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.

The Baby Sitter Chronicles

[Redacted] If this rumor is true, it will be in the public domain soon enough.

Le Grand Petit

There’s another dust-up of late – this one in the media and in sports car fan forums – whether the entrants at the joint Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round- ALMS Petit Le Mans will be limited by the Road Atlantic track capacity.

Those who dig into such things looked at the Sebring entry plus the ILMC cars that received waivers from the ACO to skip, the possibility of one or two post-Sebring ALMS additions and concluded the Petit entry will go into the low sixties. It’s possible there will be some attrition in ILMC entries, but what we’ve seen so far appears to be only the exercise of waivers offered by the ACO for a few that can’t have a car ready for Sebring, and ALMS entries seem more likely to grow than shrink, with Autocon doing selected events, and Intersport, Highcroft, and Signature “in the wings.”  SpeedTV columnist John Dagys picked up on the problem, concluding after asking Scott Elkins that PLM would be able to accommodate as many as 60 cars.

Meanwhile, Murphy was doing a little digging of his own.

If you apply the FIA formula for track density for an event in the FIA calendar, then you can only start 46 cars at Petit. That’s what a professional track designer with first hand intimate knowledge of Road Atlanta came up with. And it’s what Murphy’s friend, Canuckistani engineer Paul Collins, came up with.

Here are Paul’s calculations:

N = (0.36 x  L x W x T x G) where the letters are all factors based on tables found on pages 12 and 13 of this document. (Appendix O to the International Sporting Code, Procedures for the Recognition of Motor Racing Circuits.)

L is related to length
W is related to minimum width of the track
T is related to time
G is related to the car classes

In this case L = 13 (track is 4.1km long)
W is 10 (width is 40 feet, or 12.3 meters, rounded to the nearest whole number)
T is 1.4 for a race up to 12 h (the value of T only goes up to 1.5, so you won’t gain a significantly larger number of cars by going longer than 12 hours)
G is 0.7 because the cars are sports cars with big engines (this value would go up to 1 if ALMS was GT only – if you got rid of the prototypes, defined as “sports cars” in Appendix O)

That means N = roundup (0.36 x 13 x 10 x 1.4 x 0.7) = 46 cars. If the minimum width of the track were 13m, N would be 53 cars. If the minimum width remains unchanged but we had IMSA GT instead of a mixed field that included prototypes, the number would be 66.
All that is actually irrelevant, however, because the same Appendix O  specifies that the minimum track length for any race that exceeds 6 hours in duration shall be no less that 4.7 kilometers. Road Atlanta is 4.088 kilometers.

There’s even more reason to stop worrying and get on with life. The FIA might never have inspected or rated Road Atlanta anyway. FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting has only made one visit to the track that the Bear could uncover, in the company of CART’s Kirk Russell, at the time Vice President of Competition and Technical Director, in late 1998 after the Don’s upgrades for the first Petit. Reportedly, all Charlie had to say at the time was “I did not expect to see a track like this in America,” taken at the time as a compliment. But that wasn’t an official FIA inspection, Charlie was just along as Kirk’s guest. This was the final inspection for CART, but by then the Don was put off by the constantly increasing CART sanction fees (at that time beyond $3 million) and no deal was made.

ACCUS, the FIA ASN for the USA (go look it up), can inspect a track to the FIA, and might have done so, but, again, the Bear couldn’t find anyone to say so. And Murphy’s learned that you really don’t have to be an FIA licensed track unless you’re holding an FIA championship event, and neither the ALMS nor even the ILMC is that. Not that it would make any difference, there’s really no way around Appendix O, is there?

Wonder where Scott Elkins gets “60?” So did Murphy, but then it occurred to him that since Road Atlanta is a non-conforming track anyway, its capacity can be anything the ACO and IMSA want it to be, and that will likely be somewhere around 60 in October.

There’s money at stake; certainly no one wants to send a team home – contracts were signed with sponsors and drivers based on nine events, and losing Petit Le Mans wouldn’t be a small thing for anyone. The FIA wants PLM to happen, the ACO does, Don Panoz does.

So what now? Then Murphy checked the FIA calendar and saw that Petit Le Mans is a “restricted event.” What was that? Back to FIA documents (this time, to the International Sporting Code, paragraph 19. Restricted Events, and eureka! There it was! (With thanks and apologies to Archimedes.)

In certain exceptional circumstances, the FIA may grant authorisation for restricted international events, which on account of their specificity may be organised as a dispensation to Appendix O of the present Code, to be entered by an ASN on the International Sporting Calendar.

A “dispensation” is an “exemption or release from a rule or obligation,” and Appendix O is “Procedures for the Recognition of Motor Racing Circuits.”

The bottom line is clear. Come October, if 63 cars show up, and all of them survive practice, 63 will race. The rules allow 20% more than the grid limit to practice, anyway, so there’s a big fudge factor up front.

Odds and Ends

As the Bear asked in a Tweet, the other day, if Tony Kanaan, Gil de Ferran, and Jay Penske together can’t raise enough sponsorship money to field one IndyCar, who the hell can? Is it any wonder that Highcroft, Intersport, and others in sports car racing are finding it difficult to raise enough money to race?

For those who don’t follow the Bear’s Tweets, here’s some other stuff that’s happened in motorsports:

* Lord Drayson off to play with electric cars.
* Intersport off the Sebring entry.
* Luca Moro returns to Sebring, rumored to have been there in 2007 as “Luciano DaSilva.” Another indication that the sport can “overlook” something when it suits them.
* Rahel Frey replaces Katherine Legge at Audi for DTM. Murphy wants another hug from Katherine; maybe now he’ll get it.
* Trevor Bayne won “The Great American Race.” Who?
* Bahrain F1 was postponed. Dodged that one.
* Roger Penske turned 70. Happy B’day, Roger.
* Lou Gigliotti sues GM, Michelin, Corvette Racing, Doug Fehan. Win, lose, or settle, this can’t be good for Gov’t Motors.
* Racer names American Le Mans at Road America the 2010 “Race of the Year.” Who knew?

Back on July 7th, Murphy told  you about talks between NASCAR, the FIA, and the folks who run DTM. The Bear’s comments reflected  what was said at a little get-together in Daytona Beach that week. Soon thereafter, Grand Am published its “GT3 Memo,” reported in detail by Murphy’s friends over at Last Turn Clubhouse.

Now ITR – the promoter of DTM – announces that they are working on a joint schedule with NASCAR and Grand Am that would bring 12 races to North America in 2013. Some question the story, one critic writing it’s “BS,” trumped up solely by Hans Werner Aufrech of ITR. If that were so, would Grand Am President Tom Bledsoe (said to be very close to Jim France) have released a statement confirming the general outlines of the on-going discussions?  Murphy suggests you shouldn’t ignore that these talks were announced at that same reception for Grand Am and other NASCAR team owners in Daytona in July.

