Bob Barnard Track Engineering

You may think I've lost it, but the most interesting thing today is an article on paint drying.  If you go on the ESPN F1 site, en.espnf1.com, there is an article there about how McLaren save a couple of kilos in weight from the paint, while keeping the car looking fantastic. Presentation has always been Ron Dennis' thing, and how he got the Marlboro money and McLaren in the first place. He ran a F2 or F3 team back in the early eighties called Project 4. That is why the McLarens since he took over are all MP4's. While running on a very tight budget he always made sure the cars and team were all immaculately presented. Marlboro were sponsoring the McLaren team which was going through a slump, and put Ron and McLaren together in a sort of shotgun marriage, and as they say in the classics "that was the start of a beautiful friendship."

I have read before that Ron had the cars stripped of paint after each race rather than just repainted so that the weight does not increase, so when you read about what they do today it all makes sense. To me it is what makes F1 so incredible. The attention to every little detail is what adds up to success, and obviously costs lots of money.

That is apparently what the new boss at Renault F1 has found out. There are rumors of Renault buying back a larger share in the team now business is better and the team are obviously doing well, so the two stories add up to a possible outcome. Not really sure what a venture capital group was doing buying an F1 team anyway, except as a fun business for the manager. Yes the teams make money under Bernie's arrangement, but it is an expensive sport and high risk if you are not winning.

August was a busier month for the blog, despite the F1 hiatus, with nearly 3000 visits from 59 countries! Thank you all for reading and responding. It puts the pressure on me to keep finding interesting stories to comment on.

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.

Not much energy around at the moment, either personally or in the sport. Continue to feel under the weather and went to the Doctors this morning. Probably a viral infection, and a bit dehydrated. Can't understand why, I been drinking more water than ever. So, combined with a lack of any real excitement on two or four wheels I am sorry this blog has been below par as well.

Received the program for the Professional Motorsport Circuit Owners, Investors and Suppliers Forum in Cologne (Koln), Germany, in November. It's been extended out to three days and coincides with a major trade show, so the most worthwhile conference you will go to if you are in the track business. As a presenter I can provide my contacts with a discounted fee, so if you are thinking of going, contact me and I can give you the promo code. I am moderating a session on track engineering which has some great speakers, and part of a panel discussion on the future of track design.

Our enforced hiatus from F1 is about to end with Spa starting in two days. Consensus seems to be that the Red Bull cars will lose out on sectors 1 & 3, so it could be a close race. We saw with Force India last year having a great handling car in the middle sector gives you a great lap time, but does not win the race, so McLaren and Ferrari could be in with a chance. McLaren say they are still baffled by the flexi front wing, as are most outside observers. It seems they are finding a way for the airflow to bend up the front of the floor while bending down the front wing. Sounds like a difficult thing to do, but I am not an aerodynamics genius. Whatever happens it will be great to see Spa, a track with only one bad corner for me and that is that last chicane. The rest is pure poetry.

The FIA is supposed to announce the thirteenth team by the end of the month, Villenueve has appeared as the dark horse for the selection, which is surprising, he kept the fact he was bidding very quiet until the last month. Rumors continue that HRT will merge with the other strong bidder, Epsilon Euskadi, which could be very good for both of them. Whoever gets the nod will have their work cut out to be ready in time for 2011. In the meantime Jacques is off to race a Nationwide car in Montreal.

We must not forget the MotoGP this weekend at Indy. I still have a problem with motorcycles on that track, just does not seem to be where they should be. Maybe if Mr.Tilke can get his act together he could make Austin work for MotoGP, they might make some money on that. Tavo talks about all the other events they can run, like NASCAR, Grand Am and AMA motorcycles, but all these are run by NASCAR, and the word I hear is they are not going. In any event, Bernie is usually very particular what else runs on his F1 tracks. When we ran the US Motorcycle GP at Laguna in '93 Bernie controlled the bikes, and we had to get him to agree that Laguna could keep their CART race, as he normally ruled out anything that competed with something he controlled.

