Club Arnage

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8173865.stm

Wonder if anyone else will take over the team?

I call bullshit.

Whilst the results were poor this year, I believe the fact is they simply can't afford it commercially. And yet they didn't want the budget cap? Where's the logic?

And if the industrial might of BMW can't win, then what are the odds of US F1 being successful?


Oh, and Toyota and Renault to follow?

I call this good news - especially since they have announced to continue their engagement in endurance racing - ALMS. May be we'll see a factory effort at Le Mans soon.

Following their decision to withdraw from Formula 1, BMW will now focus on the touring car series, Formula BMW and the American Le Mans series.

Looks like good news to me - I always quite like the beemer LM cars - always quite pretty for their time.....

Now if we can just convince Mercedes, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Renault and Bentley to start entering closed coupe's as well, the nail will be firmly in the coffin of F1, and we'll be looking at the best LM for many many years!!

But would this be truly good for endurance racing?. more money that comes in could wreck what we love about it the most the atmosphere etc etc.
To my mind it's best if it's kept slightly on the sidelines. not by alot but just enough to stop ticket prices etc going to current overpriced F1 levels. 

What's the general opinion on here? bring on the big budget teams (knocking out privateers) or manage it in such a way that both can carry on.   

God forbid the big manufacturers will take over the series, Peugeot and Audi have spoiled to much of the fun already!

Me thinks this more of a shot at the way the FIA is runing F1 than BMW actually not being able to justify the expense of F1.  No F1 races in the their largest market (North America) would help explain their bailing out on F1 but retaining the ALMS program.
Fax

I think there are 2 reasons for their withdrawal from F1:

1. The lack of success - the current 8th place in the constructor championsship isn't really what the management expected...

2. Signing the new Concorde Agreement this week would have comitted them to stay in F1 - despite all cost cutting efforts an expense of min. 400-500 Mio. Euro over the next 3 years. This is big money, even for BMW, and not easy to justify in times when they have to sent employees home because of falling no. of car orders.

when was the last time BMW raced at Le Mans (as a factory team) ?

1999 - overall win!

'99 was a cracker of a race.  Be great to see them back at LM.

Dx

I can't see them going back to LM,  I think they'll stick to stuff that is road car based (apart from Formula BMW where I suspect there are contracts in place).  As far as I know the GT2 car that runs in the states is not allowed in Europe as it's not deemed to be a sports/gt car.

I agree the ALMS effort will be the M3 running in GT2 and not an LMP.
1999 was indeed a good race I recall the Toyota making it exciting though and would like to see them return.
Phil

... and flying Mercs, and noisy Panoz  ;D

i think the ACO are tweeking the rules in GT this year so it could be on the cards.

Honda, now bmw, who's next to hand in their notice?

I can't see bmw at le mans as a works team, I think that is a usa program, the cars could come as semi works maybe.

 A return to the dtm to inject some life into that could be on the cards maybe?

Word at the Sauber factory this weekend is that there is going to be a future and a new project. mmmmmm. Is that diesel I can smell?

I hope it looks like this.  -Lee
(http://www.selfstudio.com/images/sebring/BMW_LMP_1999.jpg)