No Fenders - Formula 1 and Indy Car Racing Blog

IRL Newsflash… We’ve got a Title Sponsor

2009-11-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

Team IZOD!

Uh, in case you missed it somehow? In a story that’s been plastered all over le internets, the Indy Car Series has finally landed a new “tittle” sponsor for its vaunted Indy Racing League as I believe some sorta shirt company is going to be the Leagues backer beginning in 2010, in a deal reportedly for six years (optional two year extension) and rumoured to be for $10-15 million per season and potentially worth as much as a “Mega” $100m over the contracts lifetime… In what will become the Tuh-Duh!

IZOD IndyCar Series

But according to Will of Is it May Yet? Its NOT that IZOD Company Y’all think it is…
Fly Over for the 2010 Indianapolis 500 announced

And IZOD’s new proposed IndyCar T-Shirts look a HELL of a lot better then previous ICS incarnations, now hopefully they WON’T flashback to that catchy marketing jingle I AM INDY!

2009 ROC Recap

2009-11-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

Whale this year’s ROC, the REAL Race Of Champions… NOT to be cornfuzed with that dually departed abomination of Pontiacs goin’ round ‘N round in some Adult Spirits series… (IROC) Has just been completed, having taken place in Beijing, China on November 3-4.

And with this year’s event having been moved forward one month and clashing with something called The Chase, Team USA dug deep into its bag of available Personalities, settling upon a pair of largely unknown Rally and Drifting Champions… As with NO disrespect to either Travis Pastrana or Tanner Foust, I think Double Formula D (“DUH!”) Champion Foust was OUT of his league…

As this year’s entrants consisted of no less then several top caliber names like: Jenson Button, Mattias Ekstrom, Marcus Gronholm, Mik0 Hirvonen, Tom Kristensen, Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, to name a few.

2009 ROC Preview

And this year’s event in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, site of the 2008 Summer Olympics, having moved from the previous two events at London’s Wembley Stadium in December also saw a change to the event’s format with Drivers and Nations now competing in Groups before progressing to the Semi-Finals.

The Nation’s Cup which began the two day event on Tuesday, saw a grouping of four and two groups of three compete against each other, with Team USA competing against France and Scandinavia. As Team USA made it into the round of four: China, Germany, Great Britain, and USA.

surprisingly Tanner Foust defeated the TERMINATOR (Schumacher) in round One before Michael’s teammate ‘ZEBB (Vettel) won the next round against Travis Pastrana in Rally Cars to see Vettel then defeat Foust in Heat 3 in ROC Buggies.

‘Zebb’s win enabled the Defending Nation’s Cup Champion (Team Germany) to advance to the Finals vs. Team Autosport GB, consisting of World Champion elect ‘JENSE (Button) and 3-time (WTCC) World Touring Car champion) Andy Priaulx, who’d defeated Team China. Team Germany then went onto defeat Team Autosport GB 2-1 and claimed its third Nation’s Cup title.

Team Germany wins Nation’s Cup

The following day (Wednesday) saw the similar first round groups format, where 2-time Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) Champion Mattias Ekstrom defeated all three first round competitors including Pastrana; while Foust lost to button in his first round grouping, as Ekstrom would cruise all the way thru to the Finals.

The other side of the ladder saw the TERMINATOR similarly working over his competition, starting off by defeating old F1 rival David Coulthard and also basically cruising thru his heats, as Schuey would face his protégé, the young Wunderkin Vettel in the Semi-Finals, but ‘ZEBB crashed and thus Schumacher would once again square off against Ekstrom in the Finals, of which the “Swede” (Mattias) easily won, by taking the first two of three heats.

Mattias Ekstrom:
"This is a very special day for me," the 31-year-old Swede smiled. "I was not particularly fortunate this year in the DTM. To end the season with a victory against Michael Schumacher is fantastic!"

Ekstrom is Champion of champions again

Toyota Quitting F1

2009-11-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

There have been rumblings of an impending pull-out from Formula 1 by Toyota for some time now, with the decision of Williams to drop its Toyota engine supply along with the lack of signing any Drivers for next year… And this speculation heightened with Bridgestone’s shock announcement of not renewing its exclusive tyre supply contract as Japan seems destined to shun Formula 1 for the first time in years…

The news of Toyota’s decision to Quit Formula One was first reported in the Mainichi newspaper yesterday as Toyota Executives began a four day meeting in Japan, which Toyota initially denied, but it has now been widely reported that Toyota indeed will cease its participation in F1 henceforth and its another very harsh day for Grand Prix racing, especially the hundreds of employees set to lose their jobs, although there’s NO word yet on what exactly will happen to the team as Toyota’s departure now makes way for the reconstituted Sauber F1 Team to become the sports 13th entry…

Abu Dabi GP: Desert Stars

2009-11-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

(F1 Drivers at Abu Dabi; Source: Grandprix.com)

Whale I pre-empted my recent Saturday “Qualie” teaser in honour of the tenth Anniversary of Canadian Open Wheel Star Greg Moore’s passing…

Along with the fact that I don’t recall it being an overly exciting Qualifying session, as Lewis Hamilton simply “Blitzed” the field, as it was reported that his margin of 0.667 seconds over second place Sebastian Vettel was the largest since 2005.

