Archive for February, 2009

113. Intersport in, a Ferrari out, Bimmer Troubled, Will 30 be a Tough Nut?

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

Since the the February 12th entry, Sebring has lost the Falken Tire Porsche – as expected – and added Autocon’s Lola B06/10 AER, a good trade if ever there was one, and also expected. So, who shows up to test at Sebring today (wth BMW)? None other than a 2008 Porsche 911 for Falken Tire. Having just been erased from the entry…who knows  now?

Waiting for Wings

No, not at the Wing House, where Murphy hopes to visit on his Sebring trip. Unhappily for Autocon, Lola had not yet delivered a new-rules wing for the P1 car as recently as late last week, say nothing of the ACO’s last-minute-mandated skid block change. (In the opinion of at least one Bear correspondent, a change this late is a bit of foolishness if ever there was one.) It’s no wonder that neither of the possible Lola P1 teams bothered with Wheels Down Winter Test at Sebring, is it? (more…)

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Posted in Paddock Poop | 6 Comments »

Time to Remember that it’s all about Fun.

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

It’s almost spring, and Murphy’s ventured out of his cave early in a particularly foul mood. It’s been hard to be otherwise with the mess these human creatures have created, and its impact on this great sport. Lately the usually-happy Bear has been anything but.

It’s a good time to recall that this sport is all about fun – especially Sebring. So here’s a look back to Murphy’s Somewhat Silly Sebring Stories. Nobody the Bear’s ever met failed to have a boatload of fun at Sebing. Whether there are ten cars or one hundred, Sebring is always a real hoot.

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Posted in People & Places | 2 Comments »

112. Murphy Analyzes the Sebring Entry as of February 12.

Monday, February 16th, 2009

The Sebring entry will be released soon. In the meantime, the one compiled on February 12 totaled 25. Here is Murphy’s pre-release analysis of who is on and who is not on that list. (more…)

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111. BMW is a GT…er…ah…well…; Intersport Entry; Corsa hunting funds (Info Added)

Friday, February 13th, 2009

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose…er, GT2

BMW’s M3 will compete as a “full GT2” in the ALMS, but has been given GT2S-like dispensations from the rule book. Murphy’s sources are saying that there are three specific “allowances” given the Bavarians: the wing can be higher, the rear suspension mounts can be relocated from stock, and the V8 can be moved rearward. (more…)

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110. RIP (ALMS) RLM (or is it ALMS Radio or RLS)? (see added info) Gone in Sixty Seconds – Audi Style.

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

On a day when auto sales slid even further – to the surprise of few, January was as bad as the tail end of the past year – Murphy’s heard more bad nooz from within the sport. Given the sport is…wait for it…auto racing, that shouldn’t be any great huge surprise, should it?

No Bonuses in Braselton?

The Bear’s  been told that as of yesterday an enterprise in a small Northeastern Georgia town will have across-the-board pay cuts. That’s not good for a lot of Murphy’s friends in the biz, but perhaps it will avoid layoffs of the kind that hit other PMG units? Small consolation, too, that it’s not the kind of thing that has immediate impact on “the fan experience.” (Rumor alert! Continue at your own risk.) (more…)

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Posted in Paddock Poop | 4 Comments »