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Editors Note: Glenn joins
AutoRacing1.com as a contributor. He is an avid open-wheel racing
fan, and and lives in Toronto, Canada. Welcome Glenn!
Greetings, race fans…I've just spent the last couple of hours watching the Australian Grand Prix. So, I've had my first real fix of Formula One in four months, and it has done wonders for me. To you unfortunate race fans in Europe, who had to get up at 3 o'clock in the morning to catch the race, let me simply say - HA! On THIS side of the pond, we have to get up at 7AM every SUNDAY to watch the races, so it's only fitting you have to get up in the middle of the night once a year!
If you did happen to catch the race, then you saw some pretty neat stuff (JV's shunt excluded…it's always painful and sad when someone dies at the track…). It would appear that McLaren are having some early-season problems, and the Jordan/BAR war is going to be an excellent story throughout the summer months. Great drama, and some fabulous racing are surely to come.
So, you had better enjoy it while you can - because sometime soon, it could all change DRAMATICALLY…and no one knows how it could end up. Yes, you could actually be watching the last official year of Formula One "As We Know It."
Now, I don't know if you are a CART fan, an IRL fan, or if you are familiar with the name Tony George, but for the purposes of this article, let me explain (as briefly as possible) the history of the CART/IRL "split." Believe me, it is relevant to the current ownership drama, taking place for control over the television rights to Formula One.
You see, for those of us "in the colonies," open-wheeled racing has taken many twists and turns over the years. Those of you in Europe have the advantage of living in the same geographic (and time) zones as the majority of the Formula One races. Over here in North America we have had the Canadian Grand Prix since 1967, and the US Grand Prix since 1959…minus those nine long, painful years from 1991 to 2000. Now, the Brickyard is one of the most famous tracks in the world, and the race has a long and illustrious history, and next to Daytona is probably the most-watched race in all of the US and Canada. During the absence of Formula One from the North American scene, the "Indy" races became even more popular - simply because they were (a) featuring drivers that were more
recognizable to the North American audience, and (b) were on television at a reasonable hour (to generate advertising revenues for the major US networks). During that time, the Indy 500 became an even more popular event, due to the absence of the US Grand Prix.
And that's when the trouble began.
History: In 1945 an Indiana businessman by the name of Tony Hulman purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and resurrected the Indy 500 Race, which had been sidelined during WWII. His grandson, Tony George, became president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1990, at the age of 30. Tony owned the track, and therefore, owned the Indianapolis 500. And, as everybody knows, you can't possibly have a successful racing circuit in the United States without the Indy 500.
…Or so Tony George thought.
Tony was not (and is not) a stupid man. Knowing that the US Grand Prix was in jeopardy, he saw a great opportunity to control open-wheeled racing in North America at the end of 1991. In essence, he tried to squeeze the car owners (teams) out of the equation, and take total control of the sport.
It didn't work. It didn't work because Tony faced unified opposition from the Teams, and the Team Owners.
It didn't work, in fact, as a result of Bernie Ecclestone. Whether he knew it or not, Bernie had created such great success in Formula One by 1978 that the team owners involved in USAC racing began to take notice, and wanted to mimic what Bernie had created - an association consisting exclusively of the teams, with the goal of making the racing series "financially healthy and reasonable from a business standpoint" (The history of open-wheeled racing in the US is fascinating, and I would highly recommend that anyone interested read the white paper written by team owner Dan Gurney in 1978, which led to the creation of CART - It is, more than anything, a true testament to Bernie Ecclestone.
(View the original white paper here). The end result of this "white paper" in 1978 was the formation of Championship Automobile Racing Teams, or CART, as it has become known - An association of the teams and their drivers acting as advocates for the "sport" element of open-wheeled racing in North America.
Fast-forward to 1994, when new Indy Car President Andrew Craig was installed with a mandate to expand the series beyond its traditional base of US races. Tony George, feeling that the significance of the Indy 500 was being diminished, publicly stated that Indy Car racing should be "more like NASCAR," and unveiled preliminary plans for what would become the Indy Racing League.
Without boring you, the rest is basically this: Tony George wanted to be in control of all open-wheeled racing in the US, and turned to the Team Owners with the attitude of, "You need me, because you can't succeed without the Indy 500."
The Team Owners responded by saying to Tony George, (and I mean this in the most polite, and inoffensive way possible), "Screw You."
