murphythebear.com

Murphy dropped into Chicanes on Wednesday for dinner with friends. The signature wall is gone. Later a key Series participant commented on the business model, “The only circus where the clowns pay to perform.” We’ll remember that one as we watch teams struggle to stay afloat through very difficult times.

Braselton Dreams

The LMP1 daydream started last year. After the “Doodling with Don” exercises recently reported in a forum, a “project manager” was hired, fumbled along for a while, then was gone. Then came the layoffs some say gutted the ability to build a Soap Box Racer, say nothing of a Le Mans Prototype. None-the-less, another project manager – a draftsman – is on board. For now, the most likely product of this project may be a picture of a car. Besides – and this is the Bear’s own thought – is this the best use of a few million dollars in a tough year for the ALMS?

Truth in 24

The Bear parked himself on the bar at Chicanes to watch the Audi movie. Nearby were the stars – Dindo, Tom, and Allan. Though they’d seen it at the premiere, there was still some hilarity. Murphy thinks Tom’s the new Waldo. The Peugeot guys were in the building, but didn’t show. Nor did they have their usual Texas Hold ‘em game. Most likely to bluff? Minassian, we’re told. Hardest to read? Bourdais, new at the game. Hard to know what he’s doing when he doesn’t know himself.

Corsa

Corsa is still, “95% of the way there, all they need is the funding.” The car is not in the United States, nor is it owned by the team. The Bear humbly points out, that there’s this human thing called a recession (not a problem bears have, their needs being much more basic), and “just funding” is more difficult to come by than it has been in many seasons.
VICI seemed not to have a plan (or a clue). Murphy heard no end of theories. There was a car in the team’s paddock, and an available second car a few steps away. No deal. The Bear doesn’t have much confidence in this one for St. Pete.

Rools Again

Murphy can understand a bit of whining about rules, but he does get tired of nonsense, like the idea that BMW “can’t build a car to the rules.” It did in 1998-1999 (LMR) and again in 2000-2001 (GTR). Exactly to the rule, no exceptions. Nada. Both times. Anything else is folklore. You can look up “ex post facto.” But this time, as the Bear has reported, there seem to be some “accommodations,” but they are ACO, not IMSA, he hears. Besides, it’s useful to assume that just about everybody has some kind of an “adjustment.” An ALMS Porsche RSR will require an additional 25 kilos when it arrives at Le Mans. The lobbying is constant and loud. The Viper got “unadjusted” between practice and the start of the 12 Hours. “Too fast,” for some of our stalwarts.

Turn 13

Murphy stopped by Turn 13, soaked up a bit of brew and saw old friends, including this Long Island pair, Zone 1’s Autocross (whoops, that’s Driver Education) boss.

GT3

Ok, the Bear has long since abandoned his purity in such things, but if you’re going to lower the bar to ALMS entry, why not go the rest of the way and just add a GT3-like class. The rumor of just such a move was rife at Sebring; it was believed an announcement was imminent. Then it just faded away…but stay tuned, this story isn’t over.

Offers? 

There may have been an offer for the whole shooting match (including the three tracks) last year; it was turned down. Since, the package deal may have been offered to the same party for substantially less. Interest had cooled. No deal.

Fantasyland

Saleens, ECO Racing, Creations, Zyteks, Jaguars…well that last one might be possible, but the silence is ominous.

Lou’s Lack of Luck

Lou is hopeful. Murphy’s not sure. The Brazilian driver was getting the hang of it as the week wore on, then drove the second stint and had a close and personal encounter with an Audi. Lou’s crew was concerned about being on the last cylinder heads. They asked the other Corvette guys for a set, but got a “nyet.” The crew guys were betting on making it to halfway; Lou thought the new NASCAR pressure system would do the trick. In the end it was the gearbox (though engine temp was going up, too – a symptom of the head pressure leak). Lou tweaked the Bear’s cheeks for good luck – didn’t work this time.

Looking ahead

St. Pete grid? 15. Expect at least 18 at Long Beach, then for Utah….ouch. 

News from the Dark Side

Over in that other series, Proto-Auto laid off some staff. They’ll campaign just one Multikronola this season with Ricky Z. and Steve Johnson piloting. Tracy will step out.

It would be a mistake to assume that big fields will be the order of the day in any road racing league on the planet. There’s an awful lot of hope out there, but not much money.

Irony

PSCR, which ran the 1999 Sebring 12 Hours, had to rebate $4,000 to the Don for falling one short of the promised 60 entries.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 12:41 am 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.