The Indy Awards - Round 8

The Indy Awards - Round 8

  September 09, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the French Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg (Williams)- 11 (1 for pole, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
2. Mark Webber (RBR) - 6
3. David Coulthard (RBR) - 4
4. Alex Wurz (Williams) - 3
5. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 2
6. Adrian Sutil (Spyker) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 14
2. Red Bull - 10
3. Super Aguri - 2
4. Spyker - 1


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 49
2. Alex Wurz - 43
3. Mark Webber - 34
4. Takuma Sato - 23
5. David Coulthard - 20
6. Anthony Davidson - 18
7. Scott Speed - 9
=. Adrian Sutil - 9
9. Christian Albers - 6
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 92
2. Red Bull - 54
3. Super Aguri - 41
4. Spyker - 15
5. Toro Rosso - 14

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 5 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Alex - 3 (1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Mark Webber - 1 (for race)
=. David Coulthard - 1 (for race)



Teams
1. Williams - 8
2. Red Bull - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 35
2. Alex Wurz - 21
3. Takuma Sato - 19
4. Mark Webber - 15
=. Anthony Davidson - 14
6. David Coulthard - 9
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 56
2. Super Aguri - 33
3. RBR - 28
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

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The Indy Awards - Round 7

The Indy Awards - Round 7

  September 09, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the US Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Mark Webber (Red Bull)- 11 (1 for pole, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
2. Alexander Wurz (Williams) - 6
3. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 4
4. Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) - 3
5. Adrian Sutil (Spyker) - 2
6. Christian Albers (Spyker) - 1

Teams
1. Red Bull - 11
2. Williams - 6
3. Super Aguri - 4
4. Toro Rosso - 3
5. Spyker - 3


Overall Drivers
1. Alex Wurz - 40
2. Nico Rosberg - 38
3. Mark Webber - 28
4. Takuma Sato - 21
5. Anthony Davidson - 18
6. David Coulthard - 16
7. Scott Speed - 9
8. Adrian Sutil - 8
9. Christian Albers - 6
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 78
2. Red Bull - 44
3. Super Aguri - 39
4. Spyker - 14
5. Toro Rosso - 14

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Anthony Davidson - 4 (2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Mark Webber - 3 (1 for qualy, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
3. Nico Rosberg - 2 (1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
=. Alex Wurz - 2 (1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
5. Takuma Sato - 1 (1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)


Teams
1. Super Aguri - 9
=. Williams - 8
3. Red Bull - 5

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 30
2. Takuma Sato - 19
3. Alex Wurz - 18
4. Mark Webber -14
=. Anthony Davidson - 14
6. David Coulthard - 8
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 48
2. Super Aguri - 33
3. RBR - 22
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

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The Indy Awards - Round 6

The Indy Awards - Round 6

  September 09, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Canadian Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Alexander Wurz (Williams)- 9
2. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 6
3. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 5 (4 for race, 1 for pole)
4. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 4
5. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 2
6. David Coulthard (Red Bull) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 14
2. Super Aguri - 8
3. Red Bull - 5


Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 38
2. Alex Wurz - 34
3. Takuma Sato - 21
4. Mark Webber - 17
5. David Coulthard - 16
6. Anthony Davidson - 14
7. Andre Sutil - 6
=. Scott Speed - 6
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5
=. Christian Albers - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 72
2. Super Aguri - 35
3. Red Bull - 33
4. Spyker - 11
5. Toro Rosso - 11

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Takuma Sato - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
2. Nico Rosberg - 5 (2 for qualy, 1 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. Mark Webber - 4 (2 for qualy, 1 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Alex Wurz - 3 (2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
=. Anthony Davidson - 3 (2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
5. David Coulthard - 1 (for qualy)

Teams
1. Super Aguri -9
2. Williams - 8
3. Red Bull - 5

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 28
2. Takuma Sato - 18
3. Alex Wurz - 16
4. Mark Webber -11
5. Anthony Davidson - 10
6. David Coulthard - 8
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 44
2. Super Aguri - 28
3. RBR - 19
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

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In A Word

In A Word

  June 09, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Toyota.

