What's happening?
Friday, June 18, 2010 at 12:25PM
Not much would be the answer. I find it strange that here we are on a Friday before a motorsport weekend and there is little to write home about. MotoGP at Silverstone, Grand-Am at Mid-Ohio, and not much else. Most of the "news" seems to be about F1 at Valencia next weekend, and there is not much of that. Schumacher has not been there so he might struggle even more. How long is he going to put up with this do you think? Mansell gave up mid season after coming back from the CART series, but I think Michael will see the season out. Can't be much fun though, and that is what he says he racing for, there can't be any other reason.
Hamilton makes the point that this is probably the most competitive season for a long time. Although it seems that McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are the only teams really threatening to win races, Rosberg in the Mercedes you have to think could win won if all the stars aligned, and Kubica can't be discounted either. So you have eight drivers potentially capable, which is making for the season we hoped for and did not think we were going to get after Bahrain. Shades of the 500cc Motorcycle GP's in the late eighties and early nineties. It's putting a lot of pressure on drivers and teams to do the business not only at the track but back at the factory, week after week. The cream will rise to the top. Good to watch and see who can handle the pressure.
So, on the home front we are off to Arizona in the next few weeks. One client finally has committed to a project and is bringing us on board. It is a new 3.5 mile Country Club to design, build and operate, so we will be there for a while. Love the desert climate, takes me back to my days in Alice Springs, nice and warm with little to no humidity. Going to make a nice change from Louisiana! We are at the very start of the process which is great as I can influence the structure and operation from the start and bring my experience and knowledge to good use on every aspect of the project. The track itself is no different than a full on road race course, just structured differently, and this is the future of how tracks will operate. Until such time as sanctioned events such as the ALMS make some economic sense, if they ever will, then there is no reason to take on the risk involved in betting you can pull a crowd to pay for it. Too may series, F1 as the extreme, see the promoter as the cash cow rather than an equal partner in making the series succeed. NASCAR has been the only one to embrace that, but now the France and Smith families have effectively taken over all the tracks that has gone by the board. But it has been an essential feature of what made NASCAR, the sharing of the spoils between the series, teams, drivers and promoters, something every series needs to learn from. There is a great book, "The NASCAR Way," the business that drives the sport, by Robert G. Hagerstrom a Wall Street analyst, that lays out where the money comes and goes. The playing field has changed a little since he wrote it with the big two soaking up more tracks, but you get the picture.
Let's hope tomorrow brings some excitement and inspiration from today's practice sessions.
Hamilton makes the point that this is probably the most competitive season for a long time. Although it seems that McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari are the only teams really threatening to win races, Rosberg in the Mercedes you have to think could win won if all the stars aligned, and Kubica can't be discounted either. So you have eight drivers potentially capable, which is making for the season we hoped for and did not think we were going to get after Bahrain. Shades of the 500cc Motorcycle GP's in the late eighties and early nineties. It's putting a lot of pressure on drivers and teams to do the business not only at the track but back at the factory, week after week. The cream will rise to the top. Good to watch and see who can handle the pressure.
So, on the home front we are off to Arizona in the next few weeks. One client finally has committed to a project and is bringing us on board. It is a new 3.5 mile Country Club to design, build and operate, so we will be there for a while. Love the desert climate, takes me back to my days in Alice Springs, nice and warm with little to no humidity. Going to make a nice change from Louisiana! We are at the very start of the process which is great as I can influence the structure and operation from the start and bring my experience and knowledge to good use on every aspect of the project. The track itself is no different than a full on road race course, just structured differently, and this is the future of how tracks will operate. Until such time as sanctioned events such as the ALMS make some economic sense, if they ever will, then there is no reason to take on the risk involved in betting you can pull a crowd to pay for it. Too may series, F1 as the extreme, see the promoter as the cash cow rather than an equal partner in making the series succeed. NASCAR has been the only one to embrace that, but now the France and Smith families have effectively taken over all the tracks that has gone by the board. But it has been an essential feature of what made NASCAR, the sharing of the spoils between the series, teams, drivers and promoters, something every series needs to learn from. There is a great book, "The NASCAR Way," the business that drives the sport, by Robert G. Hagerstrom a Wall Street analyst, that lays out where the money comes and goes. The playing field has changed a little since he wrote it with the big two soaking up more tracks, but you get the picture.
