Murphy knows many of his readers aren’t buying it, but that New Jersey F1 proposal is very, very real. Those who have seen the details say this is a “street course that works,” meaning, as the Bear understands it, that it’s not a typical “point-and-shoot, see-the-tops-of –the-cars” race track, but rather a good driver’s and spectator’s track. Baltimore has turned out much better than anticipated – so far, anyway – and that will certain add some impetus to the New Jersey street course idea.

Chris Pook and Leo Hindery, Jr. are among those involved in this deal. It also has the support of key local politicians, and with the skyline of Midtown Manhattan as a backdrop (the south end of the course that runs along JFK Boulevard and Port Imperial Boulevard is across the river from the north end of Times Square, with the north extremity of the circuit at about the mid-point of Central Park), it has Big Apple cachet without directly impacting NYC streets.

The two things required for any F1 seem to be present: cash and political clout.

Busting at the National Press Club

You read the announcement of the big press event at the National Press Club on August 30. This was to be a big deal – continental breakfast, panel discussion, Q&A, photo op – but in the end it wasn’t.

Though there were a few reprints of the ALMS post-conference press release, you read more about the event before than after. There’s a simple reason; the room was nearly empty. The Bear hears some automotive industry participants were not amused by the tepid response.

In France

The Don and The Boss flew off to France on Labor Day for meetings with the gnomes of the ACO. On the table? The way the Bear sees it, nothing less than the future of the American Le Mans Series. With the FIA/ACO-sponsored WEC on the verge of putting the last nail in the fast-declining American sports car racing series, the contract between the ALMS and the ACO lapses at the end of this season, is less than a month.

Weak marketing and poor media exposure began taking their toll on the American Le Mans Series after its 2007/2008 peak, and the inability of the series to appropriately respond to external challenges has left its teams bereft of sponsors, without external funding. To put it simply, if you can’t fund your team on your own, you’ll have to move on to another pastime, a state of affairs of which the Robertsons and Duncan Dayton are now painfully aware.

The problem is, Murphy can’t think of an outcome of the visit with the Frogs that will provide any relief. Not only has the ACO refused to consider supporting its regional series by encouraging participation by its WEC entrants, while Don and Scott were in the hallowed club house ACO officials were leaking the word they’ll take away the Petit Le Mans round of the WEC in favor of Bahrain (or, less likely, Montreal), and if Sebring is retained, no ALMS-only entrants will be allowed from 2013 forward.

Then the ACO goes on the record at Silverstone blathering about how they “need” the “feeder series” (ALMS, LMS, and Asian Le Mans – never mind that there is no Asian Le Mans Series), and that the LMS is “on the block.” The Bear’s told you the ALMS has been for sale for a long time, and he was told just this morning there was a serious discussion recently with the Evil Empire. Those fell apart when The Don threw properties unrelated to racing into the deal.  Does the WEC really need “feeders?” What’s the historical precedent for that? Do drivers move up a “ladder?”  Hardly; most drivers in the “real” classes get there after success in equal or higher level racing, and after climbing other ladders (F1, IndyCar, etc.). Teams? No. For example, if you want to hire a Challenge team, hire AJR. WEC pro GT team? Schnitzer. A world-class prototype team? Joest. No “development ladder” there.

Will The Don and The Boss come back with an extension? We’ll only know at Petit Le Mans, but Murphy is guessing yes. Why? First, The Don is a Francophile of the first order; whatever the Frogs want is ok with The Don. Second, the Braselburgers don’t seem to have the imagination to create a series appropriate to its own American sports car racing constituency or heritage. Unable to think of anything else, they’ll go along for another ride with the ACO.

Unlimited What?

The Unlimited Racing Championship. What the hell is this about? The Bear and a few of his forest creature friends have been digging. The law firm (but not the attorney) that filed the trademark for the title is also the firm employed by Patrick Dempsey. The PR person for the new “championship” is the same one employed by Tracy Krohn. Southwest Performance Technology, the company that holds the rights to the “Unlimited Racing Championship” is in Santa Ana, California. AAR, building the DeltaWing, is in Santa Ana. Mazda USA is almost in Santa Ana (ok, next door in Irvine, California). So we can conclude that the URC is a series to be launched by Tracy Krohn and Patrick Dempsey to accommodate new technology entries like a DeltaWing powered by the new Mazda Skyactiv-G 1.3 engine? Fun, huh?

