What's happening?
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 12:25PM
Not much would be the answer. I find it strange that here we are on a Friday before a motorsport weekend and there is little to write home about. MotoGP at Silverstone, Grand-Am at Mid-Ohio, and not much else. Most of the "news" seems to be about F1 at Valencia next weekend, and there is not much of that. Schumacher has not been there so he might struggle even more. How long is he going to put up with this do you think? Mansell gave up mid season after coming back from the CART series, but I think Michael will see the season out. Can't be much fun though, and that is what he says he racing for, there can't be any other reason.
Hamilton makes the point that this is probably the most competitive season for a long time. Although it seems that McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are the only teams really threatening to win races, Rosberg in the Mercedes you have to think could win won if all the stars aligned, and Kubica can't be discounted either. So you have eight drivers potentially capable, which is making for the season we hoped for and did not think we were going to get after Bahrain. Shades of the 500cc Motorcycle GP's in the late eighties and early nineties. It's putting a lot of pressure on drivers and teams to do the business not only at the track but back at the factory, week after week. The cream will rise to the top. Good to watch and see who can handle the pressure.
So, on the home front we are off to Arizona in the next few weeks. One client finally has committed to a project and is bringing us on board. It is a new 3.5 mile Country Club to design, build and operate, so we will be there for a while. Love the desert climate, takes me back to my days in Alice Springs, nice and warm with little to no humidity. Going to make a nice change from Louisiana! We are at the very start of the process which is great as I can influence the structure and operation from the start and bring my experience and knowledge to good use on every aspect of the project. The track itself is no different than a full on road race course, just structured differently, and this is the future of how tracks will operate. Until such time as sanctioned events such as the ALMS make some economic sense, if they ever will, then there is no reason to take on the risk involved in betting you can pull a crowd to pay for it. Too may series, F1 as the extreme, see the promoter as the cash cow rather than an equal partner in making the series succeed. NASCAR has been the only one to embrace that, but now the France and Smith families have effectively taken over all the tracks that has gone by the board. But it has been an essential feature of what made NASCAR, the sharing of the spoils between the series, teams, drivers and promoters, something every series needs to learn from. There is a great book, "The NASCAR Way," the business that drives the sport, by Robert G. Hagerstrom a Wall Street analyst, that lays out where the money comes and goes. The playing field has changed a little since he wrote it with the big two soaking up more tracks, but you get the picture.
Let's hope tomorrow brings some excitement and inspiration from today's practice sessions.
Hamilton makes the point that this is probably the most competitive season for a long time. Although it seems that McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are the only teams really threatening to win races, Rosberg in the Mercedes you have to think could win won if all the stars aligned, and Kubica can't be discounted either. So you have eight drivers potentially capable, which is making for the season we hoped for and did not think we were going to get after Bahrain. Shades of the 500cc Motorcycle GP's in the late eighties and early nineties. It's putting a lot of pressure on drivers and teams to do the business not only at the track but back at the factory, week after week. The cream will rise to the top. Good to watch and see who can handle the pressure.
So, on the home front we are off to Arizona in the next few weeks. One client finally has committed to a project and is bringing us on board. It is a new 3.5 mile Country Club to design, build and operate, so we will be there for a while. Love the desert climate, takes me back to my days in Alice Springs, nice and warm with little to no humidity. Going to make a nice change from Louisiana! We are at the very start of the process which is great as I can influence the structure and operation from the start and bring my experience and knowledge to good use on every aspect of the project. The track itself is no different than a full on road race course, just structured differently, and this is the future of how tracks will operate. Until such time as sanctioned events such as the ALMS make some economic sense, if they ever will, then there is no reason to take on the risk involved in betting you can pull a crowd to pay for it. Too may series, F1 as the extreme, see the promoter as the cash cow rather than an equal partner in making the series succeed. NASCAR has been the only one to embrace that, but now the France and Smith families have effectively taken over all the tracks that has gone by the board. But it has been an essential feature of what made NASCAR, the sharing of the spoils between the series, teams, drivers and promoters, something every series needs to learn from. There is a great book, "The NASCAR Way," the business that drives the sport, by Robert G. Hagerstrom a Wall Street analyst, that lays out where the money comes and goes. The playing field has changed a little since he wrote it with the big two soaking up more tracks, but you get the picture.
Let's hope tomorrow brings some excitement and inspiration from today's practice sessions.
Reader Comments (2)
I'm really dissapointed in MS this year, not the way for a multiple world champion to return. Wonder if that's why Baylis seems to have decided to stay retired?
Don't think it is the coach of the English Soccer team. They change after every big tournament! Maybe they need an American coach!