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https://www.dailysportscar.com/2020/12/26/best-car-worst-car-dream-car-tim-sugden.html - This interview with Tim Sugden reveals how he missed out on partnering Frank Biela at Audi in 1996.
Gianni Morbidelli was also part of that shootout for a 1997 Renault seat. He ended up replacing Kelvin Burt at Volvo for 1998.If you're going off people who simply missed out on drives, there's the famous story of Jason Plato strong-arming his way into Williams and begging Frank to give him a drive for 1997.
Through Renault, Williams already had Jean-Christophe Boullion lined up but Plato beat him in a testing shootout. Boullion went on to partner Plato in Renault's final year in 1999 when Menu left for Ford.
Yes, that was masterminded by the father of Clio Cup Racer Alex Morgan.NGTC spec Meganes we’re commission and built ahead of the 2014 season but never ran. The car itself was interesting in being a 5 door version not the 3 door that the Renault Sport Megane was at the time.
Could this Megane be the next star of the BTCC? | Daily Mirror
www.mjpmedia.com
You mean BMW? I can understand Rossi signing for Sauber when they were a Ferrari customer but not really when they had BMW or turned into BMW.Valentino Rossi was incredibly close to signing a race seat in F1 circa 2006/2007. With the simple obstacle of not wanting to driver for Sauber being one of the reason he ultimately declined for the 2007 season. He had done many tests for Ferrari and finished 9th out of 15 runners in an F1 test at Valencia ahead of the 2006 season.
All the interviews and things that came out afterwards were all pointing at a Sauber seat for either 2006 or 2007. Ferrari wanted to run 3 cars but weren't allowed. The Sauber stuff came straight from Di Montezemolo.You mean BMW? I can understand Rossi signing for Sauber when they were a Ferrari customer but not really when they had BMW or turned into BMW.
I'm sure I have read/heard somewhere that Lola actually wanted to enter in 1998, but were pushed to start a year earlier by sponsors...1990s
DAMS (1995 with Erik Comas signed to drive) and DOME (1996) built complete cars, DOME even tested theirs, but never entered their own teams.
Lola built a car for 1995 (Allan McNish tested it) but declined to submit an entry until 1997 and we all know how that turned out.
Honda had two aborted efforts to enter F1; the effort in 1999 was closest and tested competitively but the death of technical director Harvey Postlethwaite saw Honda cancel its entry and focused on returning as a works engine supplier.
Edit: Lotus actually built a car for 1995 but, apart from the team closing down anyway, it had already failed the mandatory crash test.
Lola did originally intend to enter in 1998 with their own V10 engine but MasterCard pressured them to enter in 1997.I'm sure I have read/heard somewhere that Lola actually wanted to enter in 1998, but were pushed to start a year earlier by sponsors...
Yep, that's what I thought it was. No wonder they were ill-prepared for '97Lola did originally intend to enter in 1998 with their own V10 engine but MasterCard pressured them to enter in 1997.
Sponsors do a lot of weird things. I was on the coaching staff of a football club that was given a $50k per year sponsorship deal, provided they played at a certain ground. On top of this, the sponsor themselves would pay for all renovations to the home ground.I still can't fathom why MasterCard would do such a thing. Being a major financial institution, I would have thought they'd have a basic idea about the cost of an F1 program and the relationship between championship performance and commercial success.
I'm sure I have read/heard somewhere that Lola actually wanted to enter in 1998, but were pushed to start a year earlier by sponsors...
Lola did originally intend to enter in 1998 with their own V10 engine but MasterCard pressured them to enter in 1997.
MasterCard forced them to enter a year early then withdrew funding when they saw how terrible the car was. Extremely unfair on the team.
The MasterCard Lola was featured on a The Race Bring Back V10s podcast episode. It's worth a listen if you're interested in that car, as it covers not only Lola's side but how MasterCard intended to fund it with a plan that was never going to work.I still can't fathom why MasterCard would do such a thing. Being a major financial institution, I would have thought they'd have a basic idea about the cost of an F1 program and the relationship between championship performance and commercial success.
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A fairly well-known car that never happened was Thorney Motorsport's BTCC Evoque from 2013:
Jaguar Land Rover got involved and said that whilst they couldn't stop Thorney building the car, they could make Thorney's lives very difficult, so it never got past the design stage.
Also, yes, not a GT car.
John ThorneI thought it would be nice to share a few ideas we had in the process, some hair brained some less so. One idea we had was to run a Range Rover Evoque, with a monocoque chassis, composite boot and bonnet, common roofline for 2 door and 4 door it was the perfect donor car for the NGTC rules (remember the suspension mounting points are all located on the common subframes) and we thought it looked stunning but sadly was not to be.
Sponsors were keen and had the budget but JLR said no – it would interfere with their feminine lead marketing strategy so the idea is destined to stay a mock up. They couldn’t stop us as such but made it very clear that we shouldn’t pursue the idea and I’m not about to pick a fight with JLR!
Matt Neal could have been Rydell's team-mate in 1999 as Team Dynamics were trying to hire Paul Morris.