Let's hope tomorrow brings some excitement and inspiration from today's practice sessions.
New day, New Track
Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 11:20AM
Well we have a conceptual layout for a new 3.5 mile road race track. As I said, it evolves and all of a sudden it is there. Client happy, I'm happy, and the couple of drivers we showed are also happy, so life is good. Hope to start on this real soon. I will let you know the web site to go to in a week or so. So Eddie, the blogs may be shorter but will keep coming, and I will keep you all up to date on the progress. You can see the steps as they happen.
I don't know what is happening with motor sport lately, the rumors and activity are down to a dull roar, so not much prompting a reaction. There a few things of course. The inevitable fallout form the Red Bull fiasco is that now every time Mark Webber has an issue there are questions raised as to whether they are trying to engineer Vettel to beat him. Montreal saw a gearbox change after he qualified in front of Vettel, but then Vettel had the problem in the race so perhaps he should have been the one to change it? Then there is the tire strategy, but I do not recall that they were on different ones.
Webber has suggested that they will struggle at Valencia. Everyone struggles with that track. How you end up with that many corners and how some of them are designed amazes me when there seems to be a lot of space to choose from in most places, The corners on to and off the bridge I find particularly odd. It seems to me that designers like to boast about how many corners they can fit in. Look at the extension of the Bahrain track! To me a corner must be there for a reason, and be designed to achieve something. Not every corner can be an overtaking opportunity, but do not just put them in because it is a while since we had one. Phillip Island is a classic example of how you can have twelve corners in three miles and have the best layout in the world.
Peter Sauber is apparently contemplating using the Ferrari KERS system next year. This sounds odd at first as he has just yesterday come out and blamed the Ferrari engine he uses on his team poor finishing record. Still, as he uses the Ferrari engine I suppose he has to use their KERS system. One more opportunity for Ferrari to excel as the spin doctors would say.
I mentioned the defections from the technical staff at Force India. Apparently Lotus are offering twice the pay according to Force India. Now VJ Mallya who owns it is supposed to be a very wealthy man, with his own airline and brewery, so one would think he can compete with the owner of Lotus, but there were lots of rumors earlier this year about Force India not paying their bills, so maybe the recession hit VJ more, or perhaps he just does not like spending his own money to keep the team going. Formula One is a very expensive hobby as Sir Richard Branson is finding out, and money does not always buy success. It has eaten up and spat out more than a few rich guys. If you want to know how it operates read "The Piranha Club."
MotoGP at Silverstone this weekend, we will finally see how the new corners work there.
I don't know what is happening with motor sport lately, the rumors and activity are down to a dull roar, so not much prompting a reaction. There a few things of course. The inevitable fallout form the Red Bull fiasco is that now every time Mark Webber has an issue there are questions raised as to whether they are trying to engineer Vettel to beat him. Montreal saw a gearbox change after he qualified in front of Vettel, but then Vettel had the problem in the race so perhaps he should have been the one to change it? Then there is the tire strategy, but I do not recall that they were on different ones.
Webber has suggested that they will struggle at Valencia. Everyone struggles with that track. How you end up with that many corners and how some of them are designed amazes me when there seems to be a lot of space to choose from in most places, The corners on to and off the bridge I find particularly odd. It seems to me that designers like to boast about how many corners they can fit in. Look at the extension of the Bahrain track! To me a corner must be there for a reason, and be designed to achieve something. Not every corner can be an overtaking opportunity, but do not just put them in because it is a while since we had one. Phillip Island is a classic example of how you can have twelve corners in three miles and have the best layout in the world.
Peter Sauber is apparently contemplating using the Ferrari KERS system next year. This sounds odd at first as he has just yesterday come out and blamed the Ferrari engine he uses on his team poor finishing record. Still, as he uses the Ferrari engine I suppose he has to use their KERS system. One more opportunity for Ferrari to excel as the spin doctors would say.
