OT: Racing 2011 (Spoiler Alert)

[Rodster]

A new Star is Born, Ben Spies wins in Assen !

[pk500]

Ben had the speed to win, but yet another boneheaded move by Simoncelli on Lap 1 greatly helped Elbowz's cause.

First win by an American in MotoGP since Nicky Hayden in 2006!

[Rodster]

Adam can you check something for me m8?

I can't seem to listen to 5 Live Formula 1 broadcast that's on the Beeb's website. It doesn't say i'm not from the UK it's that the player just sits at the 0 timer and never starts. I haven't been able to listen to a broadcast for some time. What's weird is every now and then it'll work.

I'm not sure if it detects a US IP address and blocks me from the content. Oh and there's news that the BBC may pull out of Formula One after their current contract is up. I'm sure James Allen is pumping his fist in the air at the news.

[GB_Simo]

Classy ride from Spies, who was quick enough to win no matter what happened to the other Yamaha, Stoner wins even when he loses and an awful lot of people were desperately slow. Lorenzo's fightback apart (and it's ridiculous to start calling for Simoncelli's licence to be revoked just because you were unfortunate enough to be somewhere nearby when he fell off, Jorge), there really wasn't much else to look at.

Contrast the main event with another cracker of a Moto2 race. Even if Bradl's threatening to have the championship won by August, the second tier of Grand Prix motorcycle racing is now providing greater, more consistent entertainment than its big brother.

Adam can you check something for me m8?

I can't seem to listen to 5 Live Formula 1 broadcast that's on the Beeb's website. It doesn't say i'm not from the UK it's that the player just sits at the 0 timer and never starts. I haven't been able to listen to a broadcast for some time. What's weird is every now and then it'll work.

Everything I can find on the website is working for me, mate. If there's a particular link I need to be trying, post it here or PM me and I'll be happy to let you know if it starts up.

Oh and there's news that the BBC may pull out of Formula One after their current contract is up. I'm sure James Allen is pumping his fist in the air at the news.

Aye, that one's doing the rounds. I think it started in the Daily Mail. When they're not peddling their own special brand of casual middle-English xenophobia, the Daily Mail are usually seen questioning the reason for F1's existence. Most of these stories are penned by a fella called Charles Sale, who can usually be safely ignored.

F1's ratings in the UK now are higher than they've been for years, with the sport also beginning to attract a younger demographic. Quite why Auntie Beeb would want rid of that, nobody seems completely able to say. Yes, they're looking to reduce costs across sport, but some of their other rights - Six Nations rugby being a prime example - deliver far less bang for buck. I'd bet that the same goes for their Football League package and some of their horse racing rights, just for starters.

[Rodster]

Adam this is where I go to try and listen to the race weekends. I just clicked on the qualifying session and the timer just sits at 0:00:00/1:10:00

If I click on the Play button, nothing happens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007m6lj

[Smurfy]

I didn't get to watch today's race at Infineon because I had to be in the lab at work

That's probably a good thing after hearing what happened with Montoya.

Could Juan Pablo Montoya be the most talented bonehead ever to drive a car?

[toonarmy]

I didn't get to watch today's race at Infineon because I had to be in the lab at work

That's probably a good thing after hearing what happened with Montoya.

Could Juan Pablo Montoya be the most talented bonehead ever to drive a car?

Impatient would be the word for yesterday's performance. The Keselowski deal was not JPM's fault. Keselowski was being a fool during that incident. Kahne, however, had a rightful beef with JPM. I agree in part with what JPM said about too many NASCAR drivers not understanding how to race/drive on a road course.

[pk500]

I agree in part with what JPM said about too many NASCAR drivers not understanding how to race/drive on a road course.

I'm sure many oval veterans feel the same about JPM's acumen in a stock car on ovals.

[toonarmy]

I agree in part with what JPM said about too many NASCAR drivers not understanding how to race/drive on a road course.

I'm sure many oval veterans feel the same about JPM's acumen in a stock car on ovals.

Haha! Very true.

[pk500]

Seriously, JPM and Ryan Newman are the two drivers often cited as the Cup drivers who race 11/10ths all the time, even early in the race when drivers are just cutting down laps. That all-aggressive style doesn't work in NASCAR, in which preserving equipment and gaining track position for the final fuel run is vital.

Newman still drives a Cup car like it's a 30-lap USAC Silver Crown feature, and JPM still drives one like it's an F1 race during the sprint-stop-sprint era of F1 refueling.

