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Bernie Ecclestone, Daily Telegraph, F1, NASCAR, Pirelli, Road Atlanta, Sprinklers, Whitmarsh
Bernie Ecclestone, Daily Telegraph, F1, NASCAR, Pirelli, Road Atlanta, Sprinklers, Whitmarsh Tired Already?
Friday, March 4, 2011 at 10:30AM
The season has not started yet and the amount of words being written about Pirelli tires rather than the cars is not right. When you have a single tire supplier the tires should not be a factor, but it seems that this year they will be the main factor. There is a great piece on pitpass website about the huge balls of rubber that are accumulating on the track, and being thrown over the debris fence! Catch one of these in your helmet and you will know it.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=43040
Now Martin Whitmarsh has come out and said the drivers should shut up about it, that being the tire supplier is a "thankless task," but Pirelli wanted the task. Whitmarsh is one of those who go on about the sport being relevant and more environmentally friendly. What's environmentally friendly about using masses of tires every race, when we know the tire manufacturer could make one that lasts the weekend? And what is relevant about a tire that lasts 40 or 50 kilometers? Us average motorists would like to see 40,000 k out of a set thank you, that is what is "relevant." If you need pit stops to make the racing exciting, as NASCAR seems to do, then there is something wrong with your sport.
That goes right along with the sprinkler idea. London's Daily Telegraph offers up even more ideas for Bernie to spice things up.
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=43040
Now Martin Whitmarsh has come out and said the drivers should shut up about it, that being the tire supplier is a "thankless task," but Pirelli wanted the task. Whitmarsh is one of those who go on about the sport being relevant and more environmentally friendly. What's environmentally friendly about using masses of tires every race, when we know the tire manufacturer could make one that lasts the weekend? And what is relevant about a tire that lasts 40 or 50 kilometers? Us average motorists would like to see 40,000 k out of a set thank you, that is what is "relevant." If you need pit stops to make the racing exciting, as NASCAR seems to do, then there is something wrong with your sport.
That goes right along with the sprinkler idea. London's Daily Telegraph offers up even more ideas for Bernie to spice things up.
Isn't there a rule about bringing the sport into disrepute? Bernie has not stopped at sprinklers. Today's offering is that a woman could replace him. This from the man who suggested Danica Patrick should be dressed all in white "like any other domestic appliance." Not that Bernie minds having smart women around him, and knowing one of them I would not be surprised.
Going back to the sprinkler idea I saw someone raise the question of how much water that would need and how big a pipe to get it there? I have asked my track drainage colleague Olaf Bierfruend if he can answer that question, but in the meantime I will share my experiences with Road Atlanta. When we rebuilt the place in 1998 we decided to put a large diameter skid pad in down by turns six and seven. Great, but getting a sprinkler to throw the water from the edge and far enough off the pad that it would not get hit was impossible, and in the heat of summer it evaporated faster than we could put it on, so good luck Bernie. On a final thought, how "green" can it be to waste all that water?
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