Bob Barnard Track Engineering

So Charlie is in Korea, but no news posted yet on a decision, not that we do not already know what it will be. The Head of the Spanish Motorsport Federation and World Council member was telling Spanish reporters yesterday that it will be approved. Amazing what a bag full of money can buy these days. Presumably the Koreans are paying what Russia is being asked and what Singapore and Abu Dhabi are paying, $40m.

It seems from comments by my Australian friends that their channels are doing the same bang up job of showing racing as Speed. One outburst was about how many more ads Channel Ten could fit into the MotoGP. As my wife tells me constantly, do not ask those questions as you might find out. Then there was Bathurst and a case of damned if you do and damned if you don't. Channel Seven, who I gave up on years before SPEED, decided not to miss any action during ad breaks, so they got progressively behind the actual race, to the tune of nearly an hour! So if you had the internet in some form you knew who won, and more importantly it ran into the Japanese GP coverage. Fans are accusing Channel Seven of putting ad revenue before the audience, now who would think that of a TV channel, but actually they were doing the opposite to my mind. SPEED would have just cut it off to go to a NASCAR race.  Actually I do not think they show it at all.

Apparently the last three laps of the NASCAR Sprint Cup race were really exciting. Pity about the other 197. Seriously, I did not watch it, have not watched a NASCAR race all year, but it is good to see Tony win again. Now maybe we can get someone else other than Jimmie Johnson to win the "Race to Chase." I might watch that.

Pedrosa says he is going to race at Phillip Island this coming weekend. Tough guys these motorcycle riders. I think I told you that when we ran the six hour a young rider had to complete the last twenty minutes with a broken collarbone to finish third, his co-rider having already done his maximum time allowed on the bike. It will be good to see the Island again, it will encourage me to keep writing my book.

In the fall-out from Suzuka it seems Massa is being given a gentle reminder to pull his finger out and help Alonso, or else what? Webber correctly says he needs to win a race, he cannot just finish second to Vettel, Ferrari says they have to qualify better, and McLaren say they can only work harder to improve the car and it's reliabilty and not worry about the rest. Like most sports, you are actually racing yourself. As Kenny said to Jnr., "we're not here to win, we're here to ride better." The message is, if you keep riding better then eventually you will be better than the others, whatever they are doing. It's like watching American Football, especially San Francisco last night, if you do not make mistakes and beat yourself, then most times you will win. Ask Renault, what might have been if Kubica's wheel had been put on correctly? Or Valentino about his crash.

I hope Korean paving is good, in fact I hope it is the best in the world. If not we are in for a sorry weekend there. The track has released a communication that the track is 98-99% complete. That's good because the inspection is Monday. They go on to say: "The last crucial element is the top layer of surface asphalt, with other less important things likely to go unfinished."

"The inspection team may put first priority on safety and appropriateness of the race track ahead of other factors such as cleanliness and makeshift stands," Kim admitted.

Work on the final surface layer began on Tuesday(!) and will take six days -- exactly the time available until Charlie Whiting arrives at the venue direct from Suzuka.

"Before the inspection the only thing left to do is working on the surface of the track," Kim confirmed." Oh, is that all?

What has taken so long to start this? The most crucial element of any track is the surface, if it does not hold up then you have no race, ask the guys in Dallas, Montreal, Cleveland, or Spa back in 80's. Not sure why it will take six days, I have taken three on most tracks I've done, and I would have thought these guys would have arranged every ton of mix they can lay their hands on. Not that three days is going to make any difference now.

Sad to hear of the passing of Peter Warr, the Team Manager and Principal for the real Team Lotus. Responsible for guiding the team during those glory days. Let's hope the new Team Lotus, if that is what it is finally called, can match them.

Kimi has come out strongly condemning Renault for using his name in connection with a the second seat, he says he was never interested. So why did his management contact Renault? Playing games with rally teams. His name is linked to a move to Ford or the new Mini for next season. Let's hope whatever he drives he can keep on the road. So, who is driving for Renault? The silly season is back, although there are not many seats really free. It seems there will be one at Force India, but whether it is Sutil or Liuzzi we still do not know. HRT are playing games with who is driving in Japan this weekend, let alone next year. Must be great for the driver's mental preparation.

