What happened to CART

[Draco]

Here's a good article over Cart ownership just out today.



Tuesday, June 17, 2003
CART finally up for sale

By DEAN McNULTY, Ottawa Sun


After more than a year of denying it was up for grabs, the CART Champ Car World Series announced yesterday it had commissioned an investment banking firm to find a buyer for the open wheel sanctioning body.

It shouldn't have to look far as Player's/Forsythe co-owner Gerry Forsythe, Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and F1 team owner Craig Pollock have publicly expressed interest in taking over the series.

Ecclestone and Pollock met with CART boss Chris Pook at the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal on the weekend, where the sale of the series was discussed.

"CART is obviously looking for other investors to take it off the (New York Stock Exchange) and privatize it," Pollock said. "I am not denying there is a possibility I could be one."

A year ago, CART dealt with the loss of key teams to the rival Indy Racing League by insisting it could continue unabated because of a huge cash reserve. But it is believed that reserve has been nearly depleted. Records released yesterday show CART will be forced to promote seven of its own races this season, denying it lucrative sanction fees that earned CART $36.6 million US in 2002.

"We have conducted two CART-promoted events so far in 2003 -- Brands Hatch, England and Eurospeedway Lausitz, Germany," CART revealed in a financial disclosure yesterday." The preliminary financial results from the two CART-promoted events resulted in losses of about $3.1 million. Based on its experience to date, the company believes losses from all of its self-promoted events will range from $4.8-$7.8 million for 2003.

Next season the series faces another huge loss when Player's, the Canadian tobacco giant, leaves because of federal legislation banning such sponsorships by tobacco companies.

The annual investment by Player's in CART teams and the three events in Canada is believed to be close to $100 million a year.

The series is still a valuable property according to Pollock, who, as well as being a major shareholder in F1's British American Racing, co-owns P-K Racing, which recently signed Max Papis to drive its CART team car for the rest of the 2003 season.

"CART is a very valuable brand," Pollock said. "It needs a benevolent dictator to run it, the way Bernie runs F1."

Asked if he considers himself to be that man, Pollock simply shrugged and said "anything is possible."




Draco