Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Let me say at the outset that I am extremely sorry for the family of Kevin Ward Jr. No one deserves to die doing what they love, especially in these circumstances. However, I have on numerous occasions have had cause to remind drivers who are out of their cars at the scene of a crash that they are not immortal. They have just crashed there and so can someone else. Get over the barrier. It is unfortunate that it is part of the NASCAR and Sprint Car culture to wait and find the 'culprit" and wag the finger or throw something, all with cars going past, albeit at non-race speed. As we have seen they do not need to be going at race speed to inflict mortal injuries. This has to stop.

As with most of the expert witness cases I handle the only person who really knows what happened is no longer alive to tell the story. Only Kevin really knows what he did, I am sure Tony was not expecting it. What is remarkable is the Sheriff's involvement. I can only recall one case where the police attended, rare in itself, and conducted an investigation. Usually they decide this is a private facility and leave. On one case they did detail the fight that followed the accident and injury, but not the accident!

So why this case? Is Tony really seen to be a driver likely to run over someone on purpose? No way, he may be tough, but he lives for racing, and I for one cannot believe it. From the video I have seen it looks as if the rear wheels move away from Kevin, not toward. If it were Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, or Jr. would the police really be looking at this?

So Tony does not drive at Watkins Glen, and rightly so. We saw some great racing, especially my Aussie mate Ambrose showing them how to really drive. Some hard racing but clean. Well done AJ, fought for and deserved that first win. I still find it hard to perceive that oval racing is so different that guys like Ambrose and Montoya cannot translate their obvious world class talent into oval wins, but it obviously is.

What was graphically demonstrated was how in need of an full course update Watkins Glen is. I have offered to go up and provide a report but of course NASCAR knows better. That is why we still use sand barrels and tire walls built totally wrong. Several drivers offered the same comment but then said it would cost too much. Watkins Glen is owned by the largest track owner in the world, ISC, and they cannot afford it? I loved Alan Bestwick's comment that the track narrows near the site of the big crash due to a "natural feature," meaning the tunnel. What, it was there before they built the track? Just one of the many ill-informed comments. This layout is great, it just needs bringing up to modern standards, and yes you can accommodate different users and configurations. Even the guard rail is still acceptable, it did not fail and was a softer hit than a concrete wall. Just a pain to repair. It is just in the wrong place on most of the track.

Marquez won his tenth straight MotoGP at Indy, but who was there to see it. Red Bull must be paying for all this as the crowd certainly isn't. Same story with the Tudor Sports car race which thankfully is not to return. MotoGP needs to go to tracks that show off their product, not just somewhere that pays the most. 

Last weekend saw three major races, each with their own character, equally interesting and worth watching.

It kicked off with Lewis Hamilton taking an unlikely pole position, surprising himself and everyone else. I will admit to being tired and not getting up to watch qualifying live as it seemed from Friday practice it would be a Red Bull walk over. But we've seen this before haven't we? Just wait for the race. Now Hungaroring is not the most exciting track, we've seen races won from pole because no one could pass, but that was not likely was it? Well no it wasn't because as Lewis said, "today I was not having it." We saw a determined Lewis, but a very different one from the days when it seemed he could not overtake without running into someone, usually Massa. How good does Lauda's move to grab him for Mercedes look now? Great race, with the usual whining from Vettel, and a smooth controlled drive from Kimi to take an unexpected second. I can't see him at Red Bull playing second fiddle and putting up with Marko can you? Great crowd, nearly back to what we saw when the track first opened.

So, who is going to get the second seat at Red Bull? Not sure Ricciardo is the one, don't see Kimi, and certainly don't see Alonso. How about Hulkenburg? Good driver, another German and probably happy with Vettel winning, just to get paid for a change!

And what GP's are going to miss out in 2014? Korea seems good riddance, and New Jersey never really looked like it did it, even with Bernie's lust to have a race with the Manhattan skyline as backdrop. India is being given the Bernie treatment to bring them in to line, or else they just spent loads of money on a white elephant. Appropriate for India. Nurburgring? Is the Red Bull Ring again just something to bring the Germans into line, or is the Nurburgring so broke it is out of the game. It was reported that Bernie waived the fee this year, but that probably meant he took the gate money and the rest of the income.

What is going on at Sauber? Sad day when Peter Sauber has to sell out to a bunch of Russians. Has he looked at Marussia and how well they are doing? And of course the money has not arrived yet.

So, back to the races. Next was the Spa 24 hour. Great track and a great field of 65 GT cars, all of them top class. Who needs prototypes to get in the way? The eventual first and second separated by a lap after racing together with the two BMWs for the first few hours, nose to tail. No rain! Must be a first, but plenty of accidents, including two at Eau Rouge, which thanks to the four row tire barriers the drivers walked away from. Can't help but think what would have happened at Tetre Rouge a month ago if there were similar tires in place?

Finally we saw a very odd NASCAR race at Indianapolis. No accidents, and no one brushed the wall that I recall. The field strung out which I guess reduced the contact, but that was not to say there was no overtaking or it was boring. Well done Ryan Newman, and why does he lose his drive next year when Danica doesn't? The suits are running, or is that ruining, the sport. Nothing like the crowd they had at the early races.

Finally, well done Tony Stewart for the truck race at Eldora. He got the crowd he deserved and the plaudits. He could start it earlier next year if it is going to be mid-week, bit hard to stay up till midnight. Track prep was perfect. With that many laps you might have expected a few problems, but it slicked up just right. Again a good drive by Newman, he just had a couple of young guns that were too quick. Someone needs to sign up Kyle Larson!

