Bob Barnard Track Engineering

For the last few years we have seen the Red Bull/Vettel Dynasty rule F1, and now it appears we are to have a Mercedes period. A few people are probably already saying that this is going to be boring, but I for one welcome the change and applaud the engineering behind the car.

At least it is about the car. No one is suggesting that Lewis is suddenly a superman, above all other drivers like we had with Vettel. When he kept winning a few of us were unkind enough to suggest that put any one of the top drivers in that car and they would dominate. But no we were told, it is Sebastian, he is so much better than the rest. Well this year the Emperor has no clothes.

Despite being told that this complex new formula would suit his intelligent driving what do we see. "Struggling with set up." A four time World Champion struggling with set up while his novice team mate is "faster than you are." We are also told Daniel is faster because he is more used to cars with less downforce than Vettel. Didn't Ricciardo race a F1 car with diffusers for the last couple of years? Hasn't most of the field raced cars with diffusers, including Hamilton, Rosberg and Alonso etc? No, now he no longer has a dominant car we are seeing what we suspected, he is very good but no better than them with a  spoilt brat attitude and he is a sore loser. As Mark Webber used to say, "the toys are coming out of the pram."

In contrast we see other top drivers just getting on with it. Lewis is totally focussed, not god like, and while Nico hates coming second to him there is no whining to be heard. Alonso is arguably doing the best job in a second class car, as he has for some years now. Yes he occasionally has a moan, but who wouldn't driving your guts out with little or no reward.

So another good race in China, not quite Bahrain, but Nico made it interesting with a bad start, and Massa with a too good one. Pretty stout suspension on these cars. What is interesting is how Lewis is using so much less fuel while running away from the pack. We have seen before that getting out in front allows you to run your own race and choose the ideal race lines, part of Vettel's secret.

Interesting WEC race at Silverstone. Pity I did not have access to live streaming and of course a World Championship does not warrant coverage here in the US. Still, with Radio Le Mans who needs pictures. They paint the scene extremely well, and actually provide far more information as to what is happening throughout the field than TV does. Well done Toyota, and Porsche. Audi uncharacteristically had both cars DNF. Crashed out through what appeared to be driver error. We have seen this before at Le Mans a couple of years ago. I am not saying they are not great drivers, but perhaps the pressure put on them by Toyota is part of the story. Of course there could have been something involving the car that led to Treluyer spearing right at Copse and hitting the inside barrier, which in a way is worse if there is an issue with the car. Both tubs damaged and Audi working against the clock to have them ready for Spa. 

Interesting discussion on Radio Le Mans about a WEC round in Oz, and where to stage it. Adelaide and Phillip Island were the two first choices, both a Barnard track, so very chuffed.

We have other dynasties going on with the Brabhams and the Gardners. Grandsons of Sir Jack Brabham and sons of David are both continuing the family tradition. Mathew Brabham is a rookie in Indy Lights here in the US, and doing OK, and Sam is racing in British Formula Ford with some success over the weekend. Watch out for these two.

Then there are Luca and Remy Gardner, both racing in the Spanish National Championship, the CEV, which is the proving ground for young hopefuls making it into MotoGP. Both learning their craft amongst tough opposition and stepping up each year under Dad's guidance. I hope to see something of them in Spain later this year. Pity Australia cannot produce the kind of racing that would develop talent to make the top tier in the world.

Many years ago when I lived in England I went to a waxworks which featured among other things a history of torture. One that stuck in my mind was "the death of a thousand cuts." These were just small flesh wounds, on their own not much problem, but 1,000 eventually bled the person to death.

Is this is what we are seeing in the new "unified" sports car series in America? This was no merger between ALMS and Grand-Am, the Doctor sold out to the ISC, and presumably to keep the fans and teams happy we were to see both series cars included with balance of performance. The DP is of course a NASCAR style derivative, and the LMP1 of Le Mans was way too quick to have a place, so we had LMP2 cars in the prototype class with the DPs. Last year the LMP2s were a lot quicker than the DPs, so we had to have a balance of performance to even things out, except as we have seen in the three races so far the DPs have won and the LMP2s struggled.

So what do LMP2 car owners, who are largely doing this for fun remember, decide when they are having no fun? They take their bat and ball home. Was this the plan all along, the death of a thousand cuts? Small nicks that seem slight at the time but in the end kill the class? So Grand-Am wins in the end.

Sure we have the GT Le Mans class, and thank goodness for it. They produced the best racing in the last few years of ALMS, and that's where the manufacturers are, so I don't see ISC killing that off, but you never know. Their GT class was modeled on the NASCAR culture of tube frame cars, so why would they kill that off. Just maybe the owners of those cars might feel like the LMP2 owners and just fade away.

Dyson racing have teamed with Bentley to go race in the Pirelli World Challenge. Got to be more fun than being beaten in Tudor Sports Cars. Strange decision though by Bentley. The Dyson team has been conspicuous for its lack of reliability and results in recent years. Still, it will be great to see the Bentley here in the US.

Back in the real world the WEC kicks off this weekend with the 6 Hours of Silverstone. First chance to see Porsche go head to head with Audi and Toyota. F1 is in China and Ferrari's new Team Principle is at hand, although what he is going to bring to the team other than another politician I don't know. Alonso seems to have pulled his finger out in the first days practice, new manager syndrome? It is early days though and we will see tomorrow just how close he can really get to the Mercedes.

A big weekend of racing. MotoGP turned on their usual good show, but Turn 1 at COTA? Tilke missed a great opportunity to make that a really good corner. Instead we have a crash site. But the commentators were at it again. "The most competitive field we have ever seen." Seriously? Where were you in the late 80's and early nineties when Gardner, Doohan, Magee, Rainey, Lawson, Mamola, Koscinski, Sarron, Schwantz and co. were around?

