OT: Racing 2011 (Spoiler Alert)

[Rodster]

Ecclestone keen to 'make' it rain during races

"Bernie Ecclestone would like to see trackside sprinklers at Formula One circuits to artificially create the excitement of a wet circuit midway through grands prix."

http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/42110.html

[pk500]

Nigel Roebuck's comments about great American drivers he would have liked to see in F1. Interesting read:

http://www.motorsportmagazine.co.uk/201 ... ith-jimmy/

[Dave]

Awesome link, PK. Thanks for sharing.

[toonarmy]

Ecclestone keen to 'make' it rain during races

"Bernie Ecclestone would like to see trackside sprinklers at Formula One circuits to artificially create the excitement of a wet circuit midway through grands prix."

http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/42110.html

At this point I think Bernie is trying to think of the dumbest things to say just to get his kicks seeing how people respond. I'm really sure he's prepared to fund sprinkler systems on these long tracks just to make for 20 mins of wet racing, not to mention the horrible press he'd get when the first car wrecks under artificial wet conditions. Of course if this cockamamie idea ever did come to fruition everyone would be accusing Ferrari of knowing in advance of the two-minute warning period when the sprinklers would be set off, and in which direction the water would be flowing.

[GB_Simo]

Bernie has always said things with his tongue wedged so firmly into his cheek that he's about to break the skin. News agencies have always reported these things as fact, people have always believed them, Bernard Charles has not meant them. Here is a particularly fine example. Keeps people talking, doesn't it?

The only man to comment on that Roebuck link makes brief mention of Michael Andretti's 1993 season and wonders how Little Al would have gone. I seem to recall he had a Williams test in which the team found him disappointing, but Bobby Unser had a couple of BRM entries in 1968 which, like Foyt, he didn't start the race with. Did us European types miss anything there? He did qualify it at Monza, not all that rapidly though it should be said that the car was a dog of the highest pedigree, but didn't do enough F1 running to make any kind of judgement.

[pk500]

Bernie has always said things with his tongue wedged so firmly into his cheek that he's about to break the skin. News agencies have always reported these things as fact, people have always believed them, Bernard Charles has not meant them. Here is a particularly fine example. Keeps people talking, doesn't it?

Recall the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, during which Bernie said Danica Patrick -- just weeks after her sizzling debut at the Indy 500 -- should be at home wearing an apron and tending to kitchen appliances. Stevie Wonder could see deep down Bernard Charles would LOVE to have a competitive female in F1.

The only man to comment on that Roebuck link makes brief mention of Michael Andretti's 1993 season and wonders how Little Al would have gone. I seem to recall he had a Williams test in which the team found him disappointing, but Bobby Unser had a couple of BRM entries in 1968 which, like Foyt, he didn't start the race with. Did us European types miss anything there? He did qualify it at Monza, not all that rapidly though it should be said that the car was a dog of the highest pedigree, but didn't do enough F1 running to make any kind of judgement.

I think Al Jr. could have been excellent in F1. He won Long Beach a record six times in CART. 'Nuff said.

[GB_Simo]

That very same Al Jr at Estoril in 1991:



Such a good-looking racing car, that one.

Roebuck mentions this test occasionally (much less frequently now he seems to be writing something new every month for Motor Sport, rather than cut-and-pasting from his archive each week in Autosport). It's not the most flattering piece of sports writing I've ever read:

If Michael Andretti's season in F1 undoubtedly affected European team owners' opinions of American drivers, so also - albeit less overtly - did Al Unser Jr's test with Williams at Estoril in '91. Again, at the time Al was regarded as one of the real hotshoes in CART, but his run in the Williams was described by one team member as, "Embarrassing, to be honest. For a start, he clearly wasn't anything like fit enough. After a few laps in the car, he could hardly move his head." And were his times slow? I asked. "Not as quick as that..." came the answer.

Then again, perhaps he'd have gone somewhat faster and been somewhat fitter had he ever been genuinely interested in doing it.

[pk500]

Then again, perhaps he'd have gone somewhat faster and been somewhat fitter had he ever been genuinely interested in doing it.

