NEWS
Thursday January 15, 2004
Fretter Joins PhoenixF1
As reveled earlier this week by SimRacing, Adam Fretter has
been officially announced as the new PhoenixF1 driver for 2004, partnering
Colombian Antonio Irisarri. The Scotsman gained the lucrative seat after weeks
of rumour and und uncertainty. As it out, the seat was highly coveted (see Rumours page) but the dependable Fretter ended up
getting the nod. The former SFO driver notched one win and numerous podiums for
the Arela team, helping to carry them to the Constructors Championship. Fretter
will make his F1VWC debut at the Australian Grand Prix, and is expected on
track testing before long.
Fretter nearly joined the VWC last fall when Stealth Grand
Prix was looking for substitute drivers but he chose to concentrate on the SFO,
a wise move which garnered him the long sought after win, at the US Grand Prix.
He will join a team extremely well complemented by Irisarri, Daniel Wilkinson,
Jan Kelder, Mark Nieuwlaar and steadfast Team Boss Andy Graydon.
SimRacing News Service.
Oliver Woods Joins SimRacing Staff
SimRacing
Magazine is pleased to announce that Oliver Woods has joined the staff as the
new reporter. He will write summaries of the weekly test sessions over the next
7 weeks, including quotes, interviews and stats. Look for the reports on the Reports page above, with the first one to be
released after this weekend.
SimRacing News Service.
Monday January 12, 2004
Cragg Comments on Toyota
The F1VWC held
its engine-signing derby this past week, completing the technical packages for
the 11 teams. The majority of the deals went according to expectations, but
much to the surprise of the paddock the greatest shock was that of Toyota
joining up with Woods Racing. Despite being a newcomer to the league and
fielding relatively inexperienced drivers, Woods beat Stealth Grand Prix to the
Toyota honours. Out of all the engines, only two were bid for by more than one
team, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz. The Mercedes outcome was a bit of a surprise
since they were paired with Simsoa at the end of last season but opted for MMRT
instead. Nothing quite compared to the Toyota move, which triggered raised
eyebrows and comments.
Stealth’s Ted
Cragg has kept his silence however, and has only now released his first public
comments, to SimRacing Magazine. In a statement to SimRacing, Cragg said “I
congratulate Woods on his deal and I wish the team the best this season.
Toyota’s made a very interesting choice for 2004.”
Stealth has
since signed a very lucrative deal with Volkswagen, stretching over three
years. The team stated that a formal announcement on Volkswagen as well as its
2004 drivers will be coming soon. SimRacing is also looking for press releases
from all the teams concerning their new engine deals.
SimRacing News Service.
Kieran Ryan Pulls a Prost
Kieran Ryan has
announced an Allain Prost-esque sabbatical in 2004, voluntarily taking time out
to concentrate on studies and other activities. Although potential openings for
a 2004 race seat remain, Ryan was determined to only give the utmost effort. In
a press release, the Irishman said “I'll be back for sure looking and scouting for a
good fast drive after the Canadian grand prix, were I can finally put behind
these tests and look forward to ending the year on a good note and hopefully
finally getting a full year again in 2005 challenging for the title.” SimRacing
will be conducting an interview with Kieran Ryan this week, look for it in the
Features section.
SimRacing News Service.
Fretter Linked to PhoenixF1
SimRacing has
linked Scotsman Adam Fretter to the vacant seat at PhoenixF1. Earlier this week
Fretter was expected to join Stealth Grand Prix but has apparently declined in
favour of a race seat. With PhoenixF1’s Andy Graydon confirming a driver
announcement within the next day or so, it is quite possible that the former
SFO driver will get the nod at PhoenixF1.
SimRacing News Service.
Thursday January 8, 2004
Ryan Announcement Expected on Friday
Kieran Ryan will
reportedly make an announcement on his 2004 F1VWC plans by Friday, according to
reports. The Irishman remains the most significant driver available on the
market, but faces just three openings: SCUM, PhoenixF1 and Stealth. Although he
is expected to sign with PhoenixF1, all three teams may have drivers lined up
already. The VWC community has been anxiously awaiting Ryan’s decision, of
which SimRacing will carry full coverage.
SimRacing News Service.
