JANUARY 23, 2004

IRL bids for CART assets

The long-running battle in North American open-wheeler racing is coming to a head with the Indy Racing League making a bid for selected assets of the bankrupt CART organization, in competition to a collection of CART team owners who want to revive the series.

The long-running battle in North American open-wheeler racing is coming to a head with the Indy Racing League making a bid for selected assets of the bankrupt CART organization, in competition to a collection of CART team owners who want to revive the series.

The bid came just hours before a court deadline for bids. The IRL is not saying what it wants to buy but says that the offer is substantial and that it is after a number of assets.

The creditors of CART will now have the chance to look at the offers and then make a recommendation to the court in Indianapolis. A hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.

The bid has upset the team owners trying to buy CART who say that they are ready to go with a new series. The IRL says it wnats to create a situation in which there is one unified open-wheeler series in the United States, so that they can compete more effectively with NASCAR and fight moves by Formula 1 to build a bigger presence in the US.

The IRL says that even if its bid fails it is going to start racing on road courses in the future.