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Old 24 Feb 2004, 16:43 (Ref:884172)   #6
GP Racer
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GP Racer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridGP Racer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Quote:
Originally posted by Tim Northcutt



But to me, the BIG news last night came at the very end...

The engine makers CAN lease the engines to teams, and DO IT NOW...but according to Tony, he can't understand why teams aren't BUYING them and maintaining them on their own, and he said that under the current structure for engines, buying them IS an option, but teams aren't taking advantage of it...

Dave asked him hypothetically about a team going to Toyota to buy one, and Tony responded that Yes....under the provisions of the IRL, if a team wants to buy an engine, the manufacturer would have to consider the sale, and possibly provide it within a given or set time limit to that team, should they choose to make them a customer...

Implied but not stated....If an existing "Lease" customer with Toyota wnet to them and sais, "Now I want to Buy," Toyota would have to sell those engines to them...

That's the way I understood it...

If anyone else watched and had a different take on that last 5 minutes of the inteview when Tony talked about this, please enlighten me...but that's the way I understood it...
Tim, I indeed heard Tony say that, but I'm unsure of why thats big news. I don't really understand which is better, and why, engine owning, leasing, or manufacturer maintenance? In other words, I'm confused about the whole engine issue, and thats why I didn't talk about it. :confused:

Is it a cost saving measure, and if it is, why aren't the teams taking advantage of it?
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