Indycar at Long Beach had its usual accidents at the usual locations. How anyone thinks this can be an F1 track is beyond me. If they left out some of the petunias around the base of the fountain we might have a track wide enough to race on. The Tudor Sports car race was a yawn. Time was when an LMP2 car could beat an LMP1 car around here, but now it cannot even beat a DP.

There is always the quote that "it's a long race" by drivers, even if it is the same length as all the rest, but Saturday evening we really did have a long race. 500 miles around Darlington took forever. I wondered why it started so early. It was all I could do to stay awake.

Which brings me to the point. I come from a European back ground with a spell in Oz, so I am used to watching a sport event without it being turned into a continuous commercial. Sky manages to show an entire F1 race without ads, so why can't Fox or NBC? I know Sky is subscription, but all the sport here in the US is basically on cable which I pay for anyway. NASCAR is by far the worst, a race being one long ad, even when the race is being shown with every opportunity taken to show a sponsor logo for Kentucky Fried, Sprint, Progressive Insurance etc. Then there are the "infomercials" during the sports car races, and Indycar has to go off and interview anyone they can find that they think is a star of anything. 

There has to be a template for showing sport in this country that includes three old farts in suits and ties blabbing on, and usually a female studio anchor and pit lane or side line reporter. With an average age of probably sixty the boys on NBC for F1 have about as much chance of bringing in a younger fan than I have of being knighted. Take a look at the Sky guys. They are at a race track and dressed like you would expect at a race. NASCAR and Indycar and even the NFL are all the same. Is this just me or is it that the TV guys know what the average American sports fan wants. A blonde bimbo with big tits.

Now that's off my chest, so to speak, let's look at F1 goings on. Domenicali has fallen on his sword, or was he pushed, and his obvious replacement is a car salesman. First guy I would have picked, not. Perhaps Montezemolo is actually the problem. Bernie's problems are about to get worse with the prosecution dismissing his blackmail defense. But the judge is going to give him days off it seems to run F1. Red Bull lost the appeal, as they should. Whining that they could not keep second place if they obeyed the rules is a strange defence. There are probably twenty other cars out there who feel they could win if allowed to cheat a bit. Or is that just me?

It is reported that Gene Haas and Colin Colles will be granted the two extra F1 team slots today by the FIA. Why they would want them is the bigger question. Colin Colles can't help himself. After the HRT experience why would he think this one can succeed? He just wants to go racing, as long as someone else is paying it seems..

Gene Haas is a much more serious proposition though. With a successful CNC business, a NASCAR team with Tony Stewart, and an interest in the Mooresville wind tunnel he has the money to back this and the know how, but again why? HRT demonstrated the likely out come,and both Murussia and Caterham are shining examples of how hard it is for new teams under Bernie's winner take all payment scheme. The "owner" of Marussia, Cheglakov, has given up on his supercar plans and F1 it seems, so Gene could buy that as a cheap way in. Tony Fernandes has warned that this year could be the last for him to pour money into without results. So the omens are not good for a new team.

Then there is the current state of F1. Bernie's case starts soon, and he is running around talking about a "new" GP1 series based on GP2 cars. So where would that leave Gene with his new team? There must be a more secure and possibly cheaper way of promoting his business. With the current state of motor sport I'm sure there are lots of teams in WEC, WTCC, GP2 etc that would love to put Haas on the sides of their car. Or if he wants world wide coverage go and sponsor or buy a soccer team.

Bernie has just worked out what Renault engineers said two weeks ago and anyone with a mechanical bent knew anyway. When you have turbocharged engines it is hard to nigh impossible to increase the noise level. Noise is generated by the exhaust gas pushing the air which eventually beats against your ear drum. Turbos use that energy. That is why most earthmoving equipment do not require a muffler. The whole point of this formula is to use the waste energy, so what are we going to do? Waste some of what we just saved to give the whiners more noise? I guess we would not be able to hear them whine.

Bernie is also muddying the waters as usual, suggesting he could set up a "new" FI with GP2 cars, but call them GP1. Gets more noise, more teams and it would be cheaper. But hang on, didn't he just block a cost cap for the real F1? 

Teams stayed on in Bahrain to test some more, but information seems lost in transmission.

Watched the delayed NASCAR race from Texas yesterday. The end was good as usual, even if contrived by a yellow 3 laps from the flag. Kurt Bush had a close shave with the wall but did not touch it, and had a tire come apart on the apron. Enough for the guys at NASCAR, or did they lean on the button again? Bush spin earlier without hitting anything and continued and they threw the yellow then too. Lugano was not to be denied though and deservedly won from Gordon. We saw a lot of yellow, with the race starting under yellow for 12 laps as the track was still "damp." Rain tires anyone? I can understand them not running in the rain, the spray would be terrible, but a bit damp is no big deal.

Wet grass is another thing though as we saw with Junior's excursion. Tore his car up and Johnson's who was close behind. Jr. caught fire and thankfully got out OK as we saw an IMSA style chinese fire drill. While the boys on the fire truck were working out how to turn the hose on a marshal leant over the wall with a normal extinguisher and put it out. Not good enough.  We then had to have the "competition caution" of course as the track was "green" and the teams would not have known how to set the car up. It has rained every day from what I saw so what was different?

Missed the anniversary of Jim Clark's death yesterday. One of those "where were you when" moments. I was at Brands Hatch, where Clark was supposed to be, not racing an F2 race at Hockenheim. An incredible talent, and a humble gentlemen, not like our current World Champion. No one finger salute after races for Jim.