What's Up With This?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90251

WARNINGS? WARNINGS? We aren't exactly talking "rookies" here - what's with the "warnings? Crappy stewarding right off the bat, that's what!

Power on Pole!

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90263

YES!

Quals - Oz

Gotta say that wasn't the most exciting Quals I've ever seen??

Not aided by the local cable TV showing it at 2 AM !! Hey I'm keen but really ??

Thank God for VCR's.

Vettel definitely has the pace, disappointed for Webber.

Is it my imagination or are the cars much twitchier this year ??

Oz

McLaren
duo set fastest times ahead of F1 season opener in Australia

racing5

Not sure if this works well, but I've set up this site ahead of the season! I'm playing with social apps and it'll keep on changing while I figure it out!

www.racing5.co.uk

Cheers

Circuit Guide

Formula
One: interactive guide to the grand prix circuits for 2011

Not to tread on any toes..

But I'm playing with a site too:

Have a look at:

https://sites.google.com/site/snowzonexpage/home/racing5

and let me know what you think. It's very much a work in progress!

Cheers

"Fake Rain"

Ecclestone
stands by Formula 1 'fake rain' plans

PT getting one more shot for a 2nd Indy win

Tracy spends more time and effort looking for rides than he does actually racing. Shame he can't get a full season ride. He's a great talent, but with the exception of the 2003 season he's never really been able to focus on making it happen on the track. I'll still be rooting for him.

http://www.racer.com/paul-tracy-signs-with-dreyer-reinbold-for-indy-500/article/198820/?DCMP=EMC-RACER_DAILY

Danica: Success In Failure...

...or some other silliness.

Watch now.

F1 In Pix

Here's My Pick for the 2011 Indy Series

http://www.indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/41813-power-charged-for-another-run-at-series-title/

I LIKE this guy - I think he has a very good future ahead of him, and I'm going to cheer him on this season.

ALMS: Sebring

I am so excited! I can't wait. The field is huge this year. I think this has to be due to the International Challenge. This is the type of interseries championship that I had been suggesting the CART/F1 or CART/IRL do all those years ago.

I have no picks but I will tell you who I am cheering for:
P1 - #2 Capello/Kristensen/McNish Audi R15+/TDI
P2 - #055 Tucker/Hunter-Reay/Diaz Lola Honda
PC - I have no real feelings about this but I love the LMPC concept.
GT - I'd love for the Corvettes to win but I fear that those new Ferrari 458 might beat them.
GTAM - Krohn's Ferrari despite the fact that there is a ZR-1.

Other thoughts...
ALMS needs to open up the GTC to more than Porsches. Maybe then GTC could join the big boys in these big races.

Many have complained about the ESPN3 online package and the lack of live TV coverage. Really? This is going to be great. Last year the ALMS did a few live-on-Saturday then Highlights-on-Sunday packages. The condensed highlight shows were very well done.

Any way to break this down into sub-blogs?

Just thinking here (that's a problem right out of the gate . . .). As we get more threads going, the list of topics is going to be really hard to manage. It was great on the old forum, where it was broken down and organized by different race series. It won't be long before we have a couple of hundred different threads, and it's going to be pretty hard to follow things.

Any way to break it into different categories (F1 / Indy / Nascar / sports cars / etc) without creating an entirely separate blog for each?

2011 F1 rule changes

Courtesy of Mercedes, a nice summary:

It's not just the cars that undergo constant development in Formula One.

The rules and regulations governing the sport evolve from year to year and 2011 sees major changes introduced to the Sporting and Technical Regulations. Here's our guide to what's changed and what it means...

Additional powers for the stewards

Sporting Regulations, Article 16.3

Previously, the stewards' powers to impose penalties after an incident were limited to three options: a drive-through penalty, a ten-second time penalty or a drop of grid position at the next event. These powers have been boosted for the 2011 season to include four more sanctions.

* The new penalties are: a time penalty, to be decided at the stewards'

discretion; a reprimand; exclusion from the results; or suspension from the next event.

Stricter driving standards

Sporting Regulations, Article 20

Formal driving standards have now been written into the rules rather than forming the object of a gentleman's agreement, and standards of behaviour when being lapped have also been tightened up.

* The rules explicitly forbid: more than one change of direction, crowding another car off the circuit and abnormal changes of direction

Enhanced pit lane safety

Sporting Regulations, Article 23

Following an incident in Monza last year when a mechanic was injured in the pit lane, there was no mechanism for closing the pit lane to other cars. This has now been introduced, along with other measures to improve safety.

