What will ALMS look like if Acura leaves at year’s end?
August 4, 2009
AutoWeek put out a story today that brings new light to the rumors that Acura will exit ALMS at the end of 2009, leaving the series without much of a LMP1 class.
AUTOWEEK:
Acura looks increasingly likely to quit its LMP1 prototype program in the American Le Mans Series.
News that all three of its teams–De Ferran Motorsports, Highcroft Racing and Fernandez Racing–are eyeing a move to the IndyCar Series has fueled speculation that the sports-car effort will come to an end and supports AutoWeek sources that insist that the decision has been made.
“[The future of the Acura program] doesn’t look good from everything you hear and everything you see,” said team owner Adrian Fernandez. “The future of [LMP] prototypes doesn’t look good to me.”
While this is depressing, I’m not sure if it is as depressing as Murphy The Bear’s rumor that the Daytona Prototype “Guppies” might find their way into ALMS?
The horror!
In 2007 as Champ Car was folding, it seemed like ALMS had an opportunity to become the premier American road racing series. The series was touting its “green racing” and technology, and seemed to be emerging into the mainstream of the American sports landscape. But with P1 and P2 both gutted with the exit of Porsche and Audi in 2009, things have rapidly changed for the worse.
These latest developments will add fuel to the fire regarding the M-word with Grand Am, that’s for sure. And what a shame that would be. While the two series don’t have the enmity against each other like Champ Car and the IRL had, they are as different in philosophy and technology as their open wheel counterparts were to each other.
Why is it that American racing fans generally lose out on the better of two series when it comes down to one folding and the other standing? If racing were like stick-n-ball sports, today we’d be watching the USFL and the ABA.
F1 at peace with new Concorde Agreement signed
August 1, 2009
The dust has settled. The swords have been laid down (for now). F1 is at peace, and should be intact at least until 2012. The FIA announced that Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, much to the relief of the motor reacing world.
The details of the regulations have not been revealed, but spending limits remain as part of the agreement. We might have peace now, but what happens in 2012? Hopefully, with Max on the outs, there’s less of a chance of another split when the current agreement expires.
FIA Press Release
Concorde Agreement
01/08/2009Following approval by the World Motor Sport Council, late last night FIA President Max Mosley signed the 2009 Concorde Agreement, heralding a renewed period of stability for the FIA Formula One World Championship.
The Concorde Agreement – a contract between the FIA, F1’s Commercial Rights-Holder and the participating Teams – sets out the basis on which the Teams participate in the Championship and share in its commercial success.
The WMSC has also approved a slightly revised set of stable Sporting and Technical Regulations (to apply from the 2010 Championship onwards), which have been agreed by the FIA and the Teams and which will be published shortly on the FIA’s website.
The new Concorde Agreement, which runs until 31 December 2012, provides for a continuation of the procedures in the 1998 Concorde Agreement, with decisions taken by working groups and commissions, upon which all teams have voting rights, before going to the WMSC for ratification.
In addition, as agreed in Paris on 24 June 2009, the Teams have entered into a resource restriction agreement, which aims to return expenditure to the levels that prevailed in the early 1990s.
With the 2009 Concorde Agreement and the resource restriction agreement in place, the FIA looks forward to a period of stability and prosperity in the FIA Formula One World Championship.
UK Times: FIA and F1 Teams Sign New Concorde Agreement
Schumacher - The best super-sub ever?
July 29, 2009
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is still recovering from a head and eye injury he suffered last week during an F1 practice session, and will not be able to race for some time. The Ferrari team needed a substitute driver, and they came up with an amazing one at that. Michael Schumacher will come out of retirement at the age of 40 to drive in F1 again.
The UK Daily Mail has more:
Ferrari’s Schumacher shocker! Seven-time world champion out of retirement to cover for Massa
Retired seven-time formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is set to make a sensational return to the sport following a three-year hiatus.
The 40-year-old German, currently employed by Ferrari in an advisory role, will step in for the injured Brazilian - and former team-mate - Felipe Massa, who recently left intensive care after fracturing his skull during qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Ferrari’s Formula One driver Michael Schumacher‘Ferrari intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa’s car for as long as the Brazilian driver is not able to race,’ a statement said.
‘Michael Schumacher has shown his willingness and in the next few days he will undergo a specific programme of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the championship starting with the European Grand Prix on Aug. 23.’