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Off Topic: America's Cup

Off Topic: America's Cup

  June 04, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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I know next to nothing about sailing. Truth be told I hardly watch any sailing events on the telly. But just as the Ryder Cup is the only golf tournament I watch (despite my hatred for the so called sport), the America's Cup is an event I do not miss.

On occasions like these ignorance is bliss and I can just sit back and enjoy the events of the 32nd America's Cup currently held in Valencia. Time precludes me from following every race closely but I do keep up with events in the news.

I simply do not see how the Italians can win against the Kiwis. Tactics or not, Team New Zealand's boat (simply christened "New Zealand") is simply too quick for Luna Rossa. And the team themselves seem incredibly serious and will allow nothing to stand in their way. I understand from my Kiwi friend that the Alinghi win 4 years ago was a huge sore point for New Zealand, especially since the Swiss challenge was headed by a Cup winning Kiwi, Russell Coutts. When the Kiwis took their third straight victory against Luna Rossa yesterday, the crew did not even shake hands or even so much as smiled. It all seemed business as usual and merely another step towards settling a grudge. The boys on New Zealand seemed ready for a brawl.

But the upset so far has been the exit of Oracle BMW Racing from proceedings off the coast of Spain having lost 5-1 to Luna Rossa. (To be honest, I'm rather pleased about that) Oracle BMW of course had the largest budget of all the challengers. Reputedly BMW even lent their assistance in supplying technology and technical expertise, some of which honed in grand prix racing into the challenge. But alas, it was all to no avail. Despite all the tech and know how, the team allegedly did not gel properly being led by yet another Kiwi, whose abrasive style rubbed the crew the wrong way. Whilst Oracle BMW have been generous with their praise for Luna Rossa and Francesco De Angelis, pundits aren't so sure that Luna Rossa won so much as Oracle BMW lost it. But all credit to the Luna Rossa team for their better spirit and teamwork beating out the technological and financial juggernauts.

What is the attraction of the America's Cup for me? I guess its a mixture of things. The boats look so good and because of their tall sails, never fail to impress me. The teams and boat crews are multinational just like grand prix racing. Like the Ryder Cup, its a battle of pride and I like that. And lastly, rather like motor racing, its not only about the team and crew but also about the vehicle or in this case the vessel. In motor racing the engineers look at mechanical grip. In sailing they focus on hydrodynamics. But aerodynamics effects both sailing and motor racing and plays a big role in determining the performance of the yachts. I am constantly fascinated by technical things (especially things that are raced) and these yachts are simply intriguing. Even Formula 1 engineers seem to be captivated. Adrian Newey has often expressed interest in getting involved.

Well, here's hoping Luna Rossa puts up a bit of a fight and doesn't simply roll over for New Zealand. And lets hope the finals will be a cracker, no matter who wins the Lous Vuitton and goes up against Alinghi.

Before I leave, I would like to express my dismay with the fact that the country that started this, the battle for the oldest trophy in sport, have no challenger on the water. Yes, I am talking about Britain. I mean, even China has a boat and so do the Germans (what the hell do those buggers know about this? And no, its not Oracle BMW I'm speaking of) and even South Africa rustled up a boat from somewhere! Italy have no less than three different teams challenging for the Auld Mug. For a nation that built an empire on the strength of its navy, it seems shameful that Britain cannot muster a proper challenge.

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Team Strategy vs Team Orders

Team Strategy vs Team Orders

  May 30, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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The British media calls it team orders, Ron Dennis insists that its strategy. The FIA has just said that no further action is to be taken but prior to that Bernie was calling for blood.

In the first place, if it is team orders, I would be incredibly surprised these early on in the season from a team that has in the past let both drivers loose on the racetrack. Anyone remember when Prost and Senna were both at McLaren? McLaren has mostly been fair to its drivers unlike some other teams. But there have been incidents. Exceptions rather than the rule. Jerez 1997 for instance.

Be that as it may, the British media and Lewis Hamilton himself has expressed displeasure at Hamilton being told to take it easy and hold station behind his teammate in last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix.

But seriously, what the hell could Hamilton have done if indeed he were given a free hand? In 1992, Senna held off a charging Nigel Mansell who was 5 seconds quicker than himself towards the end of the race. Monaco is not a place where you can overtake. And before anyone brings it up, Rubens Barrichello was a fool and did not defend his line when he let Michael through in the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso however has proven himself adept at defending his position in far more difficult circumstances. Turkey last year and at San Marino in 2005 for instance. At Monaco, overtaking is nigh impossible against one such as Fernando.