And “JAGUAR’s” (Hamilton) teammate “KOVY” (Kovalainen) continued his Rodney Dangerfield impersonation, as his Gearbox packed-up on the Fin in the middle of Q2, when it looked likely that Heikki would help insure a McLaren front row lockout… While ironically, as “Fredrico Suave” (Alonso) was making his final Qualifying run for Renault, the Spaniard failed to survive Q1 for the very first time in his career.

And while the Red Bull & BRAWN GP Boyz duked it out for the sharp end of the grid, they were left scrapping over P2 and beyond as Hamilton’s KERS equipped MP4-24 was unassailable, with the top two teams in this year’s Constructor’s Championship inverted; as Vettel led Mark Webber, with Rubino (Barrichello) besting ‘JENSE (Button) once again, while the Kimster (Raikkonen) was unable to advance into the final Q3 Qualie session, finishing 11th and “Fishy-Fellah” (Fisichella) was down in the doldrums once again. (P20)

Thus with Hamilton taking his fourth Pole in the last seven races and Kovalainen 13th, while Raikkonen was P11 and Fisichella starting dead last… (Some 1.5 seconds adrift of Hamilton) The odds of McLaren holding onto their narrow one point lead for third in the Constructor’s title seemed in their favour, as reportedly the difference between third and fourth is a cool $5 million…

Race
Although the Announcers, Driver’s and Media had all spent the entire weekend totally enamored by the brand new circuit (for obvious reasons) largely due to the man made Island’s sheer opulence… I found the race like qualifying to be most Anti-Climatic… Also being not overly impressed by the race itself, as Hamilton seemingly would walk away from the field with his KERS boost upon the F1 Circuses longest straightaway, three quarters of a mile in length and doubling as a future drag strip.

Yet Vettel did his best to remain within sight of the somewhat vanishing McLaren, whose lead was cut in half when “Louise” made an unforced error and thus Sebastian was able to take over the lead after running an extra two laps before pitting… But it was all for naught, as shortly thereafter Hamilton would be forced to retire with an unknown rear braking problem; as I found it most interesting that Peter Windsor reported that Lewis was running two different manufacturer’s compounds on his car; Carbon Industries at the front and Brembo on the rear…

Thus with Vettel’s stiffest competition tucked away into the air conditioned Pit garage, it was a cakewalk for the young German, building up an 18 second lead over eventual runner-up Webber, albeit new World Champion elect Button spiced up the show in the waning laps with a fairly epic duel with the Aussie over second place as the pair ran wheel to wheel, front wing endplates nearly touching, before ‘JENSE settled for the podiums final step…

Race Drive of Abu Dabi
Although Nick Heidfeld gave departing BMW Sauber its final F1 points and “BOOMER” (Sebastian Buemi) came home eighth, once again my hat’s tipped to the man of the fleeting moment; “K-Squared,” as Kamui Kobayashi once again drove an excellent race, finishing sixth, one place ahead of his senior teammate and scoring his first (and most likely last) Grand Prix points, as sadly Kobayashi now looks set to go back to being a Sushi waiter in Japan…

Kobayashi: It’s Toyota or Sushi

Top 3 - Qualifying
Pole: Lewis Hamilton
Second: Sebastian Vettel
Third: Mark Webber

Race Results
Winner: S. Vettel; 2nd: M. Webber; 3rd: J. Button; 4th: R. Barrichello;
5th: N. Heidfeld; 6th: K. Kobayashi; 7th: J. Trulli; 8th: S. Buemi.

Red Bull duo pushes Jense’s button

2009-11-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

Apparently we’re not privy to the full length of the Post-race Driver’s interviews, as we’re just given the TV Unilateral before they switch to the following Press Conference… Where apparently the real fireworks were had as I just busted out laughing over the fact that “ZEBB (Sebastian Vettel) was giving new World Champion ‘JENSE (Button) some major stchick about getting married to his girlfriend over the winter break… To which Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber then joined in the grilling to which seemingly irked off “JENSE quite a bit… As Jenson even stopped his comment to tell them they might like to listen to his comment, to which Webber said we’re just trying to clear our schedules for your wedding Mate!

Hmm? Is that an IZOD shirt Button’s wearing in the photo?