* The pit lane can now be closed for safety reasons during the race. In this situation, cars may only enter the pits for 'essential and entirely evident' repairs

* Cars queued at the pit lane exit must now form up in a single line and leave in the order they arrived, unless another car is unduly delayed

Tyres

Sporting Regulations, Article 25

Pirelli will be the sole tyre supplier for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons. Drivers will be allocated a total of 11 sets of tyres for the race weekend. At selected events, drivers may be given either an additional set of 'prime' tyres for use on Friday only, or be asked to test experimental compounds to assist the tyre development process. Tyre usage is governed as follows:

Prime Option Tyre usage

P1 & P2 2 sets 1 set * 1 prime returned before P2

* 1 prime and 1 option

returned before P3

P3 1 set 1 set * 8 sets of tyres, four

of each specification, allocated for the remainder of the event

* 1 prime and 1 option

returned before Qualifying

Qualifying 3 sets 3 sets * Drivers who reach Q3 must start the

race on the set of tyres used to set their fastest lap

* Drivers must use both

types of dry tyres in the race, unless wet-weather tyres have been used

Race * Failure to use both

types of dry weather tyres in the race will result in exclusion from the results

Gearbox life

Sporting Regulations, Article 28.6

Gearboxes must now last for five consecutive races instead of four. A replacement gearbox may be used without penalty if a driver retired from the previous event for reasons beyond his or the team's control. For

2011 only, drivers will not be penalised for their first unscheduled gearbox change during the season. After this, a five-place grid penalty will be imposed for each replacement gearbox used outside of the normal cycle.

* Average gearbox life will be extended from 2100 kms in 2010 to 2625 kms in 2011

Curfew for team personnel

Sporting Regulations, Article 30.19

From 2011, no team personnel connected with the operation of the cars may enter the circuit during the six-hour periods beginning ten hours before P1 and P3. Teams are permitted four individual exceptions to this rule.

* For a standard timetable, the curfew is from midnight to 06:00 on Friday and 01:00 to 07:00 on Saturday

* In Melbourne, it will run from 02:30 to 08:30 on Friday and 04:00 to 10:00 on Saturday

The return of the 107% rule

Sporting Regulations, Article 36.3

For the first time since 2002, the 107% rule returns to the sport. The rule is valid during Q1, and states that any driver whose best lap exceeds 107% of the fastest lap in Q1 will not be allowed to take part in the race. Exemptions are possible in 'exceptional circumstances'.

* The 107% time in 2010 in Melbourne would have been 1:30.708

* All drivers would have qualified: Chandhok, the slowest qualifier, lapped in 1:30.613 in Q1

Team Orders

The article banning team orders (Article 39.1) has been removed from the Sporting Regulations from this season onwards. However, all of the teams will be aware that any actions liable to bring the sport into disrepute are dealt with under Article 151c of the International Sporting Code which could carry a heavier penalty.

Driver adjustable bodywork

Technical Regulations, Articles 3.10, 3.18 & 8.2 Driver adjustable bodywork now refers to the RFA; the front-wing flap may no longer be adjusted by the driver. When activated, the RFA increases the slot gap between the flap and main plane by rotating the flap upwards, thereby reducing drag and enabling a significant gain in straightline speed. The RFA is deactivated automatically as soon as a driver brakes, can be deactivated manually and, in the event of a failure, the system design ensures the flap will return to its closed position. The RFA may be used freely in practice and qualifying. In the race, the RFA may only be used two complete laps after the start or a Safety Car period, and only when the control electronics indicate a driver is less than one second behind the car ahead, at pre-determined points.

* When the RFA is not activated, the slot gap must be between 10 and 15mm.

* When the RFA is operated, the gap may increase to a maximum of 50mm

* What does a 50mm gap look like? It's the same as the length a standard AA battery

* At an average circuit the RFA offers a gain in top speed of 12kph

Car weight & weight distribution

Technical Regulations, Articles 4.1 and 4.2 Minimum car weight has been raised to 640kg for the 2011 season to accommodate KERS, and for this season only, the front and rear weight distribution of the cars must be between 45.5/54.5% and 46.5/53.5%.

KERS

Technical Regulations, Article 5.2.3

Although KERS remained in the 2010 Technical Regulations, a collective agreement between the teams meant it was not used during last season.

However, it makes a welcome comeback for 2011. The rules governing KERS remain unchanged: the maximum power in and out of the system may not exceed 60kW, and the maximum energy released may not exceed 400kJ in one lap.

* 60kW of power equates to a maximum boost equivalent to 80.5bhp

* 400kJ of energy will last for 6.67 seconds at full power.

Mainly Melbourne

Since the introduction of the 5PM AGP start, our crew hasn't bothered to go Sundays. We prefer the air-conditioned comfort of the lounge room in front of the big plasma, with the bar fridg not too far away (just like our Bathurst V8 1000 Sundays).

In the past you had to purchase a 4-day grandstand package, and even whilst we were still doing that, we noticed the reduction & decline in available grandstands over recent years. And 4 days of festivities at Albert Park Lake proved to be absolutely sapping & exhausting despite the enthusiasm.

The novelty was also wearing off with the average punter. A few weeks ago our popular Lord Mayor of Melbourne was even saying let the event go elsewhere. All the negative heads were jumping on the band-wagon.

But the last week or so it's like a giant switch has been thrown. Even the Lord Mayor has thrown his support fully behind the event ... just proves he is a politician I guess!