What’s being described publically by both  sides is the introduction of a separate DTM series of races in North America, that will share weekends with NASCAR-owned series. A few in the paddock speculate that by the time we get to 2013, the DTM cars – some variant – will replace the highly unpopular Daytona Prototypes and thus be “integrated” into the Grand Am show. While it’s not certain that an agreement will finally be signed, everything Murphy hears indicates that the discussions are quite real, and the sides close to an agreement.

Murphy is only a purveyor of Scurrilous Stuff; he certainly can’t compete with the Unvarnished Truth, can he?

At Petit 2010

Thursday evening after night practice, the Bear was at the annual party in the woods above Turn 10; old friends and new stopped by. It was the usual good time, with barley pop and other beverages in abundance. The Bear and friends have spent most of the last decade in that very spot on that very night solving the problems of the sports car racing world.  Now…if someone would only listen…

When Good News Maybe Isn’t

Don’t get too carried away about that prototype HVM says it will field in the ALMS next season. So, HVM is going to do a Lola ALMS prototype program? Are y’all forgetting this is the team that didn’t have the scratch to run a whole Indy Car season? (Edit: The Bear has been corrected. HVM actually made the last race at Homestead after being locked out of its own shop. Apologies for the misinformation. That this is a team “shopping for funding” is still true.) Murphy told you about that last month. This is one of those “we’ve got everything but the funding” deals.

Zytek

Lawrence Tomlinson’s public statement (published widely) would seem to indicate Zytek’s or Ginetta’s involvement in the prototype business will be pretty much “on ice” for the foreseeable future. To Murphy this looks oddly reminiscent of the Creation Autosportif mess, and will likely similarly end badly.

Porsche on the Prowl

Hints of change in the sports car racing world keep trickling out. Grand Am’s approval of single nut wheels and other changes will be applied to Porsche, bringing the Stuttgart company closer to its objective of one race car it can sell in multiple series around the globe. Brumos will race Porsche GT’s in the coming season, and all indications are that the team will get significant factory support.

The Great GTC Scam

The Two Scotts have spent nearly two years telling us the Porsche-only-GTC class was just a matter of convenience. When launched, it was claimed to be the only practical solution for a quick fix of the series’ inability to attract enough entries.

So, of course you thought you’d get something beyond a Porsche club race in 2010. No such luck. When the 2010 season rolled around, it was still too hard to do, Porsches again…but y’all could be excited because some of those Porsches could be different, from different series (though you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at them).

It had to be a sure thing that you’d get more cars in 2011, right? Then you learned that only one car was being considered, Audi’s R8, already a fixture (and a successful one) on the world GT3 scene. That wasn’t good news, but many seized on it as fait accompli.
Will it happen? Nope, too hard, can’t balance performance, yadda, yadda, yadda…but all bull turds according to Murphy’s sources. Was there a tactical error in Braselburg? Have you seen the GTC entry at the ACO’s Zhuhai Le Mans Intercontinental Cup? Four entries: Audi R8, Audi R8, Audi R8, and Aston Martin DBRS9. What was it the Scotts said? Couldn’t make it work?  Sure.

Count the legs, divide by two, multiply by the event days…

“More than 300,000 fans attend GRAND-AM races in person each year, and millions more watch on television,” said Kevin Hindson, Grand Am’s VP of Marketing and Communications. Interesting stuff. You don’t say “more than 300,000” if you had “more than 400,000,” or even something like 350,000. The Bear’s no math whiz, but 300K at 12 events is an average of 25,000. According to figures Murphy’s seen, the ALMS claims “over 700,000” for nine events, an average of 78,000. That includes two “signature” events (Sebring and Petit) for the Braselburgers, and one for NASCAR’s series. ALMS has one shared weekend (Long Beach) at which accounting for attendance is problematical, as it is for events Grand Am shares with its NASCAR big brothers (July at Daytona, August at the Glen, and Montreal). At best educated guess, television for both series has been stuck around 200K.

Kurt’s

Friday night was Murphy’s second annual Friday Dinner at Petit. One of the local elves suggested Kurt’s in Duluth. The Bear was very, very impressed. Kurt’s and Vreny’s is a self described “European Bistro,” but it’s German enough (as is Kurt) to have been recognizes as one of the top ten German restaurants in America. Wonderful food, excellent service…then Kurt took us on a tour of the most phenomenal collection of motorsport memorabilia Murphy (or his friends) have seen anywhere on the planet.

The Great LMPC Scam

The “Rookie of the Year” is?

Schedule Follies – Part 2

They had to get it out quick. No idea why, but there it is. Then, the TBD date was defeated in Oklahoma City. Other dates move around, or are moved. Even now Road America plans a Saturday race and Braselburg a Sunday date in Wisconsin. Murphy hopes they get together. While they’re at it, why not figure out how long the race will be. The Bear would like six hours. Very much.

Meanwhile, the lack of title sponsors for either of the Baltimore headliners puts that event behind a financial 8-ball. One item about which  fans seem now to be obsessing but Murphy doesn’t share the worry is concern that the returned-to-fall race at Laguna Seca will be shortened from its 2010 6 hour duration. It won’t be.

Anybody know what the television coverage will be in 2011? Neither does the Bear, who’s happy he doesn’t have to raise sponsor money for an ALMS team.

Sincerely dead. Now what?

With key parts now unavailable, the Porsche RS Spyder is – in the immortal words of the Munchkin Coroner – not only merely dead…really most sincerely dead. So, what to race for a team the ALMS sorely needs to return? So far, the only reasonable option is HPD – and do they want to be in line behind Duncan? Other possibilities have drawback that make them unattractive. Contacts with Audi were referred to Audi NA where they dead-ended. A call to Peugeot is likely, but pro forma,  not offering much hope for a program of reasonable cost.

And Dyson? Will Mazda offer enough to make another season like the last two acceptable? Is there hope for any better without an enginectomy? Can the Roush-Yates deal for Grand Am be leveraged into something for ALMS?

Murphy’s Stop-a-Clock Ugly

With the unveiling of the Abruzzi, the talk at Petit Le Mans naturally turned to the ugliest automobiles of all time. There was much conflict but a fair amount of agreement, too. Others mentioned included the Ford Expedition (doesn’t fit in a garage), the Excalibur Phaeton (cheesy copy category), Mercedes Benz Maybach (conspicuous consumption category). Pontiac’s Aztek was on everyone’s list, and somehow dropped off between the Turn 10 woods at PLM and this column. Let’s give it the “Shooting Fish in a Barrel” award, as “too easy,” and allow one more to make the Bear’s final list.  Here are the Bear’s picks:

10.    AMC Gremlin– Took cheap boxy designs to the pinnacle of putrid. Runner’s up here are Chebby’s Vega and Ford’s Pinto. Add Datsun’s B210, Yugo, and Fiat 124 to the Bear’s “catchall and runner-up last spot. Cheap cars that looked the part. 9.    1975 Triumph TR7 – Who knew you could make a sports car look really, really stupid?