The Baltimore Indycar weekend has been run and won as they say. As an event it appears a success. As with most street races they had a great party atmosphere, which it should have given the location. Not sure they really needed an Indycar race to show off Camden Yards ball park, I would bet there are a few baseball fans who might have seen it anyway.

The races were pretty much non-events for me. Very few cautions, no red flags, and not much action. We were treated to lap after lap of the second and third place GTC cars during Saturday's ALMS race. That tells me the boys did not like the look of the track much and were running to avoid contact. No one as much as brushed a wall that I saw. It is a typical US street track, built down to a price and not up to a standard. The track was designed to avoid the obstacles rather than the other way around. You really could not move that traffic island at Turn One?

We had the manhole cover come up despite being welded and/or bolted down, but I have to give them points for fixing it in a timely manner. More than I give for the coverage. When we were first treated to live streaming of ALMS on ESPN3 it was great. Very few ads, the Le Mans radio boys commentating, and a lot of racing. This weekend may as well have been Speed. It was clearly shot to allow the minimum editing for Sunday's highlight show on ABC. We were three laps into the race when they went to an ad, except we did not get an ad, just a blank screen, and then after what would have been an ad break we got the ad. It carried right along with infomercials and repetitive ads and annoying commentary.

Over in Misano Mr. Lorenzo has kept the Championship interesting by winning in MotoGP with Stoner demoted to third by his team mate. As I say no team orders in MotoGP. The Moto2 race again sounds like the one to watch with Marquez beating Bradl to close that title race down. Scott Redding and Ianonne added to the fun. In the 125cc event Terol won by 22 hundredths passing Zarco on the line. At the Nurburgring, not Brno as I incorrectly said, Biaggi withdrew from both races due to a foot injury in practice, leaving Checa to win the first race, and coast in the very wet second race to eighth. With a 72 point lead it looks all done and dusted for Checa this year. Staying with motorcycle racing, Indianapolis announced it has extended its contract with MotoGP until 2014. So, are we to see three US MotoGP's after all, or is Laguna in trouble?

In other racing Josef Newgarden looks like he has wrapped up the Indy Lights Championship, while in British F3 Kevin Magnussen won the final race but team mate Felipe Nasr won the title. It will be interesting to see where these three go next year.

What a weekend! Crashes marred almost all the racing, and unfortunately took the life of an up and coming young American rider, Peter Lenz, at Indianapolis. The description of the incident shows that whatever we do with a track as designers the worst can still happen, and does, when two cars or bikes get together. The number of falls at the MotoGP, Rossi fell four times in the weekend, begs the question of what is wrong with the track surface? Indy has a history of problems with grip and tires for NASCAR, F1, and now MotoGP. From looking at the race I was amazed at the extent of the cracking on the infield track, which is not really that old. I know Indy has some bad weather in winter, but that seemed strange. The bumps cannot be bad asphalt laying, it must be movement in the base, but again, why?

The Moto2 race looked insane, with riders going down everywhere. Looked like a GP2 race! Speed did their usual bang up job, replacing the regular commentators with Larry and Mo, Diffey and Russell, and was more interested in giving us "background color" than showing us the race. Not that the race was very exciting, but more than Nicky Hayden at the dirt track!  I thought Australians were jingoistic, but American commentators beat us hands down.

I see that Valentino is calling for the removal of the electronic aids from the bikes to make the show more exciting. It certainly needs something. Apart from Ben Spies leading for a while, there was little to keep me watching except for professional interest. Not sure just removing the aids will do it though. It needs a group of equally good riders on equivalent machines, no not spec racers, but manufacturers all producing good machines. Suzuki certainly is not, Ducati is not on par, and Honda is up and down. And not just two from each either. Back when we saw Yamaha for instance with KR, Ago, and Sarron's team, six "works" bikes with good riders.

Spa turned on its' usual show. We moved house over the weekend and for some reason my DVD did not record, so will have to watch the replay Wednesday, but from the accounts it was a very good race. Well done Lewis and McLaren. Red Bull shot themselves in the foot again. Webber's anti-stall kicked in at the start which let Hamilton jump him and never look back, and Vettel did his now accustomed self-destruct, this time taking Button out instead of his team mate. Barrichello ran into Alonso and put himself out early, while Alonso took himself out later. Good result for Kubica and Renault. What would he do if he had a McLaren or Red Bull? Mercedes continue to be the mystery of the season. Season is building to another close finish, but now I have a problem. I have always liked Lewis, but I love Mark's grit and he is an Australian. So I cannot lose whoever wins the Championship, but who do I want to win?

And then there was Mosport, that 50 year old jewel. Well those 50 year old pine guard rail posts did not take kindly to being smacked by a 2010 Porsche. I told Don that they needed changing when I inspected the track after he bought it in 1998! Timber posts can be used if already in place, but are supposed to be rectangular hardwood, not old, round, pine. As soon as I saw that crash I knew they were never going to get that rail repaired. Even steel posts would still have given, that is the way rail is supposed to behave, and that is why I personally prefer a concrete block wall. It still moves, but is easy to pull back into place. The race? Shades of Lime Rock with cars running into each other all over the place. Interesting rather than exciting.

Good to see Boris Said finally win a NASCAR race, even if it was a Nationwide event. Sounds like a good race with Papis and Villenueve right there at the end.