Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Is it so much hot air? Does the exhaust location on the Red Bull really hold the key to its performance? When last year's car came out the pull rod suspension was the major differential, and the low exhaust was only a talking point because concerns were expressed about that heat going on to suspension and body parts. Red Bull did not have the double diffuser at the start of the year, but like all the others redesigned the car to include it. Now it seems that the exhaust is being fed into the diffuser airflow, adding significantly to the downforce. It has taken a while for the other teams to catch on, a bit like the "big bang" engine Honda brought out in the GP bikes in '92.

Seems obvious when you think about it, if you can control the heat. There was a great article a few years ago about how an F1 engine is just a huge air pump, 20,000 rpm at that time, so using all that air makes sense. Is this an "E" Duct? Talking of "F" ducts, now most of the teams have sorted out a system they are going to be banned next year, and replaced by adjustable rear wings to replace the adjustable front wing. Jim Hall invented this in the late 60's with the Chaparral, until of course they banned movable aerodynamic devices. Do these guys really know what they are doing? And all this when they are supposed to be saving money! KERS is also back for 2011, another money saver.

It seems that the drivers are not happy with the tires as they are now, let alone if they make them deliberately more difficult. Massa is quoted as saying "It has little to do with racing when you are so dependent on the tyres." Not sure I totally agree, but you get the picture. Anyway, the FIA have finally approved the Pirelli deal in a raft of regulation changes, including the reinstatement of the 107% rule for qualifying. I was never sure how it could be "qualifying if there was not a speed requirement, so I for one am glad to see it back, not sure the new team(s) will.

Watching the World Cup. Interesting that the commentators carry on about Slovenia only having 2m people. You can only play 11, so what's the big deal. Russia and the US have more than anyone, and Russia did not even qualify. We have seen great teams from Holland, Denmark, and Sweden to name a few small countries. It is the quality of the team on the pitch, not the other 100 or so that are not there.

The news from MotoGP is that Yamaha will promote its test rider Wataru Yoshikawa to replace the injured Valentino Rossi for at least three rounds of the MotoGP world championship.

The 41-year-old Japanese rider only has one MotoGP start to his name, but has spent the past eight years as an integral part of Yamaha's development program. Shades of Ferrari last year? Hope this works out better. It still begs the question, are there no young riders to try out? Do they not want to put some young turk in there in case he shows up Lorenzo? This guy is obviously a seat warmer just to honor the contract, very sad.

Is it just me or is it boring at the moment? Not much interesting happening.

Laynie Kelly says in her comment that Jeremy Burgess, a man with more world championships than any rider, suggests that MotoGp will go to 600cc to align with Moto2 because that is the most popular machine that is sold. Now a Toyota Camry used to be the most popular car sold, but F1 does not race them. This has been a problem for years both in the GP's and the US, where manufacturers dictate what to race based on what they want to sell. have they asked the fans what they want to watch? The answer would probably be 500cc two stroke. NASCAR is still running cars you cannot buy because they are managing the show. Take note motorcycle racing.

I mentioned a while ago that the driver market in F1 will be static, but the technical staff is where the interest is. Pat Fry who has worked for McLaren for 18 years has left to join Ferrari. Now that really makes me ask why? They have been staunch enemies forever, so it is hard to see why you would leave and join the enemy. Was he bored? Was he pushed? McLaren works on a matrix management system, so there is no Adrian Newey. Maybe he wanted more control. The whole corporate culture has to be completely alien to what he is used to. Is it money? Hard to imagine. The pull of Ferrari? I can see that for a driver. I guess we will find out one day, but it is one of those things that life throws up and makes you really wonder "what happened there?"

Had our first meeting with the Senior Planner for the County in Arizona where we are intending building the track. His reaction was positive, and we have a meeting on the 6th July to go over the concept with all the relevant Departments of the County. If we have done our site selection well we can be breaking ground in six months.

For want of any other stimulation I have to sign off here, sorry folks.

So, the F1 Team Managers liked the Canadian GP because the marginal tires made for an interesting race. They want to see if they can engineer more of that sort of "spectacle" with future tires being designed to provide more marginal options. Now haven't we tried that? I recall Michelin turned up at Indianapolis with some marginal tires, and I think Goodyear have also done it with NASCAR. I don't recall that it turned out very well. Certainly a "spectacle", but not sure that is what we want. This is not a circus or a lottery. What next, an random wheel fall-off button that Charlie pushes when the race is getting boring?

I remember being at Suzuka in '89 I think it was and standing in the Honda Motorcycle GP team's garage. It was the 250cc race and Bridgestone were just starting with motorcycles. The local riders, not the GP regulars, were all using them and not the Michelin or Dunlop, and at the start they all ran away and hid. I asked the Honda exec in the garage if he wasn't concerned. He turned to me and smiled and said wait till lap 12. Sure enough, lap 12 the Bridgestone boys were all taking to the scenery as the tires went off. It was entertaining, but not GP racing.

I asked at the time what the FIA would have done if a driver ran out of his allotment? And do we really want drivers running around on marginal tires. I know Fangio has won with the canvas showing, but ask Nigel Mansell how it worked for him in Adelaide '86 when he tried to go the whole race on one set. Not that I think we should not do the race on one set. At Le Mans we saw Audi and Peugeot triple stint tires, so it can be done. I am old enough to remember when teams made tires last two GP's! We worry about how to save fuel and make racing more green, but to my knowledge only Tony Dowe has raised the issue of the waste involved in the number of tires used during a GP. We have engines and gearboxes that now have to do multiple GP's, so why not a set or two of tires to last the weekend? Then we will see who can manage their tires.