No wonder JPM and Newman hate each other based on their frequent run-ins on track.

[GB_Simo]

Adam this is where I go to try and listen to the race weekends. I just clicked on the qualifying session and the timer just sits at 0:00:00/1:10:00

If I click on the Play button, nothing happens.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007m6lj

Working absolutely fine for me here, Rod.

You don't need to pay for a licence to listen to the radio, like you do if you own a TV here (which is why you'll find the TV section of the iPlayer is UK-only), so that shouldn't be causing an issue. The only thing I can imagine is that USP Content, who produce the BBC's F1 radio output, have some sort of contractual clause preventing international broadcast which has only recently been inserted. Even then, you'd expect it to say you're outside of the UK, rather than just sitting there.

I'll see if I can find anything out for you, mate, but at the minute I'm stumped.

[Rodster]

Thanks Adam that's what I was thinking and could be the reason why certain races are allowed to be listened to outside of the UK. I tried a IP Swticher but couldn't get it to work with that. Maybe the IP Switcher I used is not all that good.

[Smurfy]

For what it's worth Rodster, I clicked on the link and experienced the same problem you did. All I got was some animated coloured lines and circles. Nothing played and it was stuck at 00:00:00 / 1:10:00

I'm in Canada. I didn't bother to read the terms.

Steps to reproduce:
1. Click on "Listen now" under the headline "2011 European GP qualifying session".
2. When the BBC iPlayer - 5 live Formula 1 window opens, click on the play button near the top left.
3. Wait.
4. Wait.
5. Wait.
...

[Rodster]

I got a little further but no luck. I was able to change/fake my IP to that of the UK. I knew it was working because when I went to my MSN Homepage it said it noticed I was from the UK. I went to the Beeb and I went to view a video only for the UK and it tried to start but came back and gave me an error message about my media player.

I went to the 5 Live page and when I clicked on the Listen Now button it changed the page to a blank page. So I took two steps forward and one step back.

[Rodster]

Man that was just plain wrong what they did to Red Bull. I still say they should have let the current rules in effect to till the rest of the season. Blown diffusers are banned from next year.

[wco81]

Golden Tate stirred up stuff when he expressed incredulity that Kyle Bush was chosen as the athlete of the year over someone like LeBron James.

NASCAR community became pretty defensive, even claimed some pro football players aren't athletic.

[pk500]

Golden Tate stirred up stuff when he expressed incredulity that Kyle Bush was chosen as the athlete of the year over someone like LeBron James.

NASCAR community became pretty defensive, even claimed some pro football players aren't athletic.

Trying to bait the hook, eh? Sorry -- this fish isn't biting.

Not even worth discussion. Golden Tate is an idiot.

[toonarmy]

Golden Tate stirred up stuff when he expressed incredulity that Kyle Bush was chosen as the athlete of the year over someone like LeBron James.

NASCAR community became pretty defensive, even claimed some pro football players aren't athletic.

Actually it was Jimmie Johnson who Tate went after, and he didn't even spell the guy's name right. Since his string of moronic comments he has taken back what he said after supposedly "looking into" NASCAR and realizing how much it takes to drive in that series. The whole motorsport drivers aren't athletes bit is played out. Don't know why Tate thought it was cute to put out multiple tweets about it. Maybe next month he can go after golfers and tennis players.

[XXXIV]

Golden Tate stirred up stuff when he expressed incredulity that Kyle Bush was chosen as the athlete of the year over someone like LeBron James.

NASCAR community became pretty defensive, even claimed some pro football players aren't athletic.

Trying to bait the hook, eh? Sorry -- this fish isn't biting.

Not even worth discussion. Golden Tate is an idiot.

The real question concerning this clown.... Golden Tate? Is he really an athlete or just another nd propaganda machine created paper player?

Lets look at his stats..... 21 catches for 227 yrds and ZERO scores..... . Superstar you are!

Thank you. A hero to the small you are.

[GB_Simo]

Chaps,

I was at Donington Park today for the British round of the World Touring Car Championship and had a spare hour to spend in the Donington Grand Prix Collection. My previous attempt to gain entry, during last year's Download music festival, ended in failure when the 'Open Every Day' sign on the door proved to be somewhat economical with the truth, so just to get into the foyer was an experience, but once I'd paid my money...oh my.

