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| ALMS - Grand-Am Merger Details | |
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|  | | September 05 2012 01:59:06 PM EST | |
| This past weekend news leaked out about an ALMS / Grand-Am merger. Today, at the official press conference, some of the detail were given. Here's what we know.
1. This is not so much of a merger as it is a buyout. The Panoz Motor Sports Group (ALMS) has been sold to GRAND-AM/NASCAR Holdings LLC for reportedly around $20 million. This also includes the sale of Road Atlanta and the long-term lease of Sebring International Raceway. A new LLC will be formed for 2014 and beyond for this unified sports car racing entity in the USA.
2. Jim France (GRAND-AM co-founder and NASCAR Vice Chairman/Executive Vice President) will be the Chairman of the unified series, which does not have an official name as of yet. ALMS founder Don Panoz will be Vice Chairman. And ALMS President and CEO Scott Atherton will be President of the new organization. Both Panoz and Atherton will be on the board of directors.
3. Class structure is not set in stone yet. Don Panoz stated that the LMP1 class from the ALMS will no longer be a part of the new series as expected since there are only 3 cars currently. Unofficially, other sources are saying the ALMS LMP2 class will make the transition along with the GRAND-AM's Daytona Prototype class. Don Panoz also went on the record stating DeltaWing will also be a part of this new class as well. Both LMP2 and DP regulations are due to be revised in 2014.
4. ALMS CEO Scott Atherton went on the record and said "Current GT content of ALMS has been agreed to be part of new series. Going forward that's the plan." Off the record, other sources have unofficially said the tube-frame construction Rolex GT class will also stay as the Jr GT class. Some people are already speculating that the Rolex GT class will be phased out in favor of FIA GT3 cars in which some are already retrofitted into Grand-Am spec.
5. There will be an approximate 12-race schedule. Teams will discard points from one of the 12 races. This will allow a team to drop a bad performance, but it will also allow a team to participate at Le Mans if invited.
6. This new entity will take effect for the 2014 season, as commitments were well in place for 2013 and could not be altered. The two series will operate separately for one more year.
This is just the initial statement. Don't be surprised if some things change between now and February 2014. As long as the ALMS GT class remains untouched, we here at BBV will remain optimistic. The first year of this new venture will also be the first year of the new Corvette C7.R if GM sees fit to continue the program in the new combined series.
It is also worth mentioning that the ALMS's contract with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) is due to end after 2013. Both parties have agreed that the relationship with the ACO needs to continue, and this new merged entity should resign an extended agreement with the French sanctioning body so it will still have ties to the 24hrs of Le Mans.
There are still many unanswered questions. The next 12 months will be interesting for sure, and we will update you with all the information as it becomes official.
If you missed the press conference and would like to watch it in its entirety CLICK HERE
Stay tuned race fans.....
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