MMRT Moves Up Big Time in Sponsorship Funding
The final
sponsorship tally amongst the 11 F1VWC teams was released today, following
final additions to MMRT and Woods. Mantra Motorsport had just two sponsors
going into the final round of bidding, but increased that to the full amount of
five and significantly improved their budget. In fact, Mantra joined SCUM and
PhoenixF1 as the only teams to pass the £30m barrier, and Mantra is the only team to do so when
starting from scratch (the other two had existing contracts in place). Mantra
added Microsoft and British Aerospace to their minor sponsors, and Total as
their fuel supplier, resulting in an extra £9m in potential sponsorship. This
also vaults them to 2nd in total possible minor sponsorship funding,
just £115k behind SCUM, and also 2nd in total up front funding,
£155k behind Stealth. Woods meanwhile moved from last on the total list up to 6th
by signing Yahoo, who bring an additional £3m in total possible funding. Woods
also passes the £25m mark, leaving just Stealth, JTM and EIRE with less than
£25m in total possible funding.
The addition of
all these sponsors changes the averages significantly. Average total possible income
is now up to £26,874,000 from £25,787,000. Only four teams have more than the
average: SCUM, PhoenixF1, MMRT and Mapes-VO. Stealth remain first in total up
front funding, but are massively behind in per car funding, trailing
next-to-last MMC by £1.7m alone. SCUM continues to lead all major categories
though, including most per car funding (£19.04m), most fuel sponsor funding
(£3.08m-tied with EIRE), most minor sponsor funding (£9.25m), and most major
sponsor funding (£20.14m). SCUM thus remains the league’s most profitable team,
at £32,470,000 in total possible sponsorship income.
EIRE, JTM and
FinOz will stay with only four out of five sponsors until the summer, when 2nd
Round bidding will begin. EIRE was of course penalized earlier this week for
over-bidding, but the other two teams did not disclose their reasons.
Nevertheless they remain quite competitive financially, as do all the teams.
Although teams expected SCUM and PhoenixF1 to have high budgets, there was
general surprise around the paddock when it came to MMRT. They beat even
Mapes-VO, winners of three championships
in two years. Matt Maple commented “I think they obviously made smart choices
in negotiations, but I’d rather have more money.” Said Andy Graydon of
PhoenixF1, “Good luck to them, they've clearly chosen
well. Especially in the current climate where money is scarce due to the poor
state of the Worlds economies.
Those with existing deals from ‘03 look like they have gained,
but who knows what will happen in ‘05?” Oliver woods pointed out “To be honest
I’m surprised - shows that Woods haven’t done very well at all. Lucky sods!”
Apparently Miguel Oliveira himself said he expected a high tally, although
possibly not into the £30m range. The MMRT boss was unavailable for comment but will
undoubtedly be looked up to now by the paddock members.
SimRacing News Service.
Wednesday January 7, 2004
Still No Word on SCUM Driver
Despite increasing chatter over the rumour mill of late, and the fact that the
other three teams with driver vacancies have been openly talking or signing
drivers in the past few days, SCUM remains silent on who will take their vacant
seat. The defending champions boast very steady management, a well-developed
engine, 2003 Champion Shiro Ryong still on board as a test driver, and the
greatest funding of all 11 teams. The seat is no doubt lucrative, but besides
the ubiquitous Kieran Ryan no other names have been linked to the opening. SCUM
bosses Dan Regan and Peter Harding have not dropped any hints as of yet, but
surely will make an announcement soon as testing is slated to begin very
shortly.
SimRacing News Service.
Ross Loram to Partner Whiteman, Options for Wagner Being Explored
EIRE has confirmed British
driver Ross Loram as the new teammate to Scott Whiteman, driving the #6 car.
The team also announced the signing of ‘3rd Driver’ Andreas Wagner,
the league’s first Swiss driver. Despite the fact that both race seats are now
filled, as well as two of three test seats, team boss Willy Ponissi was eager
to put pen to paper. Commenting on Loram, Ponissi said "He's fast,
skillful and really committed, and he has been suggested by Scott himself. The
two have raced in the past so they're already an experienced pairing, and I
think they'll be really successful this season. I would like to wish Ross the
best for 2004." SimRacing will endeavour to find out more about the
league’s newest race driver over the coming days. Meanwhile Wagner will likely
not last long wearing EIRE overalls, as in a press release the team stated that
Ponissi “wants
Wagner to gain some racing experience to enhance his skill, and the Swiss is
believed to already have an agreement to drive with an established F1VWC team.”