8.    1961 Ferrari 250 GT ‘Breadvan’– It turns out a Ferrari got there over a decade before Triumph with ‘La Camionette,’ though it wasn’t Enzo’s doing.

7.    1958 Edsel – No one bought the Edsel because no one wanted to be seen in one.

6.    Tucker Torpedo – Whatever the movie’s script, the Tucker was dead on arrival.

5.    1951 Studebaker Commander – At Studebaker they like the Torpedo so much they decided to build their own.

4.    1958 Oldsmobile 98 – The car that took chrome so far it happily killed the whole idea.

3.    Citroen 2CV Charleston – The 2CV was bad enough, then they gave it this two-tone in a swirl.

2.    1980 Cadillac Seville (Full Cabriolet Roof) – Baroque bad taste taken to a whole new level.

1.    2010 Panoz Abruzzi – The unholy offspring of hippopotamus and a Dyson vacuum cleaner. And the doors don’t fit.

 Numbers

Murphy wrote his first Paddock Poop in July 2005; that’s 64 months ago. With 176 and a few ”specials,” that’s a about three a month, so the Bear hasn’t been as derelect as some of his readers think.

The night of October 3, Murphy and Last Turn Clubhouse passed 2,000,000 visits. That was just 15 months after the two sites logged their first million. Thank you all.

Follow the Bear on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/Murphythebear

After hastily announcing and error-plagued 2011 schedule at Road America, Murphy didn’t expect a mea culpa, but he thought there might be an update of sorts. Like what about Road America. The track now lists the American Le Mans Series as a Saturday race, and the Plymouth Town Board has approved late-running. Why the silence?

The Boss said there might be an “event” stuck into the big summer gap. Then, on Saturday he said there would be no race added to the season schedule. So what’s “The Event” other than that new television series rip-off of “Lost?” Braselberg claims 12,000 showed up for something-or-other-on-Main in Greenville, but is that any compensation for teams without a sponsor and sitting on their duffs for three months? An “event” is to a race like a docudrama is to live coverage.

As if The Gap wasn’t enough, it turns out the Le Mans test day will be on April 24, just one week after Long Beach. That’s another major black eye for the series.

The Coverage

Another big non-announcement was the television contract (or lack of one). Some say to expect the same as this season, meaning live coverage of about half – including the two ILMC races – on Speed, and some major network telecasts, docudramas included, but not exclusively. All that done by that new “in house” production department. If you think they’ve shown their management skills in other areas, why not have the Braselbergers get into the media production business?

Murphy continues to think it’s going to be quite different. There was a party Friday night by the television folks, including the “on-air talent.” It was a farewell party. The Bear’s been told we’ll not see them again. But who will we see? And what does that say about the Speedtv coverage that the Boss praised in his Friday oration? Gone, Murphy hears. Gone to flowers… Sorry, wrong song… Gone to docudramas on Versus, with occasional runs on a network. Like the IRL. Did you watch much of the IRL this year? Neither did the Bear.

Speaking of in-house production, did you see the nubile college girls running around in blue vests with entry-level camera gear? The ones with no clue, pointing lenses at random? That’s in-house production, intern division. Let’s see, motorsports pro photographers are Hugewally, Rizzo, and Jimmy, and the available photo interns are Athens sorority girls?

In a week when reduced television coverage was rumored, the series scored perhaps its biggest – most visible, anyway – print media coup, a cover and forty page article in Road & Track featuring the principal GT contenders.

The Event

Not that fictional place-holder sometime in 2011, but the big Petit Le Mans right there at Road Atlanta. No one the Bear knows claims to have seen a bigger crowd – ever, with 124,000 was mentioned. In 2008 113,000 was reported, and in 2009 a rainy week drew 102,000.

The year in attendance was a split decision, the Bear hears – five up, four down.

Grids

Looking ahead to 2011, the Braselbergers were happy to announce Mexican Lambos, and perhaps a pair of Panozies, both likely to keep the Cats company, but no R8 in ALMS. Bet on R8’s in the Florida-based series, though.

ACS says they’ll run a pair of Fords all year. The Bear hopes so. CORE Autosport wants to run some kind of an ALMS prototype. So far, that’s little more than a fishing expedition for sponsors and funded drivers.

An accomplished prototype driver whose family had a long history with Mercedes and Nissan will plot a GT Porker with a famous North American racing team, itself leaving the prototype ranks to contest GT in the 2011 season.

The “Green Racing Leader” can’t figure out what to do with a hybrid GT, so there will be no electric Porsche, nor any other.

Rumored BMW motorsport cuts will leave BMW North America and Rahal without much help in 2011. How long can that continue?
      
Daytona champion to stay with Porsche, add second DP; given what the Bear’s heard about the teams’ source of funding, the choice of package says a lot about the relationships being built/rebuilt at International Speedway Blvd.

On balance, the paddock chatter indicates improvement on the margin of the ALMS GT grid with Lamborghini and more Fords for 2011. Meanwhile, Grand Am will make revolutionary changes, leading to a major remake of its GT field.

Miscellany

The Bear poked fun at the official cheese of the American Le Mans Series, but that was before he tried Yancy’s Fancy at Petit. It’s really yummy. Leave some of that in your car, and any self-respecting Bear will rip it to pieces to get in.

Braselberg said they were working on a “more accessible” Green Challenge. Does that mean it won’t be restricted to slide rule geeks (for those few living who still remember slide rules)? That’s the objective, but the real problem remains: There’s never been a  non-visual sport.

Seen at Paddy’s (beyond the usual suspects): Gordon Murray, David Price, Gil Campbell, a Porsche ALMS factory driver reunion, a working Abruzzi , miscellaneous eye candy with drivers and executives (not sure which of the latter were groupies or rentals).

No road cars are necessary to homologate the Abruzzi. You did notice it was entered in GT at Petit, didn’t you? How do you suppose that happened?

Not a big surprise, but there was some angst in the paddock about the cost to teams of the 2011 prototype rule changes. One source called it a “revolt of sorts” that could lead abandonment of some proposals. So there’s turbulence in the ACO’s world. Are you surprised?

Porsche to F1, Audi in sports cars? Murphy’s hearing, “snicker, snicker.” The Bear can’t find anyone in the sport who believes it.

The Bear’s hearing precious few rumors – and that’s a worry. It’s a worry because this is usually the time of year when stuff is happening. Hearing good news (or not so good) from sponsors, putting together budgets, talking to drivers, suppliers, engine and car builders. But there’s little of that going on, and little has gone on over the summer. To borrow a rather overused term, there’s not much “buzz.”

Engines

Some asked why Murphy wasn’t “on the case” for the engine announcements. Remember the Cosworth sports car engine? Right. Engine announcements are just that; announcements. Judd announces they’ll be in the next sports car engine market. Surprise, right? Right. The real question is who starts “kicking the tires.” (Ok, not the right metaphor, but it will have to do.) And that’s exactly the problem with the crickets thing.

Civility

It seems certain Braselbergers who should know better (because it’s their job) have a problem with civil communication. That’s not escaped the notice of the paddock, where it’s “just one more thing.”

