Bob Barnard Track Engineering

So the only comment so far welcoming the removal of the team orders regulation is from Ferrari, and I loved the comment on ESPNF1 that "Fernando Alonso will target the winner's trophy next year after team orders returned to F1." Makes it sound like it is the only way he can win it, which should not be the case for a driver of his ability. I guess on balance I would rather have a situation like Red Bull this year and let the drivers race, but if you are going to do it then at least be subtle and smart about it.

I can't work out if the AMA's nominating Gov Arnold Schwartzenegger as their "Man of the Year" is a "tongue in cheek" swipe at him for his exhaust noise regulations or not? Can anyone fill me in on this?

Nice reprint of a story on www.lastturnclub.com by Tony Dowe on what it takes to win Le Mans. Tony is back in long distance racing at Daytona next year with a Ferrari 430 he has been building, watch for it.

So the World Council approved the new engine and a raft of other changes which sound less cutting edge and more like historic racing. No team orders, so back to pre 2002, and presumably teams can do almost anything except go back to changing drivers during the race as long as no one notices. 1.6 liter turbo engines with revs limited to 12,000 rpm, they could almost go back to using valve springs. Movable rear wings as we had in the sixties, except they can only be used when the car behind is within one second, is that on both cars? An odd rule change is the reintroduction of intermediate tires for 2011. I thought we had intermediate tires this year? A clean up of the under body rules to outlaw the double diffuser, but as we know you cannot "unlearn" something, so I am sure the boys are already working on that one. Oh yes, and the gearboxes have to last longer and the number of engines per year are reduced, so we are on an endurance/fuel conservation schedule, with biomass additives for 2012. Why not make one set of tires last a race weekend while you are at it, or are they still nervous there will be no overtaking and have to have pit stops? Why not just leave it to the teams to choose whether to start on a hard compound and not pit, or a soft one and gamble on making the time up? That is how all this started anyway when Gordon Murray I think it was worked out he could build a smaller, lighter, car and refuel and still make up the time.

At the awards ceremony the Korean GP received the Promoters Award! What for, giving away more tickets than anyone else has achieved, just finishing the track before the Friday of the race? That now devalues anyone else who has won it.

On a brighter note the new Audi R18 looks stunning, like the Peugeot but more menacing. Not sure how the driver sees over those front wheel arches though. I like the way they have incorporated the mandated rear fin, does not look like an add-on like some I've seen. So do we think that is the color it will race in?

Interesting that the FIA approved the F3 International Trophy at a time when the regular series are struggling to gain enough entries to keep going. The Trophy includes Macau and Pau, two great street races, but not ones that all the competitors choose to do, one estimate is that will cost an extra $100,000, or was that Pounds. It includes the Masters at Zandvoort, and the Korean F3 race which was cancelled this year. Why not just run one F3 series so we have enough cars on the grid. They all go to each others countries after all. F3 is a great series and needs to survive, but not sure this is the way to do it. Barry Bland, the promoter of Macau, is the new FIA single seat chief, so no surprise this got approved.

Monetise, what an interesting word. George Lopez followed up on Martin Whitmarsh's comment the other week about F1 doing a better job to promote itself. Speaking to Autosport Lopez said, "Formula 1 does need to promote itself better as it is a global sport," Lopez told AUTOSPORT. "It probably also needs to monetise better, which is a different thing. Promoting means putting money into something and hoping you get known, monetising means making money."

So, what he wants is more money, not necessarily more fans. He goes on to talk about exploiting the Internet, "Lopez believes there are many other avenues on the Internet that can be pursued that would raise good finance for the sport.

"There is all the historic video content for example - and people would pay," he said. "I would, for example, love to really look at the Ayrton Senna/Alain Prost Suzuka accident, and I would pay to have monthly access to any race I wanted to watch." Well he may pay, but what he is really saying is that we can make money from existing fans by charging them to watch the good old days. Aren't existing fans getting soaked enough by high track entry fees? And didn't Bernie try to get us to pay for HD? That failed badly, one of Bernie's only missteps.

He has lots of other good ideas such as on-course betting. Again, getting money from those already at the race. His idea for new fans? Letting his drivers walk to the paddock without minders.

But maybe George has it correct. We had the Goodwood Revival race meeting over the weekend, a sell out, watching the old stars, both the cars and the drivers, so perhaps watching old races will pay? Perhaps returning racing to these good old days might also increase the audience.

Martin Whitmarsh had another interesting pronouncement the other day on Team Orders from a different perspective. He made the point that motor racing is dangerous, potentially lethal, and no driver should be asked to take that risk just to support his team mate. Good point.

The discussion continues on LinkedIn on spectator decline. A post today from David Harris, who presumably works for SPEED, tells us that viewing figures have grown from 20m when it was Speedvision in 1996, to 80m as SPEED today. Considering most people could not get Speedvision in 1996 I am not surprised. The problem is, are the 80m race fans or motoring soap opera watchers? Pinks, Dangerous Roads, etc. etc. to me do not constitute race fans. As I said yesterday there were great races going on all over the world that we did not see. Now, I do not blame Fox for chasing audience numbers of whatever sort, that is their business, to make money, but there is more to racing than endless NASCAR and "reality" shows.

That is George Lopez's business too, he runs a venture capital group like CVC, who own F1 and are in it for the money. That is great so long as that is not your only objective, all businesses have to make money to survive, but I doubt if you ask Sir Frank Williams, Patrick Head, Peter Sauber, and yes, that epitome of corporate correctness, Ron Dennis, what matters most, they will say the racing. Enzo Ferrari only built road cars to make it possible to go motor racing, not the other way round. Perhaps we have reached the root of the problem? Today's racing is run by "the suits," the grey men who only see the balance sheet, not the timesheet. They have forgotten what made the sport worth investing in in the first place, and will ruin it all.

Finally a mention for someone who does get it and lives it. Garry Dickinson returned to the track that nearly killed him two years ago and rode a couple of laps, virtually his first time back on a bike. Well done Garry, that takes real guts, not some fabricated made for TV BS. Where were SPEED when you did that?

So the World Council of the FIA decided Ferrari had been punished enough for the "team orders" at Hockenheim. It seems they are to revisit the rule so we can assume that team orders are going to be allowed in some form. Jean Todt obviously has a different view to Max Mosely on the subject, which I guess is no surprise as the man in charge at Ferrari when the issue arose in Austria that resulted in the rule. So, what will it be? Teams can order drivers to let their team mate go by as long as it is not done in a way to be seen or heard by the fans? If you listen to some teams that is what is happening anyway, and most fans know it is happening, they just do not want their nose rubbed in it. That is going to take the cooperation of the driver being told to move over, which is where the problem will lie. Rubens and Felipe both clearly wanted everyone to know what was going on. The bottom line is the average fan wants to see racing, and if one driver is quicker than the other then he should be able to pass him on the track without the help of team orders. If this were not the case then why is there an outcry when it happens? So good luck FIA in framing that rule.

The World Council also decided not to accept any of the entries for the additional team for the 2011 season. Not a  big surprise, but disappointing. I think the two applicants were probably better prepared than the three who joined this year, but it seems that the USF1 debacle, and the form of the new teams has made the FIA gun shy.

On a busy day they also released the 2011 schedule, with twenty races including India. Abu Dhabi lost the cherished last race spot to Brazil. That did not take long for that gloss to wear off. So who is going off for 2012, or are we seeing even more races? Bernie's mate Tavo has a date for 2012, if the track is ready, and we know Bernie wants Russia in, and then there is Qatar, Bulgaria etc. The teams are going to need that three week break in August.