To mention mental preparation, the tension and concentration in Race Control during a race weekend is a high as the drivers. Having worked in a few, including F1, Le Mans, and MotoGP, I enjoyed the piece on how it works in today's ESPNF1 web page, check it out.

Thanks to those of you that are excited about reading my book, should I write it, which seems pretty inevitable but is a daunting task. Writing this blog every day is sometimes taxing, but at least with the book I do not have to worry about content. My main problem is what to leave out so I do not get sued!

I have commented often on the ongoing hydraulic problems that beset the new teams, and their seeming inability to get on top of it. Well Tony Fernandes has found the answer, buy the gearbox and hydraulics from Red Bull to go with the new Renault engine. Job done. As I have said recently Tony is a man who is committed to doing F1 right, despite his comments on blue flags, and with this combination, a stable team, and more announcements coming, it seems he will not have to worry about the flags for long. Now, if we could just get the name sorted.

So, 7-Eleven have pulled the plug on Tony Kanaan's car in the Andretti-Green stable. They have been with Tony and Andretti a long time. Is it the lack of results? They are staying with Danica who has no better results, but I guess she has other attributes. Who knows, other than their marketing chief, maybe it was just time for a change or the economy still is a problem. Tony is now looking for sponsors or another drive, either way not easy I would suspect.

On the home front, I have thought for a long time about writing my experiences, particularly the Adelaide F1 and Phillip Island sagas, but there is so much more with Sinatra at Sanctuary Cove, Daytona, Road Atlanta and other projects. I have been encouraged, mainly by my lovely wife Xan, to write a book, and have started a couple of times, only to become annoyed at the outcomes all over again, so I stop. I now find the time is likely to be available and I think I have the right attitude to do it. I've solicited advice from friends and acquaintances in the business, and the response so far is encouraging. I will keep you posted.

Potentially three good meetings this week for Sol Real, one this afternoon before our usual presentation, which looks like being accompanied by the usual thunderstorms. Amazing how that happens on Tuesdays.

Not much else going on, Japanese F1 GP and Malaysian MotoGp both on this weekend. Lorenzo can wrap up the motorcycle title by finishing tenth or better, which barring Rossi punting him off should be doable. Apparently the Yamaha management has taken a very dim view of last weekends events, enough so that Valentino is now likely to make Malaysia his last race, spit the dummy and go and get his shoulder fixed.

The F1 race is extremely unlikely to decide anything, other than maybe eliminate  one of the "gang of five." One thing is for sure though, being Suzuka it will be a good race.

Will the real Lotus please stand up? This situation over the use of "Lotus" would be silly if it were not for the history behind that name. This is a fight between two Malaysian groups that both use the Lotus name. One is Proton, the Malaysian car maker, owned by the Government I think, that owns the rights to make Lotus road cars, and has obviously decided to go racing in a big way. They sponsor a car in IRL for Kato to drive, and have just extended that deal, and have just announced an LMP2 Prototype for 2012. In between they have announced they are sponsoring the ART GP2 team next year. So, despite licensing Tony Fernandes, another Malaysian, to use the Lotus name this year in F1, I guess they have woken up that this is a great name to have if you are going racing and have decided not to renew the agreement, or rescind it, depending on what you read.

The plot thickens, as "Team Lotus," the original F1 Team, was presumably run as a separate entity to the Lotus road cars, and that name is apparently owned by David Hunt, relation of James Hunt F1 Champion. Tony Fernandes says he has acquired the rights from David to use the Team Lotus name next year. It is all headed to the courts to resolve this mess. As nice as it is to see Lotus racing again, some of us would probably have been just as happy to remember them as they were and save us all this. How about "Force Malaysia" Tony?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or paddock. It seems FOTA met at Singapore and agreed a "Resource Restriction Agreement" RRA, to run through 2017. Reading between the lines it sounds as if they have just extended the time for the existing "Resource Restriction" out to 2017. Quoting Renault Team Principle, Eric Boullier, "The decision taken last year [with the original RRA] was maybe in a special context with manufacturers threatening to break away for another championship. The RRA in its old version could even have damaged the sport by being too radical and I was keen to change the slope and extending it – and why not? We know we have to enter into a transition period. Everyone has done a reasonable job and I am happy we have signed this agreement."