I mentioned the defections from the technical staff at Force India. Apparently Lotus are offering twice the pay according to Force India. Now VJ Mallya who owns it is supposed to be a very wealthy man, with his own airline and brewery, so one would think he can compete with the owner of Lotus, but there were lots of rumors earlier this year about Force India not paying their bills, so maybe the recession hit VJ more, or perhaps he just does not like spending his own money to keep the team going. Formula One is a very expensive hobby as Sir Richard Branson is finding out, and money does not always buy success. It has eaten up and spat out more than a few rich guys. If you want to know how it operates read "The Piranha Club."
MotoGP at Silverstone this weekend, we will finally see how the new corners work there.
Mia Culpa
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 11:17AM
Sorry readers, had good intentions to write yesterday, but circumstances got in the way, and there was really nothing that caught my attention. Not that today is much better on the news and rumor front. Mr. Schumacher is being roundly criticised for his drive in Canada, a track he used to shine at, for both his poor finish and the way he attacked other drivers trying to pass. Not that this is new, but I guess in the old days not many people tried to pass him. Lotus seemed to step up a gear in Canada, and we will have to see if that was due to the odd tire situation there or a real improvement.
The FIA seem to putting all the teams, and the possible extra team, in a bind with the decisions on tires and who they are going to select to fill the last slot on the grid. August has been mentioned for the team decision, which puts that team in the same situation as this years new boys, scrambling to design a car and build it and raise the sponsorship. Do we not learn? On the tire front the teams themselves are taking the time to decide, but then you have Jean Todt saying it has to go out to tender! I did not know the FIA was a Government Department who have to get three bids and take the lowest, or is it the EU and rules on competition driving this? If they do not make a decision so next years cars can be designed no one will be driving anything. Just maybe Pirelli have agreed to make tires just like this years so the teams already know what to design?
I am at last working on a conceptual layout for a track, and finding it very hard to focus on much else. The site in this case is flat, so the terrain is not helping me. Not hindering either I guess, but it means it all has to come out of my head. There are still some guiding parameters such as length, orientation, and the ability to divide it and still have two good tracks, and the proposed use. That still leaves a wealth of options, and as I have said, you have one chance to get it right and lots to get it wrong. There are obviously certain types of corners that I like to use, and combinations, so I will keep plugging ideas down until it formulates. So excuse me for not writing more, but most of my brain is off thinking of producing something for the owner today, at least as a first draft.
The FIA seem to putting all the teams, and the possible extra team, in a bind with the decisions on tires and who they are going to select to fill the last slot on the grid. August has been mentioned for the team decision, which puts that team in the same situation as this years new boys, scrambling to design a car and build it and raise the sponsorship. Do we not learn? On the tire front the teams themselves are taking the time to decide, but then you have Jean Todt saying it has to go out to tender! I did not know the FIA was a Government Department who have to get three bids and take the lowest, or is it the EU and rules on competition driving this? If they do not make a decision so next years cars can be designed no one will be driving anything. Just maybe Pirelli have agreed to make tires just like this years so the teams already know what to design?
I am at last working on a conceptual layout for a track, and finding it very hard to focus on much else. The site in this case is flat, so the terrain is not helping me. Not hindering either I guess, but it means it all has to come out of my head. There are still some guiding parameters such as length, orientation, and the ability to divide it and still have two good tracks, and the proposed use. That still leaves a wealth of options, and as I have said, you have one chance to get it right and lots to get it wrong. There are obviously certain types of corners that I like to use, and combinations, so I will keep plugging ideas down until it formulates. So excuse me for not writing more, but most of my brain is off thinking of producing something for the owner today, at least as a first draft.
Gentlemen Start Your Engines
Monday, June 14, 2010 at 10:51AM
I have commented before on the performance, or lack of, of Lord Peter Drayson, definitely a gentleman driver. This weekend he was not the one to stick it in the gravel, that was left to his professional co-driver, and the Lord seemed to acquit himself OK, when the car was going. There were a few "amateur" drivers in the field, which is part of the spirit of Le Mans going back to "The Bentley Boys" of the thirties, but Last Turn Club asks the question in their lead up piece to the race "should we be paying to watch amateurs?" I admit to having it both ways on this very good question. As paying spectators, sponsors and advertisers should we not expect to see the very best in action? The point was made that just because you own the team should you be playing? Should Jerry Jones quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys if he feels so inclined?
