Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Just returned from a quick trip to Beijing to present on a new race facility there. I went to China twenty years ago, and the change since then is amazing. Then there were millions of bicycles and the odd truck, now there are millions of new cars of every make you can name, and I mean new! The only old cars were taxis. And then there were the car showrooms next to the hotel, every performance brand you could want except BMW, but there was Schnitzer, and Rolls and Bentley.

People seem happy and prosperous, and the buildings very impressive. Did not seem like a communist country to me, born capitalists I would say. I think the US and Europe are in trouble.

Not many motorcycles though, they seem to have gone straight past them. Interesting to read Mat Oxley's piece in this month's Motor Sport about Dorna the MotoGP rights holder looking to break the manufacturers hold on the series by bringing in the CRT, the street based bike. Kenny Roberts and I talked about this twenty years ago, how the manufacturers will race what they want to sell and not what fans want to watch. Where are the two-strokes? Kenny building his own machine was part of that, but he was on his own at that time. It now seems, almost too late, that Dorna has woken up.

Kenny and I used to look to F1 where the teams were their own manufacturers, and the cars were built as pure racers, not something "relevant" to what is sold. Gone are the days, as we can look forward to 1.6 liter V 6's, because that's what the manufacturers wanted just before they bailed out of F1. Racing is better off without the manufacturers as team owners, look at Peugeot. They come and go as they please without regard for the sport. It is people like Ron Dennis and Frank Williams that have made F1 what it is, not Mercedes or Honda. F1 should just look at Indycar, and even NASCAR, to see that fans will not watch what they do not like, whatever you call it. 

On a similar note, it is interesting that Nissan is entering V8Supercars. I believe Toyota tried to do this a few years ago and even went to court over being refused. V8's are popular in Oz because it is Red against Blue, Holden against Ford, it is a tribal thing. In the old ATCC days we had Nissan, BMW, Toyota involved, and yes it was big, but that was because of the personalities. Brock v Moffat and then Johnson, but still essentially Holden against Ford. If Nissan starts beating these two brands then V8's could have a problem, but now it is owned by a venture capital group they probably just see the dollars, for now.

The first days of F1 testing have come and gone with the usual suspects at the top of the time sheets, joined by Lotus, but we saw that last year didn't we? Apparently Kimi is giving the team great feedback and all seems well. Let's hope so, we would all enjoy Kimi mixing it again. But oh, aren't they ugly this year. It seems hard to me, as a non-aerodynamicist, to see the reason for the step in the nose, but they nearly all have it so it must do something. And have McLaren got it wrong? Doesn't seem so by the lap times. Let's see what Mercedes wheel out as their new car, time for them to perform. The new boys in Toro Rosso seem to be doing well, but it is all too early yet to really now who is doing what.

Over at the MotoGP tests Stoner and the Honda started where they left off last year, in front. Rossi is happier with the Ducatti and even talks of podiums, but no wins you notice. He is still about a second off the pace, which is a lot better than the CRT teams who are 5-10 seconds off. So much for equalizing the performance, no one is going to want to claim these yet. At those speeds a Moto2 might be the machine to have.

If you do not read the "Wired" magazine you should. It has fascinating articles over wide ranging subjects every month, and it will keep you abreast of developments in the "wireless" world. This month is a long feature on "auto" mobiles, cars that drive themselves. It seems a lot of progress has been made in this and it believes that by 2020 these will be common. It describes the host of features that cars like Mercedes already have to make driving safer, but it also raises some interesting legal issues. If the car is stopped for speeding who gets the ticket? And if it crashes is the manufacturer liable not the "driver" or rather passenger? Will you actually need a drivers license to sit in one if you are not actually "driving." The list is endless. As one who's computer has crashed within the last twelve months, and Mrs Barnard's had a hissy fit last week and did not want to start, can we be sure that the ECU will work when you need it?

Back where drivers still drive the Daytona 24 hour was run and won by Mike Shank Racing with Ford power, as was the Starworks runner up and the other Mike Shank car was third, so Ford swept the podium. As did Porsche in the GT class, no Mazdas to embarrass anyone today. I must admit that the Corvette DPs that debuted this year actually looked half decent, pity they did not race as good as they looked. 

In other news the Adrian Sutil trial is in session, verdict expected tomorrow, and Bahrain is still having trouble quietening the natives as it approaches the first anniversary of the demonstrations.

