Bob Barnard Track Engineering

I learned today that a good friend from my days in Australia is in a bad way. Darryl Eastlake is in a nursing home with alzheimer’s, dementia and emphysema. Only a couple of years older than me and struck down. Darryl was huge in every sense. He was a big man with a personality to match, and an inquisitive mind and big heart. His trademark when commentating was the word "HUGE" boomed out when something excited him, which was often. He was a student of Murray Walkers "pants on fire" school of commentating, making us feel it in our living rooms.

He was "discovered" by Channel Nine when commentating on the weightlifting. They decided if he could get everyone excited about that then he was the guy for other sports. He never tried to be clever, he would ask the specialist like Barry Sheene or Alan Jones the same dumb questions we would, and get the answers we wanted. Never glib, always entertaining.

He worked with Barry on the Motorcycle Grand Prix broadcasts and so I got to know him well. He and Barry kept us entertained on many an overseas trip, and letting us see the out takes of the video sent home. The Japanese were fascinated by him as he was so big compared to them. On one trip back from Japan we were all in First Class on Qantas, them because Channel Nine paid, and me because they were my sponsor so upgraded me. It was almost empty, and Wayne Gardner we knew was back in Business, so we bullied and shamed the steward for about an hour until they went and got him.

Just before we left Australia we spent New Years Eve with Darryl and Julie at their house in Terrigal. Many lies were told and much alcohol consumed. We went down to the beach and watched the sun come up, a magical moment not to be forgot. And who could forget his Cadillac Eldora, powder blue and convertible, and huge like him. I won't.     

Last evening I had a long phone interview with Darryl Flack, a journalist with Australian Motor Cycle News. They are revisiting the events surrounding the inaugural World Championship Motorcyle Grand Prix staged at Phillip Island 25 years ago. I was the promoter for that event, rebuilt the old track from the sheep station it had become into a world benchmark circuit, and lobbied the FIM to obtain the race for Australia. Australia has had a Grand Prix continuously since then, both at Phillip Island and at the Eastern Creek circuit, which I also built, in Sydney.

The first race was an enormous success, if not financially. It cost a lot to redevelop the track and promote a new event, even with an Australian World Champion to help in Wayne Gardner. It was referred to by a journalist in the Daytona media center a few years ago as "The Woodstock" of motorcycle GPs, and he was right. Over 100,000 spectators on race day, most of whom had camped out in the surrounding farmers fields for a few days. A fairy tale finish after a great race with our Champion winning. Great times, but not pulled off without a lot of trauma to me and my company. History will record we moved the race to the new track in Sydney to get away from the tobacco advertising the teams then carried, not a move we made willingly, but it was a matter of survival.

So a new track was built from scratch on Government land in Sydney's western suburb, Eastern Creek. Try as we may to avoid that name from sticking it just did. The Government switched some of the land on me shortly after we had received the ok from the FIM to move, and the track layout changed to conform to what I had been given. Not that I thought it a bad layout, but I knew in my mind that the yardstick it would be judged by was Phillip Island. A hiding to nothing as they say in the classics. The track immediately became a political football, both between the real politicians in New South Wales, and the internal politics of the Australian Motorcycle World. The Opposition party and their media mates made life hell for me and the Government over the cost and the Government paying for it. Laughable now when we see Governments doing it all the time. Eastern Creek cost $24m in 1989, compare that to the cost of the F1 race for Melbourne of $50m plus each year, and they have no permanent circuit to show for it for others to use and enjoy.

So Eastern Creek became the "red headed step child" as they say. But it is still there and where would NSW motorsport be without it, with only one other circuit in the State, and so busy they have just built an extension. I must have done something right after all. So, during the interview I was deeply touched when told of the sidecar racer who recenlty passed away and asked for his ashes to be spread on Eastern Creek because he loved it so much. The wheel has turned full circle as they say.

I was married on the start line of the first track I built in Adelaide for the F1 race, so where should my ashes be spread? Phillip Island, Eastern Creek, or one of the other great tracks that I have been fortunate to have been given the opportunity to build?  

So Dietrich Mateschitz does not like the new F1 cars, not real F1. How would he know, he's only been around a few years. Last year it was the tires, so we had to change. Ask Force India how that worked for them? We all know how it worked for Red Bull. Boring. Now he wants the rules changed again, after one race. He now has an F1 race in Austria, when the rest of Europe is losing races. France who invented this stuff does not have one. What next? Will he want tracks changed to suit his car, or the calendar arranged to suit his marketing program? Because this is all it is to him.

