The Italian-American, in Bahrain for Saturday’s on-track display of F1’s 60 year history, won the world championship at the wheel of the famous black Lotus 79 in 1978 (depicted above).

The relaunched team is not directly connected to the original Lotus, but 70-year-old Andretti said the new management has asked him to get involved.

“There might become a little bit more of an involvement on my part, because they seem to be very proud of the brand that obviously they are there representing,” he told reporters.

Asked what form his involvement will take, the winner of 12 grands prix answered: “We’ll see — stay tuned.”

When asked to comment as an American on the failure of the USF1 team, he said Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor had been “shooting too high”, and he called the absence on the calendar of a US Grand Prix an “unthinkable travesty”.

NOTE: The image above is Michael Andretti’s Lotus 79 as seen during the Historic Grand Prix at the Lime Rock Park in May of last year. Driver/owner Duncan Dayton took the win that day over the Williams FW07 once driven by Alan Jones.

Mario won the world championship in ‘78 taking 6 wins in the Lotus-Ford and teammate Ronnie Peterson took wins at Kyalami and Österreichring for 8 wins in 16 events copping the manufacturers championship.

IN OTHER LOTUS NEWS: Lotus and Cosworth have entered into a new technical and commercial partnership with established IndyCar outfit KV Racing Technology to compete in the 2010 IndyCar Series with former F1 star Takuma Sato.

The Lotus-Cosworth IndyCar (pictured right) will feature the classic Racing Green and Yellow livery used on Lotus Racing cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and this new color scheme will debut at the first USA round of the IndyCar Series.

Lotus participated for a number of years in the IndyCar Series in the 1960s, winning the iconic Indianapolis 500 outright in 1965 with the pioneering Lotus Type 38, driven by Jim Clark, and narrowly missing victory as it took the checked flag second in 1963.

“Racing has always defined Lotus,” underlined Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus plc, “and on many occasions in motorsport history, Lotus’ numerous innovations have re-defined racing. It’s only fitting that as the Lotus Racing name re-enters Formula 1, we will also race and innovate again in IndyCar. The Lotus name will, once again, compete in the top two open-wheel racing series’ for the passion and enthusiasm of car fans around the globe.”

The Jim Clark driven Lotus 38 was the first mid-engine car to win at Indianapolis, as well as the first British car to win. The mid-engine designed Lotus 38 changed the style of Indianapolis racing and set the new standards that put an end to the roadster era.

‘We are delighted to be part of Lotus and Cosworth’s return to the IndyCar Series, and with Takuma at the wheel, we expect to be formidable competitors this year,’ added a statement from KV Racing Technology co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser.

“This is fantastic news for everyone!” enthused Sato. “It is exciting for me to be a Lotus driver, and I’m really looking forward to great success with this new project.”

The scheduled mid-afternoon qualifications March 13 were replaced by an hour-long third practice session for all cars. Drivers had two earlier sessions totaling 150 minutes. Promoter Bandeirantes brought in grinding equipment overnight to work on the concrete surface as drivers transition from the asphalt and the 180-degree Turn 11 of the 2.6-mile, 11-turn course.

The Indy Racing League issued the following statement:

“We continue to work with circuit designer Tony Cotman and the promoter to fine tune the track with the feedback we’ve received from the drivers. This process is no different than any other new circuit we visit for the first time.

Tony Cotman has done a great job creating a fast and racy track that will be a challenge to these world-class competitors while putting on a great show for our enthusiastic fans. We appreciate our drivers’ feedback as we want to make this a track they will enjoy to drive.”

Tander became the first driver other than Whincup to win a race this season, passing his Team Vodafone rival after a late yellow period and keeping the lead to the finish.

The Holden Racing Team driver beat Ford’s James Courtney and Holden’s Lee Holdsworth, with Whincup fourth.

Whincup, who had won the opening four races of the season, had led for much of Saturday’s 78-lap event.

But he lost speed badly after the race restarted with 20 laps remaining.

While his main rivals all switched to fresh front tyres, Whincup stayed out and his Holden’s handling suffered.

But Whincup extended his overall championship lead despite not winning, with nearest rival Mark Winterbottom enduring a wretched day after being shunted from behind by Ford rival Steven Johnson early.

The rear of Winterbottom’s Ford was badly damaged and, once the problem was eventually fixed, he limped around to finish 21st.

The second of the weekend’s 250km races will be held on Sunday.