Disappointment

Disappointment with the Schedule? Of course. Whatever the spin, that huge gap in the middle is a disaster for sponsors (and for getting sponsors). All you have to know is “activation.” In simple terms (that’s all the Bear knows) that means a sponsor wants (no, needs) to supplement his “direct” racing exposure with other related marketing. Remember Office Depot’s full sized cut-outs of Tony Stewart? Or this classy little item? A big gap ruins that related marketing program.

Farewell, we hardly knew ya. (No Saleen)

Sadly, there will be no Saleen to see at Petit. Not a big surprise – though we started with the expectation of two Saleens – more a disappointment, a chance lost for North American fans to say farewell to one of their own. Come to think of it, this car was so rarely raced in North America, we’d forgotten it.

What’s the team? (No Abruzzi)

Late last week, “PTG” was dropped from the Abruzzi PLM entry; “Team Panoz PTG – as it was in past years and in the first two PLM entries – became just “Team Panoz.” Was it simply a change of language, or does it portend a (last minute) change in the program? One of Murphy’s forest creatures said he heard “a couple of weeks ago” that Krohn would run the Abruzzi, so perhaps Braselburg’s entry sheet is just catching up with “old news.” Another friend of the Bear’s thinks Krohn’s involvement is unlikely. Still another rumor has a prototype in that Krohn shop, while earlier Krohn was connected to the new McLaren sports car.

The entry name change may be just the tip of a Titanic-like iceberg.  “They are well behind in the car build; it’s the typical Panoz/EMT corner-cutting operation,” the Bear was told. In confirmation of that comes a report that even Braselbergers admitted at a South Carolina event that the rebodied Esperante wouldn’t make it to the grid. It’s now likely there will be a static display at Petit; might that be better than a moving chicane?

Body by Comprent, chassis by Multimatic, assembly by PTG, and raced by Krohn (or no one)? There’s not much Panoz in there. There’s about that much left of the Panoz automotive “empire.”

Murphy hears that David Price will be a guest of the Don at Petit; just renewing old acquantances, or something more?

Where’s the business case? (No Audi)

Marshall Pruett reported today that Audi wouldn’t be back in the American Le Mans Series in 2011. That can’t have come as a surprise to Paddock Poop readers, though, can it? As Murphy wrote on June 25th, “If it (the Audi board) does (say Jawohl), Murphy expects to see the new prototype in the Intercontinental Cup events and nowhere else.”

There were always two steps in Audi prototype programs: (1) approve and fund the car, a corporate decision at the highest level, and (2) fund the operation of racing programs. The first of those was done this summer, and the second has just failed after Dr.Ulrich’s public plea for funding from North America. Mr. Pruett puts it down to a “rift” between Ingolstadt and Audi North America, but Murphy’s sources don’t see it that way. Audi’s “national” divisions have always paid the bulk of the bill for racing the R8, R10, and R15.

After years of funding the American Le Mans prototype racing program – including significant payments for television sponsorships and other “promotional considerations” – the North American sales division concluded that the ALMS “platform,” though helpful, was not pulling its weight in the marketing program. In fact the quality of exposure was slipping. So it was an easy decision to follow Porsche out in 2009. Proof that it wasn’t a cost, but rather a decision on return has been seen in Audi’s expanded advertising in other sports since, including Super Bowl buys, about which Murphy wrote in February 2009.

When Audi didn’t return in 2010, it had nothing to do with rules, and everything to do with hard-nosed marketing decisions. Audi had the R15 pretty much ready to race at Sebring, but passed. The Bear wrote then that Audi had pretty much given up on getting value out of an ALMS campaign commensurate with its cost.

Hoping all that means an R8 will be on the GTC (or GT2) grid? The Bear’s take remains that a Grand Am GT R8 is far more likely than an ALMS entry of any kind.

State of the Series

In the absence of the announcement of next year’s schedule – the main reason we’ve sat through the talking heads in past years the Bear is wondering if there will be a “State of the Series” on Friday at Petit Le Mans. Wonder no more. Acting on a tip from the Braselburg mole, the Bear Brigade captured a clandestine courier en route to France, Murphy has come into possession of a document he believes to be the outline of the much-anticipated speech.

 S.O.S.

• Down is the new Up
• Television: Less is More
• Seven traditional tracks that still want us
• Why Baltimore is a fine place and Oklahoma City isn’t
• Audi who?
• Future entries (If you knew what I know)
• New Class: Legends (EFR)
• Don’s winter vacation plan

The Italiams are on the Case

According to the Wall Street Journal, in Triest, for a game against Padova, and “for the first time in four years, nearly every seat appeared to be taken. On television, the crowd looked impressive. But in person, the scene looked a bit strange. The fans were clad in scarves and winter coats—unusual for a balmy September afternoon. They failed to make a sound when the home team ran out on the field and didn’t budge when the match ended in a scoreless draw.” 

These “fans” were actually two-dimensional images of fans printed on a giant sheet of vinyl and stretched across the empty seats according to the  article. So Braselberg – and Daytona – take heart. The Italians are on the case.

American Open Wheel 

Murphy’s chief elf in Indy reports that the landlord for HVM Racing’s shops showed up last night to change the locks, and security personnel were stationed at the facility.  The gates were locked up this morning to their parking lot and the team apparently “got today off.” All less than a week before they would be loading up to go to the finale at Homestead on oct. 2.

What happens to Simona di Silvestro?  She is second behind Alex Lloyd for Rookie of the Year.  She also was very competitive on the road courses with an underfunded team. Will an ALMS team bring her aboard for 2011? She quickly became a fan favorite in IndyCar and she has more talent and potential than any of the other women in that series.”

 Another source hints that following the finale in Miami, Sarah Fisher will retire as a race driver to become a full-time team owner. Sarah has said in the past that at some point she would retire from driving to start a family. Will there be a “little Sarah” driving sometime in the future?

Politics

The Bear’s been told the Elkhart Lake Town Board voted to approve a 6 hour, into dusk, event at Road America. Now it remains to be seen if the promoter choses to use the permission.

Announcements have been written but not released while the last details of an agreement are completed. However, Murphy is pretty sure Dyson Racing (but not its current two drivers) to be on hand at Montreal, and yes, the Bear knows full well that’s on the same weekend as Mosport. Dyson Racing will wrap up the 2010 season involved in both ALMS and Grand Am, as they have before.

Dyson’s been struggling this season – hell, the past three or four haven’t been anything to write home about. So perhaps a little change of scenery is in order. Plus, maybe you’ve noticed, prototype racing, after a pretty cool 2007 and 2008, well, the only way to put it is…it sucks. Big time. So, why not take on something different? The ALMS thing is sure no fun. (According to sources who have talked to both, Chris is circumspect about all this, Dad less so.)

Anyway, along comes John and Karen McCutchen’s Godstone Ranch Racing, participants in this past Rolex 24 with Davy Jones in Leighton Reese’s new Corvette. John’s been driving in Continental since. The Bear thinks McCutchen will drive the prototype and Davy Jones will join him.

