Ilmor out of MotoGP

 Breaking news: Ilmor out of MotoGP

By Matthew Birt


15 March 2007 10:17




Ilmor dropped a bombshell today by announcing it has suspended its
MotoGP team after just one round of the 2007 world championship.

In a phone call to MCN this morning, Ilmor boss Mario Illien confirmed
that he had decided to withdraw from the world championship with
immediate effect due to a lack of sponsorship.

A decision was taken yesterday by Ilmor boss Mario Illien at the
team’s Brixworth headquarters in Northamptonshire and communicated to
shell-shocked riders Jeremy McWilliams and Andrew Pitt and GP bosses
Dorna. The team will not race in next weekend’s Spanish GP in Jerez
and will not return until the team has secured financial backing.

Engine development will continue, but without any sponsorship Illien
has decided to pull the plug in what is a devastating blow for MotoGP,
with the grid now slashed indefinitely to just 19 bikes.

Illien told MCN: “It is very disappointing and I underestimated how
difficult it is to secure backing for this particular activity. I knew
it would be expensive and I’m not surprised from the cost point of
view, but I’m surprised how difficult it has been to secure the right
backing. We were confident and hopeful that we would get sufficient
backing to go racing and that has not materialised.

"We need to act rather than spending a lot of money and having a
problem later on. We have been thinking about this for some time, I
was thinking of withdrawing before the start of the season. As time
went on I was hopeful we could secure something. But at the same time
we moved forward in the hope and belief that we could attract some
backing. We have some backing but not sufficient to run for the whole
season. We are not going to race in Jerez. Dorna is very disappointed
that we are not participating but they respect and understand our
decision. Without financial support it is too difficult.”

Illien said he had no intention of ceasing the V4 project, but
confirmed the obvious shock and disappointment felt by McWilliams and
Pitt. “They are extremely disappointed because they wanted to go
racing and I want to as well. We will continue to work and try to find
some backing. We haven’t given up and said this is it. The project is
not dead at all. We have been working for 21 months on this project
and I’m not going to walk away from it just like that. But if we
continue like this we could be in difficulty and I don’t want to get
to that point. We have to scale things down and be realistic," said
Illien, a renowned Formula One engineer who only recently had been
confident on top ten finishes in MotoGP.

The news of Ilmor suspending its racing activity comes hot on the
heels of Kenny Roberts announcing recently that he is considering
quitting the championship mid-season because of a lack of funding.

Dorna is to host a special sponsorship summit in Barcelona on April 12
and that meeting will take on even greater significance now.




http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport/sportresults/mcn/2007/march/week11-mar12-19/mar1407breakignnewsilmor/

 

Who the hell are Jeremy McWilliams and Andrew Pitt ?

 

You're obviously a keen follower of motorcycle racing.

--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

 

Of AMA SBK & MotoGP.  OK, so I googled them.  They're a couple of
uncompetitive riders that lost their ride this year.  BFD.

 

Hey Joe  Does your mummy knoiw your using her computer!