OT: Racing 2009 (Spoiler Alert)

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 2:38 pm

Fletch:

The cornering speeds in MotoGP are obscene with the 800cc bikes, which replaced the 990cc bikes in 2007. So riders are much more on the edge with the smaller-displacement bikes than they were with the 990s.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:42 am

Our boy Nicky Hayden has been signed by Ducati for 2010.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78285

Oh and I forgot Fisi to Ferrari

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 5606.shtml

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 12:51 pm

Holy crap and the plot thickens !

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78446

"Sources claim that in evidence submitted to the FIA by Nelson Piquet, the Brazilian driver says he was asked by Briatore and Symonds to crash deliberately early in the race so as to help Alonso win."

"The reason this part of the track was singled out was because there were no cranes present there to lift the car away, so any accident would virtually guarantee a safety car."

"Piquet's claims have, however, been denied by both Briatore and Symonds in documents that are believed to have been submitted with the FIA. Although they confirm that the meeting between the three of them took place, both suggest that it was Piquet's own suggestion to cause an accident."

"I confirm the meeting with Piquet on Sunday morning, but nothing like that was ever talked about. I also remember that Piquet at Singapore was in a very fragile state of mind. Besides that, there are the audio recordings where I express disappointment when I see on the screens that Piquet had crashed."

Symonds is also reported as saying: "It's true, during the Sunday meeting with Piquet the issue of deliberately causing a SC deployment came up, but it was proposed by Piquet himself. It was just a conversation."

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 5:49 pm

Lots of 'is reported as saying', 'it is claimed' and 'it is believed' flying around, for obvious reasons, but it does strike me that you or I could just as easily have written that, largely because I've had something speculative sat in drafts for the last week that I keep meaning to finish. It's been the common belief for the last couple of weeks now that my mate Nelsinho was the whistle-blower and that the Renault top brass aren't whiter than white.

Often it seems that we get a couple of pieces of news and then start projecting instead of simply taking things at face value, but here there isn't really another place you can take the story. The FIA have been looking at the race for some time, Bernie's thrown out a "what I know, I can't say," and you really couldn't come up with another angle on it if you tried.

I have every faith in the FIA's ability to find one, though.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 6:35 pm

This is almost playing out like the McLaren scenario. Insert Nelson Piquet for Alonso.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 7:47 pm

The assumption we're both making, of course, is that these things the Piquet family have told Autosport - um, these things the 'source' has told Autosport - will stand up to scrutiny, and that it's all true.

PK knows these things and the whole business better than anyone so hopefully he'll correct me if he finds this to be nonsense, but Autosport is no longer quite the rumour-monging tabloid it threatened to become a few years back, and Jonny Noble's byline isn't one I particularly associate with idle speculation, especially not when the subject is so serious.

What's in this for Nelsinho? I don't imagine his stock within the paddock could reasonably fall that much further, but surely such revelations could only destroy whatever last lingering thread of hope he had of securing a 2010 drive? Beyond giving more credence to the idea that he was Briatore's puppet, not his own man, and that his demise isn't wholly his own doing, I don't see what he stands to gain from any of this.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:01 pm

According to all things Bernie, Nelson is finished in F1. To quote Bernie, "You don't rob a bank and when your caught, you tell the Police, Bernie told me to do it".

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 9:02 pm

Rodster wrote:This is almost playing out like the McLaren scenario. Insert Nelson Piquet for Alonso.

There's a difference. Alonso knew he had another drive waiting for him somewhere regardless of what damage he caused at McLaren. He is a double World Champion.

The Piquet family made a grave miscalculation if it thought it could spout lies -- if they are indeed mistruths -- about Renault as an attempt at revenge and Nelsinho still could get a drive in 2010. He's not anywhere that good. He's a wanker as a driver, in fact.

Autosport's role in this can't be considered neutral, even if it has toned down its sensationalist tendencies in recent years. Autosport, a British publication, always has been intensely nationalistic in its coverage. Just look at its plaudits for "Our Nige" and "Our Jense," turning the masthead to British racing green whenever a Brit wins a major race, the euphoria over Bentley's win at Le Mans in 2003, etc.

Alonso was tearing at the fabric of a British team run by a Brit. Piquet is tearing at a French team. And remember, there's no love lost between the Brits and the French in motorsport -- or any other sport, for that matter. Piquet also could have Autosport by the short curly ones because Nelson Sr. relocated his F3 team from South America to the British F3 championship a few years back, which launched Nelsinho's career toward F1. Both Piquets have interacted with Autosport journalists since Nelsinho's formative years.

