Bernie drinking the cool aid

[Hard Driver]

Well, Bernie Ecclestone was hoping that CART would merge with the IRL. He thinks CART lost it's way when they tried to go international and take on F1. He also does not seem to hold much hope for the future.

http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html?http://f1.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/040219154555.shtml

FBE :thumdown:

Do you think his opinion is influenced by having Tony George kneeling in front of him. :gomer:

[nz_climber]

:shakehead :thumdown:

[RedLine]

Caption this pic:

http://f1.racing-live.com/photos/imgactu/03/ecclestone-sepang_210303_141x220.jpg

[G.]

Caption this pic:

http://f1.racing-live.com/photos/imgactu/03/ecclestone-sepang_210303_141x220.jpgAn unidentified man was found wandering through the pitlane during the USGP today. He appeared to be suffering from advanced stages of Alzheimer's dementia and severe dehydration. He was taken to the infield care center and given coupious amounts of Kool Aid. Authorities are trying to find out his identity, but it appears that no one really cares.

[Chaos]

Let's face it. Saying OWRS is going to fail is the easy stance to take. They are up against some big odds IMO. Impossible? I don't think so, but there's not much room for error.

I hope OWRS proves him wrong.

[Railbird]

that quote is a Bernieism from a couple weeks ago, why the sites are just now picking it up is beyond me.

I 'spect you could get Bernie to say the same thing about Nascar.

[ferrarigod]

Caption this pic:

http://f1.racing-live.com/photos/imgactu/03/ecclestone-sepang_210303_141x220.jpg

Why is Andy Warhol on the pitlane, I thought he was deceased? Must be one of them Elvis things

[pinniped]

It sure worried Bernie enough back when it happened...

[mueber]

that quote is a Bernieism from a couple weeks ago, why the sites are just now picking it up is beyond me.

I 'spect you could get Bernie to say the same thing about Nascar.

Exactly. Bernie is just taking care of business.

[Steve99]

I don't think going international was ever part of CART's problem. It may have been a problem for F1 eventually, until TG fixed that.

[Steve99]

Do you think his opinion is influenced by having Tony George kneeling in front of him. :gomer:

I don't know.

[Robstar]

Exactly. Bernie is just taking care of business.

:thumbup:
What would you expect him to say re: the competition...

[Mike Kellner]

Say what you will about Bernie, his series has interesting cars, tons of sponsors, a great TV package that puts money in his and the teams pockets, and good drivers move to Monaco because they make so much money that living there is cheaper than paying taxes at home. ChampCar could use its own Bernie.

mk

[jonovision_man]

Say what you will about Bernie, his series has interesting cars, tons of sponsors, a great TV package that puts money in his and the teams pockets, and good drivers move to Monaco because they make so much money that living there is cheaper than paying taxes at home. ChampCar could use its own Bernie.

mk

Absolutely... has any other individual made billions from autoracing? I don't think so. Doubting his intelligence is really laughible.

Always take his words with a grain of salt, they're certainly self-serving. For instance, he's recently said Europe will become a "3rd world country"... :rolleyes: and his repeated comments about how F1 could live without the UK are similarly meant to provoke a response, hopefully one that pumps money into Silverstone and ultimately into Bernie's pockets...

jono

[Hard Driver]

Say what you will about Bernie, his series has interesting cars, tons of sponsors, a great TV package that puts money in his and the teams pockets, and good drivers move to Monaco because they make so much money that living there is cheaper than paying taxes at home. ChampCar could use its own Bernie.

mk

Oh, you will see me often in the F1 forums. I'm a fan. But I still think that his dealings with IMS and TG have him drinking cool aid and spouting off. Now he could be right, he could be wrong. He knows what went on, and knows that CART screwed themselves frequently. We all do. But Champcars has a new dictator of our own and that in and of itself is a huge improvement over the public company format. And so I would expect him to have the professional courtasy to keep his mouth shut while Champcars starts anew.

[Ankf00]

what dealings? TG pays BERNIE $ to have a US based grand prix, what exactly is bernie taking up the bum due to kool-aid consumption? bernie pimps TG, not the other way around. the man has enough success and $ to be able to spout off at will no matter the circumstance, personally I think he's a twit, but he's a smart, rich, successful twit, which means i'm the one who needs to stfu when he speaks.

[racer2c]

Eccelstone is an egomaniac who thinks the racing world trembles at his utterance of every word. He also changes his mind from week to week.

What concerns me is not just these recent comments. It's those comments coupled with the news of a the racing entities who might thwart an FIA approval. It's the behind the scene politics in stealing venues or keeping new venues from being realized. There is an uphill battle in front of OWRS against what seems to be an ever solidifying, unified front.
Sound like doom and gloom? It shouldn't. It's the reality that there are business partnerships protecting their interests that probably feel like OWRS, along with CART should have gone the way of the dinosaur. Now they are out to make their future a miserable place to be.
The upside is that the new Champ Car series has every right to be pursuing their mission. They are on the side of a just cause and seem to have the resolve to see it through, at least until it is realized that it is impossible to proceed.

On a more granular level, I would like to see more up and coming kart/ladder series drivers hold on to their training background and be very clear on the fact that they are professional trained, professional road racers and Champ Car is the ultimate test of a road racers skill and talent. I'm still in shock to see the Kanaan's, Manning's, Dario's, Helio's, Dixon's etc spouting prolific about the IRL and their all oval series. I can hear their managers and teams now "don't worry, they'll ad the road races. Hang in there".

If more drivers stuck to their guns, the media would shed more light on which series holds and displays the talent. Currently with the CART teams moving over and the drivers proclaiming the IRL the place to be, the media just mirrors those sentiments. The majority of the media isn't there to be critical judges, but rather to report on what they are being told are the things to report on.