Only SCUM, PhoenixF1 and Stealth remain with race seat vacancies.
SimRacing
News Service.
Simsoa First to Announce Car Launch Date
Simsoa Racing have
announced that the Simsoa SA-03V will be unveiled on Sunday the 15th
of February. The show will take place at the Suzuka racetrack in Japan.
Preparations are beginning from this very moment for the unveiling with the
stage being constructed. Lawrence Simpson was caught in Guildford doing his
January-sale shopping. As usual, he was keen to tell the masses about the new
car.
"The
car is now going along great, now that all the deals are finalised we can now
look at the final designs and livery design."
Lawrence will be attending
the show (of course!) as well as the Drivers and Test Drivers. He added a
verbal invitation to all the F1VWC Staff and Managers: "You're all welcome
to come down and have a look at the car and discuss the car with me. However,
no cameras! We'll leave THAT to the press.”
Simsoa have made one of the strongest impressions of all 11 teams this
off-season, even though no one has hit the track yet. They have demonstrated excellent
commitment though through their early confirmation of four drivers, Martijn
Vosselman and David Brown as race drivers and Javier Aparicio and Jirka Kocman
as testers.
SimRacing News Service and Simsoa Press.
Fretter Set to Join Stealth
Scotsman Adam Fretter has
been pegged to join Stealth Grand Prix, most likely as a Test Driver but with
race seats still available, the ultimate destination is uncertain. Fretter has
however been in talks with the Canadian team and is known to be anxious to not
only get into the paddock but also on the track. Fretter’s ICARRA Team Racing
is first in line on the VWC Waiting List, but with little movement expected
from any of the current 11 teams, he could be waiting for a while. Stealth is
expected to make a formal announcement within a couple days, and may also be
holding out to make further driver announcements as well.
SimRacing News Service.
Monday January 5, 2004
Ryan to PhoenixF1?
Paddock rumours have
linked Irishman Kieran Ryan, by far the most sought-after of all available
drivers, to the vacant seat at PhoenixF1. As teams start turning towards
testing, four outfits remain with race seat vacancies. Ryan had long been
linked to either EIRE or Stealth, but EIRE is apparently completely full on
drivers and, despite no official confirmation yet, have indeed found a teammate
for Scott Whiteman. Stealth and Ryan meanwhile have apparently turned to other
directions, for reasons undisclosed. This is despite the strongest rumours of
the past month, which put Ryan as the #1 driver at Stealth Grand Prix. It may
not be too late for such a deal, but with PhoenixF1 looking particularly strong
this year and an extremely solid driver lineup already – budding superstar
Antonio Irisarri, steady performer Jan Kelder, former VWC driver Mark
Nieuwlaar, and of course 2003 championship runner-up Daniel Wilkinson all on
the books – the British team would certainly be a good fit for a driver of
Ryan’s skills. Ryan finished as championship runner-up in 2002, and this past
season took EIRE’s first ever pole position despite limited appearances
throughout the season.
SimRacing News Service.
Teams Waiting to Hear From Mihailovic
F1VWC teams,
most of whom still have vacancies in either the race or test driver positions,
are anxiously awaiting word from Miodrag “Miki” Mihailovic, one of the
standouts of the SFO in 2003 and a well sought-after driver for 2004. The
Serbian has however been out of view for over two months now, with little
league members having contact with him. That hasn’t stopped some teams from
still pursuing him though, especially after 4 wins for Stella Stealth-Renault
in the SFO and coming from a late start to finish 2nd overall with
80 points. Mihailovic was expected to sign with Mantra Motorsport this
off-season, driving for his old Stealth teammate Miguel Oliveira. But
ultimately it was SFO champion and rival Paul Fawcett who signed with MMRT, as
teammate to newcomer Standa Bares. Oliveira last heard from Miki in December,
but despite having moved ahead with his own plans would still like to see his
old rival join the burgeoning VWC competition in 2004.
SimRacing News Service.
