Derrick Walker has confirmed speculation that erstwhile Champ Car business partner Craig Gore could be taking both his financial input and star driver Will Power to rivals KV Racing this season, leaving the ex-pat Scot high and dry - and without the backing to run in the IndyCar Series as planned.
Walker had been the first team to commit to switching codes as talk of a merger between the US' two principal open-wheel series swirled, but now finds himself having to concentrate on a Formula Atlantic programme in an effort to retain as many employees as possible. Over the past three seasons, he and Gore had run the improving Team Australia programme, latterly with Power, who came close to adding the 2007 CCWS title to his 2006 rookie of the year honours. Despite the Australian entrepreneur selling off his V8 Supercar interests at home, the Team Australia campaign was confirmed to continue - although it now appears to be doing so somewhere other than with Walker Racing.
“Mr Gore owes a fair amount of money to this company and he told me he wanted to be part of this team again 2008,” Walker told
speedtv.com, “It's very sad because the Team Australia concept was working and now this impacts a lot of good people. I've had loyal people with me for 17 years and we were building something good with Will and Simon [Pagenaud]. I feel bad for Will, because he likes our environment and didn't want to leave, [and it's the] same for Simon.”
While Pagenaud appears set to accept a sportscar ride back in Europe for 2008, Power is heavily rumoured to follow Gore to fellow Australian Kevin Kalkhoven's KV Racing camp. Walker, meanwhile, has resignedly closed the door on an IndyCar entry this season, and will concentrate on running his existing programme in the Formula Atlantic series.
“I've been keeping this thing going for the last four months, because I thought we could work things out," he sighed, "But I finally ran out of time and money [and] had to pull the plug.
