F1 is off for the Basque manufacturer, we hope for a sportscar return
It seems that the ACO world is keeping up with the news as we head towards the end of the year. Here is a selection of the news and opinion from the last few days.
- Leading French site, Endurance Info has reported that two 2009 Aston Martins have been sold. The exciting thing is that one is to USA and one to Europe. It is not known if they will see the track in 2010 but if one is in the States, it is a good sign. You may remember that there is a Pescarolo in the USA.
- Epsilon Euskadi have officially ruled out moving to F1 next year as their design projects have been ceased. They also ruled out to SpeedTV taking over Toyota. There was no word, however, on their sportscar programs. They have two eligible cars - the EE1, which competed in 2008 and the EE2 which never saw competition. The EE1 was a very good looking car and was gaining in competitiveness as the $$$ ran out
. - SpeedTV have reported that over 30 000 people have signed the petition to save the Spa track. A group of residents, who didn't realise that the historic race track existed when they moved in campaigned successfully to suspend its license. Spa had its license suspended until 2026, although this has been suspended. One issue has been increased operation of the track in the past 6 or 7 years. If you wish to contribute to the petition (we have) - >go here
. - While Speedy Racing's Benjamin Leuenberger has not finalised his 2010 plans as yet, in his end of season press release, he mentioned "There are discussions in different directions, primarily, of course with Speedy Racing. But it's still a little bit too early for concrete plans."
- One of China's larger car makers, Shanghai Automotive has announced that they will invest $879m in green cars. As China moves into the western markets, perhaps this green push could also meet ACO racing's green push. It would be a natural partnership, even if it is just in my head at the moment
- And finally, props to Audi's Mattias Ekstrom for winning the Race of Champions and for those lucky enough to go to the Autosport International motorshow, keep an eye out for Allan McNish whose appearance has been confirmed
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Sam Tickell
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