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!