Costly Mistake for EIRE, Big Boost for FinOz
EIRE boss Willy Ponissi made a slight
oversight when calculating his sponsor bids. Bids cannot total more than £1m in hospitality funds
but the team went over by £50k. As a result, their final sponsor bid, for
Playlife, was cancelled and given to FinOz instead, who made the next highest
bid. This meant £3 million now goes to FinOz instead of EIRE. The Irish teams
slips from 4th to 9th in the overall Total Possible
Income list, while FinOz moves from 9th to 4th and may
still acquire one more sponsor. EIRE will need to wait until the mid-season
sponsorship process before they can add to their four sponsors.
Ponissi could not be reached for comment right away, but will perhaps have some
words for the press upon disclosure of these numbers. Meanwhile, Kari Koski of
FinOz will no doubt be pleased, as he now has one of just five teams to crack
the £25m mark of Total Potential Income.
SimRacing News Service.
Stealth Say They’re Closing in on Drivers
In recent weeks there has been a glaring
gap on the “Current Teams” list of the F1VWC. That gap belongs to Stealth Grand
Prix, the only team to have two race seats remaining. Although there has been
very little public discussion about the situation, there are undoubtedly
rumours and innuendo going on behind the scenes as people start to wonder
what’s going on. Sponsor signing is complete, engines will be likewise soon,
and within a couple weeks there should be the first tests of 2004. The stalwart
Chris Galloway has been the only driver on the Stealth books since October.
Team Owner & CEO Ted Cragg refused to
make public comment today when asked about his driver situation. The team’s
press officer confirmed that an intensive driver search continues and should be
wrapped up soon. In the meantime, Kieran Ryan remains unsigned, as do numerous
drivers on the test & race list. Stealth has been linked in particular with
Marek Liolias and Giannis Pantas. The team has declined to set a deadline for
its drivers though, which will continue to leave speculation rampant.
SimRacing
News Service.
MMC’s New Driver: Joseph Kilchrist
MMC Racing announced today the signing of a
second test driver, to partner Paul Heyhoe. Joseph Kilchrist becomes the second
American in the league after team owner Ryan McConkey. Not by coincidence, they
are good friends in real life. “Joseph has 3 days experience,” joked Ryan. “He
wanted to improve his driving and help me out, and his goals are to improve his
driving” he repeated. Joseph is 18 and lives in Louisiana, USA. The team has
not identified whether either test driver will shoulder more work than the
other, but it will be very interesting to see yet another new face on the track
before long.
SimRacing News Service.
Saturday January 3, 2004
Stealth Grand Prix Sever Ties With BMW
Stealth Grand Prix made the
shock announcement today that they would not be in the running for BMW engines
for 2004, the bidding process for which is expected to take place next week.
Despite being the team of choice for BMW in 2003, the two sides did not come
close to achieving the objectives they sought at the beginning of the year and
this no doubt put a quick strain on their relationship.
Stealth
Owner & CEO Ted Cragg confirmed that the three year contract intended for
2003, 2004 and an option for 2005 has ended, retroactive to November 1st. "Our
two sides have formally agreed to break the contract, and Stealth feels that it
is in our best interest to move on and forge a relationship with another
manufacturer" said Cragg. The Canadian would not drop hints as to who he
would prefer to sign, but rumours have linked the team with Mercedes-Benz,
Toyota and 'possibly' Jaguar.
Stealth
and BMW entered what appeared to be a very prosperous relationship with great
potential in the fall of 2002. The team then signed Vodafone, who contributed
the most funding of any sponsor in the league, and confirmed a stellar lineup
of Joe Consiglio, Eric Sosa, Martin Mirakhour and Miguel Oliveira. Despite
early promise, including pole from Consiglio at the opening race, the league
and the team soon hit massive difficulties which resulted in the exit of all
but Sosa. Stealth withdrew briefly from the VWC for three months, but returned
in June 2003 with Sosa and Chris Galloway at the helm. Drivers would continue
to rotate at the end of the season but Consiglio did return in September to
give Stealth by far their greatest highlight of the year and their entire VWC
career, a dominant win at Monza. Nevertheless, the strain on the relationship
with BMW and the failed promise of 2003 appears to have put a permanent end to
their partnership.
SimRacing News Service.