Finally, Autosport's staff are anoraks first, journalists second. They're all hopeless romantics about motorsport, and that's wonderful. It's reflected in the passion of their coverage. But it also can create biases. And when a three-time World Champion and his son make allegations, I think Autosport journalists are more apt to take that as gospel -- it's Nelson Piquet, after all! -- than the words of a Spanish guy who doesn't come from racing royalty.

The Piquets could be telling the truth; they could be spewing vindictive sh*t. Time will tell.

But it wouldn't be F1 without an off-track soap opera to disguise the mainly processional nature of the racing in the second half of the season, would it?

Can you imagine if Button won the World Championship with his last podium being in Turkey? It's not his fault that no one could capitalize. Still, that would be a shame, and a sham.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:01 am

The one thing that's apparent in these developments is that Nelson Piquet deliberately crashed. The question is whether it was Nelson who did it on his own or was he instructed to do it as he claims? Briatore has now confirmed the crash was deliberate but it was Nelson's idea. And the plot thickens.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:20 pm

Speaking of Our Nige as PK almost was (and who the Hell is this Our Jense you speak of? Is he new?), Autosport are reporting that he's considering doing the Le Mans 24 Hours, even if that isn't, strictly speaking, what he said.

It got me thinking, though. Given Il Leone's propensity for laying on the powerfully-acted drama until it's so thick you can't see the racing car underneath it - examples aplenty at the link for the bored, curious or those who kind of miss him - what do you suppose he could do given an entire day of racing to work with?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:44 am

The Renault-Piquet case only gets stranger. Renault is pursuing blackmail charges against the Piquets. The team's press release:

"The FIA has announced that it is to hold an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council ('WMSC') on 21 September 2009. The ING Renault F1 Team is to attend that meeting and answer allegations that members of the team conspired with Nelson Piquet Jnr to cause a deliberate accident at the 2008 Singapore GP, so that Fernando Alonso might benefit from the resulting safety car.

"The ING Renault F1 Team had not commented publicly during the FIA's initial investigation into this matter.

"However, today the ING Renault F1 Team and its Managing Director Flavio Briatore personally, wish to state that they have commenced criminal proceedings against Nelson Piquet Junior and Nelson Piquet Senior in France concerning the making of false allegations and a related attempt to blackmail the team into allowing Mr Piquet Jnr to drive for the remainder of the 2009 season. The matter will also be referred to the Police in the UK."

Comical!

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:53 am

pk500 wrote:The Renault-Piquet case only gets stranger. Renault is pursuing blackmail charges against the Piquets.

That's what i've been trying to say. It's now confirmed that race fixing did happen. Nelson accused Renault of instructing him to deliberately crash and Flavio says it was all Nelson's idea. Someone is lying but when this is all said and done Alonso will not be the winner of the Singapore GP, it will be given to Nico Rosberg the runner up.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:21 am

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote:The Renault-Piquet case only gets stranger. Renault is pursuing blackmail charges against the Piquets.
That's what i've been trying to say. It's now confirmed that race fixing did happen. Nelson accused Renault of instructing him to deliberately crash and Flavio says it was all Nelson's idea. Someone is lying but when this is all said and done Alonso will not be the winner of the Singapore GP, it will be given to Nico Rosberg the runner up.

Reminiscent of Fisichella's first victory, at Brazil 2003. Fisi was awarded the win a few days later when the scoring was sorted out after the huge pileup near the start-finish line.

OK, that wasn't cheating. But it was a post-dated maiden victory.

Am I the only one who thinks these various "scandals du jour" in F1 do absolutely nothing to harm the sport but instead add to its intrigue and public appeal? It's like a high-octane soap opera on wheels, and people chug that kind of sensationalism like beer at a keg party.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:28 am

Yeah you could be onto something there, more like ESPN Playmakers on four wheels.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:48 am

About the only thing I'm certain of in this whole Renault case is that Fernando Alonso did win the Singapore Grand Prix. Somewhere in the sporting code, it's written that the world championship is finalised at the end of the year in which it took place (the beginning of December, I think) so the results cannot be altered retrospectively. The prize money is paid, the records are set, and that's that. There's nothing to stop you penalising in other ways that I'm aware of, which is why the case is still going ahead.

A good scandal livens up any sport. It gets people talking. The recent rugby union 'Bloodgate' scandal, for example, has raised the sport's profile in the UK despite, on the face of it, containing nothing but bad news about sustained, premeditated cheating. Whatever happens at Renault is bound to colour the opinions of a few on the sport, but it strikes me that those who come to view a sport negatively through soap-opera scandal are always those who didn't really much care for it in the first place.

Among those with any genuine interest, the ones to suffer will be the individuals involved, not the sport they're associated with, just as we saw with Liegate and the spying scandal.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:35 pm

I must be one of the few who thinks all this crap only hurts the sport; makes me glad I'm not able to watch the races anymore (and probably explains why my favorite F1 driver is Rubens). With each new scandal I find myself more distant from F1.

