Club Arnage

Jesus what a joke!  Spent the most wasted two days of my life at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend.  I have no idea what I was watching but it sure as hell wasn't Grand Prix racing.  f**k*ng safety cars, single car qualifying,  popping and farting around a huge over-sized scalextric track....what a pile of crap!  Sorry, don't know what I was watching but as I said, It wasn't F1.  The crowd reminded me more of an international NASCAR event.  The real purpose of the weekend was to see who could wear the tackiest team clothing, perhaps to disguise the fact fact that the on-track action was absolute sh*t.  The fans?  Well because your a Montoya fan you can't be a Schumacher fan...you suck!  Again all a bit too NASCASR-ish for my taste.
Just dig a hole and bury F1, Grand Prix racing is dead and I have no idea what to call this bullshit that took its place.
People kept babbling on on about the great Michael Schumacher...who has he beaten?  The Mid-Ohio ALMS round is this weekend...excuse me while I go to Mid-Ohio and watch real racing.
John

I beg to differ. Quite strongly in fact.

Each to their own tho.

And indycar is different?

at least the F1 boys do something more interesting that just go round in a big circle.........

I dont think F1 is dead,  it has simply lost its way - IF YOU TRIED WATCHING the rest of the field - that means discounting Schumacher...there is actually some pretty close racing going on - unfortunately Mr Schumacher doesn't realise that watching him win every other week is boring.

To be fair,  F1 should never have gone to the states - Americans just DONT understand....its like football - or "soccer" - the most beautiful game in the world - but yet, Americans still argue that FOOTball is played with your hands......

I think this illustrates why they wouldnt understand F1!

I'm in partial agreement with Brad, altho being a staunch Schumi fan I personally have no problem with watching him win week in week out.  ;D He's the Man Utd of F1 tho, I totally understand this.

Last weekend's race had so much going on that the ferrari one two was a minor part of the proceedings, so even for the die hard Schumi haters there was some entertainment.

F1 isn't dead - it's fully alive and kicking butt.

/me curbs her enthusiasm for fear of waffling on forever.....

I'm with Bird, although not a schumi fan, Ferrari really have got their act together, its up to the other teams to raise their game to this level, not put in artificial slow-ups.  

How about this, is this fair, we play Portugal soon, they think we are too good so they ask for Rooney to be dropped so they have more chance of winning.  Thats happening in F1 and the other teams still can't beat the Reds.

As F1 fans you should be asking about why can't front line teams like Williams & McLaren mount a credable attack with all the talent and money they are spending.

I think that just about says it all!!

Used to love F1. First watched on a regular basis from the 1980 season. Cracking stuff. Never missed a race (in the days when mostly all we got was highlights) but always got me glued to the screen whatever. Turbos vs normally apsirated etc., fascinating! Real hairy tracks, not Scalextric stuff as Fax so brilliantly put it!

Sorry bird but what we get these days is a poor comparison. Super dooper technical wizardry maybe but boring as feck. And the merchandising mentality and my driver is bigger than your driver type stuff serve more to keep me away too. Thank feck for Le Mans!

Have to agree with Ferrari Spider here, it is upto the others to raise thier game... it would be interesting to see how the season panned out without all of the driver aids/electronic wizardry (which I believe is being spoken about).

In my mind you have the best driver and team as a combination, but surely someone should be able to get close??

It's lucky that we don't walk away from all sports that are dominated to use Birds example with Man Utd (spit!) winning everything a few years ago the premiership would have struggled if the football fans went the same way.

Feel a little better after that, time to get back in my shell ;D

One wonders what racers like James Hunt or Gilles Villeneuve would make of today's little circus?   ???

I have to say, it's not the drivers who are at fault IMO, a racer is a racer is a racer. There is some real talent out there in amongst the also rans, and I can't see how this is different to any other era. And yes MS is one of the all time greats. No, it's the technology that is to blame for giving us the procession we see on every other sunday. I want to see drivers driving, cars sliding, people making mistakes without having a computer to keep them out of the gravel. I remain to be convinced that the new changes wef 2006 will make any difference. But even Bernie 'n' Max admit fans are being short changed. I know it sounds a bit "in my day...etc " but it really was exiting stuff up to about 1990. I don't expect the average schoolboy (or girl) fan to appreciate this point, but objectively, I defy anyone to argue with this.

