Bob Barnard Track Engineering

No sooner had Lotus, nearly wrote Renault there, announced the mass damping, or anti dive, brake system apparently OK'd by the FIA, when the same FIA have come out and said it is probably not legal. As I read it they are saying you could be protested for using it, so don't. Saves all the other teams from spending lots of money to all end up the same.

And money, or the lack of it, is what is worrying Bernie. He sees the European problems causing teams, and presumably promoters, to be squeezed for cash. He continues to talk to Valencia, and the likely outcome is a sharing of the GP with Barcelona, but as I said before, I don't see how that helps except you only lose half as much. Bernie has no such doubts about Bahrain though, they still have plenty to donate to CVC, but not to their staff it seems. The news that the sacked staff were reinstated fell a bit flat when most said no thanks seeing as how they were not going to be back paid for the time they were off.

Daytona 24 hour, sorry The Rolex, is coming up this weekend, the traditional start of the new season if you do not count the Dakar or the Monte Carlo Rally. Lots of interesting cars and drivers this year, with some ALMS crossover like the Risi team.

Talking of interesting cars and drivers, Kimi was in action in a 2010 Renault at the permanent Valencia circuit today to get his eye back in before the real testing starts. No times were released, not that they would give us any idea as no one else tests there. Kimi is reported to say that getting used to the Pirelli tires was his only concern. 

Last but not least, Austin has started to release news on the ticketing for this years race. According to Geoff Moore, chief marketing and sales officer for Circuit of The Americas. "In order to effectively manage the demand, we have created a two-stage ticketing process to help fans better understand the opportunities available. We want every fan to get the ticket that is right and affordable for them. In this first stage, we are showing off the incredible entertainment experience our main grandstand offers."

It had better be incredible, as they are copying a page from the basketball world and selling "seat licenses." To those unused to this term you can buy the right to buy tickets for events. That's right, you do not get to go sit in your personal seat unless you now buy a ticket. And what is this going to cost you ask? $1000-5000 per seat license, to buy the right to buy a ticket. There are only 9000 of these for lucky people with more money than sense, which I am sure there will be. And you thought 480 Euros was expensive at Spa?

Who recalls and understood what Renault were doing with the mass dampers that were finally banned by the FIA after nearly two years of using them? Well the boys at Enstone who used to be Renault and are now "Lotus" are at it again. No forward exhausts this year so they have come up with a brake set up that emulates the mass damping. and legally according to the FIA. Now a mad scramble by the others to follow before the season starts. Never a dull moment in F1, unless you count the last few weeks.

Williams has finally confirmed Bruno Senna as the other driver, who knows if either of them is a number one, but they both have money. Luizzi is complaining that a contract doesn't mean much in F1, so presumably he is out of a ride at HRT.

The Gribkowsky court case continues quietly in Munich, with Bernie's Swiss financial adviser, Andre Favre, detailing how the hush money was paid to Gribkowsky. Read Joe Saward's piece of the 16th:

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/

Bernie went to a lot of trouble to hide where the money was coming from.

Lots of pictures posted of the New Jersey Streets on Motorsport Nextgen:

http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/gallery/pictures/2012/f1/index-uk-new-jersey-16jan-1.php

The shots of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty are cute, didn't know the track went around there. Reminds me of the Grand Prix of Gibraltar with Peter Ustinov and the underwater harbor section. Not exactly glamorous.

Poor Robert Kubica breaks his leg, not looking good for a return, and Morgan announce they are going back to Le Mans with Oak racing and a carbon fiber tub. HFS must be turning in his grave. No more can enthusiasts like me rebuild the frame themselves in the garage.

A belated happy new year to all my readers. News pretty thin on the ground and my travels continued unexpectedly with hopefully more to come with a project in China on the horizon.

Nothing much seems to have changed from 2011. Bahrain still in trouble over human rights, and saying the race will not be disrupted does not address the problem. Valencia and now Barcelona are saying they cannot afford Bernie's price any more, but the French can every other year if they share the losses with Spa. Bernie's legal problems are still hanging around with the Gribkowsky case ongoing and the case in London pending. The teams are still arguing and some are reported to have signed the new Concorde Agreement already, although that is not supposed to be possible until the old one runs out this year.

