A rumor of layoffs in Baltimore Grand Prix, LLC. circulated last week but proved to be false. The Bear suspects it was an “echo rumor,” (that’s a story based on an earlier – but different – set of facts) of the February dual firing of the public relations and advertising firms.  Ad firm GKV, was  replaced by the Leffler Agency, Mobtown’s big agency. Baseball-focused Maroon PR, (the Cal Ripken baseball empire is their cash cow) bowed out, in favor of Edie Brown is the doyen of Baltimore PR.

Almost simultaneously with the lay-offs rumor, BGP announced a clutch of sponsors, an “official airline,” (something Murphy’s never heard of) “official auto insurance” (GEICO, who else?), the “official gasoline” (Sonoco, of course), a bevy of hotels. Small potatoes. The Bear expects this race to take the green this season; after that remains in doubt.

The mea culpa

Signature’s principals went ballistic over Murphy’s doubt they will have an LMP on the Lime Rock grid. In fact, the Bear got a love letter from Reg and Matt reading in part “the responsibility is upon you to correct and/or retract statements which are misinformation, slanderous, libelous and defamatory both on this forum (that would be americanlemansfans.com) and on the blog Murphy the Bear.”

Murphy went back and checked. According to Matt, the Bear omitted Reg’s 1980’s Formula Ford Performance Driving Academy at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and wrote that Signature’s plans included two prototypes, when it’s just one. Murphy regrets those two errors.

Murphy would like nothing more than to see another prototype in the ALMS, so whenever Reg and Matt can confirm they have a binding contract to buy or build a prototype or a motor to put in it, the Bear will take that to be good news, indeed.

Grand Am Update

The rumor that Mercedes and Audi will contest the 50th 24 Hours of Daytona was greeted by the Cogs with a “ho-hum, we knew that.” Anything from the Bear will get that response, but though there’s been no official announcement, those additions, particularly if they turn into full-season entries, will likely be just part of the story coming out of Grand Am this summer that will keep the American Le Mans Series in the hole it’s dug itself into.

Look for more GT announcements as the field for 2012 is filled with Audis, Mercedes, Porsches, Ferraris and others. The Bear’s been told there have been some upper management personnel changes following a winter in which development of new rules “bogged down.” On the positive side, one of those changes – a sideways move by Dave Spitzer – would seem to have increased the series focus on its “international alliances,” important to the nascent alliance with DTM. If Grand Am is smart (and Murphy thinks the new management over there is) they’ll announce new DP rules before mid-summer. Having hung onto the current rule set for a decade, they surely won’t get themselves into the same “late to the party” fix that’s become standard for the ACO, will they?

The Bear hears a draft of the 2012 DP rules was circulated a week ago. Do they include a shrunken green house? Murphy hears that’s the case, and sure as hell hopes so.

Media Failure

Data and analysis keeps trickling in on the Sebring viewer count. Last Turn Clubhouse’s Mediterranean correspondent  Chuck Farrell broke it down, and AutoWeek followed. Between them, they pretty much blew up the fiction that Sebring represented any better  – or more valuable – exposure for the series and it’s entrants. Murphy did, however, enjoy the irony of ESPN PR guy Andy Hall (unconvincingly)  keeping the wraps on the detail of the ALMS media disaster.

The On-line Fan Experience

Since the recent dust-up between American Le Mans Series management and certain of its teams over its putrid media presence, the Bear’s dug up an items or two.

First, looking backward (though Murphy doesn’t really want to, there’s the matter of context) there was an extensive but unsuccessful effort to land a “traditional” television contract. Regardless of self-congratulation, the Series’ brave new leap into the future of media, right or wrong, was very much under duress.

Looking ahead, the Bear’s been told the channel is fixed for the remainder of the year, likely longer; that is, live delivery will be to your computer – period. While accepting that – as they must – some in the series have demanded at least an upgrade of that delivery, using the resources of the teams, plus a more robust platform technology, to improve the fan experience. Murphy can’t share details, but if the series – they could simply ignore it – accepts this challenge, fans should expect some exciting additions to the on-line coverage beginning with the New England Grand Prix in July.

Given the magnitude of the undertaking, Braselburg will find it necessary to launch a project using at least some outside resources. So far, there is no indication they have done so. Along with that, on the table is a request for the series to allow its teams to use race video without the current fee of thousands of dollars. The Bear intends to follow progress – if any – over the next three months.

