I see stuff like that and I almost think that maybe F1 would be better if they just knocked the wings off and went to town.

 

That was a heck of a race. I think they found the key to making a dry race interesting....fit tires that don't last.

Conclusions I've reached at this point in the season

It seems as though the Red Bulls aren't very kind to their tires. I expect they'll do better on the streets of Valencia.

I would have expected Mercedes to do better. According to the broadcast, they've already used their budget for this car.

Mclaren's development rate is very good, but I think they lack pace on the slower/tighter tracks. But the highspeed stuff seems to suit their car very much.

Ferrari seem kind of hit-n-miss. I think Massa is still a little off from his accident last year.

I think Renault are the 4th best team out there, behind McMerc, Red Bull and Ferrari. Good for them.

 

I would add that Force India are on their way up. They are making progress and starting to cast off their old backmarker status.

 

Does anyone have a copy of the Turkish GP they can sell/lend me? We went on a trip, and Hubby pulled the plug on his TV "to save electricity," not remembering that it had to be on to record. Honestly! And because I "assumed" that his was recording on the better TV, I didn't record on mine.

 

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully someone here will have a copy for you!

On a sidenote Deb, did you get to go to the Canadian GP afterall? I recall there was a difference of opinion with you and the spouse. If you did go to Montreal, maybe you can tell us how it went?

Yeah, living my life vicariously through others...

 

Yes, I agree with Force India doing some very good work and are regularly in the points.

The other thing I wanted to mention is how great it was to have Canada back on the calendar. Great track and gave a lot of good action on track.

 

I wish we had gone, but we wound up going to Florida instead to help my parents move. My mother (89) transfered to a new nursing home--Alzheimer's--and my father (93) moved into an assisted living facility. It was a good move, and a necessary one, but I would have traded moving the 2 pianos and 9,000 books (actual count) and all the other stuff for a few days of Canadian cool. It was typically hot, and my father doesn't believe in air conditioning.

We bought a new/used car, though--Hubby wanted a "larger" car so we can go on camping trips. Personally, I thought the 530i was plenty big, and I told him no on Stupid Useless Vehicles. That left some wagons--Volvo V50 on the low end, and 328i Sports Wagon on the high end. And then we saw an Ebay listing for an '07 British Racing Green 530iX Sports Wagon in perfect condition, only 14 miles away in Tampa. It's our 5th Bimmer, starting with a '69 2002...

Next year! Or, if they actually build the track, Austin!

 

Not only good action, but fully sold out. Are you listening, Bernie?

 

Montreal has always been a great stop on the F1 calendar!

Canadians have supported it with vigor through the years, as well as the rest of us North Americans (i.e. USA).

Yet Ecclestone has the nerve to think that F1 is dead in North America!

Listen up Bernie, F1 is alive and well on this side of the pond!

Hopefully it will come to pass and the US will once again be back on the calendar!

 

Thank goodness Deb, that you opted not to go the SUV route!

I think that you missed a golden opportunity though to give Zippeee a new brother/sister by not purchasing a MINI Clubman.

Yeah you could be a two MINI family with a Clubbie parked in the garage next to your MCS!

Congrats though on your getting another Bimmer... looks like a very nice acquisition!

 

Bernie couldn't care less whether 1 or 200,000 people show up to a race. It makes no difference to him. He makes his money on the race fee that gets paid regardless of attendance and off TV rights. Based on my experience attending F1 races, fans in attendance are just a nuisance that get in the way of the business and they'd rather we just stay home and watch on TV. Only the race promotors paying the big fees to Bernie care that people buy tickets for the race.

 

All this may be true RaceTripper but Mr. Ecclestone better care about fan attendance!

In the scheme of things most people forget the little guy, namely the fan. Fans hold much power, they just are unable to collectively express that clout. If nobody is watching your event, then the excercise is a failed effort. Without the fan base, you have nothing.

I'm no businessman but it it would seem that the following holds true...

 

Did you ever go to the USGP? The F1 circus did little to nothing to make it especially fan friendly. Little to no access to drivers, little to no access to teams, little to no access to the paddock, etc. Contrast that to ALMS, where fan-friendliness is everything: lots of access to drivers, teams, the paddock, etc. to all ticket holders, for the entire event.

If Bernie could find a way to hold an event without fans in attendance, with all of them at home in front of their TVs, he would do so. Bernie doesn't think and do as other sports. Just look at his stance on HDTV. Most mainstream sports have transitioned to taping events in HD. Bernie is still trying to figure out how to get extra revenue out of that, and is still resistant to bringing F1 in HD to viewers.

 

IMHO, ALMS is where real racing happens. Did the Long Beach GP again this year (32 out of 35 years, old guy), the Indy cars were just a parade like much of F1. The ALMS guys really raced. With different classes on the track at the same time, the skill involved by all is obvious. Watching the Flying Lizard Porsche pass the BMW on the second to last lap in turn 11 was true racing.

So I think I will stick with ALMS and WRC and leave F1 and US open wheel to others

 

I'm with you. Love watching WRC on Discovery Channel. It's a real treat to have it back on TV again. Le Mans racing is far more interesting. Between the 24 Hours of Le Mans & the CA GP this weekend, Le Mans was so much better.