And, so, the "split" happened. The best racing teams wound up forming their own series, and Tony George was left to create the Indy Racing League (IRL), which was formed with GM providing all the motors (I mean, really, General Motors? Come ON now), and with arguably an inferior crop of drivers. I'm not saying "unskilled" drivers, just that the IRL drivers were definitely of the "second tier." Meanwhile, CART continued to recruit drivers from all over the world, expand the series to a wider audience, and continue to push the envelope for the best and fastest technologies / race cars available. For those of you that don't believe CART has the best drivers and equipment, remember this: in May of 2000, Target Chip Ganassi was the first and only major CART team to field an entry in the 500 in 5 years. Their driver at the time (and current BMW Williams driver) Juan Montoya wins handily, firmly establishing that the best drivers and teams for open-wheeled racing in North America drive in the FedEx CART series - not the Tony George Racing League (or, as it is called, IRL).
So, what does this have to do with Formula One?
Nothing, except there is now the possibility for irony of the sweetest kind. You see, CART was formed with Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One held up as the Holy Grail. In fact, it could be Bernie Ecclestone and the 5 major European car manufacturers who take a page out of the CART notebook, and turn their backs on Formula One at the end of the 2001 season.
The recent purchase of 25% of SLEC by KIRCH leaves Leo Kirch and EM-TV (a company which is effectively controlled by KIRCH) with a 74.9% stake in SLEC (the Ecclestone family trust which owns the television rights to Formula One for the next 100 years).
Rumor has it that KIRCH plan to prop up their ailing German Pay-TV channel by airing F1 races exclusively on Pay-TV. While KIRCH deny this, it is important to note that the only way German soccer fans can follow their
favorite teams this year is to subscribe to - that's right - Pay-TV controlled by KIRCH.
Publicly, Bernie Ecclestone has said that the reclusive Leo Kirch is his friend, and that he fully approves of the purchase.
Privately, there is a consortium of 5 major European auto manufacturers - Fiat (Ferrari), Ford (Jaguar), Honda, Renault, and Daimler Chrysler (Mercedes) who wish to control at least 33% of F1, due to the fact they invest so much in the sport. They have approached
Bernie Ecclestone about creating a competing racing series to Formula One. On the surface, that might seem ludicrous. Overall, however, it would be foolish to think that Formula One could continue its current success without the assistance of Bernie Ecclestone - and it would be sheer suicide to think that Bernie couldn't pull off the creation of a parallel series that was not only (a) competitive, but was (b) commercially viable. Don't think they're not serious, either - The "big five" F1 auto manufacturers have stated, as recently as yesterday in Australia, that they could be ready to go with a competing series to F1 by 2007.
Additionally, the members of the FIA board of directors hold a veto vote on the acquisition of the final 25% stake in SLEC by KIRSCH, if they feel it is not in the best interests of racing. This may sound like a blessing to the lower-tier race teams, and it may seem inevitable that the FIA will reject the purchase, but it is conceivable that the FIA approve these purchases. But, why would they?
Here's why - It may just be that Bernie gets his Billion Dollar Payoff from Kirsch, only to create another racing series that is the REAL THING, replacing the importance of Formula One (and, therefore, removing value from the shares held by SLEC). Then, he gets to create a new company, with the television rights to the new racing series, effectively rendering what Leo Kirsch purchased worthless.
It's also possible that Leo Kirsch wins all the approvals and lawsuits, and expects to take total control over Formula One. Which simply won't happen, because the drivers believe (as do the car companies) that the Sport is more important than the media spectacle. If Leo Kirsch makes the mistake that Tony George made back in 1994, he does so at his own peril. Considering his competition on the sporting side - Bernie Ecclestone included - it is entirely conceivable that a new race series is created, outside of the FIA's influence. Let's face it, at the moment the FIA is more concerned with safety and the trickle-down effects of F1 technology into the mass-market automobile. The drivers and car manufacturers would relish a series with fewer regulations and controls - and Bernie would make it profitable. Leo Kirsch should pay his money, and be happy with what he owns - without even attempting to put the sport on Pay-TV. Otherwise, the pushback could financially ruin his empire. Imagine paying a billion dollars for the rights to Formula One, and having the rights turn worthless a year after you buy them. Leo Kirsch should.
The question remains - Is this the last year for Formula One as we know it? Is it possible that, for the 2002 season, the major manufacturers are part of a competing series? Would that series survive? Would Formula One as run by the FIA survive? What is most important to race fans? What is most important to drivers?
Wouldn't I like to know…In the meantime, let's enjoy the fact that Jordan is in Row 2 for the start of the Aussie Grand Prix…and that Jacques doesn't appear to be top dog at BAR anymore, and that it appears positions 4 to 6 are available to anyone. Any takers?
The rest will work itself out…It always does. No matter what, we'll all have good racing to watch, regardless of the back-room politics. One billion viewers per year can't be ignored.
Copyright 2001 Glenn
Anderson
The author can be contacted at contacts@autoracing1.com
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