Red Bull duo start Button wedding rumours

Wedding proposal F1 style

2009-11-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

And although the walls of the financial debacle seem to be closing in upon Formula 1, its nice to see that its not all Doom ‘N gloom in the F1 Paddock, as grizzled “Journo” Joe Saward has a very short but sweet post upon a fellow colleagues novel way of proposing marriage, click here.

BMW Sauber’s last dance

2009-11-02T10:38:00.000-08:00

In what seems a pathetic move, a la knee-jerk fashion by BMW AG, sadly the BMW Sauber F1 Team has now run its course with its 70th and final Grand Prix race at the inaugural Abu Dabi Grand Prix.

With “Quick Nick” Heidfeld’s fifth place finish, the Team was able to leapfrog Williams for sixth in the Constructor’s Championship, as the German has been a part of Peter Sauber’s various Formula 1 incarnations for seven years and in thanks for his loyal service, Heidfeld will be presented with a current spec Sauber racecar.

Meanwhile Heidfeld’s teammate Robert Kubica, nee the “Krakow Kid” who’ll be moving to Renault next year is set to take part in his very first Rallying event in France at the end of November, where Kubica will partake In the Côte d'Azur aboard a Clio R3 (Nov. 26-29) purely for fun, claims the Pole…

Heidfeld finds it a difficult farewell

Williams unveils new Driver line-up

2009-11-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

As expected for some time now, the Williams F1 Team has announced that Rubens Barriechello will partner Rookie Nico Hulkenberg in 2010 after current Driver Nico Rosberg had announced his departure from the team previously.

Williams has also announced the ditching of its Toyota “Lumps” in favour of the new Customer supplier Cosworth, returning to the British company in 2010, thus leaving Japanese Driver Kazuki Nakajima’s future with the Grove based squad doubtful.

Rubino, the current Formula 1 Elder Statesman will therefore seek to become the very first Grand Prix Driver to crack the once unachievable mark of 300 starts in F1 next year, while reigning GP2 Champion Hulkenberg will make his Formula 1 debut in the Desert sands of Bahrain next March, with Nakajima’s future in F1 looking doubtful…

Bridgestone out of F1 in 2010

2009-11-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

As the inaugural Abu Dabi Grand Prix had barely come to a close, Bridgestone tyre officials announced in Japan that the Formula One’s sole rubber supplier would not seek to renew its exclusive supply deal after its current contract expires at the end of the 2010 Formula 1 season and now leaves the FIA scrambling to find a new tyre supplier for 2011 and beyond, as it seems doubtful that Goodyear would return and Michelin’s relationship with Grand Prix racing isn’t exactly rosy... Could we see a return of Italian rubber giant Pirelli?

Greg Moore – 10 years after

2009-10-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

So like always, its hard to believe that a decade has already passed since the fatal tragedy that claimed one of CART’s rising Stars on Halloween occurred, thus taking Greg Moore’s life in the 1999 CART Season Finale’s Marlboro 500 at the California Speedway…

As I can still recall seeing Moore’s Player’s liveried Forsythe Reynard/Mercedes Benz violently Barrel-rolling multiple times along the circuits high bank knowing that it would be a miracle for Moore to escape un-injured; especially at the unabated speed of 200mph plus!

Yet for reasons unknown, the strongest memory of the late Greg Moore I seem to harbor is his overly foolish Bonsai carnival-like maneuver into the Festival Curves at the start of the 1998 Portland G.I. Joes 200, where as “Auntie” Harriet would say… He was acting like a “Hot Head!”

As almost co medically, Moore attempted to leapfrog his way into the lead from P14 and in the process managed to eliminate seven Racers!

Yet obviously the New Westminster native, who grew-up in the Maple Ridge suburb of Vancouver, BC had unbridled talent, as none other than the legendary “Captain” Roger Penske had just inked him to a (Multi-year) contract during the summer of 1999 to become a Penske Racing Driver for the 2000 season before his untimely incident.

Like many “Kanuck’s” Moore played Ice Hockey as a youth and ironically the No. 99 would be assigned to him when he began his Karting career… Thus reputedly having nothing to do with the revered “Great One,” (Wayne Gretsky) although certainly the connection wasn’t lost to Greg, as it would become his Car number throughout his CART career...

And like most Open Wheel Racecar Drivers, Moore cut his teeth in Go-Karts, winning the 1989-90 North American Enduro Championship before progressing to Formula Ford’s, where in 1991 he was the Formula Ford 1600 Rookie of the Year after finishing fourth overall with one victory.

In 1992, Moore became the USAC West FF2000 (Formula Ford) Champion, having claimed four Poles and four victories enroute to the title, along with being the series Rookie of the Year, before moving onto the (original) Indy Lights series, which he ran in 1993 for his Family’s underfunded Team and finished ninth overall.