Seeing as how we are in the middle of a break for F1, and about midway through the championship, I thought I would give you my score card on the teams and drivers.

Clearly the best car is the Red Bull, and should be where Brawn was last year. Two great drivers, so what's gone wrong? Poor management of the drivers and some reliability issues have cost them, and Vettel is either accident prone or has bad luck, but I think he does not have his head in the right place. They could wrap this whole thing up if they decided who they want to win the championship, and I would back Webber, and no, not because he is an Australian. He has the focus right now, and Vettel has time on his side.

Ferrari are a bit of an enigma, great one week and off the pace another. Alonso is driving up to his usual standard but his Latin temperament gets in the way sometimes, but you can't have one without the other. Massa is even more up and down. He obviously still has it, but it does not always show up this year. There is obviously something about the car that it is not consistent. Alonso and Ferrari could still pull this off, but they need to sort out team orders, did I really say that, before they get on track.

McLaren have been behind the eight ball all season. As always they never give up and their development pace is the best in the business, but they are playing catch up every race. They are managing their two drivers better than anyone else, with Hamilton for me the best driver out there. He makes the car do more than it should, while Button seems always to be waiting for his chance, for the car to be right, for the tires to be right, etc. Don't get me wrong, he has had some great drives this year, and is the reason McLaren even have a shot at the Constructors title.

Mercedes have to be the disappointment of the season. You take a Championship team and back it with Mercedes money, bring in a young hot driver, and Michael, and you would expect them to be competing at the front. Compared to Red Bull these three teams missed the basic car design. As Nico Rosberg said, the basic car is not right, and trying to start from that base with development does not get you there. Nico is driving better than he did at Williams, and once he has the right car he will be a force. The less said about Michael the better.

Renault and Williams are for me the teams doing most for less. Renault have Kubica which is flattering the car I think, but Petrov is also putting in some good drives like Hungary, so the car cannot be that bad, and considering last years problems and the new ownership they are punching above their weight. So too is Williams, the best of the Cosworth brigade by a country mile. It is not consistent, but who is except Red Bull, and Rubens continues to put in some very good drives and shows no signs of getting stale or just driving for the money. Hulkenburg is having a good rookie season, so Williams are probably going to retain both. If Williams bring in some investment money then they can hopefully return to the force they were.

Sauber is also doing well considering the last minute pull out by BMW and Peter carrying the team. Again inconsistent, and both drivers have had bad days, but we have also seen some good ones. I doubt Pedro will be back next year, and maybe Kobayashi may not be back. Depends on what happens with the team ownership, Peter cannot keep funding this thing, and there is an obvious lack of sponsors on the car.

Force India showed a burst of performance late last year that surprised everyone. Unfortunately that does not seem to have carried over to this season, and losing a lot of their Tech people cannot help. Not sure what is going on here as there are ongoing rumors about their finances. They do continue to develop the car with the latest innovations, so can't be all bad. Sutil is wasted in this car, but not sure there is a seat available anywhere else. Luizi is up and down, and seems to have had bad luck with his chassis, but who else would you pit in the car at the moment?

Torro Rosso are actually doing well for a driver development team that has to design and build it's own car these days. Buemi and Alguersuari seem on a par and at times putting in good drives, apart from running into each other at times, but even the best teams do that don't they?

That brings us to the new boys. Lotus is clearly the class of the rear of the field, and I agree with Bernie that they are the one likely to survive. They all have surprising reliability problems which is really hurting their development. With no testing then if you do not run race weekend you can never move forward. Seems Lotus is moving to the Renault engine, which I am not sure is a good move, but Williams and Renault seem evenly matched so who knows? I'm sure Mike Gascoyne does. Maybe it will solve his hydraulic problems. Trulli and Hekki are doing the best they can with what they have as you would expect.

