Champ Car Teams Dropping Like Flies Following IRL Merger

Or so says the folks over at Autoblog .

Indeed, that IS true, some of the bigger teams from Champ Car, Forsythe, Walker Racing, and Minardi have dropped out of the now merged series.

But here’s the bit from Autoblog’s story that I don’t get:

” … former Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven will give it a shot, but, like Stoddart, is also looking for a way into Formula One. With the former Minardi F1 team, now known as Toro Rosso, up for sale, and Super Aguri looking not long for this world, they may have a chance. ”

OK, so let me get this straight, Kalkhoven and Stoddart can’t afford to go IRL racing, so they’re thinking of going Grand Prix instead?

What?

Toro Rosso, is up for sale, and Super Aguri could probably be picked up “cheap” (if those guys from Dubai haven’t picked it up already) and Autoblog’s implication is that Kalkhoven and Stoddart could buy them?

What?

Running a two car IRL team is a monetary proposition on the order of 15 to 20 million dollars a season. Tops.

When Toro Roso bought Minardi (ironically from Stoddart), the known asking price was $45 million. and that was two years ago. If they sell it back to him for the same price, he could easily go IRL racing for three seasons. And don’t forget, that $45 million is just the price for buying the team, that won’t pay for running the team for a season. You might, might be able to do that for another $50 million.

A season long IRL budget is less than what Ferrari spends on catering services for a season.

There is no way someone who can’t afford to got IRL racing will go Grand Prix racing instead.

That’s like saying “I can’t afford to fly to Europe for my vacation, so I’m going to take a cruise ship instead.”

Filed Under: Car News