Also I despise the monsterous amount of corporate horse sh it involved. It's all become a worldwide advertising campaign, to flog internationally branded bollox to people who can't really afford it, but who aspire to a lifestyle. Fine, if that's your thing, but count me out thanks very much. Asprey my ar se!

I'll second that sentiment Rick.  F1 has become tooooooo boring.  Fecking procession.

I never watch it, would rather mow the lawn  :'(

In most major sports nowadays (F1, football etc) the £ notes (or $ or euro etc) rules the show.

This is one reason why all these new F1 circuits are being built in the Far East and the Middle East - there's loads of sponsorship cash floating around just waiting to be soaked up.

Take a visit to your local sports shop and see how much those replica soccer shirts are and all that Ferrari cack that's for sale to the unsuspecting punter with his increasing pile of disposible income.

At the other end of the scale, you have the poorer motorsports that manage on contigency sponsorship and a bit of money from the friendly hardware shop on the high street to keep racing.  Have a look at the sponsors names on the side of some of the drag racing vehicles next time you're at Santa Pod and see who you recognise.

Would still like to see a F1 car do a Le Mans lap for a comparison.

Even better, see how long one would last for over a 24 hour period. As they said on RLM last year, the LM 24 Hour is like a whole Grand Prix season in one race!!

Andy I agree with you, would just like to add my views.
a lot of the problems with F1 surely has to be caused by, refuelling, tyre changes, aerodynamics.
the dullness and inaccessability is the corperate money, team secrecy.
Ferrari, not that i'm a fan, can't be blamed for their success, it's up to the others.
 A lot of teams have hundreds of millions to work with so the problem lies there surely

My point is that if you STOP watching Schumacher - and watch the rest of the field,  some of the racing is fantastic.

I think we have a situation where Schumacher has the money and backing of a HUGE marque - they must pour ALL of the Ferrari profits, and most of the Fiat profits into that team.  Subsequently they have the very best in strategists, engine technicians, designers, drivers and preparation techniques.

They have got to where they are on merit - they attracted Schumacher to a challenge, and do remember that the first few years with Ferrari were pretty dismal for Schumacher.

It is up to the others to catch up and discover new talent - therefore maybe it is worth "capping" the earnings of technicians etc, so that the opposition find it easier to keep hold of thier talented technicians.

The same is being done in Football with the introduction of various financial consteraints on wages etc, and also the introduction of the need to pay compensation if you take a player who is under 24 (ala pompey scummers STEALING Jamie Ashdown ;))

Every sport on earth has evolved over the last 20 or so years. It's only natural. Some evolution will be enjoyed and embrassed by the fans, some will not.
Look how football has changed - Predator Boots, light match balls etc etc.
Rugby - video refs, difficult to grab fabrics for the shirts etc etc
Motor racing is no different. The crux of the matter is hat in F1, you have the coming together of the best equipment and the best competitor in the same team. It's up to the other players to notch it up.
If some teams spent a little less on the corporate prawns, and mpore on R & D, things may slowly change.
Things will change, but probably too slowly to maintain my interest much further.

There is a simple solution here. If you don't like it, then don't attend, watch or by the sponsors product. In time this will filter through.

Brad, some inside info....

Shell were suffering badly after the Brent Spar fiasco, and the Green party in Germany were gaining a lot of ground on the mainstream parties, and looking like genuine candidates. Shells answer to this PR problem was to sponsor Ferrari and finance the signing and wages of MS. I'd be surprised if Ferrari/Fiat spend much, if any of their profits on F1.

Not many people know that...

H

I have watched F1 from the late sixties, during this time we have seen many teams have a technical advantage over others (turbos, high wings, rear engines :o, 6 wheels fans etc.). However it was up to the drivers how they adapted to the cars. IMHO the problem lies in the electronic bag of tricks that are used today, which makes it differcult for a excellent driver in an average car to bridge the gap between himself and a competant driver in a brilliant car. When you get a skilled driver and an excellent car (Schumi & Ferrari) plus electronic driver packages you will get the boring procession at the front that you get today, the only intrest being further down the pack.
Hope they ban all electronics, bring back carbs if that is what it takes to stop teams using back door driver aids.

LM brought me back to watching 4 wheels, after many years only watching motorcycling, where not coincidentally it is much more differcult to intigrate electronics into the package.
 
