Bob Barnard Track Engineering

The FIM "clarified" the claiming rules teams,CRT's, at Estoril. How many of the 16 new MotoGP teams for 2012 will be CRT's I do not know. CRT's are defined as anyone the GP Commission decides, and not one of the Motorcycle Manufacturers Association. They must be "prototypes," so presumably built from scratch, not a rehash of an existing machine. Teams only get CRT status one year at a time, and that status can be removed during the season with one race notice by the GP Commission! How do you put a team together and sponsors on that basis? Why would the GP Commission withdraw the status? Because they are winning? And then what, they become part of the Manufacturers race? We are going to have two class racing in MotoGP it seems. Someone out there must know a potential CRT team and can comment on this.

The other main news story is about News Corp and Exor, the Italian group that basically owns most things Berlesconi doesn't, including Ferrari, so a lot of what was being scoffed at as just ill informed gossip is actually true. CVC has confirmed that James Murdoch has talked to them about their "friendly" intentions. Now there are all sorts of scenarios being put forward for the motives of all these players, so you can take your pick, but those of us who have seen Rupert go from an obscure afternoon paper in Adelaide to a major media player know not to underestimate him.  The choice of words in the News/Exor release is interesting and revealing. They are "creating a consortium with a view to formulating a long-term plan for the development of Formula 1 in the interests of the participants and the fans." Suggests that they are looking to do things differently, and as one scribe said, these words are very similar to when FOTA was looking to form a breakaway series. As I said, is this a backdoor way of doing that?

Interesting weekend coming up with F1 in Turkey, for the last time? Then there is the next round of the Intercontinental Cup at Spa which will see the big boys in sportscars back out for a final warm up for Le Mans, all except Aston Martin. WSBK is at Monza, so plenty going on for everyone. Wonder if the Kawasaki team will get there?

In other news the Indycar teams want to delay the introduction of the different aero kits that were to be possible for the new Dallara chassis. Seems the teams do not want to spend the money it will take to R&D and produce these just so the cars can look different. Why not let them be different? No self respecting top class series can be spec racing. Even Grand-Am has more than one DP chassis, just.

So now we know what the proposed changes are to Abu Dhabi to make it more overtaking "friendly." They start with the 5-6 chicane before the Turn 7 hairpin. Now Turn 7 looks like the Adelaide hairpin which is a key overtaking spot, in Adelaide. But what do we do in A-D? We put great big grandstands around it so there is no run-off. Solution? Put in a chicane before you arrive there. That kills the whole deal, so what are we going to do? Widen it. OK, making it wider gives some options for up-and-under, but not sure of this obsession with making corners wider. Adelaide is 40 feet and works just fine. Have cars got wider? Not that I know of. It is like a friend suggested Phillip Island needed to be wider. Have motorcycles become wider since Gardner, Rainey et al put on those great races in '89 and '90? Perhaps these guys need to give lessons if the current crop cannot pass on a 40 feet wide pavement.

Then there is the off-camber corner after the Turn 9 hairpin that they are going to turn into a "banked" corner. Now I always thought adverse camber, or off-camber corners were a no-no anyway and could not work out why they were built at A-D anyway. Lastly there is 13-14 they are going to turn into a sweeper for "better flow" at the end of the lap. Oh goody.

Bernie received an open letter from the opposition in Bahrain telling him to stay away until basic human rights are in place. That could take a while. Meanwhile Bernie says he would rather retire than work for people he does not like, presumably Rupert Murdoch and Carlos Slim. But I thought F1 was not for sale? Part of the CVC empire is not doing so well. Pit Pass web site tells us that the hospitality arm lost money again last year despite charging $4500 per head for the privilege of using it for the weekend! Must be serving some great champagne.

Back to the racing. Christian Horner is said to be re-evaluating the benefit of qualifying given Mark Webber's great drive in China. He is probably not alone, and I heard the Radio Le Mans boys talking about just this last week. It is another NASCAR type situation where your qualifying position does not really matter as long as you stay out of trouble. So, the fight might be to see who can go slowest in Q1 so you miss out but conserve your tires. Reminds me of a slow bicycle race. Or do the three sessions on one set of hards? Doesn't sound like F1 to me.

Who should make the rules in F1? Bernie thinks the FIA is a joke and "we" and the teams should make the rules and the FIA just act as policemen to enforce them. Well, the last time I looked the motorists do not make the rules, Parliament does, and their employees, the Police, enforce them, just like the FIA. But is this the right way to run this sport? NASCAR does not let the teams make the rules, but perhaps Bernie is looking at the NFL where the teams own the league, make the rules, employ the refs, and basically run things the way they want. Except we now have a lockout because they do not run the players. I imagine "we" is Bernie, a sort of League Commissioner. I can only imagine what we would be watching if Bernie made the rules.

Then there is dear Max who cannot help himself. Talking about the Bahrain GP situation he said;

"Sport must be separated from politics," Mosley insisted. "If that was not so, there would only be major sporting events in half the current amount of countries.

"Moral and political evaluations do not belong in sport," he added.

Then what does Max? Money? What about the athletes oath before an Olympic Games? I suppose what Renault did in Singapore is fair game then if "Moral ...evaluations" do not belong in sport. And where would Bernie and CVC be if the politicians did not use government money to buy and stage the events to promote their own image and agenda?