Of more substance, the owner of Southwest Performance is listed as Richard S. Neuart, who Murphy’s been told has dabbled in various kinds of racing endeavors, often in the background. A good source stated categorically that this is a new racing series. Another rumor has Tracy Krohn behind a Can Am revival. This afternoon, the Bear got a call from a trusted source who – considering the players and other rumblings – believes the most likely announcement is a spec support series for the McLaren MP4-12c similar to the Ferrari Challenge.

If, as indicated in the media alert, Scott Atherton will preside over this announcement, you can bet there’s nothing here that will change the character of the American Le Mans Series. This will be a separate endeavor of IMSA.  Otherwise, you’d see The Don up front with a microphone, and the presser would be at Petit Le Mans, not in California.

Going Public

In his August 25th Paddock Poop, Murphy published this description of a meeting between the ALMS’ two top prototype teams and  IMSA COO Scot Elkins:

“Rob Dyson and Greg Pickett – among the last surviving racers of their era – requested and got a meeting with Scott Elkins before Mid-Ohio. The Bear hears the message was two part: we’re going to enter the 50th Anniversary Rolex and January, and also Sebring. We expect to be capable of competitive times – with all the LMP1 entries – in March. Then we will decide what to do for the remainder of the 2012 season. “

Today the story – in detail – made it into speedtv.com under John Dagys byline here: http://gourl.gr/k84 John points to the upcoming 14th Petit Le Mans in his first paragraph, perhaps implying Pickett and Dyson expect to be competitive with the diesels not just at Sebring in 2012, but at Petit this year (even though they are “most concerned going into next year”). Unfortunately, Elkins wiggles off the hook by hiding behind the ACO again, referring to next season’s as-yet unreleased and unknown rules. If they had any guts in Braselburg, they’d cut weight and increase breathing on the ALMS prototypes immediately. The Bear is not holding his breath.

Remember Rand

Gregory Keith Rand, aka “Greg Rand,” 46, and William Nicholas Rand, aka “Bill Rand,” 41, both of Dallas, were sentenced on July 27th to federal prison terms of 18 years and 14 years, respectively, for fraud. Their father, William Anthony Rand, aka “Tony Rand,” 69, of Plano, was sentenced to five and one-half years in federal prison. In addition, the defendants were ordered to pay $99,707,758 in restitution and forfeit numerous pieces of personal property to the government, including real estate, boats and other personal water craft, luxury vehicles, artwork, including an original Picasso, furniture, antiques, musical instruments, jade, expensive jewelry and wine. Greg Rand was remanded into custody; the others will be allowed to report to the Bureau of Prisons at a later date. The forfeited property will be sold by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Rand Racing contested Grand Am in 2001 and 2002 in SRP II. And yes, some who worked for them were screwed, even after winning judgments against the crooks, when the Rands stripped the assets out of Rand Racing. Among many who worked for this criminal family were Thomas Blam, Risi Competizione, Jeff Braun, Anthony Lazzaro, Nic Johnson, Marino Franchitti, and Ralf Kelleners. How many were stiffed? One for sure, who told Murphy “ I sued and won, but Bill mothballed the team until the statute of limitations ran out, so no restitution here.”

This little note from Murphy is for the superfans who want their heroes to be left alone. The moral of this story is, “sooner or later the Feds will get you,” and, the crooks in our sport hurt real people. Ever since John Dillinger, we can believe if the IRS is in the hunt, something is not right. And what if the next felony will be the third?

Updating Signature

When the Bear last checked on the Tarletons, he wrote this in Paddock Poop 190 on May 19th.

Murphy’s sees no evidence that Signature has a car, or an engine, or a crew. (When they do, perhaps they’ll be kind enough to post a photo? Even Solo Al was able to do that.) The team says it’s in the “re-evaluating” mode.

In response (just a guess that he was referring to the Bear), on May 23rd, Matt wrote on the team’s facebook page, “Someone asked for a picture of A car so I figured I would oblige,”  posting a rendering of a Norma prototype. One of his fans asked, “are you actively talking to Norma? or just messing with the bear?”