So what the hell does Hamilton think he could have done? Play bumper cars with Fernando perhaps? Far better to have saved his car and engine for Montreal than do something really stupid as he did in free practise for last weekend's race. If the little prick wanted to win then he should have kept his car on the island during free practise and put a perfectly good car on pole on Saturday and driven a faster starting and middle stint than his teammate on Sunday. He did none of these things and the blame for not winning lies squarely on him. If the British media had any sense, they would have picked this up instead of harping on about holding station.

The British media are well known for this sort of action and in fact have been harassing poor Fernando over the last few months. Whatever may be the case, Fernando simply cannot win with these idiots. You would expect this sort of thing from The Sun or The Daily Mail but even broadsheets like The Times have joined in the melee, acting very much like the yobs who buy their rubbish newspapers.

You see this sort of behaviour from the British media after football matches. And now here it is again (a repeat of Mansell mania) in racing. The only thing for Fernando to do is simply to beat this young brat Hamilton to shut him up and shut the damned yobs up for good.

Ron Dennis claims that it is the best strategy for Monaco. And perhaps he is right. But once upon a time, he asked Ayrton Senna to slow down, also at Monaco. Ayrton lost concentration and hit the wall. Funny how McLaren always seem to run into trouble when asking their drivers to slow down.

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The Indy Awards - Round 5

The Indy Awards - Round 5

  May 27, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Monaco Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Comments

There a number of real surprises this weekend. First of all, the pace of the Williams and Red Bulls in qualifying was a revelation. Nico Rosberg managed to qualify his car in fifth on the grid and first of the independents. Mark Webber followed him closely, qualifying sixth on the grid and second independent.

More surprising to me was the lack of pace from the two Super Aguris. On average this season, Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson would manage qualy times that are within two to three tenths of a second of Nico Rosberg's Williams. At Monaco this weekend, the pair were two seconds down. There were a number of reasons for this. The first qualy session was quite a mess with rain falling just before the start of the session. This led to traffic problems for the Super Aguris and then a bad call from the team saw them miss their third qualy run during the first session. Purely a timing mistake. Else I would have thought that if they did go on their normal pace relative to Williams, the pair of them would have made it into the top ten. But as the team themselves humbly admit, they are a young team thats still learning.

The final surprise were the two Toro Rosso. Vitantonio Liuzzi managed to qualify fourth in the first session although as mentioned earlier, conditions this had more to do with conditions than raw pace. In the end though, the Italian managed to 13th on the grid, a marked improvement for the Red Bull sister team. In the race, the Italian crashed but teammate Scott Speed was there to pick up the pieces. Scott ended up finishing in 9th just outside the FIA points. But he did beat Nico Rosberg's Williams, so all credit to the American in this, his best result of the season.

In my previous post today, I praised Nico Rosberg's efforts in the Williams. Its true that he is the leading independent in these awards. But we should spare a thought for Alex Wurz who took the Indy win today. Alex has suffered reliability issues with his Williams, failing to finish in 2 out of the 5 races so far. But when the Austrian has finished a race (on 3 occassions this season) he has beaten Nico 2 out of 3 times. The Austrian is now second in the drivers standings.

Unless Red Bull get their act together soon, it looks like the Indy Awards for both drivers and teams seem destined for Williams. However, I believe Monaco is a very unique and atypical circuit. Normal service should resume as soon as we hit Montreal, where I suspect the Red Bulls once again will be challenging for Indy honours (and who knows, overall FIA honours as well) and I suspect, will be beating Williams. It all depends whether they have the reliability

In the Wag The Dog awards, Williams has become the first team to score maximum points in an event. 6 each goes to both drivers. This means that the both of them have outqualified and outraced both the works Toyotas and also the both of them have had fastest laps quicker than both the works cars. At what that means is that the works Toyotas have been comprehensively and summarily dismissed by the customer. Keep up the good work Frank!