Dyson Racing will participate as the team of record and with team staff and infrastructure and such. Lola will deliver a car, and Rousch-Yates will do the Ford engine. The effort – as at Daytona – will carry Godstone’s imprimatur and benefit Texas Heart Institute. According to Murphy’s sources will be Lola factory-supported. (You didn’t really expect Lola to carry on with Krohn after the names they called each other in Delaware’s Chancery Court, did you? I mean, they wanted Krohn to sell cars and win races, and he’s done neither.)

All the participants are contributing some amount of support to this party…no one is carrying the whole burden, and it seems no one is “just getting a check.” For Montreal and Utah this year, anyway, it looks like this one is pretty much set.

No one will say for sure that there is – or isn’t, for that matter – a 2011 plan. But Murphy thinks this is a bit of that “team building”; if the kids all get along, and they can work out some numbers (from Dyson’s standpoint, with Mazda and BP not coming through as expected this season, almost anything will be an improvement) they’ll continue with a full season in 2011.

Back to Mexico in a Huff

Murphy thought, along with others, that the Gonzalez boys were mad at IMSA for the ride height penalty, got mad and left. Now Murphy’s been told that wasn’t the deal at all. Seems Gonzalez got it in his head that instead of just buying a ride (or renting a team), he was buying a team, or at least part of one. Then Alex (or was it Holly?) sat down and had a little heart-to-heart. No, Alex Job Racing was still – and would remain – Alex Job’s team, lock, stock, and barrel. They must do business differently in Mexico, because ol’ Mission tortilla chips up and left, went back the Monterrey (anyone with any sense is going the other direction from that drug gang cesspool). That’s what the Bear heard at Lime Rock, anyway . And Murphy likes Tostitos better, anyway.

Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course

Murphy was told just this morning that a sale of Mid-Ohio is imminent. He’s written more than once that it was on the block, most recently this June 10 entry:

“The American Le Mans Series could lose its Mid-Ohio round next season. Murphy previously heard the sale of the track is possible – there have been discussions, and a  price has been named…” (Paddock Poop 168.)

Now he’s heard the sale is just about wrapped, up and will be announced soon. Ominously, this source says, “New owners not big ALMS fans.”

2011

If there are enough teams, where will they race? Uncle Scott still prattles on about 11 events, but the Bear can’t find many in the paddock who believe that. Rumors are flying about the addition of Baltimore (that seems pretty certain) and Oklahoma City (less so), but what about the 9 on this year’s calendar? Who will be back, and who won’t. Murphy doesn’t know, of course, but there are lots of rumors about, and a little speculation, so here is your 2011 season:

Sebring, Mosport, Road Atlanta. They are the “house brands,” so they’ll be along for the ride no matter what…except of course, when the Don can get “residential real estate value” for the 700 acres of Road Atlanta. Mercifully, with today’s real estate market, that won’t likely be any time soon. Mosport will stay a sprint race as long as the Tundra Monkeys keep turning up in profitable numbers for a sprint. The party goes on at Sebring (and the land isn’t worth much, anyway).

Long Beach. ALMS is still in the midst of a contract that – according to rumor – hugely benefits the promoters. The series is obligated to (1) pay and (2) show up. Long Beach isn’t going to let this fish off the hook.

Monterey. A fairly successful event, colder than hell the past two years, especially where wind-exposed. Attendance has dropped both of the past two years, more this year, after the date was changed. Changing an event date, not just from one week to the next, but from fall to spring, is never good, but Laguna Seca will be back in 2011.

Utah. Nobody – and Murphy means literally nobody – shows up for this one. Rumors have been rampant it would be gone in 2011, but there are just as many rumors that it will become the next 6-hour enduro. Teams don’t like it, fans don’t like it. What the hell are you going to do with yourself in this sun-baked wasteland for six hours?

Sonoma. The rumors have gone quiet. Best guess is it’s off.

Lime Rock. Attendance is mediocre, and few are happy with the butchering that was done to this track under the guise of an upgrade. No real rumors that it’s gone, though, perhaps since it’s the series only foothold in the Northeast.

Mid-Ohio. The date has to move to make way for Baltimore, but It’s not clear where there’s room. Could it go before the Le Mans break? There are recurring rumors that Mid-Ohio will be off the schedule. A sale if continuing rumors are correct, will almost certainly remove the track from the 2011 schedule.

Baltimore. A good source says Baltimore is a slam-dunk for the ALMS. The promoters want the series, and the series wants to be there. The same source says the contract was in the hands of the series, and the promoters were anxious to see it signed and announced.

Oklahoma City. Murphy hears it’s on, Murphy hears it’s off. That reflects the reality. 50-50.

Road America. Gone. The Bear’s sources on the ground say the Nationwide race drew the largest crowd seen Wisconsin’s Kettle Moraine country in years, perhaps in decades. That’s enough, with ISC’s AMA Super Bike, for the track to get rid of the money-losing sports cars. George won’t care, he’s happy with his new NASCAR friends. Though he would jump at a good open wheel weekend if one came along, he’ll accept a Grand Am date to keep Nationwide and the Super Bikes.

New Jersey. Often rumored, but just wishful thinking. In the ISC pocket, no chance for the ALMS.

Houston. Promoters want to re-launch this one. If they do, it will be with IRL, and  likely without the American Le Mans Series.

Go Git Em, Johnny

Others have done so (Montagny) but the Bear was warmed all over that Johnny O’Connell treated the fans like adults and told them what they already know: Lime Rock does not suit the American Le Mans Series. That’s particularly true after the butchering of the recent “upgrade.” Another place where they are lying to you when they say love being there: Miller Motorsports Park.

Murphy’s “Quote of the Week”

This gem comes from the PR release of one of the ALMS teams after Saturday’s qualifying at Lime Rock.

“As usual at Lime Rock, the rain came earlier than expected.”

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There’s a rumor out there that the ALMS is “close” to an agreement to return to Infineon Raceway (Sears Point for you purists and old folks) in 2011.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City’s council has authorized “negotiations” to obtain a 2011 ALMS street race – following in the tradition, Murphy supposes, of Miami, Trois Rivieres, Houston, Detroit, and St. Pete. More about such things from the Bear’s friends here at The Last Turn Clubhouse. 

When the Bear wrote in Paddock Poop 136, back on August 19 that, “St. Petersburg will be missing from the 2010 schedule, but (surprising even to the Bear) it’s rumored that Infineon will be back.” St. Pete officially disappeared soon after, but the Infineon deal didn’t come together in time for the California track to make the 2010 schedule. It still hasn’t, but it’s rumored that it  will, soon. Perhaps.
But perhaps not. Grand Am is also intent on returning to Sonoma. In fact, the Daytona Beach series, in another rumor, also it will be back at Sear Point soon.