Matt didn’t answer that, but of course the Bear knows the Tarletons have been talking to Norma since soon after the Riley came to naught. In August, Matt cranked up the excitement by writing, “All I have to say is “Wow”…If we spilled the beans on everything we are doing and leave no secrets, would we be more respected for our work?” (If you knew what I know

He didn’t “spill the beans,” but the Bear suspects the “talks” with Norma have been going like this: “When will you have the money?” “Soon.” “Do you have the money yet?” “Not yet.” “Now?” “There will be a little delay.”

Of course Murphy just speculating irresponsibly, but since there’s no evidence of a car, an engine, or a team, he concludes there’s been a “temporary setback.” Maybe there will be a big announcement in October. Or maybe not.

The Andy Lally Challenge

Since Murphy’s last report, Andy Lally has driven to  25th at Bristol, 30th at Atlanta, and 32nd at Richmond, earning $279,400. Andy and team owner Kevin Buckler have now won $2,279,281 in the 2011 Sprint Cup season.

Meanwhile, the American Le Mans Series field was competing at Baltimore, the bunch of them winning a total of $147,000. Added to the season’s previous haul, all the entries of the ALMS have earned $1,512,000. It’s a rout, but the Bear’s going to play it out.

The Flying [redacted in the interest of good taste]

Murphy doesn’t like the whole idea – he can’t believe anyone can call this thing a sports car or grand touring car with a straight face – but neither does he revel in the failure of important participants in his favorite sport. The Bear can’t think of anything The Don has done right in quite a while – really, Mr.  Panunzio has no feel for this sport at all – but if you’re going to get into something like this you need to do it with both feet. (That’s been the problem for a long time, hasn’t it? Tepid support for the race team, the series, and most recently, the Abruzzi.)

So Murphy was hoping that the participants in this project would demonstrate some commitment. The news of massive layoffs (11 people) at Highcroft Racing this week says otherwise. There’s really no way the DeltaWing can be prepared for the track, tested and developed with two mechanics and a truck driver – not coincidentally the staff needed to maintain Duncan’s extensive collection of historic F1 cars.

Unfortunately, the Bear hears other disquieting things: the car is not expected to start testing until December, problematical for a Le Mans start in June.  But worse than that, no engine choice yet, and for a car that needs highly specialized tires, no manufacturer has stepped up to supply them. None of the partners in the venture have shown the inclination to provide the funding needed to bring it to fruition, and the appearance at this late date of an outside sponsor seems unlikely.

The latest story may give the clearest idea of where this project is headed. In addition to cranking up the PR machine (there’s a release today from Santa Ana from Highcroft’s PR chief), Murphy’s been told the first chassis will not go to the test track, but rather be sent on the show circuit. The hope seems to be that by trucking it around to car shows – and what else, county fairs? – someone sill step up with the cash the principals can’t – or won’t – provide.

At Laguna Seca, the Don was told by key manufacturers and teams they were unhappy with his management team, that the value of their ‘investment’ in the series was unacceptably declining. That he would have to do something to earn their continued support.

In response, our entrepreneur appointed a ‘steering committee,’ of prominent ‘stakeholders’ led by Duncan Dayton (Highcroft Racing) and Seth Neiman (Flying Lizard Motorsport).

The charter of this ad hoc committee is to recommend future strategy and implementation planning. Questions on the table include: How many classes should there be? What should the nature of the relationship to Le Mans, the Le Mans Series, and the Intercontinental cup be? Indeed, even such detail as the administration of performance balancing to promote competitive racing within classes.

The members, who Murphy hears were more or less nominated by manufacturers and teams, include a company turnaround specialist, a businessman/team owner, and public relations executive Paul Pfanner, the latter appointed by PMG chief Scott Atherton. Pfanner is seen as an Atherton ally, while Duncan and Seth are trusted by the rest of the ALMS community. The Bear’s been told that Rob Dyson is also a member.

If you’re looking for the éminence grise behind the Series’ marketing direction, Paul Pfanner is your guy. A former Haymarket executive currently on his own with Pfanner Communications, he was responsible for the market study of the Series fan demographics, helped create the logo, the ‘World Class’ title, and more recently the ‘Leader Green Racing’ tag line. Some would say (and do) the presence of Pfanner on the committee all but ensures it will accomplish little of substance.