I never thought it would happen but even Toro Rosso has now scored a Wag The Dog point when Liuzzi ended up with a higher grid position than Kimi Raikkonen in the works Ferraris.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. Alexander Wurz (Williams)- 10 (9 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
2. Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) - 6
3. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 5 (4 for race, 1 for pole)
4. David Coulthard (Red Bull) - 3
5. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 2
6. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 1

Teams
1. Williams - 15
2. Toro Rosso - 6
3. Red Bull - 3
=. Super Aguri - 3

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 33
2. Alex Wurz - 25
3. Takuma Sato - 15
=. David Coulthard - 15
5. Mark Webber - 13
6. Anthony Davidson - 12
7. Andre Sutil - 6
=. Scott Speed - 6
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5
=. Christian Albers - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 58
2. RBR - 28
3. Super Aguri - 27
4. Spyker - 11
5. Toro Rosso - 11

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Alex Wurz - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
=. Nico Rosberg - 6 (2 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. David Coulthard - 2 (1 for qualy, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Mark Webber - 1 (for qualy)
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1 (for qualy)


Teams
1. Williams - 12
2. Red Bull - 3
3. Spyker - 1

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 23
2. Takuma Sato - 13
3. Alex Wurz - 11
4. Anthony Davidson - 7
=. Mark Webber - 7
=. David Coulthard - 7
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1
=. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 36
2. Super Aguri - 19
3. RBR - 14
4. Spyker - 2
5. Toro Rosso - 1

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TV Coverage

TV Coverage

  May 27, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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So serious are the Malaysian government in re-signing an agreement for future of the Malaysian Grand Prix, they have pulled the broadcast of grand prix from the terrestrial channels. Nowadays it seems, that all terrestrial channels have been compelled to show the prime time evening news whether they like or not.

This year of course TV3 has dropped live coverage and it was taken over by the government operated RTM 2 (or was it RTM1). What I do not fathom is why they have to show the evening news on both RTM 1 and RTM 2 simultaneously? They're both the same broadcast. Anyone wishing to actually watch the government news can choose either one and therefore they could leave the live coverage on the other.

And therefore, we are forced to rely on Star Sports for our grand prix coverage. I've said this before. The ITV broadcast is heaven compared to the babblings of Steve Slater. Just in case you don't realise the Star Sports crew do rely upon the ITV coverage for their information. And so I find it better to actually watch the ITV broadcast.

If Ross Brawn complains about the lack of situational awareness in the ITV broadcast, then he'll absolutely "adore" the Star Sports coverage. And we in South East Asia (or me at least) suffers for it.

In addition, the coverage shown on our Astro satellite channels are a few minutes delayed due to the government's patronising and condescending censorship regulations. So, inevitably the live timings from Formula1.com doesn't synchronise with the telly pictures.

Thank you very much to the Malaysian government for once again taking away our choices. Your services once again, have been absolutely splendid.

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Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg

  May 26, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Amidst all the hype surrounding Lewis Hamilton, spare a thought for the 2005 GP2 champion Nico Rosberg. Nico had a great debut race last year, finishing in the points and taking the fastest lap of the race. From then on, his results had largely gone downhill. Sometimes the fault lay with him but in large part it coincided with the worst ever season for Grove in grand prix racing.

This year, Nico looks like he's having a far better time. The Williams of course is no match for the Ferraris or McLarens up front but against cars of similar (or even slightly better) performance, Nico has been doing a splendid job. Both in my Indy awards and in the official FIA standings, Nico is currently the top independent team driver.

In the Indy Awards, Nico has had a couple of wins, a second and a fourth position. The last comes despite having failed to finish in Malaysia, through no fault of his own. Whilst the Red Bulls are looking increasingly quick they haven't had the reliability. In the Indy points standing, Nico has a massive lead and if you follow the Wag The Dog points, you can see that he eats the works Toyotas for breakfast, consistently faster and finishing ahead of them.

All things being equal, its easier being in a quicker car than an average or bad one. Narain Karthikeyan for instance was absolutely amazed at the ease with which the Williams can be driven as compared to the Jordan he was used to. Likewise, I am certain the latest McLaren is better balanced and has limpet like grip compared to the Williams. Thus, Hamilton up front has a far easier time and its easy to praise his successes, considerable though it may be.