F1 fitness would have been a problem for Al. He was a chain smoker and hard drinker. He is sober now, and I think he kicked the cancer stick habit recently.

[Dave]

F1 fitness would have been a problem for Al. He was a chain smoker and hard drinker. He is sober now, and I think he kicked the cancer stick habit recently.

Great to hear that about Al, he had some rough years.

[GB_Simo]

Then again, perhaps he'd have gone somewhat faster and been somewhat fitter had he ever been genuinely interested in doing it.

F1 fitness would have been a problem for Al. He was a chain smoker and hard drinker. He is sober now, and I think he kicked the cancer stick habit recently.

True enough, mate, and it's good to know he's given those vices the heave-ho. I was thinking more that his fitness for that test might have suggested the desire to follow it up was never really there and that it'd be a shame if it had any great impact on F1's view of American racers at the time - the impression we have over here is that Little Al was very much in love with IndyCar and the 500.

[Rodster]

Little Al was my favorite Indycar driver back in the 90's.

[pk500]

the impression we have over here is that Little Al was very much in love with IndyCar and the 500.

A very accurate impression, indeed. I don't think Al or Rick Mears were that interested in F1.

[fletcher21]

Shepherd catches shoplifter: Most NASCAR drivers don't come to mind when you think of Las Vegas crimefighters, but then again, most NASCAR drivers aren't 69-year-old Morgan Shepherd. The veteran of 44 NASCAR seasons was getting out of his rental car in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart store Monday evening just minutes away from Las Vegas Motor Speedway just as three men burst from the store's entrance with security forces trailing behind. Thats when Shepherd, a daily jogger and fitness perfectionist, sprang into action. "I just got out and took off after them," Shepherd said. "I caught one of them just as they were getting ready to hop a little wall at the end of the parking lot. I yanked him down and got on top of him." Shepherd said in a matter of seconds a Las Vegas police officer pitched the ageless NASCAR driver a pair and handcuffs and continued pursuit of the other two suspects, along with the store's security force. "I cuffed him and sat on top of him," Shepherd said. "The police department officers showed up and asked if I could hold him a while longer while they ran down the others. I told them he wasn't going anywhere." Shepherd said while the young shoplifter pleaded with him to let him go and about the possibility of going to jail, Shepherd used the time to lecture the youth about his poor choices. (Faith Motorsports)(3-1-2011)

Either Morgan Shepherd is a fitness master, or the guy running from him is a p*ssy. I'd like to think I could fight off a nearly 70 year old man, and I am far from a brawler. Great story, though!

[F308GTB]

Paul, why is there no Indy Car race at the Indy road course? Coworker and I were talking today, and no offense to the spectacle of the Indy 500, but the 2 week process of practice, qualification, and race is just too long. Wouldn't it be cool to sandwich an extra race in there on the road course? Start the first weekend with the road race, practice through the week, qualify for the 500 the weekend before, battle it out for 200 laps the next weekend. Has it ever been considered? As it is there's a 4 week break from one race to the next.

[Rodster]

Man I can't get over how huge the current F1 car looks with the larger fuel tank. It's a small picture but it shows the proportionate size of the car.

[pk500]

Paul, why is there no Indy Car race at the Indy road course? Coworker and I were talking today, and no offense to the spectacle of the Indy 500, but the 2 week process of practice, qualification, and race is just too long. Wouldn't it be cool to sandwich an extra race in there on the road course? Start the first weekend with the road race, practice through the week, qualify for the 500 the weekend before, battle it out for 200 laps the next weekend. Has it ever been considered? As it is there's a 4 week break from one race to the next.

I'm not sure how to respond to this without sounding like an arrogant jerk, so maybe I'll come off as an arrogant jerk! The "long" build-up leading to Race Day of the Indianapolis 500 is part of the 100-year tradition of the race. If you think it's long now, the track used to open May 1 for a month of practice before the race!

It would not be cool to sandwich an extra race on the road course the week before the Indianapolis 500, for many reasons.

One, it takes the IMS Facilities crew 12 days of 12-hour shifts to convert the oval to the road course. It's MUCH more than just a matter of moving a few concrete barriers. It's a significant job.

