Ecclestone gives details on payment to German banker - MotorSportsTalk

In court testimony today, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said that his multi-million dollar payment to jailed German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky was meant to keep him silent and not to pave the way for the sale of a major stake in Formula One.

Ecclestone has continuously maintained that his payment to Gribkowsky was made because the banker, formerly a chief risk officer for the BayernLB group, threatened to make false claims to British authorities over his tax affairs that could have endangered his fortune.

Today in Munich, Ecclestone maintained that stance in his testimony.

“I was a little sarcastic when I asked, ‘Would 50 million help you?’,” Ecclestone said of a conversation with Gribkowsky according to Reuters – adding that “it was the cheapest insurance policy I have ever seen.”

Ecclestone faces a 10-year jail term if found guilty in his ongoing bribery trial.

He is accused of making a $44 million payment to Gribkowsky in order to make sure private equity fund CVC earned BayernLB’s former stake in F1; CVC became F1’s largest shareholder in 2006.

Reuters continues on to say that part of the prosecution’s case against Ecclestone rests on their allegation that he knowingly bribed a public servant, since BayernLB is a state-owned entity.

However, a former Bavarian finance minister and BayernLB board member told the court today that Ecclestone may not have known that the bank was state-owned.

This past May, Gribkowsky – who is in the middle of a jail term of eight and a half years for accepting the bribe – testified against Ecclestone, saying that the offer clearly came from him.

“I had a carrot dangled in front of me. I grabbed the carrot,” said Gribkowsky, who also admitted to spreading rumors about Ecclestone’s tax status but only for “nuisance value” since he didn’t have concrete information.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Gribkowsky will testify again during the trial, which is expected to go into the fall. It is currently proceeding on a schedule of two days per week in order to accommodate Ecclestone’s day-to-day running of F1.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”