SCUM Big Winner in Sponsorship Derby
SimRacing Magazine has compiled a list of
sponsorship earnings for each team, and SCUM has emerged as the big, big
winner. The defending champions have staked a claim to £32,470,000 in possible
funding, over £2.5m more than their closest rival and a massive £6.6m more than
the £25,787,000 average amongst all 11 teams. The total possible funds are
based on each team fielding two cars at 17 races throughout the season, and so
the numbers will certainly go down as the season progresses. But, all things
being equal, SCUM has earned the most money.
On top of their
#1 total, SCUM also saved on the bidding process due to the fact most of their
deals were already signed. Therefore, while other teams spent up to and
including £1m on sponsorship bids, SCUM needed only £250,000. The next closest
in that category is MMRT at £750,000, but they are still missing three
sponsors. PhoenixF1 proved that incumbent deals are indeed the most lucrative,
since they were the only team besides SCUM to already have sponsorship deals in
place. This leaves PhoenixF1 with £30,785,000, the only other team to crack the
£30m barrier. Mapes-VO, winner of 3 championships in the last two years, are
third with £27,732,000, including nabbing one of the two £15m major sponsors.
FinOz (£25,320,000) and MMC and Simsoa (£25,160,000) were the only other teams
to crack the £25m barrier, although all three still have less than the 11-team
average. This shows the massive gap between the top three funded teams and the
rest.
Stealth Grand
Prix won arguably the second-most important category: the most Up Front
funding. Although the average amount in Up Front funding for minor sponsors is
£261,000, the Canadian team scored a massive £2,650,000 in Up Front minor
sponsorship, leading to a total of £15,740,000. Although they rank 7th
overall in funding, Stealth gets the most money right away and the most
guaranteed money and thus are in good shape for the start of the season. Close
behind were Mapes-VO and MMRT (£15,390,000 and £15,300,000 respectively), with
Mantra still needing to sign three sponsors. It is possible they could overtake
Stealth’s total after the 3rd round of bidding if they play their
cards right. £12,326,000 was the average in Up Front funds amongst the 11
teams.
Although they are
highly dependent on commitment and participation, the teams that concentrated
on Per Car funding instead if Up Front funds stand to come out much stronger in
the end. PhoenixF1is the big winner in this area, standing to accumulate just
under £7m more in Per Car funds than Up Front funds if they appear with two
cars at each race. PhoenixF1 and SCUM both shone in this category. SCUM can
accumulate a massive £19,040,000 in Per Car fees if they appear fully at each
event, far more than even the highest Up Front major sponsor fee. PhoenixF1
isn’t far behind, with £18,870,000 on the table. After that it drops down to
JTM at £14,960,000 and EIRE with £14,790,000. The average amount in Up Front
fees amongst the 11 teams is £13,074,000.
Where there are
winners, there are inevitably losers, although in this case teams try to
balance that as much as possible. As well, there remain a few sponsorship
openings available although these won’t all necessarily be filled after the 3rd
round of bidding. Nevertheless, Mantra Motorsport comes out at the bottom of
the Total Funding list with £21,590,000 to add to their coffers, although they
are still looking for 3 sponsors and will undoubtedly add to that total. Woods
has £22,295,000 with one opening remaining, and EIRE is at £22,640,000 and 4
sponsors, but cannot add to this until mid-season. Amongst teams with 5
complete sponsors then, Stealth is at the bottom with £24,920,000 in possible
funds, but this ranking won’t be finalized until the 3rd round is
complete.
Amongst
individual sponsors, Repsol pays out the most amongst fuel at £3,080,000,
although this is scarcely more than most of the other fuel suppliers. Repsol
have signed with SCUM and EIRE. Benson & Hedges is the greatest minor
sponsor, with a total of £3,490,000. Again, many other sponsors are not far
behind. But these are all the sponsors with £90-£120k in Per Car funding, as
opposed to the half-million-pound-or-more Up Front sponsors. B&H will be
continuing for the third consecutive year with Mapes-VO. Finally, £15,000,000
is of course the greatest Up Front total amongst major sponsors but SCUM’s
sponsor, Qantas, leads the way here in Total Funding, offering £20,140,00 in Up
Front funds and Per Car funds.
SCUM has thus
achieved the Total Possible Income from all three categories. A remarkable
feat, considering the tough competition involved. One could point to this being
a result of having already signed their sponsors in 2003, but the team was
obviously wise and foresighted enough to be prepared for 2004, and extremely
well prepared at that.
SimRacing news service.
SimRacing Magazine:
August News Archive