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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?

Intersport is in

The other Lola team is Intersport. Though the long-time participant still working to pull together its 2009 campaign, Murphy’s been told that Sebring is a “go.” The Dublin team might doing Sebring on its own nickel because it’s smart not to disappear while you’re trying to attract funding. That would be the smart thing to do, wouldn’t it? Especially if you’ve got two drivers, the car, a team and a hauler in hand?  That brings the P1 entry to eight, Peugeot, Audi, Acura, and Lola, two-by-two. A nice symmetry.

Will there be any more? Probably not. Others have been mentioned, but Murphy continues to believe they won’t make the grid.

Dyson already up and running with one Mazola, livery and all, with another in route. Nice to be able to count on something, isn’t it?

VICI +2…or…

In GT2, VICI has added two Porsches to the entry, oddly with drivers TBA. Murphy says “oddly” because it seemed clear that the VICI program was very much dependent on drivers with budgets, so if the entries are firm, the drivers should already be “on board.” Other opinion from the paddock (shared with the Bear yesterday) remained doubtful about at least the second of the two entries, and dismissed any possibility of a third.

Bimmer by Two – or Not

That brought the entry to 27. The gang in Georgia expects to be able to add a second Ford GT and another Ferrari soon, so could 30 be in reach? The Bear heard tonight (Tuesday) that the much-hoped-for Unnamed Ferrari will not make Sebring. but “will keep working (to get on the grid) right until October if need be.” That’s a real set-back.

Is there a chance that we’ll see the second Rahal BMW? Murphy thought so right up until Monday afternoon. Now he’d not so sure. But hey, if you’re in Sebring today (Tuesday), perhaps you can ask them; they’re testing the M3. Murphy was told this evening that testing today wasn’t good; the BMW was no quicker than at the Winter Test, and that’s s-l-o-w. There’s real pressure for a bigger restrictor – and just as much “push back” on that from other GT2 entrants. Is the whole thing in doubt? It might be, one paddock resident says, “I don’t think they’re playing games.”

If we don’t get that second car, the Bear’s going to guess that Dirk Mueller will Join Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand for Sebring. It was previously suggested to Murphy that the single entry was a gambit by BMW in the continuing game with ACO rule-makers, and the Munich munchkins would ultimately enter two – or none.  Now he expects what’s on the entry.

Thirty or Bust

So for that magic 30, the possibilities quickly get pretty thin.  We may or may not keep both VICI Porsches. We may or may not get a Swan (black or otherwise), or a Ferrari (with a name or not). After those three – or zero – we’ll have an entry of 29 – or 26 – and we’re left with these from which to find one – or four – more: Corsa, another Zytek, a Creation, a European Porsche or two, a Salad Oil Burner (or two). Here’s some more late “news.” Corsa is possible, but not before Salt Lake at the earliest. The beat goes on.

Murphy isn’t sure there’s even one entry on that list. Readers are invited to set him straight in “Comments,” below.
What about St. Pete? There is a forum thread, but the bear will pass for now. There will be plenty of time to wring his paws over that one. Maybe that will be a pleasant surprise. It will be Autocon’s single planned miss this season, and Corvette’s is also a pass; on the other hand, Murphy’s heard that van der Steur is considering the city next to Tampa Bay.

Speaking of van der Steur, Connor observed that the Radical appeared to have great promise when it first raced, but quickly faded away. Too many constructors for the market?

Murphy’s Sebring

At this time of the year, the Bear’s memories of good times at Sebring return and the anticipation rises.
Plans are still incomplete, but some things seem certain. Murphy will visit a Wing House, accept an invitation to the BMW Corral, stop by Turn 13, celebrate at Chicanes, and probably stop by to nosh with his friend Bully at the Watering Hole. A walking a lap of the track is always on tap. He might help a friend collect autographs.
In the meantime check back here for the Bear’s famous (or infamous) Punter’s Guides, one each for prototypes and GTs.

Dome, Pesca?

Over in a Euro-based forum, Canada ALMS fan, asks, “Can your furry friend add anything to the stories of the Pescarolo or the Dome showing up in the ALMS?”

It’s remote that they’ll land on a 2009 ALMS grid. Think money. Murphy’s, well…obviously he’s a bear, isn’t he?. Funding will not get any easier as the season continues; it may get worse. His European correspondents generally tell him that as good as the LMS and Le Mans look, there’s a lot of “spec” entries in there, meaning, “enter it and they (funded drivers and sponsors) will come.” Time will tell.

A Public Service Announcement for Bayerische Moteren Werke

With BMW joining the fray, Murphy has a public service announcement. According to a circa 1980 issue of Roundel, a Beemer (or Beamer) is a BMW motorcycle. A Bayerische Moteren Werke automobile is a Bimmer.

Tags: BMW, Corsa, Creation, Intersport, Zytek

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 6:10 pm and is filed under Paddock Poop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.