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Over on the americanlemansfans.com forum, in the thread titled “Anyone feel like patting Scott Atherton on the back?” we were surprised to read that we were “predictable and political,” and “hoped for the worst.” Having given those characterizations some thought, I – predictably, perhaps – think they are quite wrong. Why? Well, we think the record on Last Turn Clubhouse is clear, but since it’s over a period of years, perhaps it isn’t well remembered. What follows is a summary of the editorial views over the past few seasons most relevant to the ALMS’ current situation, and some thoughts on where that series is today.

First, here is the post by MachineMusic that elicited this response:

“The main problem with ALL of motorsports is the economy.  Not TV, not management, not rules changes.  It is the economy.  The problem with folks like the bear and TWK is that they have put a stake in the ground where they can not participate in any positive developments with the series under current mgmt.  Their arguments have devolved into the political at this point and their reaction to events has become predictable.  Dig their heels in and hope for the worst.  A shame, because they seem to be some of the most passionate, incisive and knowledgeable sources around on all things ALMS.”

When "the main problem is the economy" in any industry, the best run organizations and companies do well, the mediocre ones struggle badly, and the worst fail. I don't see any point in continually saying, "it's the economy, stupid," without offering some idea of improving the product, the way it's administered, and the way it's sold - in any business, even racing.

You write that "the Bear" and I are predictable and political. In regard to Murphy, his charter is rumors. There are “good rumors” and “bad rumors.” The Bear doesn’t discriminate. Murphy rests his case on the fact that he's reviled pretty much equally in every "power center,” by the former Champ Car, by IRL, by F1, in Braselton, and in Daytona. Why? He 'prints' things they don't want printed.

As far as my own views, it’s 'the eye of the beholder,' I guess, but when you believe something you love is on the wrong track, then you say so. Is that political? If you have no history of making positive, constructive criticism, then I agree you have little standing to criticize. If you've been a reader of LTC and other places I've written since the 1999 ALMS season, you'd know that the bulk of my record over that time has been very, very positive about this series.

 As Peter Drucker famously observed, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” The Series has often done the right things (combining classes, adding others, the green initiative) but has also far too often done them mostly wrong and late (letting a year slip by, making spec classes the additions, pushing its green initiative to the wrong audience).

If I’m predictable now, it’s only in the sense that the Series continues to do the right things wrong when it does anything at all. I certainly don’t “hope for the worst.” On the contrary, I continue to advocate changes I believe can rescue sports car racing in North America. In doing so, I hope for the best.

Along with that early positive support, though, at the Last Turn Clubhouse we saw problems early – before the recession – analyzed them and suggested possible courses of action. Along the way there were numerous other contributors to LTC whose points of view were similar – and different – than our own. They’ve included Tony Dowe, Bob Barnard, David Soares, and Chuck Farrell, to name a few. Here is a summary of our own commentary through the past few seasons.

In 2007, after a pretty good year in which GT1 was in stark contrast to the rest of the classes, we suggested that the “Corvette show” was hurting the growth of GT2, so in What to do with the GT Classes?  July 11, 2007, we suggested a single GT class.

It’s time for the North American red-headed stepchild of Le Mans style racing to take the lead. IMSA should announce at Petit Le Mans in October that beginning in 2008, the American Le Mans Series will consist of a single widely inclusive GT class of cars close in conformity and capability to those racing in Europe as GT3 – which it turns out hasn’t been discernibly different from GT2 in any respect other than cost and the variety of entrants the sport sorely needs. We hope those wheels are already turning, with discussions involving manufacturers and teams.

Later that year, we thought a similar direction in Prototype racing was the right prescription for North America. In For the Fans: Preserving Prototype Racing  October 15, 2007, we wrote:

Mandating two distinct classes of performance may now be appropriate for the ACO, and for Le Mans. It may even be appropriate for the Le Mans Series in Europe. But it is absolutely wrong for the American Le Mans series. At a critical point in its history, and for the series as a business, the ALMS simply cannot afford to go back to two small prototype classes, each dominated by a powerful factory team against a collection of helpless privateers. With significant improvement in year two of its program, Acura might be more competitive in LMP2. Will that be enough of a show? We wouldn’t bet the farm on that – and neither should IMSA.

2008 was a season in which the American Le Mans Series mostly did the right things. Importantly, as we said should happen, it kept a “virtual” LMP class competing for overall wins. Entries were good, the racing was excellent, and the series attendance continued to grow. The television package remained questionable (we continued to hear complaints) and viewership dropped even in the face of increasing attendance.

