Bob Barnard Track Engineering

He just loves to keep stirring doesn't he? In an interview with CNN, and why would he do this now, he said "We have gone too far with artificial elements. It's like, if I push footballers to wear tennis shoes in the rain. To have so many pitstops - listen, I want to see competition, I want to see cars on the track. I don't want to see competition in the pits," he explained. I like the "tennis shoes in the rain." I think he hit Bernie's sprinklers and Pirelli tires with one shot. So, is this all sabre rattling to get a better deal for the teams at the next Concorde Agreement, or are they for real? You can read the whole piece at:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91349

In other news, Ferrari say Massa has their complete support, look out Felipe, that's usually the last sound someone hears, and the teams do not want to go testing again. Seems they cannot afford it. Not now they spent all that money on simulators. At Monza "Jules" Vergne is quickest in FR 3.5 practice with American Alexander Rossi not far behind. Aussie Daniel Ricciardo is much further back. It almost seems like FR 3.5 is just something to keep his hand in between F1 Friday sessions, and the up coming full ride.

At Le Mans the MotoGP boys are practicing for this weekends French GP, with Stoner breaking lap records and leading the way from Simoncelli. Let's see if he remembers the tires are cold at the start of the race? Nicky Hayden has the Ducati in fourth! Where did that come from? His mate Valentino is a second off in ninth, with Ben Spies even slower. Unless someone can step up Casey is going to run away with this one, but it is only Friday.

Seems the Indian GP is having a few problems with its neighbors. Not complaining about the noise, just everyday stuff about access to their temple, and threatening demonstrations over arguments with the government about compensation for land.

Someone else with problems is Sutil. You have to wonder what the conversation was to apparently smash a wine glass and stick it in someone's neck? Not a thing you do lightly, even after a few drinks. It is an odd situation with it having occurred in China. Who is bringing charges and where?

The News buyout of F1 saga rolls on with another group joining in that includes the Abu Dhabi investment arm, Mubadala, another Ferrari link. This can't all be smoke and mirrors.

It's an unusual break to the Turkish F1 race and it has gone quiet, well almost. Bernie's protesting loud and long that F1 is not for sale, and then adds anything's for sale if the price is right. Montezemolo has come out and admitted opposition to the new engine rules. That's good of him, we would never have known that from his carrying on about it for the last three months.

Some scuttlebutt from well connected people in Texas has suggested all may not be as it seems with the Austin deal, and forecast that the legislature would not pass the $25m hand out as reported yesterday. A friend also sent me a youtube video of the Indian track from March that shows a ribbon of asphalt and not much else. I don't want to sound like a negative person, I wish none of these ill, but as a construction engineer by profession and one who has always finished a track on time I have to wonder who is managing this stuff?

I am sad to hear of another death at the Interlagos track in Brazil. This was not in the area of the previous one, it was the left after the Senna Esses after the start. We have been spared these for a long while and must continue to push for safer tracks without making them sterile and boring. I agree with Sir Jackie Stewart that the rash of asphalt run off does not penalise a driver for a mistake, in fact it can be the fast line. Neither of us want to see drivers injured, so there must be a happy medium here somewhere. On that note it is great to here that Robert Kubica is to leave hospital soon.

Le Mans Test Weekend is this weekend. Should be interesting to see the new Audi, and if the "equalization" is working for the petrol brigade.

It used to be that a "Grand Prix" was THE motorsport event of the year in a particular country, and each country was supposed to only have one such event. Now we know Bernie has got around that with F1, and here in the US you can and do call anything a Grand Prix, totally devaluing the name. Dorna is not only emulating Bernie but has gone straight passed him in the search for the mighty dollar with now three races in the US and four in Spain. Half the World Championship is run in two countries? Italy only has two, which is surprising given the popularity of Rossi. Can the US support three GP's given the lack of interest in the National Series? There are suggestions that Indy is in trouble, but at least they run a real GP with all three classes. Laguna only pays for the top class to come, and I know it will upset a lot of motorcyclists who see this place as the Phillip Island or Assen of the US, but might they just be the one to go?