Abruzzi Adios

The Don’s Abruzzi is gone until Mosport or later. Sebring failure was paddle shift, then “internal engine” (likely due to a missed-shift over-rev). Did someone say “$5 million rat hole?”

Andy Lally update

Andy spent Martinsville on the bench. Kevin decided to start Hermie Sadler, for whom Martinville’s “home track,” and who tested well there for TRG. Hermie garnered a finish of 29th, putting TRG (listed as “Richard Petty” in the owner’s column…don’t ask) in a tie for the all-important qualifying-exempt 35th place on the season. Not sure if the tied teams both get the exemption, neither does, or whether there is a tie-breaker. Hermie and Kevin won $81,325, but that’s just an FYI from the Bear, since Andy’s DNS leaves his earnings at $654,911 to the ALMS field’s $844,000 (the latter including credit for its privateer bonus program. Murphy’s now updated the Challenge for Andy’s result at Texas Motor Speedway, in which he finished 32nd (again) and earned $96,150. That makes his earnings total $751,061. Owner’s points are 36th, so he’ll have to qualify to make the field in upcoming races. Here’s the table.

Press Releases

Most of the motorsports press is little more than a daily repository of unedited team, manufacturer , and driver press releases. If anyone needed evidence, they got it this week when one such site published an “article” with this lead-in sentence: “Level 5 Motorsports hopes to maintain its momentum coming into round two of the American Le Mans Series this weekend on the Streets of Long Beach, California.”

Hopes? The rest of the article tells us how great a challenge it is for Level 5 to compete against….no one?

The top two at the Rolex once again came from Murphy’s top 5. After putting both Ganassi cars on the list (a bit of a no-brainer, even if your head is stuffed like a mattress), plus Brumos and two-time Grand Am Champion GAINSCO, the Bear mused in Paddock Poop 152 about the fifth, finally settling on the No. 9 Action Express because it fit all three Bear rools. Including the one about established teams, since in crew, staff, and owner, it was largely the “other” Brumos entry, the one vacated by the accused Daytona Beach druggie.

One Ganassi car blew an engine, a rarity in recent years; it had 8 hours on it at race’s start. Is it a measure of the economy that Ganassi’s ran a well-used motor? Even if his race engine was replaced because of an oil leak, no fresh engine was available?

Readers wondered about the Bear’s bullishness on the BMW M6 entries, but they’re thinking like ALMS fans, where ‘new cars’ are new cars. In Grand Am, tubers shed their skins like snakes, yesterday’s Pontiac becoming today’s Chebby, and tomorrow’s Bimmer. Finishing 8th and 11th, they didn’t have any more trouble than any other make in the field – less, in fact.

Two of Murphy’s five favorites finished in the top five, one on the podium; among the 30 GT entries, the Bear’s Five were 2nd, 5th, 8th, 9th, and 12th.

Saab-Spyker Saga

So Spyker’s ‘buying Saab?’ Everyone knows that the one-time Dutch F1 team masquerading as an automaker doesn’t have a guilder to its name, so how does this happen? The devil’s in the details. The Dutch want their pet car company, as do the Swedes, so the Dutch arrange a $562 million loan for Spyker and get the Swedes to guarantee it. GM will ‘sell’ Saab to Spyker for $74 million in cash and $326 million in Spyker-Saab preferred stock (what’s that worth, given neither has made a guilder or krona in living memory?).  Spyker pockets $488 million in cash (perhaps some of that will buy out the 30% Spyker holdings of Vladimir Antonov, suspected (by Swedish Intelligence) of money laundering and links to organized crime.

Rolex Rumor

Northeastern Florida isn’t exactly populated by ALMS well-wishers at this time of the year, so Murphy has learned to anticipate one or more pretty nasty rumors. Some have a kernel of truth, some are just off-the-wall. The 2010 annual ‘Daytona ALMS Rumor?’ Widely circulated in the paddock on International Speedway Boulevard was the story that ALMS has not yet paid 2009 prize money, so teams, in a kind of “strike,” are sending in their 2010 entries with no money. Of course the Bear is more than a little suspicious of the whole thing, but the “fact of the rumor” is surprise – just a measure of the ‘bad blood’ between these two competing sports car racing series.

Murphy’s sources indicated that at least the ‘strike’ part of that is untrue. If any team was withholding entry funds it wasn’t in concert with any other teams, and likely wasn’t in any ‘retaliation’ for nonpayment. Prize payments have dragged in a bit late – sometimes in installments – in recent seasons, and apparently this one is no different. The Series has suggested that prize money be credited against the new season’s entry fee, which seems perfectly reasonable to the Bear.