In 1994 Greg became the youngest ever winner of a (CART Sanctioned) Indy Lights race at the tender age of 18 when he took the chequered flag at the season opening round in Phoenix, AZ and would record two more wins that season enroute to finishing third in the Championship.

For 1995, Greg joined the Players/Forsythe Racing Organisation and simply crushed the competition enroute to the Indy Lights Championship with a staggering ten wins out of twelve races, including a scintillating five-in-a-row… And thus was destined to make his move up to the “Big Boyz” the following season.

In his Debutant season, Moore scored 84 points and finished as runner-up in the CART/PPG’s Jim Trueman Rookie of the Year standings behind somebody named “Zorro,” a.k.a. Alex Zanardi.

In 1997, Greg then became the Championship Auto Racing Teams youngest ever winner (to that date; since eclipsed by Scott Dixon and Nelson Philippe) at the age of 22 when he beat Michael Andretti to the stripe at the famed Milwaukee Mile and would repeat as winner again just one week later… As I recall screaming at the Telescreen as not one but both of my Home team’s PacWest Racing Drivers; Mauricio Gugelmin and Mark Blundell who were running nose to tail 1-2 both sputtered out of petrol on the final lap and Moore swept thru from third place to claim victory on Detroit’s Belle Isle.

In ’98 Greg was joined by fellow Canadian Patrick Carpentier as Players/Forsythe expanded to a two car operation and Moore would dice with Zanardi at the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway (“Roval”) in Rio de Janeiro before making a spectacular pass to solidify his fourth Champ Car victory, before later that year he’d pass the Target Boyz duo of Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser to claim the Vanderbuilt Cup in the US 500 at Michigan International Speedway, which was sadly overshadowed by the deaths of three spectators from a flying tyre that bounded over the catch fencing.

The year 1999 would start off very good for the Kanuck, once again taking victory in the season opening race in Miami, this time on the Oval Track at Homestead, which sadly would become his final Indy Car career victory, as Moore would suffer fatal head injuries on his early race incident at Fontana. (As the violent crash registered an incomprehensible 154 G’s!)

And ironically the Halloween race weekend had started out ominously for Greg when he was struck on his “Scooter” by a vehicle in the Paddock, suffering an injured right hand with Roberto Moreno being called-in by Players/Forsythe as a Back-up replacement, although Greg would take the Green flag from the rear of the field, having been cleared to drive with a hand brace.

And as I’ve said before, reportedly it was Greg whom introduced the “Dashley ‘Juan,” nee Dario Franchitti to his future wife (Ashley Judd) at a party of friend Jason Priestley's… As Greg’s posse was known to include the likes of “Mad Max” (Massimiliano) Papis, “TK,” (Tony Kanaan) “REO Speedwagon” (Dario Franchitti) and others I cannot recall, (Greg Moore Brat Pack: Adrian Fernandez, Franchitti, Kanaan, Papis and Jimmy Vasser) as I was overly touched by Dario dedicating his 2009 Indy Car Series Championship at Homestead to his late, great, friend…

Remembering Gregg Moore

Stats
1993-95: CART Indy Lights
1995 Indy Lights Champion

1996-99: CART/PPG Championship
72 Starts; 5 Poles; 5 Wins; 17 Podiums.
First race, 1996: Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, FL
Last race, 1999: California Speedway; Fontana, CA

Help Spa-Francorchamps

2009-10-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently some of the local residents who aren’t fans of Formula 1 are trying to cause the demise of one of the world’s most legendary race tracks… Spa-Francorchamps! And thus cause the Belgian Grand Prix to fade away because its too loud. SHEISA!

So please check out the petition to KEEP Spa-Francorchamps on the F1 calendar in the future, click here.

Lapping the Yas Marina F1 Circuit

2009-10-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

James Allen has been providing some great videos on what the upcoming Abu Dabi Grand Prix on the Yas Island Marina circuit should look like along with some thoughts upon possible lap times. For a nighttime view, click here.

Toyota drivers familiarise themselves with Abu Dhabi track

Caterham Cars Founder perishes

2009-10-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Although I know very little about the English make affectionately known as Caterham Cars, sadly I was informed of the news that its company founder Graham Nearn has passed away at the age of 76 this past Saturday. (October 24th, 2009)

Yet there seems to be an outpouring of fondness for the late Mr. Nearn, the “Godfather” of the Caterham Super 7, who I had the privilege of meeting once some half dozen years ago, albeit I had no idea of the man’s stature in the zany world of Automobile Manufactures, nor any inkling that a half century ago he’d started Caterham as a Lotus Agent for Colin Chapman’s lightweight (Fenders) Sports Car known then as the Lotus 7.