But take heart, Braselburgers. Grand Am may be about to catch the street race disease. In Daytona’s case the idea seems to have taken root in the disappointment over its anemic race attendance. In the all-too-common “it-can’t-be-our-product” delusion that management in all endeavors suffers from, the theory is circulating in Florida that fans don’t want to travel to traditional road course tracks. It’s “just too far.” The solution? City-center street courses for Grand Am. Some at the World Center of Racing even think the Prototurtles might eventually return to Long Beach. The Bear’s convinced that there’s nothing like a string of “Festivals of Speed” to screw up a race series.

In the heart of Cheese Country

The Bear mentioned the ALMS’s “official cheese,” Yancey’s Fancy, in Paddock Poop 157. Since, then, Murphy (and his readers) has been eager to know how this important new would be received by the press and the racing community. The immediate reaction was ambiguous, to say the least. At the announcement press conference at Sebring, heard in the cheap seats occupied by the assembled  sports car racing journalists (hand picked for their loyalty) was an incredulous whispered, “Did he say official cheese?” That was before the unveiling of the cheese sculpture of our dearly-departed Panoz LMGT.

The real cheese aficionados, to be found, ironically , around Road America, long a host (although not very enthusiastically) of the series, were miffed, to say the least. They accuse the “official cheese” of not being real cheese at all, but rather cheese curds, a creamery by-product, even though they grudgingly admit it’s a tasty morsel. A native of Dairyland USA affectionately refers to them as cheese turds.

It all sets up for a big dust-up come August, since the Bear’s been reliably informed by a source who grew up playing with toy sports cars virtually on the shore of Elkhart Lake it’s illegal to be in possession of non-Wisconsin cheese north of Waukegan, Illinois or east of Minneapolis. Don’t be surprised to see Wisconsin cows (they’re the ornery ones; the happy cows are in California) picketing the Road America gates.

So has the wine and cheese series become the tequila and milk by-product series?

Not that George and his band of merry boys (and girls) at Road America are much affected by any of this. Big George’s marketing campaign last year consisted of a video that spent ten minutes on the attractions of golf cart scavenger hunts (seriously) and club racing events before it ever got around to mentioning there were actually spectator events at North America’s most revered road racing track. The season ticket mailer featured photos of little SCCA racers that looked like Malibu Grand Prix cars, doing nothing to convey this was a place where one might actually find professional racing. The Bear got his 2010 mailer a couple of weeks ago. The feature this time? NASCAR. Seriously. On the other side it’s got a 1969 Can Am picture of a dead guy and Augie Pabst, Jr.

Murphy got his second mailer, with ticket prices, today. The American Le Mans Series is still buried in the “also running” column. But it always has been. The dead guy Mustang reunion at the urinal weekend seems to be the feature event. The only thing about the ALMS weekend that’s big is the price. The most on the Series’ schedule, more than Sebring, way more than Laguna Seca. The same as Road America’s NASCAR Nationwide, and more than the big faucet weekend featuring the dead guy’s reunion. And they wonder why they don’t draw flies?

With the Wisconsin track drawing a paltry 40,000 in three days last season – only Utah was worse – can it last long on the ALMS calendar? The geniuses at Grand Am will tell you it’s hopeless – too far from Chicago. Murphy will be there in August, anyway. Look for him at the track, at Siebken’s or, if you want to steep yourself real cheesehead culture, at the Commercial Break in Neenah.

Audi Angst

The Bear’s Thesaurus lists “tormet” as an “angst” near-synonym, which is the least fans at Sebring are going to feel with new Audi R15′s, ready for the 2010 season, on track in Monday-Tuesday test sessions at Sebring. It turns out that Murphy’s source that they would actually enter was closer than we thought. In fact, given the build-test schedule there’s been every reason to think they could and should. Fans of a sport are usually benefitted by bitter rivalries, but not when they can just not show up. Most sports have enough leverage through their organizing bodies – leagues, conferences, etc. – to enforce participation. That’s even true in motorsport at the highest levels.

The Bear’s friend Marshall Pruett says over on speedtv.com that he’s be “saddened” to see them on track at Sebring but not racing in the 12 Hours. Murphy would use a different word to describe this circus.

Jaguar building

Rocket Sports’ shop was pushing hard – working long hours –  to complete a second Jaguar before Sebring, but the best guess is that it won’t make it.

Lola Ferrari

Murphy hears Lola’s building an LMP 1 to be powered by a Ferrari engine from the defunct A1GP series. Bunches of the powerplants are available at South African businessman Tony Teixeira’s liquidation sale. The Bear’s trying to figure out how the motors will work, since they’re 4.5 liters. Will they be destroked to 3.4? Did they originate in a non-racing Ferrari, so they can be homologated under the GT loophole?  Or will the Lola actually be powered by the 3.4 liter Zytek used in A1GP’s inaugural season? Don’t look for the new Lola to make it to the USA, though; this is an LMS-oriented project.

In other Ferrari news, a new Grand Am GT looks more likely to debut in Virginia than in Alabama. To further confuse the anoraks, it’s a Prep 2 with a Ferrari-built unit-body chassis (making it a real Ferrari to collectors). So much for simple definitions of the Grand Am rules.

Driving Corvettes

With changes in Team Corvette’s chauffeur ranks widely expected in 2011, the Bear is looking beyond “the usual suspects.” A new whole-schedule Team Corvette driver may be known at  the highest levels, but remains “under the radar.”  He (or she) may not be among those identified as a 2010 enduro “third.” 

Who is Scott Tucker and What is Westfund?

Murphy has no idea.

The Color of Money

A color no one is seeing much of in road racing these days. The Bear’s pretty sure that ALMS – after a real good season as recently as 2008 – is flirting with red ink. Loosing series sanctions doesn’t help, and the manufacturers that once played Sugar Daddy are gone, replaced by cheese, tequila, pearls, and personal lubricants (ok, G-Oil is for motors, but Murphy just can’t help himself). Meanwhile, he’s hearing that the boys in Daytona were $2 million upside down for 2009. IRL is believed by many (including some who should know) to be a financial disaster hanging by a thread. Is everything going to be silhouette roundy-round racing?

Dithering

The gang that can’t shoot straight finally got around to issuing a butanol bulletin today, and they approved it provisionally, with a 30 kilo penalty for the firs two races…that might be continued…or might not.

If they really wanted an alternate fuel they’d have made a definitive decision soon after the close of the 2009 season, allowing teams and manufacturers to make plans, obtain sponsorships, and test. Who the hell needs teams to have sponsorships, anyway? Who the hell wants to promote alternate fuels? Not the “Leader Green Racing.”

Anyone give Dyson Racing’s Mazda a chance at Sebring? Or perhaps they won’t be running butanol after all, since the boneheaded treatment of the fuel in the last two races of 2009 has already driven off BP.

(Murphy adds a note: As has become usual, this bulletin was reissued the next day, adding language after “approved for use” in LMP-LMP1-LMP2 only.)

