Derrick Walker is clearly not prepared to let former Team Australia partner Craig Gore slink away to KV Racing Technology and run Will Power there without a fight, promising to pursue money he claims he is owned through the courts if necessary.
According to
speedtv.com, the stalwart team boss is willing to pursue legal proceedings in order to salvage all or part of the finance that might ease his own transition from Champ Car to the unified IndyCar Series after seeing Gore take Power and his Aussie Vineyards sponsorship to Kevin Kalkhoven's
equipe.
We gave him, in writing, an opportunity to settle this and not go through a legal dogfight, Walker said, "It's up to him to respond by tomorrow so, if there's no response or no effort to resolve, then Tuesday I start building my case. There's damages, money owed and I've got a huge paper trail. I have no hesitation going into court to prove our case.
He had a signed agreement for 2008, but he led me on until the last minute and then jumped over to Kalkhoven. [But] this is about 2007 and default payments, and I have no option but to take him to court."
Walker had been the first Champ Car team to effectively support calls for a merger between the USA's two premier open-wheel series in 2008, and had expected to be able to run at least one car, for Power in the yellow-and-green of Team Australia, from the opening round at Homestead in two weeks' time. Instead, last weekend, he was forced to issue a statement saying that he was shutting up shop at Walker Racing.
"He took my driver, my engineer and completely submarined us, so it's pretty shabby to say the least," he said of Gore's decision to defect to KV, "If he's smart, he'll make a good faith effort and he can settle this by taking care of last year.