"Circuit of the Americas?" Sounds like it should be in Costa Rica or Bolivia. Setting some high standards for this track, let's hope it delivers. I staged an event in Australia back in '88 with Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston in two concerts, and a whole range of top sportsmen and women over five days. We were silly enough to call it "The Ultimate Event," which it was and still is, but the media spent six months trying to convince the public it wasn't. Hard to fight that. Still Tavo and the boys seem to be in a honeymoon phase. India has done something similar, naming the circuit "Buddh International Circuit," invoking a connection to Buddah.

Bernie is not letting up on the engine debate, and Jean Todt is learning that just because someone voted for it they can change their mind. This is F1, they will do what they think is best for their team now. Bernie has a powerful ally in Montezemolo who continues to agitate for larger engines, a move away from too much aero, and a return to testing. Once he is President of Italy with Alonso as his Prime Minister then it will get interesting.

My buddy Allen Petrich asks a good question. Why are teams allowed to charge the KERS system before the start of the race? You cannot use the DRS wing for the first two laps, why I do not know, but let's be consistent, and avoid situations like Webber's, or the disadvantage at the start to the small teams that cannot afford it. Or is this all part of the "lottery" that F1 has become?

Not much real news today, F1 gearing up for Malaysia which is supposed to provide lots of answers not provided in Australia. Is Red Bull sand bagging, do they really need KERS, will the rear wing really help overtaking. etc. We'll see. Virgin are saying Nick Worth "may have miscalculated." What like having a fuel tank too small to finish a race? What now? Downforce it seems. Perhaps if he had shoved it in a wind tunnel he may have found that out.

Nice piece in Racer Magazine the other day about the rear wing and overtaking, and the comment that it is still mainly to do with the track and track designers should go back to pencil and paper. I never left it.

Christian Horner was given a guided tour of the new Silverstone pit complex. Looks like a Tesco's supermarket to me but I guess the architect likes it. It "only" cost 27 million pounds! Some of us would like that budget to build a track. I know it was a while ago but Eastern Creek only cost $5m, and is still a nice building. Not sure what the exchange rate is, but my guess is we are talking about $40m for a 16,500 sq m building, that's around $240 per sq ft, very expensive where I am now, but maybe England is more expensive, or it is the gold fittings the F1 Teams want these days. Anyway, Silverstone had better sell a lot of corporate boxes to pay for that.

Nice to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. nearly winning a race, makes a nice change, and Montoya got up to finish fourth after a dreadful qualifying, not bad on a half mile oval and 43 cars.

There continues to be sceptics about the Austin track, particularly among the local media. A spokesman of course says it is all on course, and locals say that at least they have cleared the trees. I would hope so by now. I know earthmoving is in progress and to the layman it probably does not look like much, but they definitely have a credibility problem. Similar stories are around about India, which has a race in October. Chandook in an article in Autosport said there were 7000 workmen on site, but a recent visitor tells me he saw hardly anybody. You have to wonder what you would do with 7000 workmen? We only had 9000 on a $3.5 billion oil refinery that was being built in the same time frame.

No I did not watch it, but congratulations to the Wood Brothers, nice to see them back in the winners circle. Growing up in England I used to read the monthly NASCAR reports in Motor Sport when it was all totally foreign to me and ruled by King Richard Petty, and the Wood Bros. So what will we see next at Daytona, cars with couplings built in or a sort of "stretch limo" in the shape of two cars?

No news on Bahrain, but the expectation is still that it will be "postponed." So when would you fit it in to an already crowded schedule? Before or after Abu Dhabi? The general consensus is not to go, so even if it goes on there may be those not attending.

Testing continued in Barcelona, but the new President of the region is now saying they cannot afford to keep the race, even though their fee seems to be more modest than most. So even with Alonso mania you cannot make a quid. Another politician has come out in Melbourne to say the race is no longer worth it economically, and the locals don't want it anyway, if they ever did. Anyone remember the demonstrations both in Melbourne and outside Bernie's house when it was first being built? So Shanghai has negotiated a lower fee, Valencia and Barcelona have both indicated they are not happy, and there is Melbourne. Korea has fired its Chief and India's has quit. Is the wheel starting to turn at last? France cannot afford it, Indy stopped, Hockenheim can't make it pay, Spa is always in trouble, Fuji gave up, Turkey is I think run by Bernie as they get no spectators, as is Hungary, Canada had to be bailed out by the Government, so where to next?