Dead Horse Department

The Bear sadly watched (and provided some insight into) USF1’s failure. He’d rather now let it go, but Mr. Anderson’s interview requires some comment. The captain of this ship is blaming the FIA, FOTA, Bernie, Max, an unknown lost sponsor and just about everybody except himself. Nonsense. He says the car was “on track” until mid-January. Hogwash. He thinks USF1 has a chance to be on the 2011 grid. Horsefeathers.

Look for the Bear’s Annual Sebring Punter’s Guide soon.

Follow Murphy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Murphythebear

I’m writing this in the Homestead media center as I occasionally glance at the monitor to see yet another caution period in front of 80,000 empty grandstand seats.  Caution is the operative word in Grandamland this weekend. The shock has yet to wear off over the arrest of one of our legendary drivers. Indeed, when I left the World Center of Racing yesterday morning, things at International Speedway Boulevard were in full damage control mode.  No Lamborghini in the parking lot.

Of course, this sad incident is in no way a reflection of the Rolex Series. And quite frankly, no one here particularly cares, since the Indy Racing League is getting 98% of the attention.

While some may use this incident as a reason to bash the France family and its support of the Grand-Am series, you must admire their courage (and bank account). So many teams benefit from their financial generosity, its hard not to admire their honest and open way of doing business. One bad apple should not reflect on the whole tree.

I was very pleased to see the 2010 schedule and that Grand-Am is not wasting its time at elitist venues such as Laguna Seca, Road America, Sebring, Road Atlanta, Infinion or Mosport.  I hear for 2011 they are considering running every race at Daytona, which would be fine with me and make a great deal of sense. The idea of a spec-track series has been going around the halls of NASCAR for several months and I think this idea will be a winner.

Other Grand-Am news for the 2010 season I heard about this weekend: Daytona International Speedway’s legendary security department will be simply known as the “SS” beginning next year (Speedway Security). They just got a grant from the American Oval Track Institute to purchase special RRF (Road Racing Fan) Pepper Spray for next year’s Rolex 24  …All Koni Series races will run on Mondays in 2010, according to a GA official who said “mainly because they simply always get in the way of everything” … All Grand-Am team owners will wear special sensors that will activate an alarm if they stand within 25 feet of a an ALMS Le Mans Challenge car… Grand-Am Koolaid Award winners Matt C. and Andy F. will be awarded special vacation packages at the Chateau Elan in Braselton Georgia … Jim France will no longer pay for Rolex team owner’s massages … Jim Hunter’s new book “Dirt Under the Nicotine Patch: An Underground History of the American Le Mans Series” will be out in January (Jack Flowers is rumored to be the ghost writer) … Since most Grand-Am races are non-spectator events, the NASCAR PR Department will bus in residents of Assisted Living Facilities so the “Record Crowd” press releases can continue.

Well, I see now that the race will end under caution, and so will the season. And so will this column.

A.C.

Petite Field
How petite will the field at Petit Le Mans be? Murphy figures it’s 29 firm, with four more possible. The “solid” LMP entries – announced and likely to show up to race (not the same thing) -  include these eleven:

Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 – 2
Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 – 2
Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-02a
DeFerran Motorsports Acura ARX-02a
Oreca Racing Oreca-Courage LC70 AIM
Intersport Racing Lola B07/10 AER
Drayson Racing Lola B09/60 Judd
Corsa Motorsports Ginetta-Zytek 09SH
Autocon Motorsports Lola B06/10 AER

The lone possible addition is Team LNT’s Ginetta-Zytek 09S Zytek

Five LMP2’s are likely to occupy the Road Atlanta paddock:

Dyson Lola B09/80 Mazda – 2
Fernandez Racing Acura ARX-01b
Cytosport Porsche RS Spyder
Van der Steur Racing Radical R9

Murphy’s unaware of any likely additions to LMP2

There are 13 GT2 entries on the list in Braselton:

Corvette Racing Corvette GT2 C6-R – 2
Primetime Racing Dodge Viper CC
Falken Racing Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
 PTG Panoz Esperante GTLM
LG Motorsports Riley Corvette Z06 GT
Robertson Ford GT40 Mk VII
Flying Lizards Porsche 997 GT3 RSR – 2
Risi Competizione Ferrari 430GT
Farnbacher Loles Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Rahal BMW E92 M3 GT2 – 2

Among possible additions are a Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT for Tracy Krohn, a VICI Racing Porsche 997 RSR (not two), and a lone Rocket Sports Racing Jaguar XKR.  The minimum Road Atlanta grid looks like 29, the maximum 33. The Bear takes 31 in the “over-under.”

A pot of money – what are the odds?
A rumor at Mosport had a former F1 constructor fielding Audi prototypes in the American Le Mans Series next year, but Tim Cindric told a Euro mag that, “we see no business model that would allow us to return to the ALMS in the near future.” A big pot of money would solve that “business model” problem overnight, of course.

Japan
Murphy saw that the ACO doesn’t know the difference between Road Atlanta and Road America in its September 1 Asian Le Mans press release. The Bear predicted the Japan rounds would follow Shanghai into oblivion, but it seems the ACO is determined to go ahead as an undercard to round 11 of the World Touring Car Championship. Twenty-three entries. That’s after subtracting a couple (Signature and KSM) on the original entry. Only one race is mentioned – has something happened to the second Japan round? Is the putative series salvaging ¼ of its planned schedule.

DP Happenings – or not
Murphy’s exposé of rumors of DP departures in Paddock Poop 136 were not only confirmed by sources in the Mosport paddock, but at Montreal. Even motorsport.com had jumped on this bandwagon. A north Florida car dealer will concentrate on selling street cars (arguably a full-time job these days). Some think they (the car dealer) will stuff a Cayenne engine in the back of a Riley, but Murphy hears it will be someone else that does that with the former car dealer’s chassis.

Not-So-Amiable Split
The partnership stresses that the Bear told you about exploded when one team’s DP’s were withdrawn before crossing the international border. Subtract a pair of Grand Am prototypes for the rest of the season – and for next, too. No, forever, that’s certainly the end of the Brendan Griven (TWR) designed package, of which none were sold except to the US partner. So the big-time racing car builder and its oil magnate partner may be headed to court. Clearly both partners’ expectations were way out of line with reality. If this keeps up, the DP ranks will be as depleted as the ALMS prototype grid.

Stayin’ put with Vette Bodies
A Grand Am team that’s staying put will put a new body on its frame and buy another, going from one now dead “Excitement” to a pair of America’s Sports Cars. A Scot was lead driver and will stick around; with another car they’ll add another. Bet on a Dyson pilot, a long-time friend of the team’s manager, to fill that seat.

Television
The American Le Mans Series has opted to say not a word about its television ratings, even though Grand Am is perfectly willing to hype numbers hovering around .1 (that’s point one) as some great proof of popularity. So how bad could the ALMS broadcasts be? A recent network broadcast had overnights of .4 (that’s point four). That’s evidence that the Speed broadcasts are awful indeed. (Bear message to ALMS PR: If they aren’t lousy, publish them. Otherwise, “go gentle into that good night.” Thanks to Dylan Thomas.)