It must be the Webber factor ... Mark gets to drive a Red Bull Racer along an inner-city tollway over the Bolte Bridge (@100kph!) next Saturday morning!

Grandstand packages now include daily tickets in some cases, plus additional stands and sections are being added as we speak.

Our old Piquet Stand from T14 has been ressurrected & relocated to T3 --- sounds like great spot --- why they have never had a stand there astounds me, even though the web-site portrays it totally incorrectly.

I have a strong chance of scoring a freebie grandstand pass, so I'm hanging off buying any ticket right now. At worst I'll be General Admission Fri & Sat.

Stay tuned ... KN

http://www.grandprix.com.au/

Geeeeez - Finally in

Not sure that I actually figured anything out, but this time I went back and followed Danni's link to get in and I was actually able to see the "New Post" tab in the corner. Was starting to worry that I wouldn't be online before Long Beach next month! Sheeeesh.

ALMS and Australian GT starts this weekend

Just sayin'

Pretty exciting

Plus I can post, so that is also fun =)

Hey I'm In!!!!!!!!

Hopefully this old fossil has successfully got himself going with his virgin blog ... anyone out there who can confirm???

Gotta get up to speed real quick with my home town F1 GP only a week away now

Firestone and IRL

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-firestone-signs-through-2013/

What's up with that? First they want out, now they are back in? Very strange! Obviously got their way over something!

Hinchcliffe or ???

http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/story/?id=358084

Good showing for the Canadian! The IRL definitely needs some Canucks in the field. Tracey is washed up (not unlike MS - so don't go off on me Earl! :) ) Carpentier can't get a ride - which is beyond my comprehension. Tag had to buy his own team, to keep a seat. So if Hinchcliffe can secure a ride with NH, then I guess that's a good thing. As much as I really like Servia, I guess I'm beginning to show my age, by showing my preference for some of the older drivers. Time to move into this century I suppose, and go with the odd young gun.

Trulli and Lotus

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89903

Does this sound promising? I'm hoping they get it together. Beating Virgin and HRT doesn't really give them a high grade in my books. Beating Sauber or Force India would be a feather in their cap! But it is nice to hear Trulli positive about something! :)

Bahrain Grand Prix in doubt

State
of emergency puts Bahrain Grand Prix in doubt

Calendar Working?

I'm wondering if the racing calendar is worth it. It is nice when it works but sometimes even when I'm signed in I don't have access to the events on danni.olaisip's calendar. I have the settings set to make everything public.

Are race events showing for anybody other than me occasionally?

Down With Danica Patrick

Ok can we start this blogging thing off with one rule? Can we P-L-E-A-S-E not have to see/read/post/think/dream/torment Jockstheman with any stories about wonder woman?

It will just make me want to throw up! You are my friends right? No DP stuff? Please????

Kanaan in at KV Racing

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-kanaan-poised-to-join-kv

Thank God somebody in the IRL is smart enough to recognize that one of their signature drivers can't be side lined!

(p.s.: I think I figured out how to make this linking thing work )

Vettel Signs Contract Extension With Red Bull Through to 2014

I tried to paste the URL for this story from tsn.ca but it won't let me! :(

so: how do I get: http://ww.tsn.ca/auto_racing/story/?id=357975

pasted into a posting without typing out the whole thing?
I am just so NOT computer savvy!

autosport.com - F1 News: Schumacher upbeat on Mercedes form

autosport.com - F1 News: Schumacher upbeat on Mercedes form

This weekend...

This weekend should have been the Bahrain Grand Prix! I for one am not that unhappy to see the race cancelled given the situation there – combined with the fact that it’s not a good track anyway.

Roll on Melbourne, hopefully the situation in the middle east will stop BE taking more races from democratic states to nations with democracy (of sorts) in pace.

Member Status & Comments on the Blog Itself

Several of you have accepted the invites and figured out how to reply to articles. Can everyone create a new story? Give it a try. Let me know if it does not work. Don't worry about messing the page up with non-racing test stories. I can delete those once we get going.

Oh & and how do the colors look? Blue on blue might be difficult to read. I can play with these settings if you want me to.

That's not good news for Renault

http://www.madeinmotorsport.com/en/headlines/news-f1-renault-doctor-predicts--long--road-for-kubica-20123.html

posting

Oh my god! I did it! I've actually posted! This is amazing! :)

Villeneuve IndyCar & NASCAR Doubleheader

The plan is for October - NASCAR in Charlotte, NC & IndyCar in Las Vegas, NV. Can he do it? Should he? I'd be more interested in seeing him at Indianapolis in May.

What say you?

How to join...

After you are invited, you'll need to...

follow these steps.
http://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=27441

Basically you are tying your email address to a Google account that will give you access to Blogger.

If you want Danni O'Laisip to invite you with a different email address let him know.

danni.olaisip@gmail.com
or his skrobism account that you already use.

-Mark

testing the first article

this is the body of an article. Bernie is a dullard.