Movers, Mergers and Turf-outs

The turn of the New Year is often an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start anew. I’m sure many in the motorsport world were looking for a change in fortune, given the current economic conditions.

Unfortunately, we have seen more of what happened in the tail end of last year. In MotoGP, Kawasaki is on the verge of pulling factory support from the series. While no official word from the Japanese firm has been forthcoming, it seems to be nothing more than forgone conclusion given the way people are talking about it.

Speaking about MotoGP, something that completely escaped my radar was that Eurosport has lost its coverage of the series to the BBC. While I am in full support in a changing of the guard on the F1 front, the decision to take it away from Eurosport is baffling. You would be hard pushed to find a better coverage for the sport. Hopefully the BBC recognizes that, as they did with the talents of Martin Brundle, and sign up Toby Moody and Juilan Ryder to front their coverage.

Across the pond, the news hasn’t been much better for Nascar. Petty Enterprises are currently in merger talks with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. While I am not as well versed in the historical elements of Nascar as I would like, it isn’t too hard to see the symbolic and historical significance of the Petty team.

The family venture is to Nascar what Ferrari is to Formula One, in my opinion. I’m sure many thought that despite falling on hard times as of late, they would still survive. The team has a known brand that is sellable to sponsors. An impending merger will be a reminder that nobody is safe in today’s world.

Staying with GEM, the team is also going to have to battle an impending lawsuit regarding Elliot Sadler. Despite signing a new deal earlier in the year, Sadler has been turfed out in favour of AJ Allmendinger. After impressing in GEM’s third card towards the end of the season, it isn’t a surprise to see him in a full time ride.

Sadler is claiming breach of contract, having said to have received the news from a sponsor. How this all plays out is anyone’s guess. If the merger with Petty plays out as expected, the removal of Sadler asks a question of how many cars GEM plan to run this year. Currently the team run the #9, #10 and #19 – add to this the expected arrival of the #43. Either they plan to only run three cars or have someone else lined up for the fourth seat.