When people tell me we should go to Bahrain and Sochi because F1 is a sport I have to laugh and say open your eyes. With CVC, Bernie and guys like Dietrich Mateschitz it is about money and marketing. I believe for most of the paddock it still is about the sport. Ron Dennis and Franks Williams have been involved most of my lifetime, and yes made money, but it is still about the sport. Enzo Ferrari sold road cars to subsidize his racing, he did not race just to sell cars.

I for one believe we would all be better off without this bully and his teams, and his money. F1 existed long before he turned up, and will exist long after he has gone off to some new marketing ploy. Him and Helmut Marko, and yes take Seb with you. We would have had some good races the last few years without you.

And as I said a few days ago, if he does not like the way F1 is run then go and start your own. F1 does not exist to suit you.

Sunday afternoon I watched two very different races, NASCAR at California and MotoGP from Qatar. As different as you could want apart from the empty seats in the grandstand.

MotoGP gave us an exciting race from start to finish with up to 6 riders at times vying for the lead. A few crashes, and no full course yellows. No one had tire problems, and we saw some breath taking overtaking manoeuvres. The race was won by a guy who broke his leg 6 weeks ago and still had a brace on. Only two short ad breaks, no infomercials or stupid commentators. Great stuff and it will make me want to see the rest of the season.

And then there was the NASCAR race. 400 miles with no green flag pit stops due to the plethora of full course cautions. Tires blowing all over the track, including the race leader with three laps to go despite not having had problems all weekend. Jeff Gordon asked after 80 laps of a 200 lap race if they had enough tires? Goodyear supplies 11 sets for a 400 mile race, and they were lasting as few as 15 laps. What a joke, and makes Pirelli look really good. This is what happens when you do not allow testing at tracks on the schedule. The VP of Racing, Robin Pemberton, said that "they are the same tires as last year," and then added "but it is a new car." Exactly, so why would you think you can just roll up with the same old tires, especially on the oldest asphalt in NASCAR, with the biggest bumps.

Then of course we had MIke Joy, who repeated his previous weeks lies about attendance, not once but three times while we were looking at empty seats in the stands. "There are 68,000 seats and they are all sold." So what, did those people stay home, or were they all in the bar? As I recall the speedway was supposed to have over 100,000 seats when I went when it opened, or was that the temperature? Felt like it. Then there is good 'ol boy Darrel Waltrip. "Everywhere I look there are people racing." Duh, it"s a race idiot.

Finally, if you want to know what's wrong with the state of motor racing you need to go no further than to read Marshall  Pruett's interview with TUSCR Chief Scott Atherton in Racer Magazine. Talk a lot and say nothing, that is what he is really good at. Can't say anything wrong that way I guess so you keep a job.

http://www.racer.com/index.php/imsa/item/102091-imsa-sebring-q-a-with-series-coo-scott-atherton

It is interesting how things turn out. After yesterday's blog about emergency response and Berger's accident at Imola guess what is featured as a retrospective on the Autosport web page? Yep, Berger's accident. And my blog of two days ago spoke of a future crisis for FI, and what do we have on ESPN but an article from the past Secretary of FOTA warning of exactly that. Not saying they are reading me, but a nice confirmation from other sources.

So Joe Saward reports that Chris Pook, Bernie's man, is running around Long Beach giving away an F1 GP.

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/pook-talks-long-beach/

I say giving away as he is saying the promoter, either himself or more likely FOM, will not only put it on for nothing, including all costs of upgrades and staging, but will pay the City a fee! If they are prepared to do this why did they not have a GP in New Jersey yet? And how about Singapore and Melbourne, Valencia and sundry other promoters? Won't they want their money back? This is all too weird.

Talking of Bernie's mates, Ron Walker has finaly decided he needs to retire. We could have told him that a long time ago. Right from the start actually. A good friend who was there at the start told me the story of how Ron turned up at a protest meeting in Albert Park in his Rolls Royce. When my friend suggested to him that it was not very tactful Ron went right off on him. He then turned up at my friend's home in a Mini and demanded to know if he was happy now!