Monday, June 20, 2005

Lawsuits begin in aftermath of US Grand Prix Indianapolis Star sportswriter on the U.S. Grand Prix Let me roll out the thesaurus. It was a fiasco. It was a debacle. It was reprehensible. Unless you're a lawyer, in which case, it's a godsend. He was right on the last one: Fan Sues Over Grand Prix 'Race' Larry Bowers, a Colorado resident, has filed a class action lawsuit against the Federation de l’Automobile (FIA), Formula One Group, Formula One Administration, Michelin Tires and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway following Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. Bowers, represented by Indianapolis-based attorney William Bock III, filed suit claiming the 2005 USGP was fraudulent after 14 of the 20 drivers pitted and withdrew after the formation lap of the race because of a dispute surrounding the use of Michelin tires on the track. The lawsuit claims Formula One, the FIA, Michelin, the teams equipped by Michelin and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway forged an agreement allowing the Michelin teams to participate in the formation lap and then exit the track prior to the start of the race. “The alleged ‘race’ participated by just three teams did not constitute a true grand prix race under FIA and Formula One rules in that the race was started with an insufficient number of participants,” the lawsuit reads... FIA (the F1 governing authority) is going after Michelin and the teams that they supply: Deserters face bill for life in farce lane THE seven teams that boycotted the US Grand Prix could be forced to pay millions in compensation to the 120,000 fans who walked out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway here, shocked and angry with a sport that has been decried throughout the United States. The repercussions of the explosion of disgust at a debacle of a race, in which only six cars took part, will ripple through Formula One for months. The punishments could start next week, when all seven teams and Michelin, their tyre supplier at the centre of the farce, will be called in front of the FIA, Formula One’s governing body, on charges that amount to bringing the sport into disrepute. Banning the teams is not an option, given that future races would be wrecked with 14 cars out of the sport, but Max Mosley, the FIA President, raised the possibility yesterday that the teams could be forced to pay back the fans, many of whom had spent hundreds of pounds on travel and hotels, as well as an average $100 a ticket (£54) to get into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I think Michelin and the seven teams should compensate the fans,” Mosley said. “What about the American fans? What about Formula One fans worldwide? Rather than boycott the race, the Michelin teams should have agreed to run at reduced speed. The rules would have been kept, they would have earned championship points and the fans would have had a race. As it is, by refusing to run, they have damaged themselves and the sport... I can't see how the teams can be blamed for this.  If Michelin comes out and says they have a tire that is unsafe for the race conditions, then the teams realistically can't race without modifications.  Had the teams gone out anyway and one of their cars suffer a severe or fatal accident that team would be open to massive liability (The Williams team was put on criminal trial for the death of Ayrton Senna in a crash; the circumstances were nowhere near as clear cut as they would be in this situation).  Jackpotzrebie comment []11:04:19 PM   trackback []