Two, teams spend months preparing their cars for the Indianapolis 500. Every last detail is checked. Every seam is made perfectly flush. Every bolt is tightened, etc. Adding the preparation of a road course car -- which is set up completely different to an oval car -- would add too much burden to teams that already are working 12- to 14-hour days for a month straight during May.

Three, there are anywhere from six to 10 drivers for whom their only race of the season is the Indianapolis 500. They need the practice time to get acclimated to the car, get up to speed. It would be a safety issue to put some of these drivers on the track cold.

Four, rookies need track time. Indianapolis is not just any oval. It's the most dangerous oval in the world at 230 mph. Rookies need all of the track time they can get to become accustomed to the speed, changing track conditions, swirling winds, the tunnel effect of having grandstands on both sides of the front straight while trying to find the turn-in spot for Turn 1, etc.

Five, many drivers have countless sponsor and community commitments to events built around the history and heritage of the Indianapolis 500. The 500 is the most important event of the year for every team and its relationship with existing and potential sponsors, by far. A road race would reduce driver availability to sponsors and for community events. The 500 is not just a race in Indiana; it's a cultural institution.

Six, the Indianapolis 500 is the greatest oval race in the world. It's not a combination "festival of speed." It's the greatest oval race in the world. Part of its charm and allure for most is that its event format is different than any other race.

As someone on the outside, I can see why you may think the buildup to Indy is too long. As someone who has attended the race as a fan and has worked the race as an employee, I think the buildup to Indy is just right with the current two-week format. It's magic. Long may it continue.

[Dave]

Man I can't get over how huge the current F1 car looks with the larger fuel tank. It's a small picture but it shows the proportionate size of the car.

How about the weird growth on the nose of the McLaren?

[pk500]

McLaren's new chief designer: Jimmy Durante.

[GB_Simo]

Man I can't get over how huge the current F1 car looks with the larger fuel tank. It's a small picture but it shows the proportionate size of the car.

How about the weird growth on the nose of the McLaren?

A measuring device designed to check Idon'tknowwhat. I'm not sure I've ever seen a measuring device designed into the front end packaging like that...

I might be behind the times on this, but flicking through this week's Autosport in the supermarket just now, I saw two names linked to the $5million run at Las Vegas. One of them, Jacques Villeneuve, is an entirely predictable choice. The other? Petter Solberg.

[pk500]

I would like to see Petter because he's my favorite WRC driver. But Randy Bernard wants to "move the needle," and I don't think Petter will do that with North American fans.

JV would be a fine addition to the field just so I could take special glee when he gets his ass kicked. Villeneuve almost makes Paul Tracy seem relevant, fresh and vital.

[GB_Simo]

I would like to see Petter because he's my favorite WRC driver. But Randy Bernard wants to "move the needle," and I don't think Petter will do that with North American fans.

JV would be a fine addition to the field just so I could take special glee when he gets his ass kicked. Villeneuve almost makes Paul Tracy seem relevant, fresh and vital.

I thought of you as soon as I read the Villeneuve piece, mate. As far as Petter goes, it's a good point. Autosport seem convinced that Bernard wants a rally driver in there, reporting that Loeb has ruled it out while Block's schedule wouldn't allow it (by which I assume they mean he's not scheduled to have an enormous accident anywhere in Nevada that weekend). From there, you're only left with Kimi and, while he'd probably be better box office, I'm not sure he'd give enough of a toss to do it.

There's little point thinking on these things, I know, but something like this could almost have been made for Colin.

[pk500]

Such a good point about Colin, mate. Still saddens me that he, Burnsy and Beef are gone. The heart of British rallying was ripped out within a two-year span.

Randy is really hip on Travis Pastrana as a participant. But Pastrana will drive a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Nationwide Series starting this July, and there's no way Toyota will allow one of its drivers to race in a Honda-powered Indy car.

[Gurantsu]

Am I just not looking hard enough or is Sebring not on TV this weekend?

[pk500]

Am I just not looking hard enough or is Sebring not on TV this weekend?

Live on ESPN3.com Saturday. Tape-delay 12:30 p.m. (ET) Sunday, ABC.

[Gurantsu]

ESPN3? Glad I re-subbed my Live account! Thanks PK.