However, Nico has a year's experience under his belt and that experience has been hard won on the back of a terrible season for Williams. With those hard times, comes maturity in addition to the raw speed and natural talent. Something that Hamilton has yet to exhibit, for he hasn't had the need to, lucky sod that he is.

God knows if Williams will ever make the necessary quantum leap required to once again challenge for honours at the front but should McLaren or Ferrari require a new driver (not that they really need it right now) then they could do worse than Nico. In fact, if BMW were smart and the time came to replace Nick Heidfeld then their former driver would be a most excellent choice. Its one thing having an exciting hotshoe like Sebastien Vettel in the car. But for the overall package, I think Nico represents an excellent choice.

I do hope however that Williams, now with Toyota power behind them are able to rally in the next few years to give Nico Rosberg the car that he deserves. Inevitably one does compare drivers to that standard benchmark called Michael Schumacher and it would be interesting to see if Nico can develop some of the leadership skills that Michael possesses to lead the Williams team to glory once again. Tall order but not impossible.

Whatever it is, Nico deserves a chance at the big time as much as Hamilton does.

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Some Concern For Ferrari

Some Concern For Ferrari

  May 26, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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I must be out of my mind writing this. Its no secret, I loathe the Ferrari team. Yes, their successes over the years are admirable but here is a team high on politics and low on sportsmanship and fair play. It has always been so. However, I am a great fan of the road cars. What can I say? They're usually good looking, fast and have plenty of that inimitable Italian style.

More than any other car manufacturer, their successes in racing have built up the romance and passion of their road cars. Here is a manufacturer that can truly make a link between competition and their products, for they have managed somehow or another to incorporate their racing technologies with their road offerings. From a technical perspective, its all good. However, if Formula 1 goes "green" come 2011, I don't see how a biofuel engine fits into Ferrari's road car plans. But lets leave that aside.

So why or what am I so concerned about? The June 07 issue of the UK Car magazine celebrates Ferrari's 60th year as a car manufacturer. It features a test of 10 of the greatest Ferrari road cars ever made. Glad to see all my favourites made it in. Not least the 288 GTO, F40, Dino 246, 308 GTB and of course, the incomparable 250 GTO. Jeez. Don't you wish car makers still did a 3 litre V12 engine? Sweet!

The magazine also had an editorial feature with some disturbing things to say. Its nothing new of course, for the issue had already been discussed on a few F1 websites not least GrandPrix.com and Pitpass, and it is the rampant commercialism by Ferrari.

GrandPrix.com of course must be truly happy. They have been advocating all sorts of ideas (usually taking some NASCAR example) for yet even greater promotion of Formula 1. The dumbest of the lot was the idea for some silly romance novels based on NASCAR. F*****g romance novels?! So surely I would have imagined they'd be thrilled about the idea of a bloody Ferrari theme park, in some damned fool Middle Eastern country.

These are the worst of it but there are other bad ideas that Maranello are involved with. Ferrari notebooks, badly designed t-shirts, sunglasses and oh my god.... even barbie dolls, teddy bears and musical toys! Then of course there's that extremely frumpy dealership they have at that Las Vegas casino hotel where the extremely tasteless can partake in Maranello magic.

To be sure, old man Enzo was a racing man first, road car manufacturer second. By all accounts, he viewed the manufacture of road cars as a necessary evil to finance his racing cars. Stories of his distaste for customers are legendary. How do you think Automobili Lamborghini got established? Ferrucio was one dissatisfied customer. Now, we all know the price of competing succesfully in Grand Prix racing these days, but would Enzo have resorted to some of this blatant and tasteless commercialism to finance it?

The old man, wherever he is right now, simply cannot be at peace and surely he must be turning in his grave from all this commercialism. I realise the importance of economic realities. Ferrari can no longer dig into Fiat's coffers for its racing budget, because its parent no longer has much in the war chest. Hence Ferrari needs to resort to other methods of financing including relying on tobacco money and of course, expanding its production to sell to ever eager and status hungry customers in the East. I know that they have other shareholders apart from Fiat to please, such as Mudabala for instance who want returns not romance. I know merchandising is easy money. A 20 pound sterling t-shirt for instance costs about 50p to make. But do they really need theme parks and barby dolls?