Defecting

Expect more than one Grand-Am team to “defect to LMPC” after Daytona. Alex Job is said to be one of them (interest by AJR was expressed early) along with Level 5, and at least one other. The LMPC count for Sebring will be 4 or 5, with 2 or 3 to join the series after that – consistent with ALMS Supremo Scott Atherton’s recent pronouncements.

From one quarter Murphy is told, “the Grand-Am fields will be horrific after Daytona,” and that “NASCAR upper management is fed up with Grand-Am.” If that’s true it didn’t keep Jim-Bob from winning the Rolex with his own entry. Close connections to Action Express’ owner Bob Johnson – along with other information – would suggest so. Mr. Johnson is Jim-Bob’s personal CPA; the company funding Action Express is something called High Rev Racing. Entering your own race series isn’t exactly revolutionary (Don Panoz being another example); the Bear takes it as a vote of confidence rather than something nefarious.

GAINSCO Gone?

The Bear’s been told that the Rolex was GAINSCO’s last race. Miami hotel reservations have been cancelled.

Audi In, Peugeot Overboard?

The Bear hears that Braselburg is considering allowing Audi to enter Sebring, pending the outcome of the new car’s testing, now underway. If the entry accepted is the “transitional” car, and not the “new rules” R15, then there’s little doubt the effect will be to toss Peugeot overboard. Peugeot may jump anyway, of course. The new Audi just might be ready for Sebring, anyway, since Audi Sport Joest has turned up as a “full season” LMS entry. That would mean the car is now believed to be ready by April…March 20th isn’t all that much earlier, is it?

There’s Cars and…

…then there’s cars. Ferrari can’t be happy about the two street-car based (barely more than that) Ferrari 430 Challenge cars entered at Daytona. One was turned away (‘not ready to race’ is a kind description) the Bear hears. The other muddled around, thoroughly uncompetitive. Look for entries from Tony Dowe later in the Grand Am season to be much more representative of the iconic marque.

Inlimbo Racing League

Izod is the IRL’s new title sponsor; you’ve probably seen the ads. Other noises from the surviving – for now – North American open wheel series aren’t so good. Ganassi is just the latest to join the ‘new car’ discussion, having produced a mock-up – a sign, according to one source, that the series is “just blundering around.”

The addition of Lanigan to Newman Haas was the work of the late Paul Newman; Carl’s family’s not on speaking terms with the new partner. Are we seeing the unraveling of Newman-Haas-Lanigan? That’s one opinion Murphy’s heard.

Unemployment Line

Here’s a measure of the weakness of the racing industry world-wide: Butch Leitzinger, Lucas Luhr, Mike Rockenfeller, Sascha Maassen, Emanuele Collard, Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty, all ‘available and looking.’ And that’s just a few.

USF1

What the Bear is hearing is pretty grim. The chassis hasn’t been ‘crunch tested’ yet. There’s no motor on hand, payments to Cosworth reportedly now in arrears. The team has applied to the World Motorsports Council for dispensation to miss the first three races without penalty – more a courtesy than a rule, since guaranteed participation is not a part of the new concorde, as it was in the old.

It’s  not over yet. USF1 owner Chad Hurley (one of Youtube’s three original founders) could rescue the operation – with new management – if he so chooses. Meanwhile, Bernie is in his element, the eminance gris trying to arrange an interim chassis, but that’s wrapped up in a ride for Bruno Senna. If Bernie can’t get USF1 onto the grid, he might be stuck with the Russians, who’ve grabbed the rights to the ex-Toyota chassis (someone will have to check the accelerator pedal).

Lou News

Murphy’s friend Lou Gigliotti is running for Congress – here’s his web site. Meanwhile, he’s charging ahead with his Grand Am Corvette entries. 

Unlike others in Grand Am GT, Lou tells the Bear that, “Our Corvettes are ‘Prep 1’ using stock frames like ALMS cars. We learned a lot from that car and we are moving the technology over to Grand Am.” It makes particular sense for Lou to stick with ‘the real thing’ because Lou’s business is selling Corvette performance parts. Lou says a result of the new program will be   ‘really nice Corvette parts’ that will one day make their way into LG Motorsports’ catalog.
 
Eric Lux and Kelly Collins are set for the season in the first Corvette, with a hoped-for second car possible as early as Birmingham, depending on finding a good driving partner for the Boss.

Pssssssst…anyone interested in a nice ALMS Corvette? Murphy knows where to find one.

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