Nor do I know anything about a long forgotten British Television Show called: The Prisoner, which apparently was originally aired back in the mid 1960’s before spawning a whole new generation of fans with its rebroadcasting on Britain’s Channel 4 (BBC?) in the early 1980’s. (Circa 1983) Only learning about said TV show whilst searching for news upon Graham’s untimely death and having found an interesting interview.

The Vanishing point – Not a number

Thus further learning that Graham had ultimately built a Prisoner Replica nearly two decades ago, having tracked down Patrick McGoohan and hashed out a deal over breakfast in LA, as Nearn and McGoohan unveiled the Caterham Prisoner Edition 7 in October 1990 for the Birmingham Motor Show. As Graham had ambitious plans of a limited production run of 500 for the Prisoner replica which apparently peaked at the modest number of 47 when sales orders dried up.

And there’s a photograph (the photograph?) of Prisoner star McGoohan and Graham Nearn in the brief article titled: Steward of the 7, as the above interview mentions how Graham had been an “Extra” in the TV show and telling the producers he wasn’t really worried about the daily wages, he just really wanted a photo of him alongside McGoohan, which he’d use to promote sales of the Lotus 7, having just been granted a Concessioner’s deal in 1966, before ultimately taking over the automobiles manufacturing in 1973.

Yet, even today, this most iconic English Sports Car in varying forms of build and now known as the Caterham (Super) 7 is still in production a half century later and revered by many motoring enthusiasts around the world…

Japan’s newest Star?

2009-10-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you’ve already heard that Toyota’s Test Driver Kamui Kobayashi will once again fill-in for the injured Timo Glock at this weekend’s upcoming inaugural Abu Dabi Grand Prix, as I suspect the team is using this as a further evaluation towards a Full time ride in 2010?

GP Race Debut
Ok, so it was only his very first Formula 1 race ever, albeit the weekend being of a most trying circumstance, a la wet ‘N wooly weather… But I found Toyota new boy Kamui Kobayashi’s performance at Interlagos, a track he’d never driven on before, except for video games and a exploratory “Scooter” outing prior to Free Practice to be very impressive.

Yeah, so it was only Friday, but in the battle of the Japanese Drivers; F1 Debutant Kobayashi outdueled the more experienced Williams-Toyota Kazuki Nakajima, (14th) he also finished ahead of both of the Ferrari’s who languished at the bottom of the time sheets with Raikkonen and Fisichella P18, P20 respectively, while Kobayashi wound-up a fine 13th in his second official outing, having substituted for Timo Glock in Friday Free Practice at Suzuka, which was also held in the rain.

After both Toyota’s had passed thru “Qualie One,” ( Q1) Kamui was lying a very impressive P7 in Qualie Two before Vitantonnio Luzzi stuffed his Force India into the wall on an abysmally wet track, and after a 71min Red Flag delay, Kobayashi got as high as sixth before a last moment spin saw Fernando Alonso snatching tenth in the waning moments of the session, with Kobayashi ultimately ending up 11th; as Raikkonen qualified sixth, Nakajima finished ninth and Fisichella spun out in Q1 and would start dead last. (P20)

But it was the race where Kobayashi put on his best show by holding up none other then eventual 2009 World Champion Jenson Button while driving in sixth place, as ‘JENSE would later report that Kobayashi was driving INSANE! Before the Brit finally overtook him…

As Kobayashi would cycle as high as third place before pit stops would see him come out to tangle with and effectively “Nerf” off track his Japanese rival Kazuki Nakajima who ended up on in the tyre barriers… Yet it was refreshing to see Kamui fight so hard for every place on track as he made a very nice pass upon Fisichella for ninth place in the waning moments of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

So, how will the “Young Lion” fare this weekend? Whale it’s a brand new circuit that nobody’s ever driven on, so I’d guess that Kobayashi could possibly finish in the points, but we’ll see, eh?

Brazilian GP Debrief with Kamui Kobayashi

Turnin’ the BIG Six-Oh!

2009-10-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

A ‘lil Indiana ‘Sycamore has told me that today a “Mega” middle aged procostinator of Indy Car Doom ‘N Gloom is celebrating his Birthday today… But wait, it’s even better yet as my reputed “Source” sez it’s none other then ‘Ol Open Wheel Racing Curmudgeon Robin Miller’s SIXTIETH BIRTDAY!!! AYE KARUMBA!

So Happy 60th Birthday Robin…

and NO word on what Ye ‘Ol Windbag (and friend) Dave Despain presented Robin with for this momentous occasion… As it’ll be hard to top last years gift when Despain actually had video footage of giving him a Tin-Top ride with someone named ‘Lil Ironhead…

And good luck blowin out all of ‘dem candles Robin!

Paul Tracy Wants You!