It’s rumored that Neiman considered a purchase of the whole lot two years ago, one of just a number of such offers and near-offers, and separate from one Murphy previously reported from New York investors brought to the Don by Fountainhead Holdings CFO Tony Mastandrea. Tracy Krohn has also been a player in such discussions.

The price then was too high for the revenue streams. The Bear suspects it still is, even having dropped by half, the revenues have dropped further and faster. Those in the business point to the sale of the race car parts business to Haas, telling us “The car is a loss leader for race car constructors; the profits come from selling parts,” and asking, “What then does it say when you sell the parts business?” What, indeed?

Regardless of reference to a “management team” it’s believed that decisions in Braselton (outside of the Don) are made by the CEO alone. Unfortunately, even in the face of dissatisfaction with policies and performance, no replacement is apparent. Thus the committee was created to provide direction and ratify decisions.

One observer doesn’t expect any substantive changes, but wouldn’t dismiss the possibility of a sale, “Panoz does not want to manage day to day, nor does he want to put any more money in. It suits him to keep the guy at the top because its the easy option. A sale would be an even easier option, but only if he can get the price he wants.
 
“I think the only reason he has set up this steering committee is to avoid having to make public changes at the top. It allows the American Le Mans Series community some comfort that they can have an input and it allows Don to continue to enjoy his retirement.”

This past week our committee has been considering whether to be represented at the upcoming road racing conference, an annual event between the series and its constituent tracks. In the past, the ALMS has presided on the first day, then tracks’ executives have met separately on the second day of the conference.  A source told Murphy, “The (track) organizers have made it clear that they don’t want the same old BS, that they are looking for reality and new approaches. That’s why the committee may want to be represented separately from the Series.”

Of one thing Murphy is certain. If this ad hoc committee can’t make a substantive change in the direction of the American Le Mans Series, it will quickly become an ‘escape committee.’

LMP Challenge still Fraught with Uncertainty

Murphy’s been trying to follow the potential for Challenge cars on the Sebring grid and thereafter.

Intersport Racing – announced the second funded driver, Brian Wong, today; order placed.
Gunnar Racing – no announcement, but “firm rumors.” Declared interest at Road Atlanta test drive.
Comprent Motorsport – announced “interest,” and asked “funded drivers” to contact them.
O’Connell Racing – plan to enter “selected events.”
Genoa Racing – “expect February delivery.”
Primetime Race Group – rumored, but unannounced.

Murphy thought PMG would have a role in building the LMP Challenge cars under license from ORECA. It seems last year’s financial problems and subsequent cuts have made that impossible. A recent visitor wrote to the Bear, concerned that there may be delays in delivering the Challenge cars, “…the day I stopped by there, there were only about 1/3 the parking spaces used and only one guy in the fabrication shop. …the old offices that in the past had been full of cubes had been rearranged to be rather spacious for the current employees.

“I know more about manufacturing than the race car business, but it seems to my meager eyes that while Braselton has equipment to manufacture they don’t have anyone to put the equipment to work. Not just anyone can put that equipment to work though, and it would be a reasonable guess that the trained personnel doesn’t reside in north GA anymore which is likely why the Haas deal took place.”

Really good?

Murphy has been told to expect ‘really good Sebring entry news.’ What might that be? Wouldn’t that almost require an Audi entry…anything else would be ‘good news’ without being ‘really good news?’ At least that’s the way the Bear sees it.

A.C. hears the “Good News” about the Sebring entry will likely be a two-car ECO Radical entry, with both cars powered by (believe it or not) a urine blend fuel (U85, to be exact). The ACO has not blessed the urine-powered LMP1s yet, and they remain skeptical about the team’s refueling rigs. Several NASCAR teams have been looking into U85, and the virtually unlimited supply of the fuel, which could flow directly from the grandstand urinals to the fueling rigs. NASCAR has already trademarked “Global Leader, Yellow Racing” and hopes to run at least two cars in the Flomax Series powered by U85.

Look for Murphy’s upcoming Rolex 24 preview.

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

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.

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