CLIPSAL 500 RACE ONE: Full results

1 Garth Tander – Holden L. 78
2 James Courtney – Ford L. 78
3 Lee Holdsworth – Holden L. 78
4 Jamie Whincup – Holden L. 78
5 Paul Dumbrell – Ford L.78
6 Jason Bright – Holden L.78
7 Fabian Coulthard – Holden L.78
8 Michael Caruso – Holden L.78
9 Will Davison – Holden L. 78
10 Russell Ingall – Holden L.78
11 Alex Davison – Ford L. 78
12 Steven Johnson – Ford L. 78
13 Todd Kelly – Holden L. 78
14 Tony D’Alberto – Holden L. 78
15 Jonathon Webb – Ford L. 78
16 Dean Fiore – Ford L. 78
17 Steven Richards – Ford L. 78
18 Daniel Gaunt – Holden L. 78
19 Craig Lowndes – Holden L. 78
20 Tony Ricciardello – Holden L. 78
21 Mark Winterbottom – Ford L. 75
22 Shane Van Gisbergen – Ford L. 74
23 Rick Kelly – Holden L. 66
DNF Jason Richards – Holden L. 39
DNF Greg Murphy – Holden L. 38
DNF Karl Reindler – Holden L. 31
DNF Tim Slade – Ford L. 12
DNF Jason Bargwanna – Holden L. 2
DNS Andrew Thompson – Holden

Whincup won the Top 10 Shootout with a time of 1min 21.588s, 0.2s clear of nearest rival Garth Tander.

Tander had been quickest in the morning’s first qualifying session but was no match when Whincup turned up the heat.

With just top-three qualifiers Whincup, Dumbrell and Tander to go, Mark Winterbottom lifted the benchmark when he clocked 1min 21.836s, leaping from sixth position to hold pole.

TeamVodafone's Jamie Whincup scores pole for the first 250-k race at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

That left Dumbrell and Tander needing to match their earlier times to knock down Whincup.

Dumbrell was 0.05s off Whincup’s pace through the first sector, 0.33s down through the second and tumbled to third with just Tander to hit the track.

Tander’s efforts to match Whincup cost him 0.2s by the second sector and he eventually crossed in second spot with 1min 21.783sec.

“It’s 250-kay (in this afternoon’s race); pole is a great feeling for about 10 minutes but then you have to eliminate it and you have to concentrate on what’s really important which is today’s race,” Whincup said.

“I was hanging on out there; it was a tough lap. I did a couple of easy laps in the Middle East, but that was certainly much, much harder; it really felt like we had to dig deep today for pole.

“He (Tander) has been quick in every session and fast all weekend, so he was a big worry and I’m just rapt to go two-10ths quicker.”

Tander pushed his #2 Commodore to the limit to the point of scraping it against the wall during the 20-minute qualifying session in the lead-up to the Shootout.

“The car has been very good through there so you just try to push the limit and I went a little bit over it; it didn’t hurt the car at all it was just a bit of a scratch – no big deal!

“Certainly we would like to be on pole; there is no getting away from that… the car has been really good all weekend; I am very happy with the car,” Tander said.

“It is going to be a different type of race… strategy-wise it’s going to be interesting, but I think our car is as good as anyone’s, so we will see how we go over 78 laps.”

Tenth qualifier Tony d’Alberto was first out in the shootout, clocking 1.22.632. Lowndes disappointed, his time of 1.22.235 was good enough only for seventh.

Shane van Gisbergen lost the most in the crucial grid decider, falling from fourth in qualifying to ninth overall.

In the earlier qualifying session, Holden’s Garth Tander was quickest in an eventful session with a 1min 21.315sec blitz on his 11th and final lap this morning.

Ford rival Paul Dumbrell was second with a time of 1min 21.614sec in just six laps, with Whincup third, 0.3s back, and van Gisbergen fourth.

Predictably, it was Whincup who set the early pace, with a 1min 21. 873s lap on his fourth circuit.

Tander was second with a time of 1min 22.018s, while Winterbottom was narrowly back in third.

Craig Lowndes scraped ahead of his TeamVodafone stablemate by just four-thousandths of a second, before Dumbrell set a new mark of 1min 21.577 during his second stint.

With six minutes left in the session, up-and-comer Shane van Gisbergen was second, 0.8s back, with Tander 0.15s off the pace and Fabian Coulthard (-0.26s) fourth.