2009-10-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

Hey all of uze Hosers from Up North Eh? (Besides Meesh & CAM-WOW…) Along with ALL of us CART ‘O Phyles, Err Chump Car Fanatics whose still are Paul Tracy (devotees) supporters…

According to James over at 16th and Georgetown, the Thrill from the West Hill, Err Mr. Chrome Horn (nee Paul Tracy) wants everyone to drop TROW, NO! NOT your pants silly… I meant to say drop his sponsor Monster Energy Drinks a line (or 48) claiming how the Wily ‘Juan, Messer Paul Tracy should indeed be given a 2010 FULL season ride in the Indy Car Series…

Click here and then go to the Shout Out section to leave your positively vociferous comments in support of ‘Ol PT!

(Thanxs ‘DAWG, Err pressdog for pointing ALL of us to the Paul Tracy Athlete link…)

IndyCar Trivia Question

2009-10-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

So this past Saturday I asked Y’all an entertaining trivia question in Winning their Way, to which so far NOBODY has attempted answering besides Danny B and Mr. Carpets…

Although there seems to be a little confusion upon the exact wording of the Trivia Question, which was originally supposed to be: How many Indy Car Drivers have won the Indy 500 as (first) a Driver and (then) a Car Owner (Separately) in the modern era.

So does anybody besides Danny B and Mr. Carpets (who both know the Answer) Have an Answer?

As we originally came up with a total of four “Modern Day” Post 1960’s names, yet I’ve now come up with a total of eight, as the Trivia Question now reads as: How many drivers have won the Indy 500 both as a Driver and Team Owner…

so how many did you come up with, eh? As Y’all can leave your answers in the comments section...

Spies wins World Superbike title!

2009-10-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

On another gray, dreary ‘N wet day in the Pacific Northwest, I eagerly sat down to watch the final two rounds of this year’s hotly contested World Superbike (WSBK) Championship Sunday afternoon…

As Ben Spies, the latest in a long line of American Road Racers from the Lone Star state of Texas was hoping to make history against 2009 WSBK title favourite “Nitro Nori.” (Noriyuki Haga)

Yet it was the Texan who triumphantly claimed the World Superbike Championship in dramatic fashion, as the series Rookie tallied his (WSBK record) 14th victory Sunday at Portimao, Portugal; as Spies has had an epic season long duel with perpetual Bridesmaid “Nitro Nori,” as the Japanese rider has been unable to close the deal in a decade of trying to win his first World Superbike crown, while leading Spies by as many as 88 points at one point on his Ducati.

After having won three consecutive AMA Superbike crowns for Suzuki stateside, Spies switched to Yamaha this year four his debut outing in the worldwide competition, as a springboard to a future in MOTO GP - targeting his fulltime series debut in 2011; as ironically Spies was riding for the Italian based Yamaha WSBK Team which Noriyuki Haga had previously ridden for before switching to the rival Italian (Ducati) concern in nearby Bologna.

And after having wrestled the points lead away from Haga in the first round of the Magny Cours double-header, Spies faltered in the second race with what appeared to be the wrong tyre choice and thus went into the season finale at Portimao trailing Nitro Nori by ten points, thus needing to win both rounds in the final race to take the title.

Spies started the week off in dramatic fashion by taking Pole position with a record time enroute to his 11th Pole of the season, claiming the SuperPole Award and setting a new record for most Poles in a season… Before the Texan simply motored away from the field at the drop of the Green flag, before title rival Haga crashed out at the tricky course on Lap 7, effectively handing the crown to Spies, who then held off a hard charging Jonathan Rea And Max Biaggi in third place, as it was the Italian who’d “Nerfed” off the Texan Down Under in Australia at the beginning of the season.

Yet by claiming the victory, more importantly Spies gained a valuable 25 points for first place, giving him a 15 point cushion over Haga going into round two, who’d DNF’ed a most pivotal Race 1.

But you must spare a thought for Noriyuki, who came down with the flu on the morning of the season finale, adding insult to injury on his Race 1 performance, which Haga made amends of in Race 2, passing title rival Spies enroute to a second place finish behind Ducati teammate Michael Fabrizio by 1.195 seconds. (So much for Team Orders, eh?)

Although Spies had started on Pole in round two,, the race shortly became a Battle of the Brits, as Shane “Shakey” Byrne And Jonathan Rea became locked in a mighty “Scrum” for the lead with Michael Fabrizio in close pursuit, as Spies simply wanted NO part in the battling Britain’s and decided discretion was the better part of valor in his title quest, ultimately dropping as far back as sixth, before once again passing Biaggi to finish in a secure fifth place and claiming the World SuperBike crown by six points over Noriyuki Haga, who seemed very gracious in defeat while still suffering with flu-like symptoms during the Post-race interviews; while once again Rea made the podium, but Fabrizio’s victory along with Rea’s third place was enough for Fabrizio to narrowly clinch third in the Championship by a scant two points ahead of Rea.