There was an excess of riches this weekend and I swapped between the World Cup, US Open Golf, NASCAR and Cycling over the Sunday, while starting to pack up the house. It seemed every time I went to NASCAR Jeff Gordon was hitting someone. It was like something out of "Days of Thunder." What's up with Jeff lately, he did not always drive like this. Is Jimmy getting to him? Ekstrom and Magnussen had good races, Ekstrom leading at times until being pushed wide and finishing lower than he deserved, but not bad for his first race. Magnussen had a quieter race but wound up twelfth, again not bad, and they both said they enjoyed it. As I said though, the left turn brigade are learning this right turn stuff and are a hard school for new boys, whatever their pedigree.

Great news that Alex Zanardi is now the Italian Handbike Champion. What a star, and what guts and commitment. He is aiming at the London Olympics in 2012 and I for one will be watching and cheering!

On the motorcycle front, despite his denials, Colin Edwards is being tipped as the man to ride Valentino's bike while he recovers. No offence to Colin, but is there no young rider they could not bring in? Apparently they offered the ride to Cal Crutchlow to move from World Superbike, but he declined the move. That says something when a WSBK rider does not see riding in the GP as a move up in the world. To make matters worse in my mind, Tech 3 is offering Capirossi to move from Suzuki to Colin's ride with a permanent seat in 2011. Again no offence to Loris, but is there no better prospect than that? MotoGP cannot keep drawing from the same well, it will run dry.

Well the narrative is written for Monday and my partner is adding the photos and dressing it up. Pretty happy with it, let's see if the County Planner thinks the same. Today is a day to start packing for the move, so short blog.

Not that there is much to write about. Villeneuve had a very good race at Road America in the NASCAR Nationwide Series by all accounts, and lead at times until an alternator lead dropped him to the back. Jacques has been making noises again about getting a seat in F1 next year, and he obviously still has the desire. I wonder if he could be more successful than Michael? Nationwide is a very competitive series so who knows? Of course it was a road course, but even the left turn brigade seem to be working them out.

We have NASCAR at Sears Point today, I'm sorry I can't come at Infineon, with a couple of superstars from Europe, Jan Magnussen and Mattias Ekstrom in the race. Ekstrom is a DTM driver, which is probably the closest thing to an F1 car with a body on, so it will be interesting to see what he does with a NASCAR. Magnussen has driven just about everything, driving the Corvette at Le Mans last weekend. I met him when he came to Panoz back in the late 90's and I remember his first test in the car at Road Atlanta. Cold December day, track damp, never sat in the car before, and in 14 laps beat any else's time. So he may actually do better that Mattias.

British MotoGP run and won as predicted by Lorenzo. Only 15 bikes started, and Lorenzo won going away. Spies did well to get third with apparently a fractured ankle, but I have to wonder if this is all imploding? You cannot keep fielding that few riders and only 12 finishing, and no real racing.

That is the only word to describe the performance of England yesterday at the World Cup. Those proud men that won it in 1966 must cringe when they see that display. These guys are some of the best players in the world, week in, week out in the English League. Is it the coach, and why we have to have an Italian I'll never know, or do the players just forget how? Are we back to England's old ways of picking eleven players and not a team?

It is interesting that Last Turn Club in it's Le Mans review asks the same question of the Peugeot drivers. It seems odd to think of it in the same way as when they are in the car they are very much on their own, but it is just as true in motor racing that a great team will always beat a team of great individuals. Le Mans is first about finishing, and Audi had a plan and a speed they knew they could run at that would get them there. Their drivers obviously bought into that plan, and ran the pace. Peugeot may have had a plan, but in any event the drivers seemed more intent on seeing who could put in the quickest lap, not the one that will make it last. Last year they brought in David Brabham as an experienced hand at getting to the end and winning, and they did as I recall in the slowest of the three cars. David was to be the steadying influence, but this year they thought they could do without him. It is no coincidence that Audi keep Kristensen, Capello and McNish together.

Why talk about a race a week old? because there is still nothing startling going on. MotoGP at Silverstone for the first time in a very long while, and the boys like it a lot. Silverstone has always been a fast circuit. At one time the average was around 150 mph! It was a lot of straight interrupted by a few corners. The layout has changed constantly with the most recent iteration being built for this race and future F1 GP's. It is still quick, just not as quick as it was. The track that was not repaved in this go round is apparently very bumpy and it will be interesting to see if the F1 guys complain. Hard to see why it would have changed that much from last year. Looking forward to seeing the races tomorrow to see how those new corners work out in a race situation.

Grand Am at Mid Ohio and the Ganassi car on pole, but only just. Still, they are dominating a series where it is supposed to be near enough equal equipment. May take a look later, but really have to work on the planning submission for the new track this weekend so we can submit it Monday. Appreciate all the good words about landing the project, and even the clients who are going to miss out were pleased for me which is nice. Also need to start thinking about the move. A friend commented that it was a big step, and then I reminded him he is moving from Oz to the US shortly! Moving is just part of the deal, and part of the fun truth be told. Can't work out if I am a gypsy or a mercenary. Anyway this could be the place to stay. Build a really fun track and settle down to run it.