Quickies
A former IMSA team champion will run a more extensive Patrón Challenge program next year, perhaps supporting more than one ALMS Challenge class competitor.

Scott and Dario will help out a pair of teams (you know who) at Petit.

The English gardner will spend some time with the Poughkeepsie team in a non-driving advisory capacity.

If Grand Am does Indy, it will be in support of the Brickyard 400, not as a stand-alone event.

Versus went dark on Direct TV. Tony can’t be happy. (Nor are IRL sponsors.)

Murphy’s working on his Petit Le Mans trip plan. So should you.

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That frees up a couple of Porsche factory pilots. For the coming season anyway, look for them to return to an ALMS GT2. Chalk it up to loyalty, or better yet, to the on-going general upgrade of that class, with another “serious” Porsche joining Corvette and BMW. Unfortunately, that “upgrade” could easily be stopped in its tracks by the addition of a new faster and cheaper class. Faster and cheaper is a hell of a combination for anyone nutty enough to go racing without any hope of covering the costs.

Meanwhile Pratt & Miller will build a pair of Grand Am GT BMW V8-powered M6 look-alikes financed by a partner in a multi-series race team.  The other partner returns to the Prancing Horse in Europe.

The Bear does not believe that Martin and Melanie will move to GT2.

The exit of Porsche Motorsport from an “active” Grand Am GT participation – they’ll go out with a championship, anyway – will open opportunities for other marques in that series.

Murphy believes (without being told – so this is speculation, not rumor) there will be no Ferrari on an ALMS grid in 2010 until the new 458 is ready. Old, uncompetitive cars won’t be seen as a good idea, even while “marking time” for the new car.

There will be a new Florida-based team that will add to the Porsche presence in ALMS, supporting both GT Challenge Porsches and GT2. It could also field one of the new Prototype Challenge cars.

Cost savings and slumping ratings drive major television changes likely to be announced today – all Speed, all the time.

The Bear told you the R15 is likely on its way to Georgia a while back. It’s close to one of those “take to the bank” deals. Don’t look for the silver at Laguna Seca, though.

St. Petersburg will be missing from the 2010 schedule, but (surprising even to the Bear) it’s rumored that Infineon will be back. It was said at Road America that Mid-Ohio is “a question mark.” The Road America crowd looked surprisingly good to the Bear as long as he was in the camping areas. Elsewhere, parking space was pretty easy to find. The morning’s threat of rain likely discouraged a few prospective Milwaukee/Chicago day-trippers.

Murphy hears that Creation’s done for 2009. That’s no big deal to the Bear – he’s been saying that’s likely the case all-along, but to others, it might be “news.”

The Bear hopes you like the Patrón livery; you’ll likely see a lot more of it next season.

What “major new LMP effort” is to be announced on Midweek Motorsport in just a few hours? Toyota? BMW? Porsche P1? They did write “major,” right?  Solo Al? The Soup Nazi?

Murphy’s money is on the the Lord – a Drayson Lola. Hardly a “world exclusive,” then, is it? Well, technically, since MWM is the first place for the “official” announcment. For the “news,” Some mangy old brown bear already broke that story – eight days ago, here.

As a “stand alone” race, Japan won’t fly, so look for (another) complete cancellation of the Asian Le Mans Series for 2009.

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The Bear wrote in his last Poop that Porsche had been “reigned in” by a reduction of 5 kilos, because that change to 1245 Kg reduced its restrictor – at least that was an engineer’s reasoning. Now it’s said that Porsche had 25 Kg added to its minimum weight. The illegal engine thing, you know. The Porker’s been illegal since it introduced the 4.0 engine. Fünfundzwanzig kilo? Vir lachen bie Sie!

Is it one or the other, or is that a new 25 Kg since the 1245? Or is the reduction – or the increase – wrong? The IMSA memorandum cryptically simply announce the RSR would compete at an 1245 minimum weight. Does that really mean its previous minimum was 1220? Can someone explain it all to the Bear? (See comments. Murphy thinks Duff44 has solved the mystery.)

The Lord has a New Plan?

The Bear heard that Drayson Racing has bought a Lola LMP1 coupe with Judd power. Will that affect the team’s plan (or “expressed interest”) in contesting the final two ALMS rounds in GT with the Aston Martin Vantage?

Cytosport Support

Some are asking what support Porsche is giving the Muscle Milk guy. The Bear doesn’t know what’s in it, but given the huge $ figure he heard this morning, it better be pretty damn good, and the protein drink better keep selling like  hot cakes (or whatever it sells like).

Maybe it’s in the Mail?

Murphy’s invite to the big stakeholder’s confab at Elkhart Lake hasn’t arrived. Nor has he heard anything contradictory to the “new prototype class” story he was told and passed on in Paddock Poop 134.

Monterey, Sonoma, Petaluma, Mooresville

Kevin Buckler is nothing if not mobile, all those places being former or current shops. Just a few days ago, Buckler announced plans to build a “complex” at  New Jersey Motorsports Park  (Thunderbolt) near Millsville, NJ.  A wine guy amongst NASCAR beer drinkers (he sells a California wine with his Adobe Road label), he’ll open a wine and cigar bar in the 40,000 sq. ft., $5,000,000 facility – if it gets built (there’s no scheduled groundbreaking and Buckler admits he’s looking for an investor) What about the Mooresville shop? According to reports, Buckler will move his east coast operation to New Jersey in its entirety. There’s a rumor it’s already closing – or closed (no confirmation of that). In related news, the Bear was told that Buckler Grand Am driver Spencer Pumpelly (6th in GT points after Barber) was out of Buckler’s TRG Porsche with sponsorship “difficulties” at the Grand Am Watkins Glen round, but was able to sub for an ill Robin Liddell at Stevenson Motorsports.

Hard on

The Bear’s been hard on Road America over the years. It’s because its his favorite track, but it’s never been his favorite event – or even close. George know a lot more than a dumb bear about promoting great racing. He must since his marketers produced the 2009 brochure with the Malibu Grand Prix cars on the front, and the promotion video that features golf cart scavenger hunts. Murphy wouldn’t have thought of any of that!

A Perfect World

What Gil actually said about 2010 plans is that “in a perfect world” he’d like to run two cars in IRL and two in ALMS. It seems to Murphy that the next question (not asked by any of the “crack journalists” present, it seems) would be, “What’s likely in a “not-so-perfect world?” The Bear hears there are driver and sponsoship ideas being kicked around the rumor mills for two IRL entries, but he’s not heard much for the ALMS side.

Bookings

Murphy’s been told September accommodations in Northeastern Georgia have been booked for männer von Wald-Michelbach.

Favorite Places

Siebken’s has been the prototypical race bar since the beginning. Everyone from Dan Gurney to Pat Long has tipped a cold one at Siebken’s Stop Inn Tavern. In recent year’s Ferrari celebrated a break-through victory over Corvette Racing.
Of course there’s the Commercial Break in Tropical Neenah.

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