As Y’all may know, earlier this year Yamaha decided to promote Spies to the ranks of MOTO GP one year ahead of its plans, as the newly crowned Champ will join another past World Superbike Champion at the Tech 3 Yamaha Team in 2010 instead, as Tech 3 will effectively become “Texas Tech 3” when Spies will partner Colin Edwards in his Rookie MOTO GP campaign.

Yet, I’m not sure who was more happier with the accomplishment as Yamaha WSBK Team Principal Massimo Meregalli could not hide his jubilation over Spies handing him Yamaha’s very first ever World Superbike title as a grinning Spies said it would take a few days to sink in; before he jets off to Valencia to partake in the MOTO GP season finale as a Wildcard entry…

Rossi is Champion again

2009-10-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

Valentino Rossi once again won another MOTO GP World Championship, as “The Doctor” performed surgery upon his competitors in the wet Malaysian event Sunday, after faltering to an unusual tenth place at the start, he carved his way back to the final step on the podium and thus clinched his seventh MOTO GP crown by finishing third…

The race which was delayed for 35mins by rain… Hmm? Must be Monsoon season, eh? As Rossi’s title rival and teammate George Lorenzo apparently failed to take his place upon the grid in the warm-up and was forced to start from the rear of the field, while the “Kentucky Kid” (Nicky Hayden) had a very good duel with Lorenzo, as the two riders swapped positions multiple times in the wet while fighting over fifth place, before The Doctor slipped by both of the riders.

Hayden ultimately finished fifth, one position behind Lorenzo while Colin Edwards seemed off the pace once again, soldiering home in 13th.

Thus Rossi has now claimed a total of nine Championship titles in his thirteen year career to date and looks set for more, although potentially the competition will be stronger next year, especially now that the ailing Casey Stoner has returned for Ducati and won the last two races…

A Day at the USF1 Office

2009-10-24T10:01:00.001-07:00

I found this at My Name is IRL... Now if The House 'O Windsor could only come up with some Driver's name's for us, eh?

Winning their way

2009-10-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

So recently Danny B asked me a trivia question: How many Indy Car Drivers have won the Indy 500 as a Driver and a Car Owner?

Quick; time’s up! Put them pencils down…

What’s your answer? As we came up with a total of four “Modern Day” names; so how many did you come up with, eh?

Todt is new FIA President

2009-10-23T08:30:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly Jean Todt has been elected the new FIA President by a (“Secret-Secret?”) vote of 135-49 vs. rival Ari Vatanen, who as an outsider was fighting an uphill battle… As “Bert ‘N Ernie” (MAD Max ‘N Uncle Bernaughty) along with Herr Schumacher and the FIA constituency who wanted to keep their current jobs all backed the 63yr old Frenchman (Todt) and thus don’t expect too many changes from the WMSC rubber stamping Department…

Talking the USF1 talk

2009-10-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

It’s kind of sad that it takes the dubious nay saying of one Emperor Bernardo’s casting doubts over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend regarding the health of new Formula 1 team’s to cause a rash of reactive PR Speak from one of the most “Hyped” F1 newcomers for 2010…

As instantly after Uncle Bernaughty said that the USF1 team seemed doubtful to appear next March, the House of Windsor flooded the internets and Newswires with reports of the teams progress to date with exclusive interviews with Team Principal Ken Anderson…

Latest USF1 fodder

Interestingly, although Team USF1 has recently hired Bernard Ferguson (ex-Cosworth employee) to oversee the liaison of their Cosworth engine supply, rumours suggest that perhaps Ken & Peter are now trying to break their contract in favour of a French or Japanese manufacturer’s preference instead?

Can you say Oh What a Feeling (Toyota)

While further reports claim that potential driver Alex Wurz has given up hopes on landing a ride next year with the team.

But the team is reportedly on track with parts being cut as we speak, to which Peter Windsor cleverly invited Steve Matchett to go check out “live on Air” during the Friday second Free Practice session on SPEED; to which Matchett immediately jumped on along with stating we should take a camera along too, eh?

As ironically I sat thru several airings of Peter Windsor promoting a free trip to the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix via a contest at GP Tours during the Brazilian F1 race, which would imply the team will indeed make the grid… Of which I hope so for several people’s sake including GP Tours...

Meanwhile Nate Ryan wrote an interesting article for USA Today with further teases about the progression of Team USF1 recently; even divulging that some of the team’s staff is from RASSCAR!

Start-up team seeks Formula One title made in USA

Also, it was revealed during the Brazilian GP weekend that Matchett did indeed go around the corner from the SPEED studio’s in Charlotte, NC with camera crew in tow and supposedly his very last RPM (Racing Per Matchett) episode of the season, to be aired during the Abu Dubai Pre-race segment will be this footage, so check it out!

