OT: Racing 2009 (Spoiler Alert)

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 8:39 am

McLaren apologizes and suspends Sporting Director Dave Ryan for lying. They also admit Lewis was culpable in the whole affair. I think that was rather harsh and something I couldn't see Ron doing.

The bigger question is how will the team react to the decision Martin Whitmarsh made. Will they trust him? Will Lewis feel his loyalty to the team betrayed?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:11 am

Given that the scapegoat in the whole affair is the sporting director, and that Whitmarsh is at pains to point out that the responsibility for the whole affair doesn't lie with Lewis Hamilton even if he was involved, I should imagine Lewis feels his loyalty to the team is being tidily rewarded.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:50 am

GB_Simo wrote:PK, do you know any more about what's going on between Colin Edwards and James Toseland at Tech 3 than has already been mentioned in Tornado Warning?

I don't think there's much more than what Colin described. He's as straight of a shooter that I've ever encountered in professional motorsports. He's a smart, no-bullsh*t guy who says what he thinks is right and doesn't give a f*ck about the consequences.

Toseland stole Colin's crew chief behind his back and behind the team boss' back, with cooperation from the crew chief, and Colin was pissed. Colin is getting the last laugh, though, as he is working much better with Toseland's old crew chief, veteran Guy Coulon, than the guy Toseland stole.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 9:53 am

GB_Simo wrote:Given that the scapegoat in the whole affair is the sporting director, and that Whitmarsh is at pains to point out that the responsibility for the whole affair doesn't lie with Lewis Hamilton even if he was involved, I should imagine Lewis feels his loyalty to the team is being tidily rewarded.

I call it protecting and placating the franchise. There's absolutely no doubt Hamilton knew what he was doing, and Ryan is taking the fall.

The days of Hamilton being the naive little karting sensation from Stevenage who is just happy to be in F1 are long gone. He's a World Champion, and very, very few men have become World Champion without being a conniving, lying bastard at some point during their careers. Lewis is no different.

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 10:09 am

pk500 wrote:I call it protecting and placating the franchise. There's absolutely no doubt Hamilton knew what he was doing, and Ryan is taking the fall.

Which is precisely my point, though as I was meant to be working, not really meant to be posting and absolutely not meant to be blogging at the time of that post I didn't make a stunning job of it.

Where Hamilton is fortunate is that he's driving for McLaren, and given that they aren't renowned for encouraging free thinking among their drivers, he could hardly be better placed to convince the watching world that it was their fault, honest it was.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:49 pm

I hope Martin Whitmarsh is enjoying his new role as team principal, ouch.

McLaren could face further sanctions

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74214

fletcher21 · Post by **fletcher21** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 5:59 pm

I recall seeing Indycars will be on Versus now? Anyone know who the announcers will be? I'm hoping for Paul Page!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:26 pm

fletcher21 wrote:I recall seeing Indycars will be on Versus now? Anyone know who the announcers will be? I'm hoping for Paul Page!

Booth: Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis, Robbie Buhl

Pits: Jack Arute, Robbie Floyd, Lindy Thackston

Take care,
PK

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:30 pm

Good weekend of racing on TV in the US:

Formula One
Sat, April 4
12:30AM ET Formula One Debrief Australia - Speed
5:00AM ET Formula One Qualifying Malaysia (Live) - Speed

Sun, April 5
4:30AM ET - Formula One Malaysia (Live) - Speed
1:30PM ET - Formula One Malaysia (Replay) - Speed

Indycars
Sat, April 4
5:00PM ET - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Qualifcations) - VERSUS

Sun, April 5
2:00PM ET - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Race) - VERSUS

American LeMans Series
Sat, April 4
1:30PM ET - Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg - ABC

Nascar
April 4, 2009
2:30PM ET - O'Reilly 300 Texas Motor Speedway (Nationwide) - ESPN 2

Sun, April 5
1:30PM ET - Samsung 500 Texas Motor Speedway (Sprint Cup) - FOX

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 7:33 pm

DChaps wrote:Good weekend of racing on TV in the US:

Formula One
Sat, April 4
12:30AM ET Formula One Debrief Australia - Speed
5:00AM ET Formula One Qualifying Malaysia (Live) - Speed

Sun, April 5
4:30AM ET - Formula One Malaysia (Live) - Speed
1:30PM ET - Formula One Malaysia (Replay) - Speed

Indycars
Sat, April 4
5:00PM ET - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Qualifcations) - VERSUS

Sun, April 5
2:00PM ET - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Race) - VERSUS

America LeMans Series
Sat, April 4
1:30PM ET - Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg - ABC

Nascar
April 4, 2009
2:30PM ET - O'Reilly 300 Texas Motor Speedway (Nationwide) - ESPN 2

Sun, April 5
1:30PM ET - Samsung 500 Texas Motor Speedway (Sprint Cup) - FOX

Don't forget two wheels!

4-5 p.m. (ET) Sunday -- World Superbikes, Spain

Rally Portugal is out there on the torrents, too. My DVR will be whirring this weekend!

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 1:06 pm

That was an insane motor race this morning in Malaysia. Great fun.

Drive of the day: Heidfeld, for making only one stop while the other leaders made three or four. Very solid driving on less-than-optimal tire choices for Slick Nick.

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:17 pm

A very solid run from Nick. It's been suggested in a couple of places that he was lucky to end up where he did, but he was only on the right tyres for the last couple of laps of rainfall, by which time they were in less than perfect shape. To keep things facing the right way, go quickly enough to get track position but also slowly enough to not completely fry the rubber was a great effort, though it shouldn't disguise the fact that the BMW is not the race-winning proposition they'd hoped.

Neither is that Ferrari. When it worked it wasn't spellbindingly quick, and whenever Kimi went near the KERS it broke. Still, the sight of the Iceman and his ice lolly as the rest of the field waited on the grid after the red flag suggests he's managing his disappointment well enough.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:23 pm

GB_Simo wrote:Neither is that Ferrari. When it worked it wasn't spellbindingly quick, and whenever Kimi went near the KERS it broke. Still, the sight of the Iceman and his ice lolly as the rest of the field waited on the grid after the red flag suggests he's managing his disappointment well enough.

40 million quid per year to pay for his vodka supplies keeps the Kimster pretty even-keeled.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:08 pm

Even though I hate to see my Ferrari boys yet to score a point it's nice to see new faces at the top. Did you guys catch the Autosport article where Martin Whitmarsh has said he'll leave the team if the shareholders wish? Apparently Mercedes Benz and the shareholders will be holding a meeting over this.

I personally think it's much to do over nothing but hey it's Formula One so everything is supposed to go under the microscope and blown out of proportion.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:06 pm

Rodster wrote:Even though I hate to see my Ferrari boys yet to score a point it's nice to see new faces at the top. Did you guys catch the Autosport article where Martin Whitmarsh has said he'll leave the team if the shareholders wish? Apparently Mercedes Benz and the shareholders will be holding a meeting over this.

I personally think it's much to do over nothing but hey it's Formula One so everything is supposed to go under the microscope and blown out of proportion.

Wow, that's a bit rash of Whitmarsh. A bit too much drama queen for me. Show some stones, man! It's been a whopping two races.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 10:35 pm

pk500 wrote:
Wow, that's a bit rash of Whitmarsh. A bit too much drama queen for me. Show some stones, man! It's been a whopping two races.

Take care,
PK

Anyone care to wager if Ron will take control over the team this year?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:49 am

Rodster wrote:Anyone care to wager if Ron will take control over the team this year?

I surmise the probability of The Ron re-interfacing with the infrastructure of his team through a thorough evaluation and performance-based matrix of results is rather elevated.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:58 am

pk500 wrote:
Rodster wrote:Anyone care to wager if Ron will take control over the team this year?
I surmise the probability of The Ron re-interfacing with the infrastructure of his team through a thorough evaluation and performance-based matrix of results is rather elevated.