F1 practice kicks off shortly under expected wet conditions. That would stop us learning much about the tire situation. Are HRT actually going to have a complete car(s), or is Australian customs going to hold up some vital part? Can it make the 107% cut off? Bernie is not there of course, but nor is he in New York it seems. Mr. Walker has been feeding misinformation, but why and on who's behalf?  His own I suspect, I think he is desperate to keep the GP in Melbourne and keep his job. It is a situation that Adelaide found itself in where the GP believes in its own importance and forgets why it is there and the people of the State that they serve.

It has been a sad day in Bahrain with tanks being used to quell demonstrations and reported deaths. Initially the GP2 practice was postponed as the medical staff were required in the city, but the race has since been canceled. Shades of things to come? So much for "amicable" solutions. The GP is still a month away, but it is hard to see things quietening down by then.

So, one problem for Bernie, but he has had a bad day all round. Another biography is about to be released which has him hopping mad as it does not show him in a great light. Then the European court has denied his attempt to protect the use of "F1." The court recognized that there is a certain "logotype" that FOM uses that is protected, but just using F1 cannot be. That's good news for the F1 Kart track here in Phoenix, Bernie must have missed that one.

Good day for Nick Heidfeld as he is confirmed to take over Kubica's seat at Renault. Good to see someone get some reward for effort and ability, and perseverance. I'm sure he is going to grab this opportunity in both hands.

Over at Daytona NASCAR has reduced the size of the holes in the restrictor plate further in an attempt to cut speeds and presumably avoid the two- by -two racing we have seen since the track was repaved. It is interesting how a seemingly simple renovation, not that repaving Daytona was simple, but you get what I mean, should have such unintended and unforeseen consequences. A good friend was in charge of that and was given one instruction, "Don't F... it up!" I wonder if the powers that be think he succeeded or not? As engineers we do the best job we can, and a new smooth pavement is just that. I guess some people would like the bumps paved back in, now that would be an engineering feat.

On the subject of engineering, today's announcement from Barcelona that they have a "world first" bolt down curb being installed makes my blood pressure rise. I am really tired of seeing this kind of stuff, and going to Forums where guys still wet behind the ears announce their great new ideas that have been around for 25 years or more. In Cologne there was a grandstand guy from Valencia telling us how great it was to have portable stands. Did he not watch the Australian GP in 1985 when we had 50,000 of them and nothing else? And oh yes, bolt down curb, a removable pit building, a debris fence that has since become the standard for street courses, need I go on? That's my rant for the day and I make no apology for taking this stuff personally, it is my business and my passion, and my achievements should not be so lightly disregarded.

McLaren "launched" their MP4-26 today in Berlin and immediately started telling us that what we saw was not the real deal, so what is the point? Launches are for sponsors, that is why the launch was in Berlin, for Vodafone. Still, there was enough interesting pieces to see on the new bodywork, and they have gone to the pull rod rear suspension revisited by Newey in the RB5. Forward exhausts are not ruled out, the exhaust and engine were plastic at the launch so we learned nothing. Bargeboards are back despite the rules supposedly being written to eliminate them. Why not write a rule that says "no bargeboards" instead of trying to do it by proscribing an envelope for the body work as I understand they did. So, make the body work narrower and there is room for bargeboards. It is like when they tried to ban ground effects and we saw the cars elevate themselves at the end of the race.

I think it was Ross Brawn who commented on the front exhaust and talked about the value of hot gas sealing the sides, like a skirt, and cold air running up the center. Can anyone expand on this, sounds like the sort of thing our whiz bang aerodynamicists would dream up.

As I said yesterday there seems no consensus coming out of Valencia about who was really the fastest car. Kubica was not very happy despite being quickest, too many problems with the car. As Vettel will tell him, being quick is OK as long as it keeps going. It will be interesting to hear any times from the Lotus test today, hopefully they will have fixed the power steering. Let us hope that they do not have these ongoing hydraulic problems like last year, I thought that was why they went to the Red Bull package. Apparently Tony Fernandes was offered $10m to settle the Lotus name dispute but turned it down. He must be pretty sure of the outcome of the court case, or else is a good gambler.

The Pirelli tires came in for some criticism, "like driving on ice" said Michael, for whom these tires were seen as the saviour of his comeback. They degrade pretty fast by all accounts, which it seems is what Bernie wanted, but he is not driving is he? Jenson thinks they will suit him, and with his style he may be right. There is a very clever Vodafone ad with Jenson and Lewis, let's hope their relationship is actually this good as it will be great for the team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6706Xz6xYPY

The Australian GP is to keep it's 5pm start time, despite the drivers complaining it was too dark at the end of the race last year and the FIA agreeing. What Bernie wants he gets, well almost, he wants it under lights. Add that to the deficit. Geelong, a city near Melbourne, has been suggested as an alternative to Albert Park. Now Geelong has wanted a street race since I was building Adelaide, but it is hard to see why building it in Geelong is any cheaper than in Albert Park? And it is still in Victoria with the same government footing the bill. More suckers for Bernie's show, the world is full of them.

Just to confuse us, or maybe so we are not confused, Peugeot has kept the 908 name for their latest Le Mans contender, and have retained the diesel engine without hybrid, but in V8 format similar to Audi. So now we have two very similar cars, and presumably the same close racing. Let's hope that the petrol cars really are equalized this year.