Rocket Gibraltar - Bill Oursler on the ALMS Sebring test sessions The first week in February for North American road racing enthusiasts this year was devoted to the Grand American’s Rolex-backed Daytona 24-Hour season opener; or at least most of the attention was. For some reason, the American Le Mans Series decided to hold its pre-season test session just down the road at Sebring during the first four days of the week. Quite why, I’m not sure, so if there are questions, I’ll refer you to the folks at the ALMS for answers. Waiting for Godot Still, perhaps the most significant thing to come from Sebring, is the thing that didn’t happen at the Central Florida airport circuit. The announcement stating the Maserati MC 12 would be racing this year in the Don Panoz-owned tour. While Scott Atherton, the man who runs the ALMS for Panoz is not only upbeat about the series for this coming year, as well as the future beyond, and has impressed that fact on your columnist in no uncertain terms, there are issues concerning the size of the ALMS fields for 2005, and frankly the amount of actual competition in the championship itself. To give Atherton and the ALMS their due, the series is moving forward at a brisk pace with new teams like Aston Martin, and new sponsors signing on. Perhaps more important is the attention that has been and continues to be paid to the ALMS, with television ratings and attendance figures increasing every year. Indeed, the ALMS on U.S. network TV draws better than both the IRL and Champ Car, not to mention Formula One. So when Atherton complains that the media, and your columnist have spent too little time focusing on the positive accomplishments of the Panoz title chase, he does have a point. The ALMS is doing well. Even so, as Atherton notes, the real test is where people plant their feet. After all, those are the items with which they vote best. Feats don't fail me now…. So far, in terms of the public, the ALMS have been the clear victor over the Grand Am. But, the Grand Am has resources and leverage that the ALMS doesn’t have, and never will. Its basic business plan is a "pay as you go" one, with the participants doing most of the paying. And why would they do that? The answer is simple: the Grand Am has made its series affordable, most especially in terms of running costs, but almost in the longevity of the equipment, a situation brought about by the unique - some might say - overly enforced rules structure. Either way, the competitors appear to have voted with their feet, having chosen the Grand Am in far greater numbers during the past two years over the ALMS. This is important because the pool of prospective team owners and drivers seemed to have chosen Grand Am over the ALMS. Not only is that pool finite, but there are not many within it who will "double dip" in both camps. Further the Grand Am, because of its obvious ties to NASCAR has the resources to boost the star quality of its fields, not to mention the means of securing manufacturer involvement that otherwise might not come the Grand Am’s way. In short, the ALMS is on the flat ground facing the Grand Am, which is entrenched in the high territory where the ALMS needs to go. It is, in other words, a difficult and tricky task if one has to battle the Grand Am for needed resources, and ultimately fans. The winter of someone's discontent … So given all of this, the importance of having Maserati as an on-going competitor in the GT1 production category as an equal rival for the Corvettes at races where the Aston Martins might be playing in the European Le Mans Series, is of some importance. Unfortunately, the authorities at Le Mans don’t like the Maserati MC 12; don’t want to know about it; and, most definitely, don’t want it racing either at Le Mans or in the ALMS. Over the winter insiders reported that Atherton and company had worked out a deal where the MC 12 could participate in the ALMS through a special dispensation from the French race officials. That agreement was seemingly in place when the press conference was scheduled on the test week. Most likely you'll go your way and I'll go mine… However, at the last minute the French called and said, " no way, Jose". Reportedly, there were threats of disassociation from both Le Mans and the ALMS. Although by the end of the week, there were said to be indications of a compromise in the air. No matter what happens, the matter has exposed a fundamental flaw, at least as far as the ALMS is concerned, in being so closely tied to the ACO. There is no question that the Le Mans name is a valuable asset to have. Equally true is that what is good for a single event in one country, may not meet the needs of a series in another. If the ALMS is to be successful here in the ultimate, it is going to need the freedom to deal with what are called "local conditions." The ALMS doesn't have that freedom at the moment, and while no one wants to see the Americans split with the French, if the latter won’t compromise, then perhaps it is better the two go their own ways. |
Bill Oursler |
