tagged 
Bathurst, Car and Driver, Ferrari, James Weaver, Road Atlanta, Spa
Bathurst, Car and Driver, Ferrari, James Weaver, Road Atlanta, Spa Entries in Car and Driver (1)
Time
Monday, December 27, 2010 at 10:24AM
Time heals all wounds they say. Not sure about that, but it does allow a better perspective about events. As most of you would know from reading the blog I am writing my life story, my memoirs I guess you could say, a challenge I have attempted a few times in the past, but events and wounds were too fresh. I can now write about those events and look upon them as part of life's great adventure, a learning experience, and hopefully I can pass on some of those lessons for others.
In a similar vein a friend mentioned the other day an article in Car and Driver from earlier this year.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q2/america_s_best_road_courses-feature/road_atlanta_page_2
When we rebuilt Road Atlanta back in 1998 there were some who were very much against the changes, as the article implies. Among the most vehement was James Weaver who saw the "gravity cavity" as an opportunity for him to gain on opponents who were more wary of that series of corners. It is interesting that time has allowed the changes to be viewed more dispassionately for what they were and what they did to ensure the track maintains it's place as one of America's best tracks. Not sure James would have changed his mind though.
As I have said recently about the possible second track at Bathurst, the trick with working on famous old tracks is to make them safe without losing the character and history, not easy to do, and it will be a challenge at Bathurst, expectations are high. Looking back at the 'gravity cavity" it was America's Eau Rouge, and perhaps the solution would have been to remove the bridge which was the real issue, but then how to access the infield? The new tunnel only went in because we raised the dip, so that would not be a solution. Perhaps move it back up that long back straight, not sure that would work with traffic flow either, so no easy choices. One of the things I have learned is that you never get to do exactly the same thing twice, so unless you make a real mess of things it is not possible to know if you were right or wrong. Doing nothing is what is usually the biggest fault, so make a decision and live with it.
A bit like Ferrari at Abu Dhabi, there are a lot of suggestions about what they should have done, and I guess in hindsight you can simulate the race and see what would have worked, but in the heat of battle make a decision and live with it, it is a sport between humans, not machines thank goodness.
In a similar vein a friend mentioned the other day an article in Car and Driver from earlier this year.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q2/america_s_best_road_courses-feature/road_atlanta_page_2
When we rebuilt Road Atlanta back in 1998 there were some who were very much against the changes, as the article implies. Among the most vehement was James Weaver who saw the "gravity cavity" as an opportunity for him to gain on opponents who were more wary of that series of corners. It is interesting that time has allowed the changes to be viewed more dispassionately for what they were and what they did to ensure the track maintains it's place as one of America's best tracks. Not sure James would have changed his mind though.
As I have said recently about the possible second track at Bathurst, the trick with working on famous old tracks is to make them safe without losing the character and history, not easy to do, and it will be a challenge at Bathurst, expectations are high. Looking back at the 'gravity cavity" it was America's Eau Rouge, and perhaps the solution would have been to remove the bridge which was the real issue, but then how to access the infield? The new tunnel only went in because we raised the dip, so that would not be a solution. Perhaps move it back up that long back straight, not sure that would work with traffic flow either, so no easy choices. One of the things I have learned is that you never get to do exactly the same thing twice, so unless you make a real mess of things it is not possible to know if you were right or wrong. Doing nothing is what is usually the biggest fault, so make a decision and live with it.
A bit like Ferrari at Abu Dhabi, there are a lot of suggestions about what they should have done, and I guess in hindsight you can simulate the race and see what would have worked, but in the heat of battle make a decision and live with it, it is a sport between humans, not machines thank goodness.