Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Only twelve hours since I wrote Sunday's blog, and nothing really happened since then. Max Mosely has come out of retirement to tell us that Ferrari must be punished more than the fine, like losing the points from the race, which I actually think is a better penalty. Ferrari say they will take the FIA to court if they do get another penalty. That will provoke a nice fight I'm sure.

The Autosport feature on iconic tracks from each of the last six decades comes out on the 26th, with Adelaide the track of the eighties, so be sure to look for it. I wonder if Spa makes the list? What would your six tracks be?

There a few small words that have large connotations. Integrity, truth, honor, respect, reputation, character, honesty and ethics. I have been well off and poor, famous and infamous, employed and unemployed, but one thing that I always was was respected. Through a lot of trials and difficult situations I have maintained my integrity, preserved my reputation and kept the respect of others. It is worth more than any amount, in fact at one event that was seemingly in trouble and the main sponsor was all over me, I told him "this is only about your money, to me it is my reputation, which is worth much more." He was not pleased with that answer, but it was the truth, his best guarantee that it would succeed was my reputation, and it did. Actually he went bankrupt before the event, so that put things into perspective.

What has this to do with motorsport you ask? Everything. All industries are small worlds of their own, but motorsport is smaller than most, and word travels fast. We all know that this business is like a drug, and unfortunately there are people who will do anything to compete or work in it. I had an e-mail earlier this week asking about an individual and was it OK to do business with that person? In the end your reputation is all you have, guard it well, do not be tempted to risk it for a short term gain.  Do any of us want a reputation like a certain German driver?

It is a sign of what is not happening in the motorsport world that most of the news is about the German Round of the World Rally Championship! Rumors continue to abound that Kimi is coming back, but where is there a seat that he would want? Yamamoto, Mr. "My Wallet is Bigger Than Chandook's," is driving again for HRT in Spa. Timo Glock looks in danger of losing his seat to an Argentine Government sponsored driver at Virgin, so Sir Richard's pockets are not as deep as we think., or his arms are short this week.

Force India's legal squabble with Italian wind tunnel Aerolab continues with both sides getting nasty. Talk of impounding cars and equipment when they get to Monza. I have respect for what they have achieved, but you have to wonder about the rumors of financial problems, staff leaving and now this ongoing fight.

After watching as much as I could take of the ALMS offering of the race from Mid Ohio yesterday, which was not much, I asked my mates Tony Dowe and Tom Kjos their view, just to make sure I was not over-reacting. Most of you were saved this latest idea from the brains trust. It looked and sounded like a movie, aimed at the complete idiot who knew nothing about the sport, and mimicked a NASCAR offering featuring the team radio traffic. As Tony said "They are trying to attract the “casual” viewer that has little or no knowledge of what racing is about for the lowest possible cost, they will kill it!"

Following my comments in yesterday's blog about Dorna and Moto3 I had to ask is motorsport dying as a spectator sport? Tony in his usual fashion was blunt. "Yes, thanks to the suits and accountants who think they know what the public wants." It seems they most care about what their bottom line wants, what the TV wants, what the manufacturers want, and least of all about what we want to watch.  With even NASCAR struggling to fill the stands you have to ask where is this going? OK, some will say it is the economy, but can they tell me that soccer and football attendances are down? What about the TV figures, it does not cost most folks to sit at home and watch.

Is motorsport turning into a "hobby" for enthusiasts? For years the joke has been that to make a small fortune in motor racing start with a big one, but it is true for almost everyone except a fortunate few, and very few, who make money at this, so yes it is a hobby. That would account for the rise in country club tracks to cater for this growing number that want to drive fast and not go racing, at non-spectator tracks. For most series you may as well say they are non-spectator events now, look at Grand Am.

FOTA has just staged a fan town hall meeting so at least they recognize the need to address what the fan wants, but their hands are tied for most of the changes that we want by the "powers that be."

There seems to be general agreement that the Czech MotoGP was a pretty boring event. So what went wrong? Motorcycle GP's used to be the most exciting form of racing. We know what went wrong. The manufacturers wanted four strokes, Dorna wanted to make it "cheaper" and no one invested in young talent, so now when the Doctor retires it is basically done. Oh Yes, Valentino and Yamaha et al confirmed what we all knew, he is going to Ducati. That will spice things up for a season, maybe, but what then.

In other news Mr. Schumacher is blaming the car for all his woes, I guess it steered itself into Barrichello? Bahrain is to revert to the original track layout for next years GP, it seems you can have too many corners after all. Korea has delayed the obligatory race meeting prior to the F1 GP, so they are cutting this fine, although with a street race like Adelaide we had no "dress rehearsal." Jean-Eric Vergne clinched the British F3 title with a win in the third race at Silverstone, so presumably is free to go off and try his hand at something faster.

