Marco Andretti was a revelation at Sebring, and will surely compliment new driver Franck Montagny when he guest drives. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos

With Acura/Honda/HPD’s ALMS project, the emphasis is less on maintaining old associations and more on developing and maximizing their successful relationships. They still haven’t caught Porsche in the P2 game, and with other competitors from Mazda to privateer efforts utilizing the very rapid Zytek chassis/engine on the horizon, not to mention rumors of Toyota entering the fray, resting on the laurels of past AGR-Honda championships are a thing of the past. If that sounds cutthroat on Acura’s part, trust me, it isn’t.

The challenge of Indy is gone for Honda; the pressure’s off there. And where did that pressure go? The American Le Mans Series. Beating Porsche in 2008 is Honda/Acura/HPD’s sole challenge, and if I had to guess which one of their teams was recently reminded of this, I’d put my money on the one that just made a drastic driver change.

While their ranks have swelled to four teams in 2008, and with an expected jump to LMP1 right around the corner, there’s no guarantee Acura will keep four factory teams in 2009. The 3rd place finish of de Ferran Motorsports in their debut at the last round in Utah was better than AGR’s managed all year. It only served to highlight how well AGR wasn’t performing.

The stirring debut of de Ferran Motorsports merely underlined the difficulties Andretti-Green has been having of late. Dropping Herta was unpopular, but the team should return to form quickly. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos

Looking at the other Acura entries, Patron Highcroft Racing won in LMP2 at Long Beach, were 2nd at St. Pete, and 4th at Sebring. Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz have been on the wrong side of a lot of bad luck, but no one doubts the pace or potential of the team. Diaz in particular has been driving like a man possessed. If Acura needed to drop a team tomorrow, the decision on who to choose would be an easy one.

Which brings us back with AGR and their poor season. For many of us, AGR was expected to be Acura’s top team—the benchmark for the others to be measured. Instead, AGR finds themselves shuffled further and further back in Acura’s queue. de Ferran’s debut surely cemented Acura’s need to put AGR on notice, and AGR has clearly made a bold move to show Acura they’re listening and ready to reassert themselves. We know they're capable of more. We know they better than they've shown.

Yet with Bryan Herta collecting the most collateral damage from this power play, nine questions come to mind about AGR’s moves:

Was it too early to make a change in the cockpit? Probably.

Did they need to change both drivers? I don’t think so.

Would Fittipaldi have gotten the seat alongside Herta if he wasn’t an old friend and teammate of Michael Andretti? I doubt it.

Does Michael wish he’d never gotten the call from Christian asking for the drive? Probably.

Would Herta still be employed by AGR if he’d had Montagny (or Pagenaud) as a teammate all season? I believe so.

Would replacing Fittipaldi for new hire Franck Montagny have delivered the spark behind the wheel and brought stronger technical feedback to compliment Herta’s? Absolutely.

Will having a revolving door policy on the second seat benefit AGR or Acura for the remaining seven races? Not unless they can clone Marco.

Would adding Marco into the Herta/Montagny mix for Petit Le Mans have put them as my pre-race favorites? You bet.

Will we see Herta back in the car as a guest driver? Absolutely not.

The results of the driver change will likely cause a few fireworks for the remainder of the year. Montagny, a relative unknown in America but a highly valued commodity in Europe, brings youth, wins, and recent experience from ChampCar, Peugeot’s Le Mans program, and F1 with recently defunct Super Aguri team. Whether he has the ultimate pace to challenge Kimi or Lewis for F1 supremacy is questionable, but his sportscar record—the record that matters here, is mighty impressive.

Franck's partner for the short-term is even more exciting. Watching Marco andretti in an AGR Acura is appointment viewing. 'Come watch the Amazing Marco Andretti' should be inthe Acura's advertising campaign for any ALMS race he's entered. The kid's that good--filled with the spirit and confidence of his grandfather once he has fenders around him. My notes from the Sebring race about Marco read: ‘How do they get Marco in the ALMS car for the whole season? He’d terrorize the LMP2 category. Penske would be pushed to their limits, if not over the edge.'

But with Marco firmly committed to his Indycar effort and only scheduled to make guest appearances, AGR’s made a sharp move to secure Montagny for the remainder of 2008. Expect their season to get better, and expect Acura to thank AGR for the Montagny move. For Franck, stepping from the most advanced prototype in the world two weeks ago into Acura’s growing prototype program—one that will soon produce its own chassis, was just the career move he needed. He'll make a good home for himself there.

The team will be better for adding Franck. Acura will be better for having Franck.

Will they be better for dropping Bryan? Absolutely not.


Marshall Pruett is Automotive and Sportscar Racing Editor for SPEEDtv.com. Pruett grew up at "Pruett's Olde English Garage," his father's shelter for abused foreign cars, and spent his childhood being dragged across the West Coast to help with his dad's amateur racing exploits. Pruett spent twenty years working in various open-wheel and sportscar series, retiring from active duty in 2001. And in case you were wondering, no, he isn’t related to Scott Pruett.

He can be reached at marshall.pruett@speedtv.com

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.