JANUARY 26, 2004

George ready to bid higher for CART

Indy Racing League president Tony George has said that, if he needs to, he will bid higher than $3.3m he has offered for selected assets of the bankrupt CART.

George told the Indianapolis Star newspaper that his goal is to unify the open-wheeler series in the United States.

"I committed to the Indy Racing League 10 years ago, not 10 months ago," George said. "I am very committed to making sure open-wheel racing succeeds, and the IRL is on a very firm foundation going forward. We've got the right path to be successful, and we will be. We're not going to convince everybody that we have the best intentions for open-wheel racing at heart. There will always be those (fans) who won't be dragged along without kicking and screaming. But our actions will speak for themselves, and in two or three years that will be obvious to any reasonable person."

The rival bidders from the Open Wheel Racing Series say they are willing to take on George to get hold of the championship assets and the bidding is expected to get up above $15m. Both sides have deep pockets and that is good news for the CART shareholders who hope to get something back from the company.