Nowhere, especially not in modern-day Formula 1, will you get quite so close to quite so many brilliant pieces of F1 machinery. Even with the cars being roped off, I could get close enough to get cockpit detail photos of a Lotus 49B and take a snapshot of the diffuser layout on the McLaren MP4/10. I took well over 100 photos while I was in there and, given a little more time before the first WTCC race, I could probably have trebled that figure without trying very hard. If you're ever in this part of the world, Donington is almost exactly in the middle of England, very easily accessible by road and entry to the Collection is only £8.00, with no limits on photo or video cameras. Drop me a line and I'll come along with you to fill in the bits I missed - the Vanwall collection was missing, as was Senna's '93 Donington winner, which McLaren have taken back for some promotional bits and bobs.

I should really illustrate my point about modern-day F1 by mentioning that general race day admission to the British Grand Prix costs £150.00 and for that you get no grandstand seats and no paddock access. My WTCC ticket was only 25 quid and I found myself, not long after arriving at the track, exchanging pleasantries with championship leader Rob Huff. A completely different world.

[wco81]

Golden Tate stirred up stuff when he expressed incredulity that Kyle Bush was chosen as the athlete of the year over someone like LeBron James.

NASCAR community became pretty defensive, even claimed some pro football players aren't athletic.

Actually it was Jimmie Johnson who Tate went after, and he didn't even spell the guy's name right. Since his string of moronic comments he has taken back what he said after supposedly "looking into" NASCAR and realizing how much it takes to drive in that series. The whole motorsport drivers aren't athletes bit is played out. Don't know why Tate thought it was cute to put out multiple tweets about it. Maybe next month he can go after golfers and tennis players.

Because he got blowback on Twitter from all the racing fans.

It was funny how they cited Mark Sanchez enjoying being in the pit as some proof that they're athletes. Some of the drivers are good athletes no doubt but driving a car doesn't require the same kind of athleticism that LeBron James displays. Is that really disputable?

There's no question tennis players are athletes.

[Rodster]

Welcome back matey and happy birthday.

Pictures please and lots of them

[GB_Simo]

It was funny how they cited Mark Sanchez enjoying being in the pit as some proof that they're athletes. Some of the drivers are good athletes no doubt but driving a car doesn't require the same kind of athleticism that LeBron James displays. Is that really disputable?

There's no question tennis players are athletes.

A gallant effort and no mistake, but if that bait was a sandwich it'd be curly at the corners by now, so I shall wait for whoever casts the next line and see how I feel about it. Sorry and all that, old chap.

Welcome back matey and happy birthday.

Pictures please and lots of them

Thanks, mate. I've copied the pictures from my phone to my PC (don't panic - turns out the phone's camera is better than I could ever have hoped, so I'm over the moon with the results) so if I get a few spare moments during the week, I'll try to upload a selection of my favourites for you.

[pk500]

It was funny how they cited Mark Sanchez enjoying being in the pit as some proof that they're athletes. Some of the drivers are good athletes no doubt but driving a car doesn't require the same kind of athleticism that LeBron James displays. Is that really disputable?

LeBron James would crash within the first five laps of a NASCAR race due to the lack of hand-eye coordination it takes to race in NASCAR.

How would James cope with driving an F1 car for nearly two hours at lengthy G-loads of up to 5G's, the same force as the Shuttle leaving the pad at Canaveral? He couldn't -- his head would be slouched on his shoulders after about 20 laps. Could James keep his heart rate within 5 to 10 percent of its max redline for nearly two hours, except for two pit stops of seven seconds each, like an F1 driver? Very unlikely.

Does James have the sustained forearm strength to survive 45 minutes a top speed on a Grand Prix bike without developing crippling arm pump? Very, very unlikely.

So, I guess hand-eye coordination, strength and cardiovascular conditioning developed specifically for motorsport aren't athletic traits?

I could GUARANTEE you that F1 driver Mark Webber and MotoGP rider Ben Spies could DESTROY James in a cycling race. I can assure you that F1 driver Jenson Button could beat James in a marathon by close to an hour. But I guess running and riding a bike aren't athletic pursuits.

F1 driver Michael Schumacher plays semi-pro soccer for a European club team in his hometown when he's not racing. It's not fat man's pick-up; it's organized club soccer at a semi-pro level. I'm sure he could make LeBron look silly on the pitch. Is soccer not a sport these days?

NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip has completed marathons. How many has LeBron run?

Seriously, give the bait a rest. You have no f*cking idea what you're talking about. You're slipping into Golden Tate territory. Well done.

[pk500]

Post pics on your FB page, Adam! Would love to see them.

Glad you had such a great day at the track.