ALMS 2012 Discussion

[KA]

If Dempsey are planning on running a new Lola-Judd, then unless he planned to hire Level 5 to run it, then I don't see why their plans would be affected by Tucker's situation- unless Tucker is in some way involved in financing the deal, or they're leasing one of his Lolas from last year, and upgrading it to 2012-spec.
IIRC, there were two Level 5 Lola Coupes and a Spyder last year- but wasn't one of the Coupes written off at Spa though? They certainly shipped a Spyder over for Imola, before skipping Silverstone and switching to the HPD for Petit

If so, and with Black Swan leasing/buying the remaining ex-L5 Lola coupe, then maybe what's happening with Level 5 has no bearing on Dempsey's plans?

[Speed-King]

Well, he could still decide that a three car class is a lot less attractive than a 5 car class and go play elsewhere with his shiny new toy.

[KA]

His options are pretty limited though- He might get in at a few WEC rounds on a race-by-race basis, but otherwise his only option (short of cancelling the Lola order altogether and going shopping for either a Daytona Prototype or a GT car of some kind) is ELMS, or calling time on the whole plan until 2013...

[Speed-King]

He'd probably get in at every WEC round except Le Mans on a race by race basis and with his late start he would be out of the running for the championship in ALMS anyway.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Maelochs

Rumor seems to indicate that Mr. Dagys did PR writing for the team on the side, and thus isn't likely to broadcast bad news---at least that's how I understood the rumor.

John explains his situation on twitter:

Originally Posted by @johndagys

For those asking about status of Level 5, I've been working on getting answers. I don't write speculation & waiting to hear from team #ALMS

Originally Posted by @johndagys

As usual, I don’t jump at things until I have all sides of the story. I appreciate your patience. #ALMS

In the meantime Mike reports that Level 5 might be at Long Beach?!

Originally Posted by @mulsannescorner

Hearing L5 will be @ Long Beach. Shop Not locked up.

[Acid09]

Originally Posted by gwyllion

In the meantime Mike reports that Level 5 might be at Long Beach?!

Like a cockroach..hard to kill apparently.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Originally Posted by Acid09

Like a cockroach..hard to kill apparently.

Billions of Cockroaches around the world will find this comparison highly offensive.

[HJJ]

Originally Posted by speeddemon787

33 cars will be at the ALMS Long Beach race minus the two Level 5 LMP2 cars.

The team is still planning on being at Long Beach according to this.

In a developing story that SPEED.com has been monitoring this week, the future of Level 5 Motorsports could be in jeopardy following a recent motion set forth by the Federal Trade Commission on its team owner, Scott Tucker.

The FTC lodged a suit against the two-time American Le Mans Series champion and other associated parties, including the Level 5 Motorsports team, Monday in U.S. District Court in Nevada.

The case alleges Tucker and his brother controlled a handful of internet-based payday lending companies that “piled on undisclosed and inflated fees, and collected on loans illegally by threatening borrowers with arrest and lawsuits.”

According to court documents, “The FTC has asked a federal court to stop the allegedly illegal business tactics while the agency pursues its case against the defendants.”

Level 5 Motorsports, LLC, along with a handful of other companies reportedly controlled by Tucker, are named as defendants of the case. According to documents filed with the court, Tucker and his brother, Blaine, are said to have transferred more than $40 million from the payday lending companies to Level 5 for “sponsorship” fees.

Over the last five years, the FTC said that it’s received more than 7,500 complaints about the operation, which is affiliated with a Native American tribe, which the defense has claimed makes Tucker’s loan business immune from state-led investigations.

Tucker’s operation is not the only payday loan company to have come under fire as of late, as the FTC is also investigating Payday Financial, LLC, another tribe-owned company based in South Dakota.

A statement from Jeff D. Morris, Council for Level 5 Motorsports and Scott Tucker reads: “We are disappointed that the FTC has taken the action of filing a lawsuit, but we will defend the allegations through the legal process and begin the kind of dialogue appropriate for such a regulatory filing.

“The government’s interest in the online short term lending industry extends beyond those named in the lawsuit. Some of the parties named represent significant participants in the industry, so it is no surprise there is interest from regulators.

“An FTC filing is not a finding or ruling that anyone has actually violated a statute or regulation. It is simply a lawsuit based on untested allegations. The FTC has sued the likes of Microsoft, Google, Apple, Citigroup, Coca Cola and Facebook and the reality is most actions resolve in settlements based on an agreed understanding of the facts. We will proceed accordingly and in good faith to address the recent filing.”

It’s unclear what effect, if any, the legal proceedings could have on the long-term future of Level 5’s P2 program in the ALMS and its planned effort at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

However, team manager David Stone told SPEED.com that there are no changes in the team’s plans as they prepare for next weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach, where both of the HPD ARX-03bs are expected to race.

