Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Our patience usually. Here we are with withdrawal symptoms from a cold and dark winter with no racing and needing something to stir the blood. What do we get? Testing. Just to show how irrelevant testing is, yesterday Hulkenburg in the Force India is fastest, and Senna in the Williams is among the slowest. Today Maldanado sets the fastest time of the week, in the Williams, and Di Resta in the Force India is way off the pace!

While testing does not show us who is really quick, it does throw up who is in trouble. HRT are not here at all and Marussia are running last year's car. Nothing much changing there. Lotus have a real problem with their chassis design and called off this week's test after seven laps when Grosjean said the car felt strange. Back to the factory. Ferrari are not on the pace and Alonso is saying the car is hard to understand. Sound familiar?

Indycar is testing the "Car of Today", the DW12, on ovals, and the drivers believe the problems have been solved with the handling. Pity there will not be many ovals left for them to drive on.

Over in Jerez di Puniet on the Aprilia powered CRT is putting in some good times, about 0.3 secs a lap off the Ducatti of Hector Barbera, which is better than the 5 seconds Colin Edwards managed, but it is a Ducatti and not the Honda, so let's not get too excited. The Duke is better this year by the sound of it, but still not on the pace of the Hondas.

World Superbike kicks off its season at Phillip Island, and testing there has seen a fair share of injuries. Leon Haslam for one has had surgery and may not start. Let's wait and see if Checa can keep it going from last year. He has been quick in testing so far.

NASCAR has its Dual 125's today, so I guess you can say the season has started.

30 days to go for the F1 season to start, and Australia loses its major sponsor, DHL! Of course good old QANTAS will step in, for a lot less I bet, but the CEO says sponsorship, corporate, ticket sales are all up! And they forecast to only lose $56m this year! But it is better value for money than the tennis.

Bahrain continues to be a political "bun fight" with British politicians and peers of the realm taking opposing sides of "should we go or not." Joe Saward has booked his ticket so it sounds as though it is on. Bernie had better be right "that it is only a couple of kids in trouble with the police." Nice one as always Bernie.  Like the guys in Sao Paulo just wanting to sell Jenson Button a hat.