, the former “Big 3” (now the “Detroit 3”) will have been to Washington and begged Nancy Pelosi for alms (that’s not A-L-M-S) on the order of 25 billion (more). Soon after – Friday morning – GM and Ford will release quarterly reports and it will become clear why they are on their knees. The word “horrific” was heard from insiders. Without help, GM won’t see the spring of 2009. New car development and much more will be slashed. Anyone who thinks racing programs aren’t in dire straits – whether manufacturer-supported or not – has been in a cave deeper than the Bear’s cozy digs.
So fair warning, once again, this Poop isn’t going to be one of those good-new whimsical reads of which Murphy is so fond.
The No. 30 Lola was operated by, but not funded by, Intersport Racing. Though English driver Ryan Lewis is seeking new funding for the 2009 season, we doubt that he’ll get enough for a second car. Richard Berry was the engine for the team’s own No. 37. The paddock was buzzing that Richard is going to take the year off, and one of the Bear’s correspondents wrote, “Intersport’s shaky…” On the other hand, Intersport’s owner has recently told some Georgia folks the team will be back with one car next season. Murphy’s take? The only ALMS team from Ohio in 2009 will hail from Hilliard, not Dublin.
Much has been written about Penske Racing leaving ALMS for Grand Am, as if those two things were dependencies. The Bear doesn’t think they are. Roger will race two cars at Daytona. He even bought one of them. He may contest other Grand Am races, but that’s far from certain. What Roger Penske does for a living is sell cars and trucks. What he does with other people’s disposable income is race them. All the blather about Penske’s racing plans is useless without a sugar daddy that wants to paint the cars. Anyone heard who that might be? In either series?
Meanwhile, Porsche’s made no commitment to continuing the level of factory support that Penske wanted to stay in the ALMS. In fact, after listening to Porsche’s “talking points” at Laguna Seca, it’s clear the company is solidly behind GT racing its iconic 911, but is less than lukewarm about anything else. Porsche AG stepped on its crank manipulating the VAG stock price. If it wanted to clear the way for a takeover of Volkswagen, it certainly didn’t want to piss off the government of Lower Saxony, Industriegewerkschaft Metall (IGM), and the Deutsche Bundesbank. By becoming “a hedge fund with an auto show room” Holger Harter and Wendelin Weideking have managed to make enemies of all of them.
The racing-team-prototype-builder-in-a-famous-intellectual-center is in a bit of a pickle. As much as they’ve been “planning” a 2009 ALMS campaign, and have left a car behind, they’ll have to settle accounts to the Crown’s High Court, won’t they? All public (in England does that mean “private,” or is that just schools?) information in the London Gazette, of course. The following was provided to Murphy this morning.
The Creation Story
The ‘petition’ by HMRC relates to a period before principal Mike Jankowski took direct control in May to deal with internal issues. Creation got a 42 day extension on the grounds that the HMRC (the petitioner) actually owes Creation more money (in VAT reimbursement) than the HMRC is claiming under the petition. In fact, similar disputes with the HMRC have been sorted out in the past, beginning last March. Resolution in the current instance is expected by mid month.
Creation has lately been able to position itself positively in a number of regards. First, the Aim dissolution deal substantially improved Creation’s balance sheet and positions it to be able to offer teams very competitive engine supply agreements. Second, we do not need to run anywhere or do anything unless the budget is right. As our current debtor book is sufficient to pay off all creditors and Creation has not borrowed money from anyone outside the company, it is pretty healthy. Finally, management reorganization has resulted in a truly realistic picture of the costs and the condition of the balance sheet.
Creation is pressing on despite the setbacks it has had in this year.
In case you were wondering, Aston Martin was planning to go flat out for the overall at Le Mans in celebration of fifty years since they last did exactly that. No more. Financial realities seem to point to one more “titanic battle for GT1 honors” with Corvette. Whatever spin they put on it, consider it “out with a whimper.” It’s the way things are.
On the good news side, the Audi gang was almost giddy at Laguna Seca at the prospect that they might be joined by Toyota in the new season.
All is not sweetness and light over in Le Rat’s racing empire. If teams get their way, new GT rules (the kind that would require new cars) will be replaced by a simple “GT2 to GT1 and GT3 to GT2” structur,e and a big ol’ international schedule will be canned in favor of about 9 races, mostly in Europe – even beyond 2009. The Bear doesn’t think the ACO’s latest “Asian initiative” is going to fly, either. The ALMS will have compressed its post-Le Mans schedule for no purpose.
Murphy hears if the Lord can get a dispensation (where is that legislation for disabled citizens when you need it?) to race in Europe, he’s gone. So will be partner Barwell.
After running down the prototype field after Monterey, the Bear promised a summary of the likely 2009 GT field, so here it is.
GT1 is pretty easy. Corvette will contest Sebring and Long Beach. Then nothing, nada. There will be no GT1 field. Every mention of Saleens and Aston Martins is wishful thinking. Actually Murphy thinks that will be all good, and the Series should just shut down GT1 from the get-go. Why? To put the spotlight firmly on the GT2 field, where it belongs, without distraction. It’s time to move on. (Having just seen GM’s third quarter results - remember even as bad as they are, they don’t include October - it seems unlikely to Murphy that there will be any direct GM participation in the American Le Mans Series in 2009.)
GT2 will be the backbone of the series. BMW will field two cars with Rahal. They are trying to get acceptance of the M3 as a full GT2 in Europe for Schnitzer. The best of the Bear’s sources say that the WTCC program is the walking dead, just waiting for the announcement.
Porsche will have two cars for its San Francisco factory team. The third entry was the aberration of a single season. As of Laguna Seca, Farnbacher Loles was confirming next year’s announced two-car American Le Mans Series effort. Falken seems more likely to go to Porsche than to continue with the Doran-built Ford. Where does that leave Black Swan? Still with Falken - or not?
It’s been a tough year for Primetime. First there was a little run-in with the law last September. Primetime Race Group part struggled with an unpromising Viper. Primetime Media Group resigned its lease of Miami sports talk radio station 790 The Ticket, citing “continuing losses,” and Primetime Real Estate Group’s corporate registration with the Florida Department of State is listed as Status: Inactive, Administrative Dissolution (the most recent state-required annual report was filed May 1, 2006). The Bear doesn’t understand what all that means, since the once-aspiring pro golfer recently said they’ll be there in the new season, and want to field a prototype (Zytek, Murphy hears). The Bear’s not counting on that or on a return to GT.
VICI might be a 2009 entry – or it might not, having been a bit on-again-off-again last season. Speaking of part time, It seems pretty certain to the “weird stuffed animal’ that there will be no Riley-built Corvette on the ALMS grid in 2009, either. When the Bear last heard, Robertson was “looking at the books and thinking about it,” and the PTG brain trust was “hopeful.”
How about Ferrari? Three. The oil guy is along for the ride once again. Why not? Business is good; so is selling Ferraris in oil country.
Murphy counts on five Porsches, three Ferraris, and two BMWs in GT2 before Mid-Ohio, when they’ll be joined by two Corvettes. (Then again, maybe not.) On the margin, there’s hope for a Ford GT, a Panoz, and one more Porsche. If there are more than that, they’re doing a good job staying under the blanket.