All this commercialism simply dilutes the name. Out the door goes all that history, all the heritage, all the... shock horror... exclusivity. The name ceases to become special. Just another stupid brand like MacDonalds or Nike. I mean really, does the average Ferrari fan (I refuse to call these people tifosi) really get it? Do they understand why that badge carries so much prestige and magic? The true tifosi who do get it I suspect are far fewer in numbers and some Ferrari owners I know do not count as one of these.

There's nothing much I can do about these things but its still very sad. And in the long run, could counteract as the Ferrari name and image becomes all too common, being increasingly associated with the tacky and tasteless. At least they're smart enough to hire some bloke to do brand management. But why should that position be needed in the first place?

Would all of this ever stop me from aspiring to Ferrari ownership? I must say that its an extreme turn off but a Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole going for under 25,000 pounds sterling is a bloody tempting offer and one that I may just one day decide to succumb to. Nimble, petite and pretty unlike its Eurotrashy descendent, the F430, with lots of style and some small measure of pace and excellent turn in. Brilliant. But soon enough some time in the future (if it hasn't already), I'd wish the Cavallino Rampante wasn't on the bonnet. I'd still drive my car every Sunday though.

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Hope You're All Happy Now

Hope You're All Happy Now

  May 18, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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I guess we've all heard the news by now. If anyone's still reading my posts, you'll know that I am vehemently against Max Mosley's plans for the future. But as I've said previously, I grow tired of tirades and diatribes against Mosley. So far I've tried hard not say anymore negative things about the sport of Formula 1 I've followed for so long. I am going to fail here.

My argument has and always will be that grand prix racing should be the pinnacle of racing technology. The art and science of going fast. However, I also hold that there should be sensible limits placed upon such technologies so that the driver plays an important role in proceedings and isn't relegated to being the monkey that steers the wheel.

Anything else is rubbish.

But I can see there are lots of things in the new proposals that should make a lot of people happy. I've read calls for limited aero development, increased mechanical grip, road and industry relevance so that you can think that your stupid hybrid MPVs and SUVs has some racing pedigree in it.

To satisfy such needs, you now have standard bodywork which cuts aero development to near zero at the cost of resembling a glorified GP2 championship. You're going to have boost buttons which really doesn't add anything at all in terms of action and excitement. And in the same vein, neither will bloody energy recovery systems.

Never mind that grand prix racing is now going to promote biofuels that are going to result in greater deforestation of the planet as third world countries scramble to take advantage of increased world demand.

Oh and isn't traction control due to be banned in 2008? Yes I thought so but they'll be back shortly. In addition, four wheel drive will make a return as well, ensuring that living tissue in the car actually is the monkey that turns the wheels. Brilliant!

All of this so that more manufacturers will come in and they can sell more cars and use F1 as the ultimate promotional tool. And so that we can attract more casual fans to the sport and hey Bernie and CVC can then make even more money. GrandPrix.com is going to be so pleased. But as more of these manufacturers come in, Minard-coolness is going to be even more confined to the past.

But hey, we all seem to have wanted it, so Max is now aiming to please. Funny. If road relevance is important, shouldn't the FIA be increasing the profile of and developing racing categories like rallying and touring cars? After all, they look uncannily like the cars you and I can drive.

If these new proposals are passed, then Formula 1 as we know it for the past 57 years and beyond will cease to exist. We should all mourn its passing but unfortunately I think many people will actually applaud it.

Rant over. Looking forward to the next instalment of the BTCC.

Update

I almost forgot. As if 2 weekend race engines aren't enough, now Max wants engines to last 5 bloody weekends! Oh the horror...

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The Indy Awards - Round 4

The Indy Awards - Round 4

  May 13, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Here are the results for the Independent Team awards after the Spanish Grand Prix. For more information regarding the scoring system please consult this post.