Media Misses the “Obvious” Story of Brown’s Sweep
July 28, 2009
Amidst the celebration and jubilation of Antron Brown becoming just the eighth driver to sweep the NHRA’s fabled “Western Swing”, ESPN and all the other media outlets failed to report one obvious storyline. It was right there in front of everyone’s eyes and somehow every media person at Infineon Raceway missed it. No one, not one person made a mention that Antron Brown is the first African-American to sweep the Western Swing. How could they have missed that very obvious fact? Read more
I can’t believe it, he’s driving away from me
July 11, 2009
The NASCAR Nationwide Series is in Joliet this weekend with the Cup boys at Chicagoland Speedway, and ran their 300 miler under the lights on Friday night. The story of the race could be summed up by a radio transmission by Kyle Bush late in the race when he said, “I can’t believe it, he’s driving away from me!”
And Logano did drive away from second-place Kyle Bush, posting his fastest laps of the day as the race came to a close on old tires. It was an incredible driving performance and a testament to the driving talents of this kid, and the incredible car that the Joe Gibbs Racing team put together.
Logano was driving the same car that he won with at Kansas, a car that seems to have some “special sauce” in it for the 1-1/2″ cookie-cutter ovals.
Logano will try for the double tomorrow in the Cup race but will have his work cut out for him as he starts 24th, deep in the field.
Kyle Busch was less than ecstatic in self again in post race interviews, in fact, he looked as if someone had taken away his birthday. This guy doesn’t like to finish second, and seems to especially hate losing to “Sliced Bread”. Busch told ESPN, “I guess it’s a good *points* day for us” in an overly-sarcastic tone. I love Busch’s drive to win, but sometimes he needs to suck it up and show a bit of class when he loses. We get it, Kyle. You hate to lose.
Kansas City Star: Tire gamble pays off for Logano
Racing Fans = Bad Drivers
July 8, 2009
If you were paying attention in 2001 when the movie The Fast and the Furious starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster was released in theaters, you know there was an increase in street racing arrests and incidents. The movie glorified the street racing scene and culture, giving way to everyday citizens emulating that behavior. Now comes a study that claims that fans of racing, fans of any type of motorsports, are more likely to be poor drivers behind the wheel of their own cars.
Read more
Briscoe dominates Indy Car qualifying to take pole at the Glenn
July 4, 2009
Ryan Briscoe was almost a second faster than the rest of the Indy Car field on July 4th, taking the top spot in the Firestone Fast Six. Briscoe has been hooked up for the last few weeks, and the pole at the Glenn is his second this season.
Briscoe ran the natural-terrain road course with a lap time 1:28.597 at 136.935 mph, beating out Justin Wilson and Scott Dixon who will start 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Dario Franchitti looked very quick, but a major shunt in the final moments of qualifying ruined his shot at the pole. His Dallara sustained heavy rear-end damage, although it appeared to be repairable and Dario should start somewhere in the top 6. The official starting grid will be released later today at Indycar.com.
Helio Castroneves didn’t have a good day at the Glenn, and failed to make it out of first round qualifying. He was knocked out after qualifying P7 in Group B. He should start 14th (the official grid has not been released at time of post).
The race tomorrow might just be for second place, with nobody holding a candle to Briscoe today. A quick glance at the qualifying times below shows a large group drivers were running laps in the low 1:29’s, so if Briscoe drops out for any reason, this race could be up for grabs.
Paul Tracy is back for this week’s race in a PKV car, but struggled. He’ll start deep in the field after getting knocked out of qualifying in round 1.
The Camping World Grand Prix at the Glenn airs tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET on ABC.
Pos Driver Best Time 1 Ryan Briscoe 01:28.6 2 Justin Wilson 01:29.3 3 Scott Dixon 01:29.7 4 Mario Moraes 01:29.8 5 Graham Rahal 01:30.0 6 D.Franchitti Crash 7 Mike Conway 01:29.2 8 Danica Patrick 01:29.2 9 Marco Andretti 01:29.4 10 Tony Kanaan 01:29.4 11 EJ Viso 01:29.6 12 Dan Wheldon 01:29.9 13 Hideki Mutoh 01:29.8 14 H. Castroneves 01:29.9 15 Paul Tracy 01:30.6 16 R. Hunter-Reay 01:30.4 17 Robert Doornbos 01:30.6 18 Raphael Matos 01:30.5 19 Milka Duno 01:33.7 20 R. Antinucci 01:31.2 21 Ed Carpenter 01:31.7
Zipadelli & Logano steal Cup win at New Hampshire
June 28, 2009
Greg Zipadelli rolled the dice and called a perfect weather-race to bring Joey Logano in first today at the rain shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The win is rookie’s first in Sprint Cup compeition.
Everything went Logano’s way in an odd sort of way. Logano had some early problems that put him out of sequence, a turn of events that may have assisted in his win. Logano actually was the cause of the nine of eleven total caution periods in the race when he had a tire failure. Ed Hinton of ESPN.com points out that Logano was the fortunate recipient of the Lucky Dog not once, but twice. But the tire failure actually put the Home Depot team on an alternate strategy that played out perfectly under the conditions.
