April 30th, 2009 at 04:55pm Under Motorbikes
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There’s a novel idea. Running your motorcycle on a bag of sugar.
Need to tank up? Head for the local supermarket and buy a bag of sugar…
If only…
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April 30th, 2009 at 04:55pm Under Racing
Toyota would have to cut their annual budget by 90% to reach $44m
Aside from the latest McLaren drama the other major point of discussion at the FIA World Motor Sports Council has been plans to limit F1 teams’ budgets.
I’ve always been sceptical about this and when we first did a poll on it here almost a year ago so were two-thirds of you. But with the worsening of the financial crisis and Max Mosley’s plans for a ‘voluntary’ cap, have many people changed their minds about budget capping?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Although the precise details of a budget cap are yet to be revealed, the FIA is understood to be considering a complex ‘two-tier’ system. Under this:
I’m still voting ‘no’ on the poll above - here’s why:
It seems to me the budget cap proposal might work if all the teams agree to take advantage of it. But that’s by no means certain.
Encouragingly, outfits such as Lola, Aston Martin and iSport have hinted they may join F1 if budget capping is introduced. But will the existing manufacturers stay? And if they don’t, could that harm F1?
Do you think the budget cap plan will work? Cast your vote above and leave a comment below.
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By Mikel Add comment
April 30th, 2009 at 04:55pm Under Racing
Hamilton and McLaren face no immediate further punishment from the FIA
First of all, thanks to everyone who posted updates on the previous article about McLaren getting a suspended sentence following the Hamilton/Trulli controversy. (As I mentioned on Twitter earlier, I’ve been out of the country for the last two days and have only just had chance to catch up on the news.)
What caught my eye in the reaction to the story was this quote from Max Mosley:
Martin Whitmarsh made a very good impression. He’s straightforward and wants to work with us. We’re all trying to do the same thing, which is make the championship successful. Martin fully understands that and we reacted accordingly.
A lot has been written in the preceding weeks and months - on this site as well as others - about whether the FIA’s alleged harsh treatment of McLaren was caused by mutual antagonism between Nax Mosley and Ron Dennis.
It reminded me of an article written by David Tremayne during the height of the ’spygate’ sage two years ago (”Harsh punishment the result of Mosley’s war on McLaren”):
One of the least savoury aspects of this sorry saga has been the accusation that it has not just been a matter of pursuing justice, but part of the ongoing class war between team principal Ron Dennis and FIA president Max Mosley. [...]
Naturally, Mosley and the FIA have vehemently denied this. But the fact remains that Dennis was told in Monza last weekend that if he were to retire from the sport, all the teams’ problems would go away.
Whether “class war” or a plain dislike of each other, the needle between Dennis and Mosley has been hard to miss. Without wishing to read too much into it, does this endorse the view that Dennis stepped down from McLaren’s F1 team earlier this month for the good of the team?
Reading the comments to the previous article there is an eagerness on the part of some to interpret McLaren’s penalty (a three-race ban suspended for 12 months) as them being let off the hook. But I think it’s important not to miss that they really are on their last chance now.
Inevitably the wider point that this entire mess was born of unclear rules and poor race management has not been addressed by the powers-that-be.
We will see similar mistakes happen in the future, though it is doubtful any team will be so naive as McLaren were, and make matters worse for themselves by not being honest with the FIA.
But anyone who thinks only McLaren have something to learn from F1’s latest squabble have missed the point.
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April 30th, 2009 at 04:55pm Under Racing
I have been suspecting that perhaps BMW still had options on Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel but apparently that isn’t the case according to team boss Christian Horner. I could swear I had read that BMW were loaning him to Toro Rosso in 2007 and that they still had an option on him after…
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April 30th, 2009 at 04:55pm Under Racing
A1GP has canceled it’s Mexican race due to the Swine Flu that is spreading around the world. This leaves the series-ending race this weekend at Brands Hatch. Series boss Tony Teixeira said:
“To say we are disappointed to have to make this call is an understatement,” said…
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April 30th, 2009 at 04:12pm Under Motorbikes
MCN’s world first road ride on Aprilia’s new RSV4 has proved what an exceptional bike it is. But it has also highlighted problems that did not show up on the racetrack launch. New V4 Aprilia ridden on road for first…
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April 30th, 2009 at 04:10pm Under Motorbikes
The all-new Honda Pan European is going to be a technical masterpiece utilising the very latest technology, including a push button operated, double-clutch transmission, variable cylinder management and the next generation of the V-Tec variable valve system. In next week’s…
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April 30th, 2009 at 04:06pm Under Racing
Never mind McLaren, does Dave Ryan deserve a life sentence?
"Knowing Dave as I do I find it difficult to understand why he made that decision. You can be sure it was not for the extra few hundred thousands pounds that come with third place. Ryan has given his life to the sport and has been invaluable to Formula 1. [...] Clemency on such a personal level would prove that Mosley and the FIA are capable of generosity when there is little PR value in it."
Spanish firms to broadcast F1 on mobiles
"Movistar and Vodafone are to broadcast race coverage of Formula 1 via mobile phones in the Spanish market."
Daimler reports $1.86bn loss in Q1
"Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, has reported a first quarter loss in 2009 of $1.86bn. This compares to a $3bn profit in the same period a year ago."
Mercedes admits F1 pull-out ‘wouldn’t save a cent’
"Daimler's chief financial officer Bodo Uebber nonetheless has sought to quell speculation by insisting that if there is eventually to be a withdrawal, it will not be for a while yet. 'We look into our Formula 1 commitment every year,' he is quoted as having said by The Associated Press, 'but even if we dropped out of Formula 1 now, we wouldn't be saving a cent because the contracts are long-term.'”
Swine flu to see fans banned from Spanish Grand Prix?
"German health minister Ulla Schmidt has warned that events where thousands of people mix are the easiest way for the virus to accelerate out of hand, and she has suggested a fan-free Spanish Grand Prix around the Circuit de Catalunya on 10 May could be the only sensible way to go."
Mosley: McLaren penalty not lenient
Max Mosley on the reasoning behind McLaren's penalty: "there were decisions taken by the people who are no longer involved."
James Allen on the WMSC verdict
"Max Mosley’s words afterwards, and apparently Martin Whitmarsh’s testimony inside the court, imply that the people who have left the company were the ones who took the decision to mislead the stewards (with the exception of Hamilton, of course)."
Analysis: McLaren’s 25kg KERS device
Norbert Haug: "From what we hear, this is the lightest system available, and our pace depends on it. The McLaren cars have it integrated and we would certainly be slower without KERS".
"What he didn’t expect was to find his car almost impossible to drive for much of the race, when as he came in for a pit stop, the team realised a 20 centimetre long piece of debris off one of the BMWs had bounced off the track and lodged itself in Seb’s front wing."
"I lost a position to Timo at the start because of a small oil spillage which meant the engine didn't pull away as well as it should have."
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
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April 30th, 2009 at 03:35pm Under Motorbikes
A Honda insider has hinted that the new Honda Goldwing will have a long list of rider aids including airbags, ABS, a version of the Human-Friendly Transmission (HFT) or a motorcycle-specific twin-clutch gearbox, a new near-2000cc flat six engine, variable…
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April 30th, 2009 at 03:19pm Under Motorbikes
We are 12 bikers that are planning a 7 day ride around Germany and Austria May 9-16, to help raise money for charity. As the date for our charity bike run looms nearer we, the TPHR (The Plastic Hog Riders), decided…
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