Level 5 is fresh off a class victory at last month’s Twelve Hours of Sebring, where Tucker, Christophe Bouchut and Joao Barbosa finished fourth overall, the highest among the ALMS entrants in the combined FIA World Endurance Championship race.

Tucker and Bouchut currently hold a four-point lead in the P2 drivers’ championship heading into the second round of the season.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...ucker-level-5/

[Flyin Ryan]

I guess Tom Kjos finally got mad with it all, under the tagline "Tucker was for Suckers. No Soup for You. Sports Car Racing, the Money Laundering Activity of Choice."

http://murphythebear.com/blog/index....ity-of-choice/

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by Flyin Ryan

I guess Tom Kjos finally got mad with it all, under the tagline "Tucker was for Suckers. No Soup for You. Sports Car Racing, the Money Laundering Activity of Choice."

http://murphythebear.com/blog/index....ity-of-choice/

As always, a spot-on analysis.

[Maelochs]

John Dagys, as he said he would, got the facts and wrote an informative article.

[Breitling24]

Originally Posted by Flyin Ryan

I guess Tom Kjos finally got mad with it all...

"finally"? Wasn't he pretty much always mad?

Seriously, there are plenty of others mad with it all, too, I'm sure.

[Dyson Mazda]

Conquest to Nissan power by the way http://twitter.com/#!/EBachelart/sta.../photo/1/large

[The Badger]

Were they not running Nissan at Sebring ?

Now , they need a couple top drivers to handle the chassis properly .

[Victor_RO]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Were they not running Nissan at Sebring ?

No, they ran the exact same spec of car as the "factory" team (i.e. Morgan-badged OAK Pescarolo with Judd HK engine).

[Deleted]

This is more of an Indy news piece (if you can call it that when Miller is talking) but good read nevertheless:

--They told Mid-Ohio and Sonoma, ‘you need to make some changes to the race track, so we can keep coming back.’ Those tracks were built 60 years ago and are narrow with limited braking zones, and no real straightaways. They both assured IndyCar they would make the changes but if they don’t, then it could be Laguna Seca (Monterey, Calif.) and Portland. Laguna Seca is certainly interested in maybe having a doubleheader someday with ALMS

Laguna double-header would certainly fit, assuming that ALMS could still keep it's 6 (or 4) hour distance on Saturday.

Unfortunately no major series go to Portland anymore, but if Indy makes the deal someday, I hope we could follow.

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by Victor_RO

No, they ran the exact same spec of car as the "factory" team (i.e. Morgan-badged OAK Pescarolo with Judd HK engine).

If they changed to Nissan , could they still run as a Morgan then ?

[Deleted]

Originally Posted by The Badger

If they changed to Nissan , could they still run as a Morgan then ?

Why not, if you offered enough cash you could probably re-badge Peugeot 908 as Lotus 908 nowadays...

[jc_nl]

The Morgan thing is a deal between OAK and Morgan, so it would be independent of the engine that is in the car.

[DeathOrGlory]

Hey I like that Morgan/OAK-Nissan combo. OAK is a good enough chassis, the Nissan a known quantity.

[The Badger]

Too many Nissan P2 doing the rounds ..... turning into near enough a one make engine series .

[joeb]

Originally Posted by The Badger

Too many Nissan P2 doing the rounds ..... turning into near enough a one make engine series .

Not in the alms! This is the only nissan engine. I do agree with you in wec though. But i dont think we are in a position to complain about any alms lmp entries at this point. The more the merrier.

[Breitling24]

Originally Posted by Chiana

Laguna double-header would certainly fit, assuming that ALMS could still keep it's 6 (or 4) hour distance on Saturday.

Unfortunately no major series go to Portland anymore, but if Indy makes the deal someday, I hope we could follow.

Double header would have to drop other support races, I think. The Laguna paddock would be pretty cramped with just ALMS and Indy. The ALMS weekend with WC, Porsche series, etc., fills the available paddock space. It should allow more more track time for ALMS and Indy cars, though.

[gwyllion]

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

Doesn't Black Swan lease their car or engine from Level 5? Could this cause problems for that team as well?

Black Swan still has their car. They get a small BoP adjustment (-20 kg) and a new livery for Long Beach. See http://twitter.com/#!/jbleekemolen/s.../photo/1/large

[The Badger]

Originally Posted by joeb

Not in the alms! This is the only nissan engine. I do agree with you in wec though. But i dont think we are in a position to complain about any alms lmp entries at this point. The more the merrier.

I was talkin about the WEC ..... but a nice reliable edition for the ALMS .