But with four minutes on the clock, Andrew Thompson caught the outside wall at the notorious turn eight and shunted back the concrete pillars, forcing a red flag.

The crash was at the lower-end of the scale for the infamous entry to Brabham Straight but was enough damage the left side of Thompson’s Bundaberg Red Commodore and bring the entire field back to the pits.

Qualifying resumed after a nine-minute pause with Tander jumping to second with a lap of 1.21.603, still 0.26s behind Dubrell.

Jason Richards made a move on his seventh lap, jumping to fourth (1min 21.693sec), before Whincup again hit back to sit third.
Top 10 Shootout results

1. Jamie Whincup (Holden, TeamVodafone) 1.21.588
2. Garth Tander (Holden, HRT) 1.21.783
3. Mark Winterbottom (Ford, FPR) 1.21.836
4. Paul Dumbrell (Ford, Bottle-O Racing) 1.22.151
5. Jason Richards (Holden, Brad Jones Racing) 1.22.168
6. Fabian Coulthard (Holden, Bundaberg Red Racing) 1.22.187
7. Craig Lowndes (Holden, TeamVodafone) 1.22.235
8. Lee Holdsworth (Holden, Fujitsu Racing) 1.22.348
9. Shane van Gisbergen (Ford, Stone Brothers Racing) 1.22.392
10. Tony d’Alberto (Holden, Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport) 1.22.632

OTHER QUALIFIERS

11. Todd Kelly (Holden, Jack Daniels Racing) 1.21.908
12. Greg Murphy (Holden, Supercheap Auto) 1.21.970
13. Steven Johnson (Ford, Jim Beam/Dick Johnson Racing) 1.22.053
14. Jason Bright (Holden, Brad Jones Racing) 1.22.057
15. Rick Kelly (Holden, Jack Daniels Racing) 1.22.096
16. James Courtney (Ford, Jim Beam Racing) 1.22.191
17. Michael Caruso (Holden, Fujitsu Racing) 1.22.192
18. Steve Richards (Ford, FPR) 1.22.206
19. Will Davison (Holden, HRT) 1.22.385
20. Tim Slade (Ford, Wilson Security Racing) 1.22.390
21. Russell Ingall (Holden, Supercheap Auto) 1.22.412
22. Jason Bargwanna (Holden, Kelly Racing) 1.22.712
23. Alex Davison (Ford, Stone Brothers Racing) 1.22.723
24. Dean Fiore (Ford, Triple F Racing) 1.22.740
25. Jonathan Webb (Ford, Dick Johnson Racing) 1.22.785
26. Karl Reindler (Holden, Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing) 1.22.821
27. Tony Ricciardello (Holden, Supermax Racing) 1.23.266
28. Daniel Gaunt (Holden, Gulf Western Oil Racing) 1.23.313
29. Andrew Thompson (Holden, Bundaberg Red Racing) 1.27.539

The former Renault boss told La Gazzetta dello Sport he “exclude[s] it 100 per cent” the possibility of a return to the paddock.

Former Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore was banned for life for refusing to acknowledge his role in the crash-gate scandal. That ban was overturned on appeal in a French court. (Photo: LAT Photography)

Yeah, that damn embarrassment thing it’s so… well, so embarrassing!

Maybe Flavio needs a new gig, his partner-in-crime Nelshinho has one maybe Flavio could follow….. WAIT! Forget I suggested that, one is enough!

IN OTHER NEWS: Having the Mother-of-all Chicanes, mulitplied by 2, seems to be more than a little disconcerting to the Fast Boys of F1.

I say, BLAMEMAX!

Bet you thought Toyota was dead when they pulled out of F1 in November last year. Bet you also thought the Japanese outfit would be resurrected by Stefan GP for 2010.

Well “thanks” to the two imbeciles at USF1 that didn’t happen either. But they aren’t entirely dead just, shall we say, retrenched with a new website and objective.

Their base in Cologne, Germany will operate under a new business model in “support of Toyota’s development of grassroots motorsport.” Whatever that means.

And finally, long time fans of F1 remember fondly Sir Sterling Moss who was both regarded as the all-time great gentlemen of sport but tough as nails as well.

To this day, at the current age of 80, he’s still tougher than a 2 dollar steak. Moss fell 3 floors down an elevator shaft this week and although battered and brused hopes to get out of the crash house “within a week or so.”

