Posts Tagged ‘Highcroft’

190. Sports Car Racing in North America: Mid-season 2011

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

There’s not much action out there, racing or otherwise, but there’s still much being decided behind the scenes. Here’s Murphy’s synthesis of rumor, fact, and speculation about North America’s two principal sports car road racing series. (more…)

189. Nothing about Level 5, Signature Motorsports, or the Abruzzi.

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

The Straight Poop?

The Boss predicted 5-6 LMP1 entrants “week-to-week” after the “Le Mans break” (that’s 3-4 “new”) and a week later “2 or 3” additional entries, which means 4-5 total. In other words, he doesn’t know for sure. It’s not reasonable to expect him to, of course. Even the principals don’t know whether their “deals” will come through or fall through. (more…)

187. Abruzzi cost. No Signature. A.C.’s ex. Semantics. Media Disaster.

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Real Cost of the Abruzzi?

What’s the Abruzzi  worth to you? Evidently it’s worth the loss of television coverage to the Don. Murphy’s learned that the cost of the latest monument to the Panoz ego is about $5 million – so far. Coincidentally, that’s about the cost of televising the 2009 American Le Mans season, as the Bear’s friends over at Last Turn Clubhouse pointed out in their seminal 2009 series, Operating Revenue and Costs of the American Le Mans Series and IMSA  (more…)

185. Le Grand Petit – How Many at Road Atlanta?

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

The Abruzzi Archives

It’s not like it’s a big recall. You are dealing with two copies built on left-over Canadian-built race-car chassis. A torch, order some glass, and viola! (The body panels never did fit, anyway.) The bookkeeping makes the Bear a bit crazy, and leaves him wondering how this project can ever produce a competitive race car. Winchester need a part from Hoschton? The Don writes a check in Braselburg, mails it to Winchester, then Winchester writes a check and mails it to Hoschton. Meanwhile, Gordon’s got a consulting job with the Abruzzi at Sebring. Murphy expects he’ll be in charge of the tent flap.

It’s all pretty odd. The Bear remembers a big dust-up 2001 when not enough Bavarian touring cars were built. That led to our first ALMS one-make racing class. (more…)

177. Peugeot Power. The Proto Grid. A Brumos DP for the Lizards.

Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010

Scorched Earth

What do the Montreal Canadiens, Liverpool Football Club, and Richard Petty Motorsports have in common?  George Gillett, a scourge to all of them, or so most fans believe, and who was recently forced out of Liverpool by John Henry, also owner of the Red Sox and Fenway/Roush Racing. RPM owes $3 million Roush-Yates, and since Gillett has way more red numbers than black in his ledger, King Richard is scrambling to stay in the game. It’s tough on the King, with wife Lynda fighting a brain tumor diagnosed in February. The King will likely get through it, perhaps even field a Dodge team in the Continental Tire series and one Cup car. George’s empire might be out of options. (more…)