Take care,
PK

That sounded like something Ron would say, excellent.

fletcher21 · Post by **fletcher21** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:31 am

Simple yes or no question here. Do you guys think Button will finish in the top 3 at season's end? I say yes, but he won't win the championship. Great start so far, though! If only he was awarded the full points for winning this week.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:07 am

fletcher21 wrote:Simple yes or no question here. Do you guys think Button will finish in the top 3 at season's end? I say yes, but he won't win the championship. Great start so far, though! If only he was awarded the full points for winning this week.

Fact: Every driver who has won the first two races of the season has gone on to win the World Championship that season.

So you're bucking history, pal!

I'm starting to believe Button and Brawn can win it all. McLaren is so out to lunch that I doubt even a trick diffuser can get it as quick as Brawn. Ferrari also is struggling even though I think it has more basic pace than McLaren.

Every team has committed miscues or had mechanical problems in the first two races except for Brawn. Combine that with the fastest car on the grid, and that's a potent combination. It's also not luck, either. Ross Brawn ran arguably the tightest, most efficient ship in F1 when he was winning World Championships with Benetton and Ferrari.

Take care,
PK

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:58 pm

Brawn is incredibly bright and has an absolute understanding of the sport, as is Nick Fry. As much money as Honda sank into the F1 team, one has to wonder what is being said behind the scenes at Honda now that the team is winning right after Honda F1 exited the sport. Although the Brawn team look really tough at the moment, this season is still way up in the air and should be exciting to watch play out. There are so many variables this year that there could be many more surprises to come.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:33 pm

Sounds like the Brawn is the real deal to me, always being high on mechanical grip as Ross the man himself says, the new aero rule has simply lucked them where they are but dont think a simple diffuser change to the other cars is the answer the brawn looks rock solid.

I think Button just lacks confidence and for good reason bad personnel management decisions and crap rides will do that, these wins will go a long way to giving him a boost and i think well see the driver we had hoped he was emerge thru the coldplay singer look hes got going on.

Always liked Jenson and love Rubins so its a no brainer ive jumped ship off the hss mclaren.

Come on Brawwwn!!!!

Ps. How good does the Red bull look from the tcam shots, love it.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:58 pm

Too many good to great drivers in Formula One have gone nowhere in crap cars (JV in a BAR). It has for the most part been about 2-3 top teams in recent years. Everyone else has gone nowhere. Brawn is a freakin genius no doubt. It's nice to see someone else turn the tables on the top 2-3 teams even at the expense of my beloved Ferrari team.

Jenson has always had skills but he needed maturity and a good car to get the wins. It looks like he now has both.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:40 pm

I know you were only giving an example, Rod, but you can't compare JV to Button.

JV created his own mess by forming BAR without proper back-end infrastructure. He put his best buddy, manager/agent Craig Pollock, in as team principal, which was a huge mistake. Pollock had no business running a team, and he became the leader of a long line of yes men at the team for JV. Plus that team was remarkably arrogant, even by F1 standards, saying it could win its debut at Melbourne. Contrast the Brawn approach at Melbourne, yet Brawn delivered a debut victory.

Villeneuve f*cked himself, and I still shed not a single tear about it.

Button f*cked himself with his playboy lifestyle while at Benetton. But he was f*cked by some mediocre-to-bad cars at Honda, the 2004 edition as the exception.

I've never been a huge Button fan, but he is an immense talent and a seemingly less arrogant guy than Hamilton. I just get the sense that Lewis' "everyman" act is just that, an act. Lewis has been handed everything since he was 12.

Yes, Hamilton has worked hard and has won a ton of races to earn his spot with McLaren, but the guy has been in a good car/kart nearly every year since he was 11. Let's see how he handles a dog, both in and out of the car. The mere rumor that he wanted to leave McLaren because of the Australia lying incident suggests to me that the toys are starting to fly out of Lewis' pram behind closed doors.

Plus it's nice to see a guy like Button, who was saddled with such a sled the last two years, do something when he's finally presented a fast piece.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:51 pm

HOLY F*CK.

Can you believe Jari-Matti Latvala and his co-driver were unhurt last weekend in this wreck in Rally Portugal?

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VrRNxB3i9rg&co ... edded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

HOLY F*CK.

Take care,
PK