Teenagers On The Track..
January 27, 2004
..at Las Vegas open testing session. That woud be Kyle Busch. Soon to be joined by near teens Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne. Is someone missing a Clearasil sponsorship opportunity here? Viagra for the grey beards and Clearasil for the zit generation. I could keep going with this, but it’s time to move the latest snow fall from the driveway.
racingone.com: Homecoming for Busch
IRL Drivers On Road Courses
January 27, 2004
As to be expected, IRL drivers are expressing a keen interest to go road racing. With the pending resolution of the CART bankruptcy, its a good bet the IRL will be on the twisties no later than 2005. Is a good oval racer a good road racer? Not necessarily. Road racers can become exceptional oval stars as proven by the influx of international drivers to the IRL and CART. How many dedicated oval racers have made the change the other way around? Damn few I’d guess.
speedtv.com: IndyCar Drivers Talk Road Racing
The Loss Of Jordan Racing
January 27, 2004
Is Jordan Racing better off without Eddie at the wheel? Maybe. Would a major car partner like volkwagen allow the team to survive and possibly thrive? Absolutely. Would F1 ever be the same without Eddie? Never!
Maybe it’s time to say the unspeakable. F1 NEEDS to loose another team or two to bankruptcy, to shatter the illusion that all is well in the sport. Minardi and Jordan are the obvious targets struggling with money woes, so just let ‘em go.
The loss of Minardi may not be mourned loudly or for long, but loosing Jordan, with a third place finish not long ago (1999?) would be tragic.
crashnet.com: Jordan may be better off without EJ, says Watson.
Boastful Brawn
January 27, 2004
Its not enough that Ferrari, abetted by Bridgestone and the FIA, stole the championship last year. You’d expect a modicum of self restraint from the evil doers. Not our boy “Squeeler” Brawn:
“There has been a lot of discussion about this, but you must remember that we won the championship with those tyres,” he said. “We have set the standard and are the ones to beat. We are up for the game and I’m sure we will be as competitive as ever.”
As long as the game allows deception and intercession by the FIA to save your wallowing ass, your quote would be right on, Ross. I guess gloating is also a reality of F1 along with the loss of sportsmanship.
f1-live.com: Ferrari play down tyre concerns
Even I am getting “tired” of beating up this issue. If anyone is serious about reducing costs, why not go back to a single tire supplier for all teams? Every team gets the same tire, no special tire testing allowed. Every three years, tire companies bid to see who is the supplier and the teams share the loot.
Let the teams focus their design efforts on their chasis-engine packages with everyone sharing the same shoes.
Petty, Paul Newman In Daytona Prototype
January 27, 2004
Petty, Newman To Team in Daytona Prototype sponsored by Disney/Pixar’s Cars Movie
Daytona Beach, Fla. (January 27, 2004) — NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver Kyle Petty and Academy Award-winner Paul Newman will team with Michael Brockman and Gunnar Jeannette for the 42nd Anniversary of the Rolex 24 At Daytona, January 31-February 1. The foursome will share driving duties in the Gunnar Racing No. 45 Porsche Fabcar Daytona Prototype, which will be sponsored by Disney presents a Pixar film Cars.
Schumacher Heads Valencia Test
January 27, 2004
Sauber and Ferrari both report that the Tuesday testing session at Valencia showed Michael Schumacher on top of the speed charts in his Ferrari. Driving a pair of F2003-GA chassis, the world champion concentrated on tire development and setups.
Robby Gordon Will Also Run Daytona 24
January 27, 2004
Not to be out-done by his NASCAR co-workers Dale Earnhardt Jr, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson, Robby Gordon has become the latest NASCAR driver to join in the running of the 24 Hours of Daytona this coming weekend. Robby will run with Spirit of Daytona Racing and will join with team owner/driver Doug Goad and Stephan Gregoire to create an experienced driver lineup. Robby is of course a very experienced road racer with a background in off-road and open wheel racing. Robby swept the two road courses on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit in 2003…
Motorsport.com: Robby Gordon joins Spirit of Daytona Racing for Daytona 24
All-female Team Enters Sebring 12 Hours
January 27, 2004
BRASELTON, Ga. - The history of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring has highlighted many interesting and different racing teams and the 52nd running of America’s oldest sports car race will see the American debut of an All-Female driving team that has gained popularity in Europe in a very short amount of time.
The team known as “Les Femmes Pour Le Mans” has entered the season-opening event for the American Le Mans Series, featuring racer/broadcaster Amanda Stretton of England and American Liz Halliday. A third female driver will be named to complete the team.
2004 Ferrari Unveiled, Sort Of
January 26, 2004
Ferrari unveiled its 2004 F1 car that it hopes will retain its death grip on the F1 drivers and constructors championships. The car itself is somewhat anti-climactic as it appears to be very similar to last year.
However, it was also mentioned that the car that shows up in Melbourne for the first race of the season will be vastly different from the car that was presented today. So, I guess this was really not the unveiling of the 2004 Ferrari. That’s one way to get the timeline for car development pushed out…just present last years car and SAY it is this years car…all the while you get to keep developing right up until the first round of qualifying.
And gosh…I wonder what they could be working on to make the car radically different for the first race of the season. The nose/front wing perhaps!? Frank Williams has such a huge grin on his face…
Ferrari.com: The F2004 presented at Maranello
Planet-F1.com: F2004 To Be Altered For Melbourne
Planet-F1.com: Ferrari unveil a copy cat not a prancing horse
Kimi To Ferrari…Someday
January 26, 2004
With praise like this from Ferrari’s president Luca di Montezemolo, and the well known salary that a Ferrari lead driver gets, its not hard to imagine where Kimi will end up when his contact with Mclaren is up…
Motorsport.com: Ferrari boss praises Raikkonen