Motorsports highlights in the slow offseason

The racing season begins in earnest next weekend with the Rolex 24

It's not entirely a wasteland. There was that 50-minute Formula E race from Buenos Aires, Argentina last Saturday. If you so happen to be in or around Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend or get MAVTV (I'm not entirely sure which is more likely), you can watch the world's most prominent indoor midget race, with the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.

And of course, next weekend there will be what has become the unofficial start of the racing season in recent years, The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

As for the Verizon IndyCar Series, Formula One and NASCAR Sprint Cup? Well, they're still each more than a month from starting up. What if you're into Red Bull Global Rallycross? That doesn't begin until May.

Yes, we're in the midst of what you might call a motor racing drought right now. Although there maybe isn't as much happening on the track as we'd like, there is plenty to talk about as we look ahead to the 2015 racing season. So talk we will.

Using a question/statement/answer format, AutoRacing 1 will discuss some of the pertinent topics from across the motorsports globe heading into 2015. Enjoy.

The F1 Financial Crisis

Of course, there was and continues to be much ado over the Caterham and Marussia F1 teams falling into administration before last season's United States Grand Prix. Caterham would miss the U.S. and Brazil rounds before scraping together a dubious crowd funding effort to make the final race at Abu Dhabi. Marussia was unable to make any of the final three rounds.

Currently, in the hands of bankruptcy administrators, both hope to return to the grid in 2015.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]But let's be clear on something: as we outlined in part 2 of our recent series discussing the decision-making structure in Formula One, any changes that might ease the way for Marussia and/or Caterham to return to the grid have to be approved the F1 Strategy Group. Six F1 teams, Formula One Management, and the FIA share 6 votes apiece in F1 Strategy Group. And while no one knows who actually casts the votes, the fact Bernie Ecclestone and six of the larger teams control two-thirds of the votes means there isn't going to be a lot of sympathy for Caterham and Marussia. Keep in mind, the Strategy Group rejected the $200 million cost cap approved by the FIA's World Motorsport Council last fall. Again, we don't know who voted for what, but it is difficult to imagine the FIA casting its 6 votes in opposition to a measure its own council drafted.

Another thing: as we pointed out in this November article one of the root causes of the financial crisis in F1 is that the teams fundamentally disagree amongst themselves as to what the financial structure of the sport should be. However, the bigger teams have a not so unimportant ally in Ecclestone and FOM.

Essentially, the two bankrupt F1 teams are likely going to need to find a buyer to continue. Considering that a potential buyer would be buying into the mess outlined, the likelihood of that would seem minuscule. However, it's probably more likely than the two beleaguered outfits getting any help from the Strategy Group.

So what will the smaller teams do?

Well, without a whole lot of recourse on F1 Strategy Group, expect Formula One's smaller teams to challenge the legality of the group, possibly via the European Union.

It's a long story, and I outlined some of it in the two-part article. However, while the latest Concorde Agreement was being renegotiated the FIA took a 1% equity stake in Delta Topco Limited (FOM's parent company) for a sum of around $500,000. Estimates value a 1% stake in Delta at around $60 million. The debt-ridden FIA also received a one-time $5 million payment.

What they surrendered however, was voting power and the authority to be the final decision-maker on the rules governing Formula One. As the FIA is a non-profit entity and exists to oversee the health of worldwide motorsport, the fact they surrendered such power, particularly in what appears to have been a rather dubious transaction, may come under scrutiny for violating anti-competition laws.

In essence, the financial issues that plagued Formula One in 2014, are by no means water under the bridge. If anything, 2014 was likely just a precursor to choppy waters Formula One will face in 2015. And what they will ultimately mean for the future of the sport is as of now, anyone's guess.

But if I had to venture a guess, the situation is likely to get worse, before it gets better.

Something a little more uplifting

Let's completely shift gears.

If you've read AutoRacing1 for any substantial amount of time, you are aware that we have called for race sanctioning bodies to introduce racing in schools. While the details of what is raced, and how the competition is set up can be discussed, the identifications people have with their schools are well-documented. Further, since most mainstream American sports are so fundamentally attached to the scholastic system (something that is largely an American phenomenon) a scholastic tie-in would allow racing to gain mainstream recognition as a legitimate sport.

Well, I'm happy to report that someone is finally putting such a plan into action.