By the end of that season, however, the storm clouds of recession were building into a hurricane, and motorsports seemed not to be paying adequate attention. We took that on in Denial, December 5, 2008.

We’ve watched with bemusement the sanguinity in the motor racing community. Reasonable assessments of deteriorating economic conditions have been dismissed, again and again, as chicken little-like pronouncements.

Those reactions have been wrong in regard to the economy, and they are most definitely wrong in regard its impact on motorsport. If anyone needed proof of that, it came today, with both barrels; Honda will drop F1, and Audi will drop ALMS…

As we documented in our “Cost of Racing” series, fielding a reasonably competitive ALMS GT2 privateer entry is an outlay of $2.5 million dollars per year, far more than that in first-year cash flow for a new entrant. A prototype is close to $3 million for a program built around a used car…
 
We expect an IMSA bulletin in regard to the ACO aero changes today. We hope it largely suspends them. If so, it will be the first clear signal they “get it” in Georgia. And if not, a prototype grid already at just seven entries in two classes could well drop even further. Even if there are testing limits and an abdication of the ill-thought-out French rule changes, it won’t be enough. Other measures that cut the cost of entry for their teams have to follow, and quickly. In the current circumstances, a few thousand dollars can make the difference between entering and not.

As recently as a month ago, “green racing,” and “relevance” seemed to be bold strategies that would give the American Le Mans Series an advantage in a difficult economy. They were extolled here. Now, faced with a tsunami of bad economic news, much more radical steps are required, or IMSA in its current ALMS incarnation will be consigned, as was Camel GT, to the dustbin of history.

Unfortunately, ALMS management was unable or unwilling to take decisive action in the face of an economy in which a very tough 2009 season seemed certain. So we got more specific. In Dodging Disaster, December 28, 2008, we laid out what we thought the ALMS should look like in the coming season. Here is an outline excerpted from that article:

Time for Action
The world’s developed – and developing – economies are in severe recession. Racing depends more than any other sport on third-party sponsorships, usually drawn from corporate marketing, sales, and advertising budgets…

We don’t believe that the “nothing,” or “steady as she goes” scenario is an option…

To survive this year, the series has to create compelling racing at the front and increase total grid size. But how? Get ahead of the trends is how. That means doing some things now (perhaps not elegantly) that have to happen anyway. Here are those things:

Recreate Competition at the Front
Recreate reasonable competition – as we have seen the past two seasons – at the front, for the win, and for the fans. One way or another, turn prototypes in to a single class, or at least two classes that contest as one, as they did last season, for overall wins.
 
Put GT1 out of its Misery
The other class that has no future for the same reason – class wins on an overall wins budget – is GT1… Allow a vibrant GT2 class to become the GT headliner. Those cars are really quite expensive enough.

Add Immediately Available GT Cars
Increase the field….What if you made “series switching” or “upgrading” attractive? Really went after racers in other championships?

…What if undercard racers could make that step without significant additional investment? Certainly the additional cost for Speed World Challenge GT teams would not be great if a class were created for them that did not require large performance increases…. Could a GT3 Porsche team vault to ALMS from a nearly unnoticed single marque series (Patrón Challenge) at a moderate increase in cost? It could…
 
With the Patrón GT3 Challenge present at most ALMS events, our “shared resources model”  works well; for the Ferrari Challenge, less so. Still, the potential for additional entries is there. Speed World Challenge is another matter, but a good example, because they’ve taken the very step we recommend for ALMS by inviting Patrón GT3 entries to join its touring division without any modifications required…

Would such an accommodation in the rules by adding a GT class close to current single-marque series’ and Cup specifications do great violence to “principle?” We don’t think so, if for no other reason than it is where we are headed anyway – to less radically-prepared race cars.

Keep GT2 as the Premier Class
The adoption of a GT3 class, with GT2 occupying the premier GT place, only accelerates the trend toward closer-to-street racing while increasing the field and improving the show for the American Le Mans Series at a time when it may well be a key to survival.

Having suggested…something similar to the action the American Le Mans Series took this week in adding Patrón Challenge Porsche to the grid of a few races, we won’t be bashful about commenting on the way it’s being implemented.

The problem with the American Le Mans Series announcement is that it is so close to – and yet so far from – what it should be. Close to because it does – as we suggested in December – add a “GT3” class. Far from because its timid implementation looks more like a quick fix than a step toward the future…

Faced with the need to take some decisive action, state a vision, and do what it needs to realize that vision, the American Le Mans Series has so far failed the test. Some say the addition of a few Cup Porsches is “better than nothing.” We don’t agree.