Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Mark Webber has come out and said what I did yesterday, he could race Seb without crashing so they should be allowed to race. Maybe it is not Mark that Horner is worried about after Turkey? Whatever he thought I cannot help but be reminded of why team orders were introduced in the first place when Ferrari with a huge lead in the Championship cynically manipulated the Austrian GP finish. Seb and Mark both lead the Championship by a huge margin, as Red Bull does in the Team Trophy, so I'm sorry, but being scared about both cars crashing out is a bit rich. Both drivers had managed to avoid everyone else during the race till then.

I also said yesterday that Martin Whitmarsh needed to circle the wagons, but there is word today that it is "friendly fire" from inside that he should be worried about. I must say I always assumed he was a fixture, he fits the McLaren mould so perfectly, but perhaps the current level of mistakes is too much for perfectionist Ron.

So Ferrari and Sauber agreed to sign off on the blown exhausts "for the good of the sport." There has to be a good story in all this when someone can sort it out. Paddy Lowe from McLaren says it is not possible to police, but I thought that was what the common ECU was for?

I commented on the stories that Bernie had to be charged in the Gribkowsky case by last Wednesday, but it now seems that an extension of that time has been allowed under a loophole because additional charges were laid against Gribkowsky in May. Rumors are that Gribkowsky is now ready to tell all, should make for interesting reading.

Watched a lot of racing over the weekend on two and four wheels. The British GP was by far the most interesting, with the Tour de France a close second. Grand Am from Laguna didn't do much for me, and judging by the size of the crowd, it didn't do much for others either. I am still at a loss how a Mazda can outperform Porsches, Corvettes and Camaros, and BMWs. Some serious performance levelling here. Not my idea of a GT. Lime Rock ALMS wasn't much better, with effectively two LMP1 cars, and for once the GT's failed to put on a show. At least Grand Am has a field of Prototypes whatever I think of them.