Honda’s Patience for Reunification Growing Thin
Quote selected text Published July 17th, 2006 in MainHonda’s top U.S. motor sports official warned over the weekend that time and patience are running out to reconcile open-wheel racing in this country. Robert Clarke, president of Honda Performance Development, offered that assessment after hearing nothing from Indy Racing League founder Tony George that tells him a merger with the Champ Car World Series is in the works.
Clarke and George met at Clarke’s request prior to Saturday night’s Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. “Time is our enemy in this process,” Clarke said minutes after the meeting ended.
Clarke said his enthusiasm for a merger has waned since he completed a sequence of meetings with all IRL and Champ Car teams during races in Richmond, Va.; Portland, Ore.; and Kansas City, Kan. Clarke said each team owner offered support for a single open-wheel entity, something Honda has been pushing since before it joined the IRL in 2003.
Clarke said Honda is committed to supplying IRL engines and marketing support through the end of the 2008 season — through 2009 if league officials can add at least one more engine manufacturer. But he acknowledged such an arrangement is a blessing and a curse to the unification talks. That’s because George has the security of knowing he has Honda on board, and Honda can’t threaten to leave if unification talks stall. Clarke said all he can do is offer support to the process.
“As much energy as we’ve put in to understanding the needs of both sides and trying to push this thing, that decision has to be made by Kevin and Tony, and they have to do it at their own pace,” Clarke said. “Neither of them embraces (the need for unification) at the level we do, I can tell you that.”
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Oh gee, Honda’s getting pissed…that’s a surprise!
IRL and Champ Car have got to be the most moronic organizations in the history of motorsports. They just sit there while what’s left of their businesses crumble to the ground.
They get every bit they deserve.
HONDA SUCKS
DONT CARE FOR HONDA…
FORD,CHEVY.VW,BMW,
IS ALL THE WORLD NEEDS..
Open wheel is open wheel and all IRL and Champ are doing is hurting themselves by stalling this. Get their asses in gear and they might just salvage things. And you can’t tell me that it doesn’t make sense!
[Above comment edited]
If Rahal, Fernandez and Penske switched back to CC leaving AGR to fight it out with Ganassi (who would probably follow suit to CC if Rahal, Fernandez and Penske switched), the split would effectively be over. Honda could pay to badge the Rahal, Fernandez and Penske Cosworths, one series would have 24-28 cars, the other would have 10-12 AND the Indy 500.
Tony George would be forced to play ball. If he didn’t, his series would effectively be toast, even if Rahal, Fernandez and Penske did choose to run the Indy 500 with existing equipment.
CC is where it’s at in the future (one that would be made much better if it included the 500). CC is the series with buzz, and it’s the series with a vision, IMHO.
A few owners willing to leave the IRL en masse could end this thing.
And, the reason team owners should leave the IRL rather than vice verse: Because the IRL owner is the one who seems to be hanging up the process and is the one who needs to be put in a position of need.