Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone attempted to qualify for a single World Championship event. He was in a Connaught-Alta, one of a fleet of three entered by himself. He finished qualifying 265.2 seconds off the pace, and his two team-mates failed to qualify as well.

He is, however, the most important single person in Grand Prix history. He took charge of Motor Racing Developments in 1972, from Ron Tauranac. He was the team principal for Nelson Piquet's two drivers' titles, but he'd lost interest by the time Brabham missed the deadline to enter the 1988 World Championship.

Into the governance of the sport he went, and he modernised it, and quickly controlled Formula One. He is now the leader of a billion-dollar industry. He is a divisive figure, but he's not done badly for someone who was four minutes off the pace on a Saturday in Monaco.

 

[Road of Bones]

Breaking news: Bernie indicted by ze Chermans:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23344423

Looks like this could be rather fascinating (more so than the racing...)

 

[cider_and_toast]

"And now, the end is near, It's time to face that final curtain.........."

As old blue eyes said.

 

[Bill Boddy]

It would have sounded much better had he sung it.

 

[Dizzi]

It's the way he tells 'em

From the BBC page ...
" In his testimony, Mr Ecclestone said he had been worried that if he had not paid the money, Gribkowsky would have alerted the UK tax authorities to "things" that might have led to a tax inquiry.

"The only alternative was that the British tax authorities followed a case that would have been very expensive for me," said Mr Ecclestone at the time.

"The tax risk would have exceeded £2bn. I paid him to keep calm and not to do silly things."

I seem to have lost the 'smileys' but would have a rolled eyes here!

 

[Bill Boddy]

The only option open to Ecclestone is to say the opposite to what he said in the previous case. Perjury might attract a lesser punishment.

 

[Greenlantern101]

This would be huge news. I just have a feeling he will slime his way out of it. Fun to watch how this unfolds.

He could of course just pay the judge 29 million to keep calm.

 

[Titch]

Where is the viewing gallery and the popcorn?

 

[Fenderman]

Rooting Today has been keeping an eye on this case from Fenderman's sofa. An update is coming soon. In the meantime, and in case new members haven't discovered and old members want a flashback or two, you can find earlier stories here:

http://cliptheapex.com/threads/rooting-today.3576/page-3#post-92234
http://cliptheapex.com/threads/rooting-today.3576/page-3#post-94186
http://cliptheapex.com/threads/rooting-today.3576/page-3#post-136717
http://cliptheapex.com/threads/rooting-today.3576/page-3#post-200933

Fenderman's note: It's purely for entertainment purposes, obviously. After all it's Rooters

I'LL SEE IF I CAN RUSTLE UP SOME POPCORN for you Titch

 

[RasputinLives]

Love Rooters Fenderman.

Really should get round to publishing that next draft of The F1 Files too.

And I'm always craving more Mclaren Technology centre Road of Bones

 

[Fenderman]

RasputinLives Ecclesthump article written. Just working on a picture. Will be posted by the night's end.

 

[Dizzi]

Of course he'll wriggle his way out of it, rich men always do...sometimes they get away with murder (cough - OJ - cough)...
Watching how it's done will be the fun part for us.
I just hope the tax office will conduct a thorough investigation (can't they go back 25 years or something??)

on an off topic note - How do you get the smileys now? (am I being really thick??!)

 

[Greenlantern101]

Dizzi The tax thing has been known about for some time now but as far as I am aware nobody is looking into anything, certainly nothing in the media. Stinks of corruption if you ask me. He has openly admitted the payment was to stop the banker raising tax issues.

Smileys are this icon on the tool bar.

 

[Road of Bones]

RasputinLives - I can only report what I'm given from the MTC (can't go just making it up willy-nilly, can I?)

I can see his Eccleship wriggling out of this actually - he's far more clever than nearly everyone gives him credit for being, and one suspects he will simply bamboozle the court with a series of disingenuous statements mixed with snippets of truth. I'm sure he sees it as sport really, and is probably relishing the opportunity to ply his skills in the legal arena.

 

[RasputinLives]

I think he's been preparing a diminshed responsabilty plea for years now. He'll just wheel out some of his quotes regarding Sprinklers and Medal Systems whilst mentioning his investment in QPR and what judge wouldn't buy it?

 

[teabagyokel]

I'm pretty sure there isn't a judge in the world who would buy QPR.

I think after a long trial most juries may have concluded he was obsfucating something.

 

[The Pits]

Looking at Dimi Papadopoulos on Twitter, it would seem that these waters run very deep. CVC have apparently hired an agency to hunt out a successor to his Bernieness.

 

[Mephistopheles]

The indictment was sent to Bernie's lawyers written in German and his lawyers are translating it into English, what's to stop some of the key parts getting translated incorrectly, ending up with Bernie getting off on a technicality....

 

[teabagyokel]

Mephistopheles - That ignorance is no defence?

 

[Mephistopheles]

True...

 

[Fenderman]

Andrew Benson really should get his stuff proof read. Here's a cracker:

"If this is the end of
the road for a man
of rare influence
and notoriety,
it has been a long on”

Anndrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23344423

Spot the one missing letter and the one additional letter ...

Fenderman's note: Remember he gets paid for his writing. We don't get paid for ours and we don't have the back up of a real life editorial department. Then again, just how useful is Auntie Boob's editorial dept. anyway? There's been a full 6 days of rioting in Northern Ireland and they haven't exactly burnt the airwaves with that news, have they?