Bernie and co have already been looking at MotoGP, hopefully for ideas on how to make F1 more exciting. I just pray they don't buy the franchise, and f*ck that up to.

I have seen all the arguments about one teams' dominance making it a 'Boring' sport being aired before - remember 1988 (well some of us are old enough to unfortunately) when McLaren won 15 out of 16 reace with Prost and Senna? Look at them now - can't put enough nuts and bolts together in the right order to finish a race most times!

What goes around comes around and even if you don't like it at the moment things will inevitably change, Ferrari will wane in comparison to others and the very front of the field will be more competitive.  

You cannot ignore the supremacy of Ferrari at the moment, it is a superb achievement. (I do not speak as a Ferrari supporter BTW). As others have said it's up to the others to catch up, but they must be given an opportunity to do so without having to spend within an inch of bankruptcy. That's where the administration come in, and I believe some of the rule changes are designed to halt the spiralling costs.

So don't let F1 die, after all it is fundamentally motorsport. Just be patient.

Spot on Pretzel, 1988 had the advantage that Prost and Senna raced each other as though their lives depended on it.

What might be intresting next year or when Schumi retires, is if his seat is taken by a certain Mr Rossi, who due to his brilliance, and some sensible rule changes by the governing body (2 strokes were a dead end), has reinvigorated GP bike racing after the dominance of Mick Doohan & Honda.

Rossi doing a John Surtees 8) Could that be done in this day and age?

Damon Hill did.

also Mike the bike hailwood, now who's showing their age!!

Pretzel makes a very valid point about the spiraling costs in F1. Simply by saying that a washer will be used on an F1 car increases its cost by 500%! ..... BUT..... and this is a big BUT, F1 teams will spend there budgets no matter what. Even if they were forced to run a 2CV they would still spend 100million a year running and developing the thing. It's a sad fact, but F1 is an animal that is out of control and until the Concorde agreement is removed and the rules and regulations returned ,in full, to the governing body F1 will remain a very deep money pit.

As for the racing, remove MS and the racing would actually be quite interesting. And that's coming from someone who is NOT a F1 fan!

A couple of points of interest here.  First of all I have no problem with one team gaining a technical superiority from time to time.  This has happened many times during the history of the sport (Ferrari in 1961, Lotus in 1978, McLaren in 88, Williams in '92, etc.) and yes it is up to the other teams to raise their game not for the FIA to legislate them back to the others, thats what NASCAR does over here.  IN response to the idea that Americans don't understand F1?  Actually they understand F1 too well! Thats the reason it hasn't done well over here in recent times,  F1 these days is all about big hype but very little substance under it.  When F1 raced at the Glen it drew huge crowds who came to see the best in the world and knew what kind of show they were getting.  Most of them don't even bother going to Indy.   If you only started following F1 in the past ten years or so, yes you might think its the greatest thing going but if your old enough to remember Alan Jones and Gilles Villeneueve splashing around Watkins Glen in 1979, you realise what a pile a sh*t F1 has become.  Excuse me about the driver talent but the driver doesn 't have to f**k*ng drive the car anymore!  In the middle of a corner he simply has to put his foot down and let the traction conrtol do the rest, no finesse or delicate touch here, just drive like a rock ape and the electronics will look after you, same thing with the start, just initiate the launch controll sequence and point it in the right direction.   And how about the circuts now, all over-sized kart tracks,  I remember when F1 went to Vegas for a few years in the early eighties, everyone quite rightly blasted the circut but if you look at some of the circuts they race on now, the Ceasar's Palace circut looks like fricking Spa.  Its all gotten way too gimicky, the FIA constantly fooling with the practice and qualifying format is just stupid, the way it was for thirty years was just fine thank you.  And finally, yes F1 fans now look and act like NASCAR fans!  I've seen both and there's little to choose between them, mostly a bunch of twats who know and care little for the history of the sport but are there to simply look and act like a jackass all in the good name of their favorite pretentious celebrity.
John

Can anyone find Fax a soap box to stand on!  ;)

no-one likes a winner eh?  :P  ;)

Jeezus John!  So I guess you're not sending Bernie Christmas cards anymore!

Sorry I haven't got back to you - I'll drop you a line this week.

I'm not sure if I'd say drivers are doing nothing now.  I'll certainly agree that there's an enormous amount of electronic assistance, but I think you'd find there's more driver input than you're letting onto.

And you know I'm in to the hospitality stuff, so it's right up my street!