Saw TV footage of the desert race that claimed the lives of eight spectators. To say it was totally out of control would be complimentary. It looked like a cross between Spring Break on Daytona Beach and the Portuguese round of the World Rally Championship. People right next to the course  and on it, not that the "course" was defined in any way. How do the organizers, and I use the term loosely, live with themselves?

Yesterday's and this mornings results were predictable. Danica lived down to her expectations and finished 27th having struggled all race and went laps down early on. This was a Nationwide race and on this form she is a shoe-in to get an F1 ride. She does get press coverage though, more than the winner of the race did. If that is why you are racing then I guess it is a great result, but most of us go racing to try and win.

In Brno Mr. Lorenzo continued on his winning way. One English friend called it the dullest race all year, and there have been a few. I expected Valentino to do better with his couple of weeks to recuperate, but no. Looks like Lorenzo has the Championship sewn up baring a major crash. The Moto2 race sounded a far better race, but we won't see that till this afternoon, and we do not get the 125's at all, not that it sounded great. The young English pole setter faded in the race so I guess that was not much fun to watch either Eddie?

The big news is that the last two-stoke class will disappear in 2012 and be replaced by Moto3, they were up all night thinking that up. So instead of three great classes, all worthy in their own right, we have now a distinct system of second and third class citizens. It is a 250cc single, four stroke of twice the size to presumably make the same horsepower. And this is progress? That is what made the two stroke so popular, it was more efficient, and isn't that what being "green" is all about?  It was simpler too. I remember Brian Hart who was making an F1 engine at the time being in our garage at Mugello and being astounded that we stripped the engines after each practice and warm up! He said they did not open an engine at the track, too complicated, just got another out of the crate if one went bad.

Of course this is done in the name of cost cutting and progress. At least it is not a one make series. Have the ticket prices been cut as a result of all this cost cutting? How about Dorna's profits? Has anyone asked the punters who pay to watch what they prefer? I for one vote for the two stroke days, and I do not feel alone, or someone living in the past.

Back in Britain Mr. Vergne had to settle for third in the reverse grid F3 sprint race, not much point putting it on pole in that scenario is it?

Here in the US there was an horrendous accident and eight deaths at an off-road race in Baja California. Unprotected spectators hit by a car. That is going to have repercussions. Driver had to run away to escape the wrath of the crowd, but who's fault is it, probably not his. Motor racing in whatever form involves drivers pushing themselves and their equipment to the limit of their performance, and inevitably beyond it. So as a track designer I start with the basis that there will be an accident, now how to mitigate the impact on the driver, and avoid harm to spectators. So, don't blame the driver when he crashes, after all that is what most of the punters have come to see. Ask why were the spectators there without protection? My condolences to the families and the injured. As I said, predictable.

There is a connection on Facebook to Paddock Talk that has good press clippings from all over on F1, or you can go to http://paddocktalk.com/news/. In today's is a piece on how the German GP made a profit! They were hoping to break even, but the Mayor confirmed that they made about $180,000, but would have lost a bit over $9m on Bernie's original deal. Not bad though for building and maintaining a track, promoting and running an event. I hope Tavo and Red McCombs are reading this stuff. If Tavo gets his way and runs the race for forty years that is $7.2m, provided he has the same good deal as the Germans. Pretty good return on $250m plus investment, not.

Elsewhere Spa is expressing concern about breaking even with an F1 GP and staying on the calendar. This is the best track we have and it would criminal to lose it. There was a discussion on LinkedIn about your favorite sequence of corners. I have one, Spa!

On another article it says four drivers are "bying" for a seat at HRT. Is this a misprint or is it an intentional play on how to get a ride at HRT?

Rumors continue to circulate that the Korean GP track will not be finished. Surely with two months to go it is obvious if it is or not? I know with one month to go before we finished Daytona back in 2004 there were many doubters, but we had the track back and running early and knew we could make it. Bernie is reported to have offered the Aragon track in Spain the race, but Aragon will not stump up the fee.

Over at Brno it was business as usual for Lorenzo, quickest in first practice for the Czech MotoGP. Rossi was third, and Stoner, on what will soon be Rossi's Ducati, could only manage sixth. Early days though.

Sorry to hear about Hans Stuck's blood clot as a result of a racing accident a month ago, get well soon Hans.

English Premier League kicks off this weekend, go Spurs!

At home I am waiting for attorneys to show up to discuss an expert witness case, should be an interesting morning.