So, it is business as usual, find as much money as you can and find a way to spend it. Martin Whitmarsh said that a number of loopholes have been closed and the RRA should be harder to fudge in future. Let us remember that this is basically a "Gentlemen's Agreement" between the teams, and there are few gentlemen in that paddock. You just have to look at the ludicrous amounts of money spent on the "motorhomes," McLaren being the biggest offender, to see where it goes. How is that making the racing better? Yes the drivers and engineers need somewhere to work and debrief, but that is a mobile Taj Mahal used for only half the races anyway. Never mind a test team, how big a team and how many trucks does that take to cart around and assemble, let alone run. Can you imagine the kitchen?

Just look at the musical drivers going on. A contract is not worth much apparently. Heidfeld did bring a sponsor to HRT as I suggested, but his drive to the end of the season seems to have lasted one race. Let's see who gets in that hot seat for Japan. Ask Petrov how his contract is going, with Boullier now saying he wants to meet Kimi face-to-face to see how serious he is about returning? Luizzi is confident his contract and good relations with the team will save his seat for next year. Let us know how that works out for you Tonio.

You have to be sorry for the young guns coming into F1 at the moment, it is like a revolving door. With the ban on testing they get no seat time before being thrown in at the deep end, and then if they do not perform straight away they are tossed out in favor of the next rising star with a bag full of money. Di Grassi is the latest that looks to be headed that way with D'Ambrosio getting to practice in the Virgin and reportedly bringing $5m with him to do it. Is this getting to be IRL? Seriously, Jerome is a very good young driver, but how long is he going to have to prove himself? This is getting ridiculous. HRT had Chandook and Senna, then "look at the size of my wallet" Yamamoto turns up, and now Christian Klein is in the car, with or without a sponsor? Petrov took over from Grosjean, who was supposed to be the next great French driver, and now he is under threat. As Steve Matchett said during this mornings practice from Singapore, how can a team set up a car when there is no continuity?

Let's compare the approach of Lotus, under whatever name combination. Tony Fernandes goes out and hires Mike Gascoyne, Trulli and Kovalainen, and puts a decent car together. Rehires the drivers for next year, no messing about with rent-a-rides, and moves from Cosworth power to Renault. Tony is obviously very serious about being a long term success and putting his money where his mouth is. Compare that with his airline rival, Sir Richard Branson, who owns Virgin. Puts a team together on the cheap, yes they have some experienced people from racing, but not the top of F1. Yes he has Glock, but where else was he going to go, and now more young guys. You do not get the feeling he is totally committed to this do you?

As I may have mentioned a while ago I was approached by the Singapore GP to put in a bid to redesign some of the corners to improve overtaking. Well, they decided they did not need my expertise, or maybe it was my cost to do it? Anyway, they have fiddled while Rome burned, a few bumps removed here, pit lane lowered half an inch? They changed that stupid chicane, something Hamilton and I both agree on, and made it worse! That chicane just turns the track into a one line track, so most of the problem with lack of overtaking is in the corners leading up to one where there is an opportunity, because you cannot get close enough. Instead of messing about with a Government style "request for a quote" they should have given all the respected track designers a stipend to come up with alternatives and then pick what looks the best to be refined. That way they would get a lot of different ideas, not just one.  But who asked my opinion?

Rain continues to be a threat, not while they are racing, as it seems to be a typical tropical 4pm shower, but because the track does not dry, or worse, does not dry evenly.

Unfortunately everyone seems in love with Singapore for the wrong reasons, just like Abu Dhabi. It's not about the backdrop, or the celebrities, or the rock and roll show, it's the racing stupid! This track has yet to show us it can deliver on that score.