Bob Barnard Track Engineering

So we are still going to Bahrain despite a demonstrator being shot last weekend! Bernie and the boys have a big PR campaign going to convince us all is well though, and Bahrain is apparently the best value for sponsors above the European races. This is measured by the viewing audience, so more people watch Bahrain than Spa! Maybe when it was the first race of the year, certainly no one watches it because the track is so great. More PR BS? There are stories of teams having alternative flights from China in case Bahrain is cancelled, so we will see.

Over to Indycar. Some of you will recall that at the time of Dan Wheldon's death I questioned the construction of the safety fence, SMI tracks being different to anyone else. Yesterday I received my March 15 Autosport and was reading the story about the drivers not being happy at going to Texas. The test was cancelled there you recall, apparently to save the teams from switching to an oval set up and then back for St Pete. More to do with the drivers I think. They are not convinced that the 2012 car will prevent pack racing, but they are also unhappy about the fence, which is the same as Vegas. The last paragraph of the piece is interesting as I have not read this anywhere else. "An investigation into Dan Wheldon's accident revealed that pack racing and the Vegas fencing contributed. ... with the supporting poles on the inside (track side) of the mesh." That's what I have said all along. This is not the FIA style of fence. Don't hold your breath for SMI to change it though.