Bob Barnard Track Engineering

I have been away all week working on a new State-Of-The-Art kart track, Mooresville Motorplex, just north of Charlotte. Now State-Of-The-Art is an over used term, but in this case just happens to be true. The 4000 ft track is modelled on the famous Parma track brought up to modern standards by Jarno Zaffelli. It will feature the latest TECPRO kart barriers, Tracksa marshal light system, and Club Speed software for facility management. We have completed the track earthworks and will be running an off-road kart around on Monday for a final check before completing the earthworks and starting the rock base. Owner Justin Marks hopes to have the facility operational in August once the first building is ready. 

Meanwhile we have still heard nothing more about the Beijing F3 track, and what we hoped would be a fund to back us on the Georgia project has come to nothing again, but there is still hope there.

Stayed awake for the Le Mans 24 hour last weekend. Pity the Toyotas could not last, it would have been a good fight with Audi. It does show that a properly funded petrol car can compete with the diesels. Well done the Rebellion team though. It is a testimony to the design of the Audis that not only are they strong enough to withstand a crash, but they can be repaired so quickly. A good GT race as always, and LMP2 seems to be getting their act together to put on a show. Not sure what all the fuss was about the Delta Wing. There is no new technology on that car that I can see. A different design for sure, but I still say it looks like a Morgan backing up or a GP sidecar. The 4 cylinder 1.6 liter turbo engine is nothing new, and Audi have had lightweight cars for the last couple of years. All that effort to run around with the LMP2 cars? And if the non-race fraternity were getting excited over how it looks, what about the Audis and Toyotas, far sexier to me.

I see in Autosport that the ACO has accepted a hydrogen car for garage 56 next year, now that is new technology and the car looks the goods. Go to:

http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2011/06/15/electric-greengt-lmph2-leman/#.T-c0V_W8jbw

Watched the Valencia F1 race this morning. As I have said before, that dog of a Ferrari cannot be as bad as the team keep making out. Jenson has totally lost the plot, as has McLaren. They cannot get the pit stops right, not all of them anyway, or make the tires last. Lewis looked like he was driving on ice that last lap. The smart move would have been to let Maldanado through, but Lewis is a racer, that's why we love him. Has Red Bull come up with the latest smart design?

If you think the 2012 F1 cars are ugly, take a look at the Delta Wing, it is on show at Sebring apparently. Looks like a World Championship sidecar motorcycle, except they look better. Or a Morgan backing up, but I can't see how the driver leans out to keep it on the ground.

Eric Boullier expects the first race in Melbourne to throw up some surprises. Let's hope so, it's time to get away from processions. Presumably Eric is thinking of Kimi and his Lotus, that would be something to watch.

Talking of watching, I have decided I will not watch Bahrain F1. The only message Bernie and the sponsors will take notice of is if the ratings are down.

Received this month's Motor Sport, what a great magazine. Mat Oxley in his column on MotoGP tells us his ideas on the best tracks to go to to watch and get the best atmosphere, Mugello and Jerez. Been to both and I agree, but I also like his comment that "Phillip Island is probably MotoGP's greatest circuit." Thanks Mat.

In the same edition there is an odd comment in Gordon Kirby's column by Giles Simon, ex Ferrari, Peugeot and FIA. "When we think about the future of motorsport I think we need to think about attracting more categories of people - the people who are not interested in motor racing." Well what can you say to that? Why would those people watch then? Unless we are not actually racing in future, and then what about your existing audience who are there to watch motor racing? Just look to NASCAR to see what happens when you forget about your existing fans and go pandering to a fickle bunch of newbies.

So the FIA have come out now and limited the throttle opening for "off throttle" situations, i.e. braking, to be a maximum of 10% for Silverstone and the rest of the season. So does this rule out hot blown exhaust diffusers, or just severely restrict them , perhaps to the point that is not worth doing? For next season the whole concept is banned, told you so, and high exiting exhausts are back.

Bernie has leaped to Lewis' defence, he is in trouble now. Sunday probably saw Bernie's dream race except with sprinklers. Chicanes you can short cut and drivers biffing and barging on a skid pad. Why not just stage a demolition derby and be done with it?

It seems the Delta Wing car going to Le Mans next year has not gone down well with the sports car crowd, and why am I not surprised? I looked at the calendar to make sure it was not April 1st, but then again perhaps the French have that in June? Last time I looked sports cars had two seats, and I know they have stretched the friendship on that lately, or even for a long while, like the FISA suitcase if you are old enough to remember, but this does not even come close. Murphy the Bear had a good piece on it amongst other sports car related stories including the slow demise of the Panoz empire:

http://murphythebear.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/16/191-mottos-back-to-the-future-plying-phallus-disposing-of-an-empire-cheese/

Part of the Delta's attraction is of course it is "green," lightweight and a small turbo engine, just like F1 is supposed to have in 2013. Does not seem very likely right now, and Renault is rattling its' sabre saying it will pull out of F1 if it does not get a 4 cylinder turbo. They say it's parent, Nissan, is only there because they were promised one, and have brought in Infiniti to sponsor Red Bull because of it. Now I own and drive a great Infiniti, G35, 3.5 liter V6. I actually don't know if Infiniti make a car with a 4 cylinder, and there cannot be too many Nissans sold with one, so what's the problem? Let's do what Ferrari wants and build v6's. I do not know the numbers but here in the States it is probably the dominant configuration. Europe maybe not, and Renault is probably the driver for the 4 cylinder, not Nissan. Anyway, let them go if they want to, F1 has and will survive. Nature abhors a vacuum, so someone will fill the void and make some money.