http://www.thedrive.com/news/10526/s...rk-1-2-million

 

If LRP is the largest creditor, it may be a way for SB himself, who I understand (though don't know for sure), owns LRP, to get the school back on the cheap. It surely wouldn't be the first time a founder/seller of a business gets his business back for little or nothing. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

Any bankruptcy pros here?

 

It's a damned shame, but the last decade, and especially the last three or four years, has been brutal for folks working for MC, the owner of SBRS since 2001 (Skip sold to a PEG in 1999). Just a crime the way it's been run into the ground.

Skip has been approached many times and has declined, and has got his hands full with not only LRP but legacy planning. He was a classmate of my mother's in high school and is now a fit and sprightly eighty years old.

He is notoriously thrifty, so it would need to be unencunbered to be of interest, and it's not that now...

Here's the filing in NY State, as of yesterday morning; http://www.harrisonvideos.com/SBRS-chapt-11.pdf

smdh...

 

Holy Big Bend ! I believe I recall that it was some Asian investment group that had bought it. ? , that is not in the article- googling

 

No, it was a private equity group in 1999. Michael Culver, the sole owner, bought everyone else out in 2001, IIRC. Skip has not been involved, except as a creditor, since then.

 

Well regardless of how people have viewed it in recent years, it certainly is an iconic go fast school.
I'm sure there are tons of enthusiast instructors who will get left out in the cold from this. I hope they all land on their feet or that someone simply buys the school and keeps it pumping.

 

That's precisely the issue, IMO. It was the ideal mentoring and "graduate" school for aspiring pro racers. Some of the best known pros have shagged cones and cut up on the radio at SBRS schools throughout the country, and the life lessons passed down from the elite squad of senior instructors were priceless for the younger instructors.

Tragic...

 

I would assume that they will try to reorganize under Ch 11, bring in some new money, cram down the bank, pay the unsecured creditors (the tracks) pennies on the dollar. The question will then be whether the tracks want to get back in bed with the new owners. If the track dates can't be sold elsewhere, they surely will. Many of the tracks have also gone through the same process.

 

They're operating today with Terry Lee and others at CMP... God bless the staff.

More input from MC. Sounds like he's still in La-La Land...

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news...expedited-sale

 

I did a 3 day in October at Thompson CT and I was very pleased with it.... Though I do remember thinking that their race suits and helmets were in deplorable condition, ripped, patches hanging by a thread, deep scraches etc... luckily I had my own gear. There is no chance any of them woild pass a tech inspection.

The cars were in good order and it was run professionally.

 

from a very wise individual- "This may be a great result for Lime Rock. Skip Barber Racing had a sweetheart deal for track rental at LRP which was always a problem for the track. If it goes out of business, LRP may recover those valuable days for more profitable rentals".

 

Just received an e-mail about this ...

Skip Barber Racing School Acquired by DeMonte Motorsports

Based on other threads on SB I've seen this year, did DeMonte just buy a shell of what used to be SB?

 

I talked to these guys at PRI. I may be wrong, but they said they bought the name and the IP (though they weren't perfectly clear on the IP). Hopefully they turn it back into a great school and it builds some momentum.

 

Yes. They bought the name, ostensibly the IP (curriculum, logo, structure) and the address list.

You're absolutely correct.

But the real value of SBRS, IMO, was the incredible human equity that WAS present in that program, up until several years ago.

Now? The diaspora is complete, all the major (and many of the minor) players work for other schools or programs now.

It may continue as a shell of it's former self, as a ride and drive outlet for manufacturers and marketing firms, as an autocross school and/or driving "experience" (think NASA HyperDrive), but it will never be what it once was...

Fun for alumni, both instructors, the indefatigable mechanics, staff and students to visit Team Juicy Racing at http://www.teamjuicyracing.com/

There is also a closed FB group of former instructors, staff and alumni. Pretty brutal place, at least about this venture...

 

disregard