The other side of the coin is that the car would probably not be there at all if it were not for the amateur paying for his fun, and there are some very good cars in this category. We would have missed Emanuele Pirro giving it to the Peugeot at Sebring, and the Strakka LMP2 car won its class this weekend and ran faultlessly with a gentleman owner/driver. He was admittedly a lot slower than his professional mates, but they got there in the end in front of the all pro Highcroft team. It can be argued that mixing up the ability of drivers adds a level of strategy and interest, who is quicker when and who to put in the car when. The Flying Lizards Porsche was actually the subject of LTC's comment, but this is a fan favorite in the US and usually a very competitive car.
So I would say on balance let them come and pay/play. Le Mans has divided the GT class next year into Pro and Amateur to presumably address this, but have limited the amateurs to one year old cars. If they can afford it why exclude them from buying a new car. This is hurting the manufacturers. Some classes require you to have at least one amateur in the car, which may resolve the issue and mix it up a bit. Perhaps Duncan Dayton can drive the Highcroft, but then again some amateurs are more professional than others!
Formula One was on the Fox Network this weekend, presumably the NASCAR Channel was too busy with NASCAR at this time slot to show it. Or did some programmer think that he might get a lot of new viewers to watch it if it is shown at noon and not 6 am? It must have been the latter, because we were treated to half of the show being "taught" about F1 and how it difered from NASCAR. Why they should do that I do not know, it "dumbed down" the broadcast. Next time I tune in to watch a World Series Baseball game I expect the rules to be explained to me as an Englishman for at least half the game, and how it is different to cricket. Never happen will it, nor will they explain how they play basketball or American Football, so why do they feel they have to do it here? If someone is interested enough to watch it and they like it then they will presumably go and find out about it. SPEED/Fox need to look at how VERSUS handles the Tour de France.
And why would you compare it to NASCAR? Presumably all the NASCAR fans are watching NASCAR on the SPEED Channel aka NASCAR Channel. That's why you moved it over in the first place. Until a Network treats F1 with the respect it deserves it is never going to be accepted in the US. We went straight into the race, the cars were already on the formation lap. Can you imagine tuning in to the Daytona 500 when they are behind the pace car? Of course not. Worse, despite being told how fast the race had gone, they cut away from interviewing Alonso as they had run out of time. I guess we only saw the other two because the race was quicker? Saturday, when SPEED left Le Mans to go to NASCAR they stayed with the truck race for a half an hour longer, delaying the F1 qualifying, so they could show the podium and interviews. Is a truck race really more important than F1? That is the message Fox who owns SPEED is sending.
It was actually a very interesting race. As I said yesterday, the track surface and its effect on tires reminded me of Adelaide. What were the FIA going to do if the boys had run out of their allotted number of tires? This is the first time the two compound of tire rule was clearly instrumental in deciding the race, so maybe there is a reason to keep it. Hamilton seems to have stepped up a gear after Turkey, smell of blood maybe? Kubica continued to impress, and show us that the dollars spent in the wind tunnel and front wings really means nothing, being the fastest car on the track with half the right front end of the wing missing. Shades of Massa and Barcelona. Schumacher must have taught Anthony Davidson how to drive. He continues to push people off without penalty, and he is not even driving a Ferrari! Interesting how the silver and red teams this weekend showed what experience, knowledge, determination and teamwork can produce.
To my Australian friends, do not be too despondent. Germany look to be the team to beat so far.
The other side of the coin is that the car would probably not be there at all if it were not for the amateur paying for his fun, and there are some very good cars in this category. We would have missed Emanuele Pirro giving it to the Peugeot at Sebring, and the Strakka LMP2 car won its class this weekend and ran faultlessly with a gentleman owner/driver. He was admittedly a lot slower than his professional mates, but they got there in the end in front of the all pro Highcroft team. It can be argued that mixing up the ability of drivers adds a level of strategy and interest, who is quicker when and who to put in the car when. The Flying Lizards Porsche was actually the subject of LTC's comment, but this is a fan favorite in the US and usually a very competitive car.