 ;D

 don't forget barry sheene, and steve parrish also done quite well on 4 wheels. All the riders mentioned had some success, although mike hailwood was just magic in both sports, Surtees' record is unlikely to be matched

I agree with Fax / John on this one.

F1 sends me to sleep. How much longer can Shu-smack ead get away with his antics, its not racing, its boring.

The racing ( except Sato ) is cruddy. There is NO compertion, no real excitement. The pinacle of GP's has gone. Its such a problem that nearly 1 million worldwide TV viewers are turning off each race.

Mercedes have made themselves look stupid with their efforts, BMW, who cares, FIAT - it still wont help sell cars, Ford / Jaguar and Toyota, too far of the pace.

I agree - Let F1 die, but the money and evil pixie bernie will go else where - Sportscars ?

Get the cars back to racing, stop letting that German monster do what ever he likes on the track, and i may watch a GP from start to finish.

Rossi in GP's - That would be good.

Long Live beter forms of motorsport - LM, ALMS, Moto GP, BTCC, WRC

Sorry, meant does Rossi have the potential to be a world champ in both disciplines, something only the great John Surtees has achieved.

I'd rather see Bernie doing well in F1, it means he won't be looking elsewhere for something to screw up especially sportscars..

Dave,
Yeah your right, there is more to being a F1 driver than I let on, he has to be able to give a good press conference these days.  Time was when a F1 driver was judged by his ability to balance a GP car on the throttle, now he's judged by his PR potential.   I've followed Grand Prix racing since 1970, I ate, slept and breathed F1.  Sorry but what I saw this weekend wasn't GP racing.  It was loud and colorful and I have no idea what it was but it sure as hell wasn't a Grand Prix meeting.
Saveloy,
Agreed,
If Il Grande John had been able to swallow his pride in 1966 he would have many more GP wins and world titles to his name.  His talent deserves more than his single F1 title.
John

Hey, the most beautiful game in the world is played with your hands. RUGBY LEAGUE ! Not that football crap ! Closely followed by Ice Hockey (again played with your hands or rather a big stick !)

At least Fax has an opinion.... I've been enjoying and contributing to this forum for several years, just to qualify the following.
I didn't bother signing-in, since I got back from France, as nobody seemed to have anything even slightly interesting to say, other than to report how arseholed they got, how much fun it was to draw on each other and how many banal yellow stickers they applied to people's person or property, whether they liked it or not.
Well done Fax, for re-introducing healthy debate, hopefully replacing all this chat-room bollocks.
Personally, I too believe that F1 is a snore - but the reality is that it sells. Sponsors, TV companies, advertisers and punters on the gate buy it. I think it is still the biggest TV sport on the planet, so it's tough to argue against it's continued popularity. As with most forms of motor racing - it is better value on TV than for real and as a global product, it is marketed quite well. Ecclestone might be unpopular with fans in the purest sense, but he didn't get to be a billionaire by accident. The little sh*t knows how to peddle F1.
Like others have stated, F1 is cyclic. Schumi is supremely talented (if devoid of a personality that the common man can relate to) and there will be others just like him.
My gripe with F1 is that the technology in the car means the driver is less able to display inate, seat of the pants, hair raising nerve and daring and skill - because the car won't let him.
F1 is in danger of becoming like aeroplane racing.
As a side note, the American motor racing experience is different to the European version, only in that it is more widespread, accessible, fan-friendly (F1 excepted), better value and more varied. US race fans are highly knowlegeable and just as committed. I'm not sure what the basis for the comment about American fans, "just not understanding" is - pure ignorance, I suspect.    

Welcome back Matt!!  ;D

Just for the record, FatLad has been a lurker for some time, attending Le Mans several times with Abs and The Pie Eaters and having shared more than a few drinks with him at this year's race I'm pretty sure I can safely say his comment to John was intended as being tongue in cheek. He doesn't have a malicious bone in his body (and there's a lot of it to fill !!  ;D )

Unfortunatley as we have seen several times on here the cold communication of typing can perhaps lose it's humourous intentions.

True Matt, but there's plenty of minority motorsport in the UK and Europe that caters for the fan and not the sponsor (probably because they don't have many).

Take UK stock car racing, drag racing, sprint events and the like and your average Joseph Public is welcome to wander around the pit area, chat to the competitors, see the cars close up and generally have a pretty enjoyable day without shelling out a big wad of cash.