Granted, it's not a heavy-hitting corporation, nor a major race sanction such as NASCAR or INDYCAR. But in conjunction with Jessup, MD-based Autobahn Indoor Speedway, the Maryland Varsity Karting League will hold its first race this coming Tuesday evening. Schools already confirmed for the championship are Sandy Spring Friends School, River Hill, Howard High School, and Old Mill. For more, see this video courtesy of Washington D.C. FOX affiliate FOX 5.

Aspiring karters spent this week trying out and teams to be finalized in the coming days. Wednesday, I spoke yesterday with league president Jordan Wallace who said the six-race season would be a school championship, not a drivers' championship. Wallace and Autobahn also have plans to expand upon this initiative in the coming years.

AutoRacing1 applauds this initiative, which is exactly the kind of thinking needed in the racing industry. Also, AR1 is pleased to announce that we will be covering the first season of the MD Varsity Karting championship. Stay tuned to AR1 for coverage in the coming weeks.

Back to the top-level

Followers of the Verizon IndyCar Series know Chevrolet has enjoyed the upper-hand over Honda in recent year. Last season, the Bowtie Brigade won 13 of 18 races, and their third consecutive Manufacturers' Championship.

This offseason, Chevy has added Simon Pagenaud (Team Penske) and Josef Newgarden (CFH Racing) to its stable. As for Honda¦?

It's conceivable Honda could come out with an edge over Chevy with the new aero-kits debuting this upcoming season. With aero-kit testing being conducted amidst a veil of secrecy, this is not something we will know until at least, mid-March.

But if you go off what we do know; if you consider that Honda has lost two of its quickest drivers at the end of last season; if you consider Honda has one 2014 race-winner under contract (Ryan Hunter-Reay) and may likewise lose veteran stalwart Justin Wilson to the Chevy stable; if you consider that Honda was at a disadvantage to Chevy most of last season, particularly late in the season, and has yet to add any new talent to its stable, it's hard to see there being much parity between the two in 2015.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Did anyone notice?

The FIA somewhat conveniently omitted Indy Lights when announcing its new standard for awarding points towards earning a super-license to race Formula One starting in 2016.

I get that the FIA wants to do something about the prevalence of pay drivers and the ever-decreasing age of debutants at the pinnacle of motorsport. I'll also be the first to say that Indy Lights has not spent the last few years covering itself in glory with sparse fields, and an outdated car. Although, I would also offer that in Carlos Munoz, Sage Karam, Jack Hawksworth, Tristan Vautier, Josef Newgarden, James Hinchcliffe and others the quality of drivers to have graduated is difficult to argue with.

Nevertheless, the FIA opted to omit Lights, yet include select national F4 championships and a yet-to-turn-a-wheel Formula 2 series. Rather disingenuous to say the least. And the conspiracy theorist in me doesn't think the timing of Lights introducing a new car, the series drawing interest for non-traditional teams like Carlin, and marketing itself as a viable alternative to GP2 and GP3 is the least bit, coincidental. And the message sent was loud and clear: aspiring single-seaters who go to America can kiss any hopes of an F1 career goodbye.

Quick Note

I mentioned crowd-funding above in light of the Caterham F1 bankruptcy, and the crowdfunding scheme that allowed them to race at Abu Dhabi. And generally speaking, I've been quite critical of crowd-funding plans in the past. While the PR spin would indicate otherwise, the truth of the matter was the Caterham project was essentially a ruse to have fans prop up the team for the purposes of making more desirable to a potential buyer. And there have been numerous other such dubious crowd-funding efforts in the world of motorsport.

That said, I was disappointed to hear Guy Cosmo's First Gear Project was shutting down after less than a year. I spoke with Cosmo over the summer, and his goals for FGP truly represented a departure from standard 'begging-people-for-money' type efforts traditionally associated with crowd-funding. The long-time sportscar racing standout had genuinely innovative ideas about how grassroots projects could engage supporters, invest those supporters in the process, and ultimately provide adequate return to everyone involved, monetary and otherwise.

Now, I don't know exactly what happened. I read the news just as you probably did, and frankly, it's none of my business. Clearly, something about the FGP platform did not work out in the way Cosmo had planned. I just hope his innovative ideas are not forgotten.

Brian Carroccio is a columnist for AutoRacing1. He can be contacted at BrianC@AutoRacing1.com.

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