So I would say on balance let them come and pay/play. Le Mans has divided the GT class next year into Pro and Amateur to presumably address this, but have limited the amateurs to one year old cars. If they can afford it why exclude them from buying a new car. This is hurting the manufacturers. Some classes require you to have at least one amateur in the car, which may resolve the issue and mix it up a bit. Perhaps Duncan Dayton can drive the Highcroft, but then again some amateurs are more professional than others!
Formula One was on the Fox Network this weekend, presumably the NASCAR Channel was too busy with NASCAR at this time slot to show it. Or did some programmer think that he might get a lot of new viewers to watch it if it is shown at noon and not 6 am? It must have been the latter, because we were treated to half of the show being "taught" about F1 and how it difered from NASCAR. Why they should do that I do not know, it "dumbed down" the broadcast. Next time I tune in to watch a World Series Baseball game I expect the rules to be explained to me as an Englishman for at least half the game, and how it is different to cricket. Never happen will it, nor will they explain how they play basketball or American Football, so why do they feel they have to do it here? If someone is interested enough to watch it and they like it then they will presumably go and find out about it. SPEED/Fox need to look at how VERSUS handles the Tour de France.
And why would you compare it to NASCAR? Presumably all the NASCAR fans are watching NASCAR on the SPEED Channel aka NASCAR Channel. That's why you moved it over in the first place. Until a Network treats F1 with the respect it deserves it is never going to be accepted in the US. We went straight into the race, the cars were already on the formation lap. Can you imagine tuning in to the Daytona 500 when they are behind the pace car? Of course not. Worse, despite being told how fast the race had gone, they cut away from interviewing Alonso as they had run out of time. I guess we only saw the other two because the race was quicker? Saturday, when SPEED left Le Mans to go to NASCAR they stayed with the truck race for a half an hour longer, delaying the F1 qualifying, so they could show the podium and interviews. Is a truck race really more important than F1? That is the message Fox who owns SPEED is sending.
It was actually a very interesting race. As I said yesterday, the track surface and its effect on tires reminded me of Adelaide. What were the FIA going to do if the boys had run out of their allotted number of tires? This is the first time the two compound of tire rule was clearly instrumental in deciding the race, so maybe there is a reason to keep it. Hamilton seems to have stepped up a gear after Turkey, smell of blood maybe? Kubica continued to impress, and show us that the dollars spent in the wind tunnel and front wings really means nothing, being the fastest car on the track with half the right front end of the wing missing. Shades of Massa and Barcelona. Schumacher must have taught Anthony Davidson how to drive. He continues to push people off without penalty, and he is not even driving a Ferrari! Interesting how the silver and red teams this weekend showed what experience, knowledge, determination and teamwork can produce.
To my Australian friends, do not be too despondent. Germany look to be the team to beat so far.
24 Hours
Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 04:03PM
No not the TV show. What a difference 24 hours makes. Friday Hamilton and Button were bemoaning their lack of speed, problems with tires, could not work out what was going on. Saturday Hamilton dominates practice and qualifying! And then there was Alonso, competitive again, the Ferrari seems like a switch, either on or off. I have not watched the F1 race from Canada, OD'd on Le Mans so will save it till later, but it seems like it was an interesting race. Sold out crowd, so maybe you do not know what you've nearly lost till it's gone? The track resurfacing sounds like what we did in Adelaide in '85. Paranoid about it breaking up so overkill and end up with a hard, smooth surface with not a lot of grip.
Le Mans was another "what a difference a day makes" 24 hours. Great race, with the Peugeots on paper unbeatable. All four could not fail. could they? Yep, that's why we run the race. Congratulations Audi, typical Audi win, never ever give up, give it all you've got. Somehow Peugeot seem to assemble a bunch of very quick drivers that never come across as a team, or a group that understand what this race is about. I know this is a strange thing to say, but of the two teams Audi comes across as the more human. Is that because we have got to know them longer, or a different chemistry despite being German? The attitude is reflected for me in the disparate attitudes of Kristensen and Davidson to their separate events with slower cars. Davidson's dismissal of the Corvette's accident borders on criminal, while Tom is remarkably forgiving about the BMW that put him off and ultimately cost him the race.