Whincup’s TeamVodafone crew put green tyres on his Commodore at the end of today’s final practice and he duly set the fastest time of the day with seconds left in the session.

But Whincup believes many of his rivals haven’t used green tyres yet and he also said he is yet to achieve the ideal set-up of his Commodore.

“I had a really tough session to be honest; it is so hectic around here and it is hard to get a clear lap,” he said.

Whincup found himself flying up the Adelaide circuit’s escape roads a number of times early in practice, but was able to put in a fast lap when it counted.

“We slowly progressed with the car; it started off very tough to drive and I had no confidence in it whatsoever,” Whincup said.

“We made some changes and I got the car much better; unfortunately we got sin-binned for two minutes (for kerb hopping); it was a tough call, but I’m not complaining. There is a rule for turn two and I crossed over it.

TeamVodafone's Jamie Whincup during practice at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide today.

“I did the best lap I could have at the end, but I’m pretty sure that a lot of people didn’t put (green) tyres on; I’m sure we are going to see my lap record from last year well and truly smashed tomorrow.”

However, he said it was a culture shock driving on the tight and bumpy Adelaide track after the billiard table smooth tracks in the Middle East.

“Coming from the Middle East where everything is so wide open and smooth, everything here feels so much bumpier and so rough… it almost shocks you a little,” he said.

SP Tools Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen was second fastest, and he too is convinced he has more speed to come from his Stone Brothers Racing Falcon.

“We were struggling with the car to start with… we threw springs at it and got a lot faster; and when we put (green) tyres on it we had a good gain and set a good time. But I got held up on my fast lap… the car is working really well and the guys have done a good job and it’s a great start to the weekend,” he said.

Th Giz believes that getting a clean lap in tomorrow’s short qualifying session will be very difficult around the concrete-lined Adelaide circuit.

“For the short qualifying session it is going to be pretty hectic with all of the cars out there, but you just have to find your own piece of track and switch your headlights on so that everyone knows you are on a fast lap and go for it,” he said.

However, the Kiwi said he loves racing in Adelaide compared to competing on the recent Middle Eastern tour.

Todd Kelly, pictured testing at Winton earlier this year, was quickest in the first practice session at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide Friday.

The Bottle-O Racing’s Paul Dumbrell (pictured above) was third fastest in his Ford Performance Racing-prepared Falcon, but like Whincup, he also put his practice pace down to new tyres.

“There is no doubt that the cars are good; Frosty (FPR’s Mark Winterbottom) has proven that in the last two rounds, so it’s just a matter of getting me up to speed,” he said.

“We ran greens at the end of the session for no other reason than to allow me to learn what the car would do.”

Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander set the pace in the earlier practice session and for most of the last session, but couldn’t match the times of those on green tyres in the final few laps.

Qualifying for the Clipsal 500 is scheduled for 10.30am tomorrow.

CLIPSAL 500 PRACTICE ONE: Full results

1 Todd Kelly H 1:22.9205
2 Tony D’Alberto H 1:23.2477
3 Garth Tander H 1:23.2812
4 Greg Murphy H 1:23.3045
5 Fabian Coulthard H 1:23.6811
6 Steven Richards F 1:23.7104
7 Andrew Thompson H 1:24.1212
8 Jonathon Webb F 1:24.2343
9 Tim Slade F 1:24.2684
10 Alex Davison F 1:24.2775
11 Karl Reindler H 1:24.6433
12 Dean Fiore F 1:24.6699
13 Jason Bright H 1:24.9810
14 Daniel Gaunt H 1:25.7192
15 Tony Ricciardello H 1:26.3786

CLIPSAL 500 PRACTICE TWO: Full results

1 Garth Tander Holden 1:22.2698
2 Steven Johnson Ford 1:22.3627
3 Jamie Whincup Holden 1:22.4068
4 Todd Kelly Holden 1:22.4551
5 Tony D’Alberto Holden 1:22.4714
6 Craig Lowndes Holden 1:22.5022
7 Jason Richards Holden 1:22.6044
8 Mark Winterbottom Ford 1:22.6075
9 Lee Holdsworth Holden 1:22.6133
10 Shane Van Gisbergen Ford 1:22.7596
11 Fabian Coulthard Holden 1:22.8266
12 Michael Caruso Holden 1:22.8956
13 Steven Richards Ford 1:22.8990
14 Rick Kelly Holden 1:22.9271
15 Russell Ingall Holden 1:22.9847
16 Tim Slade Ford 1:23.0265
17 Alex Davison Ford 1:23.0437
18 Paul Dumbrell Ford 1:23.1745
19 Jonathon Webb Ford 1:23.1912
20 Greg Murphy Holden 1:23.2952
21 Karl Reindler Holden 1:23.3953
22 Will Davison Holden 1:23.4509
23 Andrew Thompson Holden 1:23.4533
24 Jason Bargwanna Holden 1:23.8250
25 Dean Fiore Ford 1:23.9002
26 Daniel Gaunt Holden 1:24.2057
27 Tony Ricciardello Holden 1:25.0002
28 Jason Bright Holden No time
29 James Courtney Ford No time