And I’m guessing some of the negativity will dissipate once the team unveils its new 2010 Challenger sometime after the Season Finale… Now all we need is a trio of drivers, eh?

Atlantics Championship Team to IRL?

2009-10-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

I spotted this very intriguing tidbit upon The Other Side initially, which claims that according to SPEED’s Marshall Pruett, the 2009 Atlantics Championship winning Newman Wachs Racing Team could potentially be either jumping to the Indy Car Series or GP2 in 2010 with star driver John Edwards…

Although Team Owner Eddie Wachs goes onto say he’d like to possibly join an already established IRL outfit, to (hopefully) minimize the “Growing Pains” of building an operation from the Ground-up, if he makes the leap to the “Big boyz.”

So in true “CAM-WOW” (Matt Chamois) fashion, I’ve attempted to take a crack at the 2010 Indy Car landscape minus the “Big 3” establishments (Mikey Andretti Racing, Penske and TCGR) along with SRF (Sarah Fisher Racing) and Newman Haas Lanigan Racing which seemingly are the only outfits to be fairly stable at this moment in regards to their 2010 plans.

(NOT to say that ANY of the below Teams aren’t… As after all I can only GUESS, Eh?)

Personally I’d like to see NWR merge operations with Dale Coyne, as I think this would be a really good nucleus to build from, as they’ve got an excellent driver, while I suppose the Team’s only shortcoming is their Oval Track program, in which then you’d wanna possibly go with Panther Racing, eh?

Then again another good Team would be HVM, while Meesh’s favourite Team Owner “Boobie RAY-Xes” (Bobby Rahal) RLR Organization could always be resuscitated and Oriel Servia would be a great team leader… While of course the Up ‘N Comer of these potential merger candidates has to be (LCR) Luczo Dragon Racing, not to mention KV Racing Technology.

Meanwhile I’d guess that Dreyer & Reinbold would be a Dark horse selection since they seemingly already have their cadre of drivers in place, while I don’t know what Eric Bachelart’s (Conquest Racing) plans are for next year, while Team 3G seems to be a bit of a stretch.

And I never thought I’d say this… But I’d like to see Tony G. integrate his woeful vision Racing Team with Super Tex’s operation in order to build a sustainable 2010 two car entity… YIKES! (CANNOT believe I said that…) As it seems only logical that there will certainly be more consolidation in the future, while we await to see if Gil De Ferran can get his hoped for ICS team off ‘N running next year… Which I certainly hope will occur!

And then again there’s always an unlikely tie-up with AFS or Sam Schmidt; so who will it be? Will it happen? We’ll See, eh?

Button is World Champion

2009-10-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

And obviously he likes saying it! As it’s only been a decade in the making, with many bumps ‘N bruises upon the way… As I still fondly recall his rookie campaign with Williams-BMW under the tutelage of Gerhard Berger, losing his Driver’s License for speeding in a BMW Turbo Diesel and professing to like women’s small feet in an F1 Racing interview…

Regardless of how one may feel towards ‘JENSE’s winning of the World Championship, to which he’s taking heavy flak back home Across the Pond for simply “Backing into it…” Nevertheless the BLOODY BRIT did indeed win the MOST races this season, (Six to date) and would have locked up the crown in Singapore if we were utilizing Uncle Bernaughty’s gold medal system.

Yet, has everybody forgotten that 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg secured his lone title for Williams on the back of a solitary victory at the Swiss Grand Prix (Dihon-Prenois ) while title rivals Rene Arnoux And Alain Prost, (Renault teammates) Niki Lauda and John Watson, (McLaren teammates) and Didier Pironi (Ferrari) all double Keke’s victory total with two wins apiece.

Not to mention other various World Champions low victory tallies, i.e.; British title winners Mike Hawthorn (1958) lone victory and John surtees (1964) two wins; along with America’s first Champion Phil Hill clinching his lone title at Monza with his second and final victory of the season upon title rival and Ferrari teammate Wolfgang Von Trips death…

Or Jimmy Clark outscoring 1962 World Champion Graham Hill 4-2 and Jackie Stewart tying Graham’s three victories, yet it was Graham Hill whom clinched his second title in 1968; as yeah, button’s performance certainly dropped off mid-season, compared to title rivals Barrichello, Vettel and Weber, as the “aussie” race winner put it most succinctly.

Mark Webber:
“I think he will sleep better now, because he’s been incredibly nervous, there’s no question about that, ” he said. “He’s been absolutely bricking himself the last few weeks, so he can sleep better now.”

And it would be hard to replicate last year’s title fight… But isn’t it ironic that Buttons title was secured in part by current World Champion Hamilton's "Ginzu-knife" tyre slashing on Rubino… Talk about passing the torch, eh?

Button: “The best race of my life”

So, Congrats ‘JENSE!