Not that we got to see much of the race here in the US. It should be the Le Mans 6 hour on Speed, as I'm sure that is all we got to see. Excuse me all you readers who are lucky enough not to have to suffer Speed, but thank goodness for Radio Le Mans! I do not understand why they even bother to show the race. First up we saw the start and then left after 3 1/2 hours. We left for NASCAR of course, which even delayed the F1 qualifying because the Camping World Truck Series is so exciting! So at 6 pm they came back and proceeded to fill the show with all the usual BS. The same ads every 6-7 minutes with no respect for what is happening on the track. I am sure this is all pre-programmed, there is no director watching what is happening. If there is he should be fired. Most of them are for other Speed shows, especially NASCAR races of course. Now we are race fans, but not necessarily NASCAR fans. So either we know it is on or we do not care. I am not going to watch it just because you advertise it every 5 minutes.
We have the obligatory interview with Scott Atherton, and the "infomercials" for Michelin and an empty tent full of tires that we talked about for five minutes, a tour of the Chevrolet pits, and David Brabham's home movies. Justin Bell wandering through an empty track Village at 3 am looking for some drunks to talk to, and we saw the Art Car, the painted up BMW feature at least four times. And the art car did so well didn't it, not! However this was painted it was a dog, at least some of the earlier cars performed well. Thankfully it stopped early, but not before wandering across the track in front of Kristensen, what was Priaulx thinking of? Why didn't they take the BMWs from here in the US run by Bobby Rahal? They have been competitive, which is more than you can say for the Jaguar. Yes I know I have beaten this to death, but 4 laps? Only the England goalkeeper put on a worse display!
Le Mans was another "what a difference a day makes" 24 hours. Great race, with the Peugeots on paper unbeatable. All four could not fail. could they? Yep, that's why we run the race. Congratulations Audi, typical Audi win, never ever give up, give it all you've got. Somehow Peugeot seem to assemble a bunch of very quick drivers that never come across as a team, or a group that understand what this race is about. I know this is a strange thing to say, but of the two teams Audi comes across as the more human. Is that because we have got to know them longer, or a different chemistry despite being German? The attitude is reflected for me in the disparate attitudes of Kristensen and Davidson to their separate events with slower cars. Davidson's dismissal of the Corvette's accident borders on criminal, while Tom is remarkably forgiving about the BMW that put him off and ultimately cost him the race.
Not that we got to see much of the race here in the US. It should be the Le Mans 6 hour on Speed, as I'm sure that is all we got to see. Excuse me all you readers who are lucky enough not to have to suffer Speed, but thank goodness for Radio Le Mans! I do not understand why they even bother to show the race. First up we saw the start and then left after 3 1/2 hours. We left for NASCAR of course, which even delayed the F1 qualifying because the Camping World Truck Series is so exciting! So at 6 pm they came back and proceeded to fill the show with all the usual BS. The same ads every 6-7 minutes with no respect for what is happening on the track. I am sure this is all pre-programmed, there is no director watching what is happening. If there is he should be fired. Most of them are for other Speed shows, especially NASCAR races of course. Now we are race fans, but not necessarily NASCAR fans. So either we know it is on or we do not care. I am not going to watch it just because you advertise it every 5 minutes.
We have the obligatory interview with Scott Atherton, and the "infomercials" for Michelin and an empty tent full of tires that we talked about for five minutes, a tour of the Chevrolet pits, and David Brabham's home movies. Justin Bell wandering through an empty track Village at 3 am looking for some drunks to talk to, and we saw the Art Car, the painted up BMW feature at least four times. And the art car did so well didn't it, not! However this was painted it was a dog, at least some of the earlier cars performed well. Thankfully it stopped early, but not before wandering across the track in front of Kristensen, what was Priaulx thinking of? Why didn't they take the BMWs from here in the US run by Bobby Rahal? They have been competitive, which is more than you can say for the Jaguar. Yes I know I have beaten this to death, but 4 laps? Only the England goalkeeper put on a worse display!