RACE NOTES
Jeff Gordon falls short
Gordon ran up front all day, and probably would have won the race had the rain held off for another five or six laps. Lady Luck didn’t shine down on Jeff today.
Tony Stewart’s strong run
The Stewart-Haas team really has the #14 car hooked up, and Tony was the fastest car on the track for a lot of the race. He ended up snake bitten by his former crew chief, but still a good day for Tony.
Dale Jr.’s strong run doesn’t show in the results
Dale Jr. didn’t look to have car to win, but he could have easily finished in the top 5 if the weather hadn’t broken up the party. Dale and the team have to figure out how to do better on restarts.
Was the big wreck Kyle’s Bush’s fault?
Kyle Bush made another friend in Martin Truex Jr. today when contact between the two created a huge accident that took out multiple cars. The question is, “Was it Kyle’s fault?” Truex sure thought so. From my seat, it looked like a pretty dumb move on Kyle’s part to stick his nose in a hole between two cars just before the entrance of turn 1.
LINKS
ESPN: Logano scores unlikely win at Loudon
SI: Rain gives teenager Joey Logano first Cup win
FIA & FOTA reach agreement to save F1, boot Max in October
June 24, 2009
Well that was a short war. Cooler heads have prevailed in the shortest split in auto racing to save F1. The FIA announced this morning that they have come to an agreement to bring the FOTA teams back in the fold with plans to phase in cost reductions over the next couple of years. But that’s not all. As part of the agreement, Max Mosely will not stand for re-election of his position this fall.
While I’m sure that certain track promoters are disappointed today, this resolution is probably the best case scenario for everyone. F1 stays intact, and Max is out the door.
UK Whitney Gazette: Formula One row settled
Here is an official statement from the FIA.
FIA STATEMENT 6/24/2009
All currently competing teams have committed to the FIA Formula One World Championship.
There will be no alternative series or Championship and the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April 2009.
As part of this agreement, the teams will, within two years, reduce the costs of competing in the Championship to the level of the early 1990s. The manufacturer teams have agreed to assist the new entries for 2010 by providing technical assistance.
The manufacturer teams have further agreed to the permanent and continuing role of the FIA as the sport’s governing body. They have also committed to the commercial arrangements for the FIA Formula One World Championship until 2012 and have agreed to renegotiate and extend this contract before the end of that period.
All teams will adhere to an upgraded version of the governance provisions of the 1998 Concorde Agreement.
The following teams have been accepted for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Team (Constructor)
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro (Ferrari)
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (McLaren Mercedes)
BMW Sauber F1 Team (BMW Sauber)
Renault F1 Team (Renault)
Panasonic Toyota Racing (Toyota)
Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR TBA)
Red Bull Racing (RBR TBA)
AT&T Williams (Williams Toyota)
Force India F1 Team (Force India Mercedes)
Brawn GP Formula One Team (Brawn TBA)
Campos Meta Team (Campos Cosworth)
Manor Grand Prix (Manor Cosworth)
Team US F1 (Team US F1 Cosworth)
In view of this new agreement and with the prospect of a stable future for Formula One, FIA President Max Mosley has confirmed his decision not to stand for re-election in October this year.
F1 in crisis - The eight elite teams of FOTA to form new series in 2010
June 19, 2009
Either hell just froze over, or the end is nigh. The unfathomable, the unreal, the unbelievable, the insane, has happened. Just as the open-wheel racing split of the 20th century has come and gone, the 21st century open-wheel split has begun. Articles all over the web are rocking the autosports world with news that a Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Toyota, BMW Sauber, Brawn GP, Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have all declined to enter the Formula 1 World Championship for 2010.
Today was the day of reckoning for Bernie and Max, and things certainly did not go their way. The elite teams that really *are* Formula 1, announced that their team assocation will be forming a new series in 2010.
These eight teams make up the Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) which released a statement just hours ago that included:
“It has become clear, however, the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 world championship.
“These teams, therefore, have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners.”
Sky News has more: F1 - Eight teams to form rival championship
BBC Sport has more of the FOTA statement: Ft teams drop breakaway bombshell
Keith Collantine at the F1 Fanatic blog has his take on the situation. His headline: “F1 to split in two as FOTA teams announce their own championship”. I’m not exactly sure the headline really captures the devastation of today’s developments. This isn’t a “breaking in half”. This is *the* elite teams of F1 ripping away and leaving nothing but a few backmarker teams. One half is Mt. Everest, the other is mole hill.
Fan and media reaction is going to be interesting, to say the least.