Shaddap and race!

Kruza · Post by **Kruza** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 9:35 am

Whoa... could anyone explain how Lewis Hamilton lost control of his car with only a few laps to go at Monza? I think it would have to do with the recently elevated curbing, but everyone else drove over them they way Hamilton did without experiencing any problems throughout the race. It's a mystery to me.

Kruza

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:40 am

That was definitely strange, the car just got away from him in a hurry.

Can anyone explain Force India's pace? Did they find a magic bullet to transform the chassis into one of the best on the grid, or does it just perfectly fit what Spa and Monza ask of it?

What a turd of a race for Kovalainen.

Congrats to Rubinho!

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:44 am

Kruza wrote:Whoa... could anyone explain how Lewis Hamilton lost control of his car with only a few laps to go at Monza? I think it would have to do with the recently elevated curbing, but everyone else drove over them they way Hamilton did without experiencing any problems throughout the race. It's a mystery to me.

Kruza

I'm pretty sure the elevated curbing was not done at the Lesmos, which is where Hamilton crashed out. It seems to me like he got up on the curb or maybe even touched gravel over there on the right (EDIT: Sorry, the left), just as he planted down on the power, and the difference in grip from one side to the other cause the car to snap around. Maybe his mind was drifting, I don't know. It's poor, no doubt.

I just love it when Rubens wins a race! Amazing to me they could make the one-stopper work because those option tires must've gone away quickly, but it didn't seem to hurt them at all. I thought it was a fun race!

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sun Sep 13, 2009 1:48 pm

You're right, Zep - the kerbing at the Lesmos is unchanged. Hamilton's crash was the result of trying too hard and no more - he had just posted the fastest sector one of the entire Grand Prix, still trying to catch Button. It might seem like a pointless exercise, but only one of them had KERS, so a good run through the Lesmos might have given Hamilton a chance.

A massive longshot, though, wasn't it? You might consider it poor, but I have always been able to forgive someone crashing trying to improve their position more easily than someone just giving up. For the same reason, I loved the Toyota inter-team scrap for P27 or whatever it was, a battle of no relevance to anyone except Glock and Trulli but good entertainment all the same.

What on Earth got into Kovalainen? He finished a minute behind Rubens, and even allowing for having to dodge his teammate's accident on the last lap, that's still a second a lap dropped to a car that Heikki outqualified on the same fuel load.

Rubens was awesome all race, always just out of reach of Jenson. The title remains an outside hope but I'd love to see him do it. I do hope that Force India's form can be sustained when everyone puts some downforce back on for Singapore; Liuzzi's return to F1 was a strong one, and Sutil must be as thoroughly sick of staring at a Ferrari's arse as Giancarlo (going from staring at a Ferrari's arse to driving like an arse in a Ferrari, bless him) was a couple of weeks ago.

Edited to add: Quick note for anyone checking petrolheadblog.com and finding it isn't there - yeah, me too. Working on that, and the chap responsible for the hosting tells me it'll be sorted tomorrow.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:08 pm

Doesn't seem like two years, does it? This picture of L555 BAT in action is worth countless words, so I'll use only four more. We miss you, Colin:

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 14, 2009 11:54 pm

VERY nice tribute to a phenomenal talent, Adam.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 7:26 pm

Gascoyne: Lotus aims to be best of new teams

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78658

This is the same guy who did squat at Force India and was shown the door at the end of last year and look where Force India is today without Mike.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:00 pm

Well, quite. He left them officially in November 2008, so might have had a little bit to do with the VJM02 (which is now, of course, benefitting from plenty of McLaren and Mercedes help the team didn't have a year ago). He gave Toyota their most successful season to date, turned around Renault's fortunes after their miserable 2001 under the Benetton name, designed the Jordan that damn near took Frentzen to the 1999 title and worked miracles on no money at Tyrrell.

Still, that 2008 Force India, eh?

He's no mug, Gascoyne. The project he's taken on with Lotus is a gigantic one and there's no prospect of immediate success - frankly, if they've got two cars ready for the start of the 2010 season it'll be miraculous - but Mike's is a very steady hand to have on the tiller. A temperamental one, granted, but steady nonetheless.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:33 pm

As Adam alluded, Gascoyne's problem isn't his talent. He's a brilliant designer and technical mind. One of the best in F1.

Gascoyne's problem is his personality. He's an arrogant prick, and that eventually ends up rubbing the wrong people the wrong way.

It's no secret why Gascoyne's nickname in the F1 paddock is "The Rottweiler."

Take care,
PK