Bernie did indeed have intentions to get involved with CART

[dreamracer]

Q: There were rumors you were interested in buying the financially troubled Championship Auto Racing Teams series earlier this year. How much truth was there?

A: "Honestly, I had a big interest in doing something, but it got to the state where people in Formula One, our shareholders, thought it would be a big conflict for me to get involved. If I got involved meaningfully -- and whether or not I could have done any good is another story -- I would have wanted to put a genuine effort behind it. Maybe I would have to take my eye off Formula One a bit. You get something good over here and you lose something there."

linkie

That should end the "pure fantasy" accusations in regard to Bernie having interest in CART, that were bandied about here for so dang long.

[rrrr]

Re: Bernie did indeed have intentions to get involved with CART

Originally posted by dreamracer
That should end the "pure fantasy" accusations in regard to Bernie having interest in CART, that were bandied about here for so dang long.

He's lying.

[Doc Austin]

After all the huge plans Bernie allegedly had for Group C when he acquired the TV rights, only to pull the plug on the world championship, do you really believe Barnie wants anything to prosper besides F-1?

After what he did to the ITC?

And aren't the rally fans up in arms about what Bernie is doing to their segment of the sport?

I think Bernie says one thing, but if he ever got a hold of cart he would just kill it off like he did Group C and ITC. cart fans had better just be happy Bernie stayed out of it.

[Jim Wilke]

Talk is cheap, especially after the fact. What do you expect him to say?

"I never had the slightest intention of investing a pound in CART. Are you mad bonkers (crazy)? Daft? I just strung Chris along so that he would spend all of CART's money and run the series into the ground so that no one else with any brains and money could buy it and compete with me.....and my friend and business partner, Tony George. You remember him, he's the fellow who pays me a multi-million dollar sanctioning fee and the same guy who has the right of first refusal on a second USGP. Chris, on the other hand, is just a bloke (fellow) who screwed me 20 years ago. I've been listening to a NASCAR driver named Jimmy Spencer....."

[Eagle104]

Originally posted by Doc Austin
And aren't the rally fans up in arms about what Bernie is doing to their segment of the sport?

some conventional wisdom might suggest bernie's behind it -- if for no other reason than his influence/ties with max.

max/fia IS really putting the screws to WRC. just incredible.

:mad:

[Eagle104]

goodnite, wilke...so, he was lying with that quote? yes or no.

[Doc Austin]

Originally posted by Eagle104
[B]some conventional wisdom might suggest bernie's behind it -- if for no other reason than his influence/ties with max.

Max is nothing more than bernie's puppet. we were better off with Jean marie Balestre.

max/fia IS really putting the screws to WRC. just incredible.:mad:

Well, bernie did acquire the TV rights to WRC, but look what happend to Group C and ITC in the immeadiatly years after Ecclestone acquired the rights to those.

[Doc Austin]

Originally posted by Eagle104
...so, he was lying with that quote? yes or no.

Ecclestone? Probably.

We can only go on how honest he has been witgh us in the past. When he and Mosley signed the document to end the Group C world championship, they slipped out of the FIA's Paris headquarters bathroom window so they wouldn't have to explain themselves to the waiting media. Would you trust those people?

[Eagle104]

Originally posted by Doc Austin
Well, bernie did acquire the TV rights to WRC....

he did? i'm really not fully up to speed on alot of that stuff.

[rodneyh]

Originally posted by Jim Wilke
Talk is cheap, especially after the fact. What do you expect him to say?

That’s my feeling with Panther, GM, Pennzoil, etc.

Has Hornish come back and said, these specific dollar amounts were indeed offered to him? I don’t remember him commenting on, 4 million here, extra million there, whatever they were.

[Railbird]

Talk is cheap, especially after the fact.


especially when it doesn't fit your agenda.

the man said it, I'm just glad it didn't happen.

[The Beer Baron]

I see f1 taking less prominence in the media here, what ferrari did in 2002 has turned many off. The darling buds of the FIA , I guess what goes comes around!

[Doc Austin]

Originally posted by rodneyh
That’s my feeling with Panther, GM, Pennzoil, etc.

Has Hornish come back and said, these specific dollar amounts were indeed offered to him? I don’t remember him commenting on, 4 million here, extra million there, whatever they were.

in the most recent RACER column by hornish, he went so far as to say that he always dreamed about racing for Penske. There was probably nothing Panther could offer Sam that was enough, so no one can blame them either.

Lots of people said Sam sold out, but following your dream isn't selling out to me.

Sometimes people move on. Sam did give Panther plenty of credit
and it's quite clear it was a gut wrenching decision for him. But look, don't believe me. Read the column and make up your own minds.