CLIPSAL 500 PRACTICE THREE: Full results

1 Jamie Whincup - Holden 1:21.3729
2 Shane van Gisbergen - Ford 1:21.5271
3 Paul Dumbrell - Ford 1:21.7511
4 Jason Richards - Holden 1:21.8410
5 Craig Lowndes - Holden 1:21.8708
6 Garth Tander - Holden 1:21.9576
7 Fabian Coulthard - Holden 1:21.9641
8 Steven Richards - Ford 1:22.1188
9 Tony D’Alberto - Holden 1:22.1237
10 Tim Slade - Ford 1:22.1515
11 Jonathon Webb - Ford 1:22.2493
12 Alex Davison - Ford 1:22.2944
13 Steven Johnson - Ford 1:22.3418
14 Mark Winterbottom - Ford 1:22.3916
15 Lee Holdsworth - Holden 1:22.4576
16 Rick Kelly - Holden 1:22.4610
17 Michael Caruso - Holden 1:22.4782
18 Todd Kelly - Holden 1:22.4929
19 Jason Bright - Holden 1:22.5589
20 James Courtney - Ford 1:22.5830
21 Will Davison - Holden 1:22.6640
22 Karl Reindler - Holden 1:22.7260
23 Dean Fiore - Ford 1:22.7657
24 Russell Ingall - Holden 1:22.7983
25 Jason Bargwanna - Holden 1:22.8994
26 Greg Murphy - Holden 1:23.2075
27 Tony Ricciardello - Holden 1:23.8941
28 Daniel Gaunt - Holden 1:23.9798
29 Andrew Thompson - Holden No time

UNOH possesses the only North Central Association accredited degree program in High Performance/Motorsports, and was the first university in the world to offer a High Performance/Motorsports program.

UNOH is also the only university that owns and operates its own race track facility, Limaland Motorsports Park (A quarter mile dirt track - ed), acting as a true reality classroom.

The College of Technologies offers associate degrees, diploma and certificate programs. Enrollment in the technical courses within the College of Technologies is limited to only 20 students and prepares the students to perform entry-level operations within their given field. UNOH currently has two stockcar and two modified race teams on its athletic roster and is the only university that offers athletic scholarships to its Co-Ed Motorsports race teams

UNOH has established a program with the renowned touring series Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), enabling students to gain a hands-on experience with existing race teams at the track during race events. This segment will spotlight a UNOH motorsports student that has demonstrated dedication inside and outside of the classroom every week for the next four weeks.

UNOH Student Spotlight

Name: Ryan Richmond

Hometown: Canastota, NY

ARCA Team: Venturini Motorsports

Ryan Richmond is a second year student who plans to graduate with an Associate’s Degree in High Performance Motorsports in August 2010. He is currently undecided whether to continue his education and attain a Bachelor’s degree upon graduation or to graduate with an Associate’s Degree and pursue a job with an ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards team.

An upstate New York native, Richmond moved to Lima, Ohio in August of 2007 to begin the program at UNOH. Although he has not yet graduated, Richmond has already begun the transition from student to employee, with an internship working as a crew member on an ARCA team.

Richmond decided to attend UNOH because it’s the only school that provides such a high-caliber program in motorsports technology. When asked if he would refer others to the UNOH program and any advice he would give, Richmond replied, “The motorsports program at UNOH is great. It allows students to gain the experience they need to further their career in motorsports and work their way up the ranks. I would advise new students to start with a smaller race team, since there is less pressure, and then move up to the higher profile teams. My brother Tyler is enrolling as I graduate from the motorsports program, so I would definitely recommend it.”