The Rolex 24 hour at Daytona started yesterday with practice and qualifying, with the newly reshaped Daytona Prototypes, DPs. They look somewhat sleeker, but are unlikely to win over fans used to Audis and Peugeots. Ryan Dalziel took pole in the Starworks Ford ahead of the might of Suntrust and Ganassi, but only just. In the GT class it is Brumos Porsche ahead of 458 Ferrari and another Porsche, but all in the 1.49.3 bracket, so very close. It's a long race as they say in the classics, and we can watch on Speed at 2:30 EST. Look out for Alan McNish in that Starworks DP, quite a change from the R18!

Elsewhere the economic fallout continues for F1. We have seen the BBC basically giving back the F1 coverage as it could no longer afford it, and now Spain's broadcaster has done the same with just weeks to go to the first race. Joe Saward is continuing the rumors about the financial viability of Sahara Force India, and we know Williams are struggling on that front. And who would give HRT much hope? Add to all that the Valencia, Korea, Japan, Spa, Nurburgring, Hockenheim, France situation and it would seem Bernie and CVC might be facing a difficult time continuing with their money pit. Not to mention Melbourne. I and many others have long suggested that the current business model is unsustainable.

Rubens Barrichello is off testing and Indy Retirement League car. Good luck to him, why not join his other Brazilian mates.

No sooner had Lotus, nearly wrote Renault there, announced the mass damping, or anti dive, brake system apparently OK'd by the FIA, when the same FIA have come out and said it is probably not legal. As I read it they are saying you could be protested for using it, so don't. Saves all the other teams from spending lots of money to all end up the same.

And money, or the lack of it, is what is worrying Bernie. He sees the European problems causing teams, and presumably promoters, to be squeezed for cash. He continues to talk to Valencia, and the likely outcome is a sharing of the GP with Barcelona, but as I said before, I don't see how that helps except you only lose half as much. Bernie has no such doubts about Bahrain though, they still have plenty to donate to CVC, but not to their staff it seems. The news that the sacked staff were reinstated fell a bit flat when most said no thanks seeing as how they were not going to be back paid for the time they were off.

Daytona 24 hour, sorry The Rolex, is coming up this weekend, the traditional start of the new season if you do not count the Dakar or the Monte Carlo Rally. Lots of interesting cars and drivers this year, with some ALMS crossover like the Risi team.

Talking of interesting cars and drivers, Kimi was in action in a 2010 Renault at the permanent Valencia circuit today to get his eye back in before the real testing starts. No times were released, not that they would give us any idea as no one else tests there. Kimi is reported to say that getting used to the Pirelli tires was his only concern. 

Last but not least, Austin has started to release news on the ticketing for this years race. According to Geoff Moore, chief marketing and sales officer for Circuit of The Americas. "In order to effectively manage the demand, we have created a two-stage ticketing process to help fans better understand the opportunities available. We want every fan to get the ticket that is right and affordable for them. In this first stage, we are showing off the incredible entertainment experience our main grandstand offers."

It had better be incredible, as they are copying a page from the basketball world and selling "seat licenses." To those unused to this term you can buy the right to buy tickets for events. That's right, you do not get to go sit in your personal seat unless you now buy a ticket. And what is this going to cost you ask? $1000-5000 per seat license, to buy the right to buy a ticket. There are only 9000 of these for lucky people with more money than sense, which I am sure there will be. And you thought 480 Euros was expensive at Spa?

Just when we have a World Endurance Championship back one of the key players decides to quit! Peugeot say they are stopping to concentrate on their brand launches, but I do not buy that for a minute. What better place to showcase your brands? Are they afraid that the ACO might finally get the equivalence formula correct? After such a successful season it is hard to believe they won't think they can be competitive next year. It is also hard to think that Toyota is scaring them off, they have a hybrid of their own. Can't wait to see what emerges out of this. Presumably Audi is still in, they ran a long time as the only car to beat, and they have the new car being tested already. I for one will miss those gorgeous 908s.

Elsewhere the big news is New Jersey appoints a President and COO, so something is finally being seen to happen. Damon Hill has come out and endorsed the Bahrain F1 GP being staged, and he has been there to see for himself, so what he says must be taken seriously. The track recently reinstated those staff "fired" early last year, and there are steps being taken to democratize the place. Now we have to see if the opposition agrees.

At the same time the Nurburgring announces 100 jobs cut from the staff, how many do they have for goodness sake? No wonder they are losing money. They hope to stage a GP in 2013. Bernie has been off for a little private meeting with the Valencia President about their race fees, and presumably the sharing of the race with Barcelona. No wonder Bernie is pushing to have Bahrain back.