Formula 1

The Onyx team paired up with Moneytron as its title sponsor in 1989. Then it all went downhill.

With nothing worth selling, the once-promising Onyx died a frankly embarrassing death while Van Rossem continued to live a rich — and ridiculous — life. The country allowed for parliamentary immunity, so Van Rossem was allowed to run free. The team that once seemed so promising began to fall apart as the season came to a close and Van Rossem grew stingier with his financial handouts. After selling off his shares, Van Rossem disappeared back to Belgium, where he was jailed for fraud after a $50 million check bounced. Van Rossem ultimately returned to prison, serving time for charges of forgery, money laundering, tax evasion, and fraud. Amid rumors of broken parts, poor management, and a lack of funds, Onyx folded after the 10th race of the season, the Hungarian Grand Prix. It wasn’t exactly a great debut for a brand-new team, but Onyx was confident that, despite a lack of results, it was still making progress. If Jean-Pierre Van Rossem’s Moneytron machine seemed too good to be true, that’s because it was, and there were plenty of red flags that should have told potential investors that this was the case. He was flamboyant and unpredictable, but without doubt highly intelligent and ultimately a nice guy if you sat down with him away from the limelight.” When Jean-Pierre Van Rossem debuted his Moneytron machine, he did so with one massive claim: Here was a supercomputer that could accurately predict the stock market and beat out the capitalist system. With his Moneytron earnings, Van Rossem became the majority owner of the Onyx Formula 1 team in 1989 — and then things collapsed. (Editor’s note: This week marks the release of Racing with Rich Energy: How a Rogue Sponsor Took Formula One for a Ride by Elizabeth Blackstock and Alanis King.