In his spare time, the UNOH student helps his father work on his dirt pro stock car in New York. Richmond also works a part-time job in Ohio to help finance his travel and living expenses while on the road with Venturini Motorsports. Although this is Richmond’s first year with Venturini, this will be his third consecutive year working in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards. The past two years Richmond served under Darrell Basham as car chief for Darrell Basham Racing. This year, Richmond plans to travel the entire ARCA Racing circuit with Venturini, assisting the team with anything it needs from pre-tech car inspection procedures to in-practice car adjustments.

Regarding the internship program with ARCA, Richmond said, “It’s the world’s most intense internship. We’re a small group of students where everyone knows everyone, and even though we all work for different teams, we help each other out and car pool to the track.”

Richmond plans to continue to perfect his skills in the motorsports industry, move up the ranks in ARCA and eventually work in NASCAR. His goal is to become a successful crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Ambrose said that the back pain he suffered during last weekend’s race in Atlanta, where he scored a season high of 11th place, is not a big deal.

“My back is OK,” Ambrose said.

“I pulled some muscles cleaning the yard last week. Can you believe that?!

“The pain is reducing every day so it’s not a big problem.”

Ambrose was joined on Tuesday at Darlinton by Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, Aric Almirola and Timothy Peters at the track known as ‘Too Tough To Tame’, testing tire compounds for Goodyear.
Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose speak with media during Goodyear tire testing in Darlington, South Carolina

Clint Bowyer and Marcos Ambrose speak with media during Goodyear tire testing in Darlington, South Carolina

He pushed the limit of his #47 JTG Daugherty Racing Camry, spinning twice in the morning session, before coming to grips with the difficult track later in the day.

Marcos Ambrose goes thru the Lady in Black's Turn Two

“You’re winging it around the top with no room for error with a lot of speed and a lot of grip on the track. It will punish you if you don’t drive it the right way, it’s an amazing place.

“I think anyone who wants to run in NASCAR needs to come here to prove themselves because this is as tough as it gets.”

Ambrose will enjoy a rare weekend off as the Sprint Cup Series schedule enjoys a week off this weekend before racing at Bristol Motor Speedway in two weeks time.

“It’s the right time because I’ve got my family coming back from Australia so we’re going to hang out for the week,” said Ambrose of his weekend off.

“Apart from my family being back, which I’m excited about, I’d prefer to be racing somewhere.”

Active drivers’ title winners Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso posed for photographers in the FIA press conference.

Shortly afterwards, it emerged that quadruple world champion Alain Prost will act as a steward throughout the race weekend.

The governing FIA said late last year that permanent stewards will in 2010 “sit with experienced former F1 drivers” to “reach decisions very efficiently”.

55-year-old Frenchman Prost, the arch-nemesis of 2010 rookie Bruno Senna’s late uncle Ayrton, won four titles and 51 wins in the 80s and 90s, and headed his eponymous team until 2001.

Meanwhile, the World Motor Sport Council met in Bahrain on Thursday, and vowed to take “the most appropriate action” in the wake of USF1’s failure to appear for the first race of the season.

That action is possible due to FIA revising its procedures to separate the prosecution of investigations from hearings by the WSMC.

In the case of US F1, the team’s directors could be facing fines.

Bernie Ecclestone blamed USF1 for the absence from the grid of the cars of Stefan GP. “It was difficult because (US F1) had an entry and kept saying that they were going to be here, that there is no problem and everything is fine. As they had an entry we could not say, ‘Sorry we don’t believe you.’ I said that, and got a lot of criticism. I said that, and it turned out to be the truth. Unfortunately it was not possible to get Stefan GP in at the last minute. You need to do such things a bit more sensibly.”

This according to the magazine V8X, bit it comes with a caveat.

Merc has said they have no desire to enter as a factory-backed outfit like potential competitors Holden and Ford. Apparently they feel adding the V8’s to their support of Germany’s DTM series and Japan’s Super GT series

“It wouldn’t be done by us, because it can’t be done by us. It might be done by a team, in which case they’d have to develop a car and we’d be more than happy to put them in contact with the appropriate organisations in Germany that would be able to assist them with that,” Mercedes-Benz Australia-Pacific spokesman David McCarthy told AAP.

That would seem the only open door would be for privateers to take up the gauntlet, possibly via Merc’s AMG arm.

Mercedes has added to the speculation by confirming it will display a V8 AMG customer ride car at this weekends combined F1 Grand Prix/Clipsal 500.