My wife and I already concluded that we will go to the USGP only (and even then, maybe) if it doesn't interfere with going to ALMS (Sebring, RdAm, Petit Le Mans).

 

Thank goodness SpeedTV did their little drivers interviews at the Fan Zone or what ever it was called during the last twp USGP's. At least we got to actually see the guy's...

F1 pitwalks were a joke at Indy. What were we from the cars...like 50 ft or more?

 

Those pitwalks were so laughable and lame, and they only did it for a few hours so everybody showed up at once. What a joke!

 

Yes I have been to the USGP when it was held at Detroit. Also went to the USGP at Indianapolis. I agree that it was anything but fan friendly. Access was given only to those who were the high rollers or those who were connected in some way with the media or the teams. Yup not very fan friendly...

Your preaching to the choir cause I agree with you BUT I still think that for Bernie and the F1's movers and shakers to think that they can turn their collective backs on the fans is a big mistake.

Fans anchor one corner of the F1 triangle (the other two are the teams and race track owners/promoters). Eliminate any one of the corners and you have serious problems.

Therefore I still maintain that:



F1 needs to step out of its insulated world and realize that without a fan base you have nothing. If no one watches who would care? If fans don't come to a circuit to witness a race then no race track promoter will jump on the bandwagon because there is no revenue for the track.

Fans are overlooked but they wield considerable clout if only they realized such. You and strshp are perfect examples of fans that have walked away from F1 because of its insulated, elitist attitude. If more fans walk then the turnstiles quit revolving and the revenues go down. Something that Bernie, being the money hungry troll that he is, would hate to see.

The problem is that fans worldwide are not ready to make their voices heard. For now they put up with things as they are for love of the sport and that is what is keeping Mr. Ecclestone afloat. We as fans need to wake up and realize that any race can be eliminated by Bernie and taken off the F1 calendar in the wink of an eye if it so suits him. The sooner that we realize that and voice our feelings with our pocketbooks the sooner that things may change for the better.

One would think that Bernie would try to emulate the ALMS (or for that matter NASCAR) and embrace the fans which would enlarge F1's appeal and eventually lead to increased income for the sport.

Then again maybe I've got this all wrong. Like I said, I'm no businessman.

 

I agree with what you say. Fans in Europe, Asia, etc are far more forgiving where F1's elitism is concerned. But I think F1 will never succeed in the US unless it does learn from other motorsports and become more fan-focused. The Austin USGP is doomed to failure if it's like the Indy USGP. It needs to find a way to make it more fan-friendly.

 

I don't know. My wife shook Jensen's hand during the pitwalk. And the minnow teams were typically pretty fan friendly. Super Aguri regularly let folks come into their garage during the pitwalk. I got to hold one of their wheels with the tire mounted on it.

What are everyone's thoughts on the tire companies wanting to use 18in wheels? I think it would look strange. But because the tire soaks up so much of the shock, if they went with low profile tires, the suspensions would need to be much more compliant.

 

I think they should do it. The technology transfer would be more direct than with today's 13" (?) version.

 

Try an ALMS race sometime. I took a picture of Alan McNish driving the Audi R10 at Road America. At Road Atlanta a few months later, he and the rest of the drivers on the team signed and personalized a 16x20 print I made of the shot. Andy Pilgrim gave Missy and me a private tour of his Speed World Challenge Cadillac CTS-V race car, spending about a half hour with us. Johnny O'Connell invited us to hang with him and his girlfriend while they ate lunch, talking racing and signing a cap for my nephew. I have a bunch of 1:18 scale cars, caps, and prints signed by all sorts of ALMS drivers.

In F1, meeting -- much less shaking the hand -- of a driver is a rare and uncommon event. In ALMS its a regular, everyday occurrence. I went to several F1 pit walks, including the one with Super Best Friends wheel to lift. Trust me when I say it's a far cry from other series. Even at it's best, it's a joke by comparison and we as fans should be complaining, loudly.

 

Sabre's right--the fans are vital, and Bernie had better remember that. The sponsors who glue their decals to the cars care who's watching. The people who build those tracks care who comes. And no one's going to pay Bernie--at least not in perpetuity--if the fans aren't there. Tracks DO go broke, after all. And so do teams.

 

I guess I'm not comparing it to other motor racing events that I've been to....uh, because I really haven't. But basically I'm comparing it to other professional sporting events. I mean, what other "Top Flight" sport series allows the kind of access that you guys are talking about? Go to an NBA or NHL game and forget it. I've never been to an NFL game, but I'm betting it's more of the same.

ALMS is very cool to watch, but it strikes me as a AAA minor league team or an opening act for some big rock band.

 

Wow! That assessment couldn't be further from the truth. You're not even close. ALMS is a top tier racing series, employing some of the very best, most talented, and most experienced drivers in the world. If you think of the LMP cars as F1 cars with fenders, you won't be far off the mark.

Go to the 12 Hours of Sebring and then see if you can come back and tell us it's minor league.

Also, comparing motorsports with ball games is apples and oranges. There is no logical basis for contrast.