Brian Vickers says he isn’t feeling pressure to prove himself on the track, but that doesn’t mean his future is secure or he knows where he’ll be racing in 2012. Red Bull announced in late June that it was selling the team and it’s been nearly three months with no announcement of a buyer. Vickers has even worked to line up potential buyers but nothing has materialized. There could be some rides available with other teams, depending on sponsorship. Among those who have inquired about purchasing the Red Bull assets is former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve. His business manager confirmed that Villeneuve has inquired about buying the team, but gave no indication of whether talks have been productive. Villeneuve has never hidden his interest in Cup racing and if the Canadian driver can find investors to put him in a seat, he likely would do it. He also could have investors purchase the team with the idea of him running a partial Cup schedule along with another driver.(Scene Daily)(9-21-2011)
UPDATE: In June it was reported that Red Bull will put the brakes on its involvement with NASCAR at the end of this year but this seems to be premature. [Red Bull owner Dietrich] Mateschitz says “this is not yet a final decision but we had many reasons to re-analyse our involvement with the goal of either to confirm our participation in NASCAR or to question it.” He adds that the key factors which will affect Red Bull’s decision are target groups, marketing, media values, the engine, the fact that NASCAR is a purely American series and of course success and the cost to benefit ratio.(PitPass)(9-23-2011)
UPDATE 2: Red Bull Racing expects to layoff 152 employees when it shutters operations in December. Red Bull Racing filed a notice this week as part of North Carolina’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that the layoffs were expected by Dec. 17, 2011. Red Bull says the closure is permanent.(ESPN)
AND: The notification with the state does not mean the team will or will not be sold but covers Red Bull if it does not sell the team and shuts it down or sells the team to a buyer that lays off workers. North Carolina law requires the 60-day notice to the state and employees if at least 50 employees will be laid off because of the closure or shutdown of a business unit or if a company has layoffs of at least 50 people that impact 33 percent of a workforce at a single site. A team spokesman said the team had no comment on the WARN filing. If an employer does not notify the state and its employees of layoffs, it could be responsible for 60 days of wages plus a $500 fine for each violation.(Scene Daily)(9-24-2011)