On the driver front Buemi gets the reserve driver role at Red Bull even though Helmut Marko says the Toro Rosso drivers were not winners. That must make you feel loved. Williams have lost their main sponsor and are still looking to fill the other seat with Senna and Brazilian sponsorship being suggested as favorite for it. Alguersuari says he does not want the HRT seat, so that is still vacant. Kimi is back, fitting for seats and getting ready to test a 2010 car in Valencia later this month to get his eye back in.

Not much else going on, so see you tomorrow.

After another week of traveling I am finally home for a while, I hope. Or maybe I don't, as that will mean one of the potential projects is firming up. be careful what you wish for.

2012 looks like being a better year than this one, with another expert witness case and four potential tracks to work on, and Race Resorts getting set to take off after a year or more of hard work. We have changed the name to Race Resorts International as that is where our focus will be, on the best resorts here and overseas.

With Christmas nearly here the sport is fairly quiet, but that will change soon with the testing season starting up in February. Audi are already testing next years Le Mans/WEC car at Sebring, the car as yet un-named. Sahara Force India have dropped Sutil in favor of Hulkenburg, a little surprising as Adrian had a pretty good year, but does not bring much sponsorship, and the way Mallya's airline is going he needs the cash. So where will Sutil go? Williams could use him, but again need the cash. Story today that Ferrrari could be interested to have him in 2013, so Massa is on the way out. Toro Rosso cleaned house with both drivers going and Ricciardo and Vergne getting the nod. The quick and the dead at Toro Rosso as the stepping stone to the Red Bull Team. Both the new guys will be fun to watch.

Not many seats left now, HRT are not announcing the second driver yet, and Williams are still to decide whether to keep Rubens or not.

Bernie has come out and said that he "doubts if the US will embrace F1." Well he has been trying for fifty years since Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Dallas, Phoenix, and Indy, did I miss any? So he has reason to doubt. F1 has a following, it is just not that big in terms of the population, and they have to do a lot more to grow it. Buy prime time air time for a start, and get some decent commentators, and oh yes, a successful American driver.   Having said that Bernie is saying that the size of the US and its economy could support the same number of races as Europe. He is also touting South Africa to be back in 2013, and Argentina wants a race, so maybe we will have as many races as Europe, two.

How do supposedly smart businessmen get themselves into the mess that is the US F1 GP in Austin? Bobby Epstein as the money guy presumably is smart as he has made enough money to build the track, but is not smart enough to do the research on people who try and get Bernie to change his terms for a GP. When I worked for Kenny promoting the US Motorcycle GP at Laguna in 93 Bernie ran the bike GP's, and the contract was 44 pages and Bernie would not change a single word, not even for his mate Kenny. So good luck Bobby, especially as you want Bernie to agree to your contract.

Bernie says he will not replace Austin in next years calendar, and Bahrain and Korea will happen as he has a contract. Well he had a contract this year for Bahrain and that did not happen, and Korea may think it cheaper to default than lose another $36m next year. I have to laugh when I read in Autosport that the Indian GP will be with us for a long time. Just long enough for Jaypee to work out they will never make any money. 

I have been MIA the last week as my wife and I have moved from Phoenix to Raleigh NC, and drove 2250 miles in three days, about 31 hours, and basically never got off I 40. All this in a 13 year old Honda Accord with 150,000 miles on it, never missed a beat, amazing car! Unfortunately the movers are not so amazing. National Vanlines managed to do everything wrong that we told them the last movers did, and then some, so no I do not recommend them to anyone, and no we did not take the lowest quote.

I am off this week giving three presentation at the Orlando Professional Circuit Owners Convention and moderating the whole of the second day, so will be a tired boy at the end of it. Looks like a great convention though, and then the PRI show the day after. 

Oh yes we had the last F1 GP today in Brazil, and no surprise a Red Bull won, and Webber finally broke his duck for 2011. I have no TV or internet yet so could not watch, but let's hope that in 2012 someone can give them a run for their money.