Good Bye Michael

Wow. I read the rumors, but the news that Michel Schumacher is retiring from F1 is still difficult to believe. In my years as an F1 fan I have cheered for only two drivers, Senna and Schumacher. Now, with Schumacher’s departure at the end of the season I am left with no favorite and a dark spot in my heart.

When I raced sports cars I chose the number 5 – Schumacher’s number in 1998. He is clearly the best driver of the modern era, and certainly among the greatest of all time. He, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have redefined what is possible in his sport.

More than just a great driver, Schumacher was able to build a team capable of achieving 5 driver’s championships. Bringing Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, and Jean Todt to the languishing Ferrari team provided him the foundation upon which to build a dynasty.

After hearing of his departure yesterday, I was certain he had been forced out in favor of the younger Raikonnen and was sure he would sign with another tem in the off-season. His life is Formula One – that he would willingly leave was too much to accept. Today after reading his comments on his web site I am not so sure. He says he wants to go out on top and not as a mid-fielder. I can certainly understand that but I will miss him none the less.

Hungarian GP

Wow - what a race!

From the start the Bridgestone teams looked to be in deep trouble. Alonso was lapping 1-2 seconds faster than anyone and had a huge lead. But as the track dried, they got better and better. Alonsos lead was never really challenged -- until he pitted for dry tires and the team correctly installed three wheel nuts. Unfortunately formula cars require four - he left the track - backwards, about a lap later.

Kimi made the news by driving over Liuzzi.

In the end Schumacher was in second trying to hold off PDR and Heidfeld and had contact with Heidfeld and broke something in the front end.

While looking up the spelling of Liuzzi I discovered that the rookie Kubica was DQ'd for weight giving MS a single point.

10 points between Alonso and MS with 5 races to go. This is gonna be great.

Big Bad Boris the NASCAR man

I watched the NASCAR race today at Sears Point. I can't bring myself to call it infinity or what ever the curent sponsor is.

It's always entertaining watching the circle track guys try to figure out a complicated road course. I've driven both Sears and Watkins Glen (the two NASCAR road courses) and Sears is by far more dificult.

Jeff Gordon won easily -- proving again he is a true champion. Boris Said (not a champion but one of the hardest working drivers in the sport) did a fine job finishing 9th - even after a love-tap in 11 by Tony "Jackass" Stewart. He finished 29th (about 10 spaces ahead of where he deserved).

Beyond that it was racecar carnage, 3/3a was particularly bloody. 8 claimed it's share of cars. Sears has been reworked so 10 is not the monster it used to be. That used to be where evil lurked. Now it has been straightened and there is plenty of run off room before the big bad wall.

It was my first roundy-roundy race this season. Reminds me of a shirt I saw at the USGP: "Too dumb for opera, too smart for NASCAR; I guess I'l just watch Formula 1."

F1 mid-season

Another F1 race in the book and another Alonso/Renault victory. This season look pretty much done fer. Schumacher/Ferrari need a miracle to have a chance at either Drivers or Constructors titles.

Kimi is clearly cursed. Today it was the curse of the clutch. It caused a looong pit stop - costing him a 30 sec. lead - he came out just ahead of Schumacher. However it was the driving error on the penultimate lap that gave Schumacher the lead. Without the long stop, Schui wouldn't have been close enough to get by. Too bad - he is probably the fastest driver in the field.

Cars - the movie

The wife and I went to see the movie Cars again last night. This is a “must-see” for every car enthusiast. In fact this may be one of the all-time great car movies. It’s not just a great car movie, is a great car racing movie.

The attention to detail is quite incredible. This was clearly created by people who love cars and racing. With references to everything from the 50s to today and from Dirt Track racing to F1 it has something for everyone.

After you have seen it, check out IMDB and Wikipedia for more detail.
The DVD is the first item on this year’s christmas list.

Top Gear and Google Video

Fans of the Iconic British TV show Top Gear can find any of the episodes on-line via Google.

My favorite is this one where Jeremy drives an NSX on Laguna Seca on a PlayStation and GT-4 and then drives a real NSX on the real track. On the game he does 1:41 and does 1:57 in the real car. A relatively stock E30 M3 does 1:48 and an E36 M3 at the same level of prep does 1:41 with me behind the wheel.

I wish they had let the "instructor" do a couple of laps to see whet the car is capable of.

F1 Racing Manager

I just signed up for play F1 Racing Manager for the 2006 season. You are a f1 Team manager with a 100 Million Euro budget. With that you need to hire two drivers, buy a chassis, engine and tires.

It amizing how far a paltry 100 mil gets you in todays market. Alonso and Raikkonen each cost 80 mil.

Anyway if you are interested in playing this season, join here:

http://www.f1racingmanager.net

It costs 5 Euro ($6) for the entire season.

I have also created a sub-league called Dish for readers.

Enough is enough

I guess the Indy disaster (and a busy time at work) really put the stops on my writing. Well I'm back....

The highpoint of 2005 for me as the GP2 series. Scott Speed did well but never challenged for the championship. Nicco Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen really stole the show.

Max Mosely and the rest of the F1 rules makers should pay attention to the design of the GP2 cars. Using ground effects instead of large external wings, they run allow very close racing and lots of passing. Add that to the youthful exhuberance (and excessive testosterone) of the dirvers and you have a really exciting series.

2006 brings the V8 back to F1 and levels the field among the well funded teams. Teams like Honda and Toyota have been building V8s for ChampCar form many years and may have an advantage. McLaren, Williams, Ferarri and the rest may have a hard time keeping up.

And - sound the horns - we have an American driver in F1. Probably not a title contender as a rookie driver with a rookie team, but a competitor none the less. Go Speed!