Virgin is not quite as bad as HRT, but it is a close run thing. Cannot imagine Sir Richard putting up with this situation next year, so he needs to get out or fund this properly. At the moment it is money that is worse than wasted, it is very negative exposure. What can you say about HRT? The situation is not poor Colin Kolles' fault, but not sure if he is the one to solve it. He has been with a few teams now, and none are what you would say really successful. Having a "renter driver" shows how desperate they are for money, and Dallara did them no favors with the car, but who knows what the real story is as far as payment went for what they did.

Let's hope the rest of the season is as entertaining as most of the first half has been, provided Red Bull do not finally get their act together.

Over at the ALMS we are already down on prototype cars and we have lost the CytoSport Porsche before the weekend started. The Drayson Lola is on pole by a comfortable margin. I suppose Lord Drayson is fit again, so we will see what happens in the race. Highcroft is slowest of the three front runners, but somehow they find ways to win.

Grand Am is at Watkins Glen again as a support to the NASCAR race, so watch for that tomorrow.

The word of the day is web. Sol Real, pronounced like the Real Madrid soccer team, Real meaning "Royal," went live this morning. Log on to www.solrealmotorsportresort.com and check it out. First steps in a long road, but all important.

Mark Webber made it another 'web" day with his win in Hungary, against all odds as they say. When he did not pit with the others I stupidly assumed his race was done, he was going to have to pit and would come out last, but someone knew better than me, or I presume they did. Was it smart strategy or pure luck? "More a.. than class" as we would say in Australia? Those soft option tires are not supposed to go 43 laps, and certainly not at the pace Mark was going. Maybe the team knew from practice that they would last, but I do not recall them using them for very long runs. Good luck or good strategy, either way it was an inspired drive by Mark, and it is great to see him getting recognition and results at last.

Vettel has gone from child star to spoiled brat. His after race comments were so stupid. He did not know the safety car was coming in as he had no radio! I guess he was so far behind it he could not see the lights go out on the car? At first I thought he is doing the team thing and letting Mark open a gap so he could come in and change tires without losing too many spots, but that cannot be it. Unless he starts to get his head sorted he is never going to be  a World Champion.

One nice touch from the pre-race was Bernie giving Massa a big hug and some personal words. Didn't know he had it in him.

Schumacher's move on Barrichello was nothing short of criminal. I do not know how Ross Brawn can defend it, but I guess he has done it for ten years or more. Michael got away with the same move on Massa in Canada, but the Stewards have at last done something and given him a ten place grid penalty for Spa. I know some of you like him, but I never have done, and the sooner he retires again the better. Poor Nico Rosberg, he deserved so much more from this race, but well done Petrov and Hulkenburg.

It was pretty amazing that Vettel could not get around Alonso given the pace of the Red Bull, but they are not quick in a straight line, which is both their strength and their weakness. How do you explain Button's drive? Hamilton was on pace with the Ferraris and heading for fourth before he broke, very unusual these days, and Button seemed incapable of passing anyone. He is a bit of a mystery, just seems to lack that "tiger" that Lewis has.

The FIA has stepped in to try and end the flexi-wing debate with a doubling of the test load for the next race. Was this the trick wing that caused the debacle at Silverstone for Red Bull? And is it just the wing? The FIA are also looking at floor fixing details, as it is suggested that is part of the problem too. If this wing and/or floor was only introduced at Silverstone how did Ferrari develop it so fast? Or were they working on it at the same time?

American driver Alexander Rossi won the second GP3 race in Hungary from pole. In these classes where they have two races in a weekend they invert the top eight finishers, so finish eighth in the first race and you start on pole for the second. It shows how even the cars and drivers are when eighth can win the next day. Not sure of the points, but I know Alexander is close to the top of the championship standings in his first season.

Over at Spa the 24hrs was won by a Porsche after the leading BMW had an off in the last hour, and Michael Waltrip, yes the NASCAR driver, finished third in the GT2 class in a Ferrari!