Colin Chapman Award - For Best independent drivers / teams

Drivers
1. David Coulthard (RBR)- 11 (9 + 1 for pole + 1 for fastest lap)
2. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 6
3. Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 4
4. Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 3
5. Andre Sutil (Spyker) - 2
6. Christian Albers (Spyker) - 1

Teams
1. RBR - 11
2. Super Aguri - 7
3. Williams - 6
4. Spyker - 3

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 28
2. Alex Wurz - 15
3. Takuma Sato - 14
4. Mark Webber - 13
5. David Coulthard - 12
6. Anthony Davidson - 10
7. Andre Sutil - 6
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 5
=. Christian Albers - 5

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 43
2. RBR - 25
3. Super Aguri - 24
4. Spyker - 11
5. Toro Rosso - 5

Wag The Dog Award - for independent drivers / teams who beat their respective factory teams

Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 5 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
=. Takuma Sato - 5 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 2 for fastest lap)
3. David Coulthard - 4 (1 for qualy, 2 for race, 1 for fastest lap)
4. Anthony Davidson - 1 (for race)
=. Christian Albers - 1 (for race)
=. Andre Sutil - 1 (for race)

Teams
1. Super Aguri - 6
2. Williams - 5
3. RBR - 4
4. Spyker - 2

Overall Drivers
1. Nico Rosberg - 17
2. Takuma Sato - 12
3. Alex Wurz - 7
=. Anthony Davidson - 7
5. Mark Webber - 6
=. David Coulthard - 5
7. Andre Sutil - 1
=. Christian Albers - 1

Overall Teams
1. Williams - 24
2. Super Aguri - 19
3. RBR - 11
4. Spyker - 2

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BTCC Thruxton

BTCC Thruxton

  May 12, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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I don't get the British Touring Car Championship on the telly and therefore I have to wait a while before I can watch each round. But so far this season, I haven't been disappointed. Especially not in last weekend's round at Thruxton.

Thruxton is an absolutely fantastic racing circuit. Like Silverstone and Snetterton its an ex World War 2 airfield converted into a racing circuit. Unlike Silverstone that has been chopped and changed over the years and slowed down, Thruxton's layout has remained the same since its inception. It currently claims to be the fastest circuit in the United Kingdom and I say amen to that.

To be sure, the racing was perhaps not as bumper to bumper as the previous round at Rockingham or even Brands but the track itself is incredibly fast. Bloody hell, the slowest corner is a chicane and there are no hairpins! But on this circuit with its fast sweepers you can really watch a touring car lean hard on its suspension, skipping and sliding on the bumps and really testing the driver's bravery and commitment. The sheer speed of the cars round the corners is enough to keep one enthralled.

All the races were good especially early on but Race 3 was absolutely spectacular. On lap 2 with Colin Turkington in fourth (and slowing the fast guys behind) as a result of the reverse produced a real heart in the mouth moment. Quite how these guys can go side by side into Church corner is beyond me, but Gordon Shedden managed to take Colin into Church.




But what happened next was even more amazing. They were 6 abreast coming out of it, 7 cars altogether jostling for position (see image above). Giovanardi desperate to find a way through has his wheels on the grass doing 140 mph. Going into the chicane they were still 5 abreast (see image below). Somehow amazingly they all made it and funnelled through the chicane. I swear they weren't going to make it but somehow they all did. Fantastic stuff.



I'm glad to see that the latest Team Dynamics / Halfords Honda Civic Type Rs are exhibiting real speed now. They still need a lot of work though if they are going to regularly challenge the Vauxhalls and SEATs. Bad luck to Mat Jackson this weekend (again). The top 10 though are very mcuh close in terms of pace. Thruxton with all these fast corners is hard on tyres and it seems to me that the Vauxhalls and SEATs have only a slight advantage in speed but a big advantage in tyre management last weeked. Darren Turner in last year's Dynamics Integra Type R was looking bloody good for second if not first but alas his tyres gave up on him.

One of the attractions of touring cars is of course the cars themselves are modified versions of road cars. And therefore I am rather disappointed that BTC Racing simply cannot do a better job with the Lexus IS200s (rebadged Toyota Altezza RS200s). How I wish these cars are being run by Dynamics or WSR. These guys are simply off the pace in a car that theoretically could give the Beemers a good run for their money. I should know, I used to own one.

As I said before it looks like Fabrizio Giovanardi and Jason Plato all the way to the wire this season. The championship battle between these two is close and with Giovanardi taking two wins last weekend the gap between the two stands at 8 points. I'm certain that the others will play a big role in their battle.

The WTCC catchphrase is Real Cars, Real Racing. Real cars, for sure. But in the world of touring cars, the title of real racing belongs to the BTCC.

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