Robin Miller Laguna Announcements Article

[mountainstar]

Ford owns a part of mazda, and not the controlling interest.

[veeten]

Originally Posted by norman-normal

... then you must agree that Ford is owned by its creditors and they don't like sponsoring racing, or anything for that mater.

unless it's NASCAR...

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Ford owns a part of mazda, and not the controlling interest.

That depends on what your definition of a controlling interest is. According to Japanese Stock Market regulations, Ford has a controlling interest.

[JohnSSC]

I think that may be a bit of semantics with the Japanese, Fogelhund. By law, Japanese corporations cannot be owned by a foreign entity. A number of years ago Ford had to sell shares of Toyo Kogyo (Mazda), Chrysler (Mitsubishi) and GM (Isuzu) in order to comply. I do not believe that at the time any had what we in the US would think of as a "controlling interest" (i.e. 50% or more), but they did under the definition provided by the Japanese.

This is going back some years so my recollection is hazy...but I think it is still accurate.

[Flatspot]

In my view most of this whole argument/debate goes back to an underlying comparison of what used to be. What used to be is CART. Today Champ Car is not CART not even close. It is a completely new animal a whole new formula in motorsport. About the only remanant of CART is a handful of drivers who still prefer to turn both directions. Yes, CART was the catalyst to allow this new series to emerge yet today it is nothing more.

As far as I am concerned this genesis or re-emergence has required a complete teardown and reorganization of the past. It is happening, slow but sure. People are quick to look at all the things today that Champ Car isn't compared to CART. Its time to let it go and look at what Champ Car for what it is with all of its positive aspects and short comings. This will take time, a lot of time. The bright side to me is that it has the real potential to become a fantastic formula, a real joy to watch.

I used to post here a lot but not so much any more as I have just read too many threads of the same old crap. Its dead, no its alive, no its dead, no its alive. CART is dead but Champ Car is alive and kicking. Not kicking too hard yet as these things take time. I just want to sit back and enjoy watching the racing.

Personally, I decided to put a team together and go racing instead of sitting in front of the computer whining about racing. Started low and slow, with Champ Car as the goal. Seen some good success and we will get there. Next year we had our sights set on Formula BMW but with this new Mazda announcement it makes me curious as to how long until Pro Mazda is the new piece of the ladder. Decisions, Decisions.

In the meantime, keep up the debate but recognize it for what it is. See you guys at the track !!!!!!!

[icemachine]

Ford hasn't sold Mazda, in fact it upped its stake from 15 to 33.4% in 1996, when Mazda was in trouble. Mark Fields (current head of Ford Americas) headed the turnaround there. It was upping that stake that really allowed Ford to start platform sharing with Mazda.

[norman-normal]

Ford has been using mazda engines sence the 70's

[racinthestreets]

Good news Flatspot. Congratulations! Hang around a post please. I have checked out some of the other forums, some have some very good information from insiders, but wading through all the garbage posts to get to that information is a time consuming chore. I like this forum and hope that it continues to be insightful and a forum for debate as it has in the past.

[icemachine]

Steelback officially confirmed as presenting sponsor for Toronto Grand Prix.
http://champcarworldseries.com/News/...e.asp?ID=11337

Hopefully they got their money upfront, as I understand Steelback beers aren't setting the world on fire.

[Hazza]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Mazda is more than the official vehicle of champcar.

I would not expect any less from miller at this point or for here on out.

Ultimately this is a test weekend. Even nascar test weekends hardly rate. Wait for the racing to begin.

Originally Posted by Miller
But the best news for Champ Car is that nobody noticed, because Media Day didn’t get a lot of national play. No USA Today. No L.A. Times. No Indianapolis Star. No Las Vegas papers. Not even new broadcast and marketing “partner” ESPN bothered to send anybody. It was just a quaint little group. Tristan, Zsolt, a few Internet sites, one racing weekly and SPEED. We came, we saw and we shook our heads.

Originally Posted by USA TODAY

Former NASCAR Cup series champions Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace, along with two-time series runner-up Jimmie Johnson, hit the track Tuesday in the second Nextel Cup session of Preseason Thunder scheduled at Daytona International Speedway.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor...notebook_x.htm

Originally Posted by NY TIMES

NASCAR PRESEASON THUNDER -- Racing suit feeling a little tight? Now that the holidays are over, some 25 teams of Nascar drivers are participating in the three-day Nextel Cup Series Testing, the annual preseason mental and physical gut-check held at the Daytona International Speedway (above) in ...

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstra...A80894DF404482

[norman-normal]

Is there some point you wish to make Hazza?

[Hazza]

I was just suggesting that Nascar does indeed get coverage at their tests.

[norman-normal]

Indeed.

[D70s]

But it's not very good coverage. Rusty Wallace hasn't driven in a while.

[JohnSSC]

But he still does testing, just as Bobby Unser tested for years with various CART teams after he retired.