These are the kind of events I enjoy the most, the grass roots of UK motorsport where you don't feel compelled to buy an expensive t-shirt or baseball cap and the toilet facilities are lovingly ramshackled.

Glad you had a good LM Matt, missed you at the circuit, maybe I'll be over for Sebring or Gatornationals and Garlits Museum one day.

Thanks JPC.

As you rightly say the comment was intended as tongue in cheek. Apologies fax if I caused any offense, I can assure you that none was intended.  :-[

Wahaaayy!!
That's more like it!
Like it or not, and I disagree with Fax and Robbo on this, Schumacher is probably the best driver sitting in a cockpit today, and has been for a long time. There is simply no other explanation for the results he gets, his record speaks for itself. Fax, we've had (what I understand to be) some of the best open wheel pilots come into F1 from the US, and no-one really has given MS a consistent hard time. Ok, it's difficult to gauge without a common yardstick of identical cars, but in equal machinery, I don't think anyone would touch him. He's the whole package. I saw him at LM driving the Merc, as a teenager I think, and the guy was mesmerising, standing out from the rest like the proverbial donkeys undercarriage. I suspect there's a little bit of xenophobia going on here, after all, he's German, the worst kind of foreigner...
It's a bit tough calling him a monster. Who here actually knows the guy? I for one would be pretty keen to keep some space between the real me and the media men, being a global personality can't be a complete psychological cakewalk. He's a competitive professional sportsman, and he gets the job done, remarkably well if you ask me.
The problem lies with the cars, I'm not sure it's about the rest of the teams getting their act together (FS), some of the cars already seem to be pretty close to the red'uns, the point is, whoever gets in front, stays there, the aerodynamics and brakes just won't allow conventional overtaking. The rules need to change, instead of the driver strapping himself in at the start, pressing a button, and hanging on like grim death for an hour and a half, let's have some human involvement, and thus more opportunities to make mistakes. You know, manual gear changes, a clutch to control traction, that sort of thing. I think Mosley and his mates have lost the plot, their judgement is clouded by the sheer vastness of the sums of money involved, and the focus is no longer on motor racing.
But Fax, I'm with you on this partisan bollocks. Schumacher/Montoya, Arsenal/Man Utd. etc , for f*cks sake, anyone with a grain of intelligence should be able to enjoy the sport for what it is. Fashion victims if you ask me.
Back to handpainting the ticklers...
H

Can't speak for Fax - but I wasn't at all concerened about the 'soapbox' comment - fair play. My point was that he had an interesting viewpoint in amongst the mire of crap that's been posted of late!

Hi Steve - sorry too, that I missed you at the track. Not to worry - you really should do your best to experience Sebring - it's a very special event (clashes with Gatornats however, which is piss-poor planning on someone's part).
I have nostaglic memories about the accessibility of 'club' meetings in UK - all shattered when I was over in UK in May and went to the BTCC meet at Oulton Park. Even with pit creds, the never-ending stream of officious arseholes, playing God for the day, got on my tits after a while.

Aye-up Harry. Eloquent and stylish as ever - this thread has raised the bar - heartfelt opinion, healthy debate and even a bit of name-calling - makes it all a bit more interesting than "I've been twaited".

You came to the UK to the BTCC and din't arrange for us to meet up with you Matt???  Shame on you!!!  ;)

Working towards Sebring at the moment. Was looking at the Petit but dates clash with family commitments!!

Hi Mat,

Nice to see you back. I am not good with memory and unfortunately due to injuries I didn't see as much of the race this year as I would have liked. All the postings will probably smarten themselves up in the next week as people slide away for the winter ???. I for sure will be about untill the internet use at work is banned and will head down with a few of us to the Classic in a few weeks time and will certainly follow up on the event in a serious light. I originally got interested in GT racing after F1 got boring with the same win and the unreliabilty of the cars near the back of the field. Now with the reliability being fixed although there is no contest for first place there is often a good scrap at the mid to back of the field. This year at Le Mans I was over the moon at the chase for first in LMP1 and the first for GTS. Great racing. I also enjoyed my first hilclimb were I met Wishywashyman and Junior and Pretzl, this is another great UK sporting event with just thousants of a second between positions. Friendly and Fun atmosphere. I do hope you take no offence to any of my fun posts which I do not put in a thread untill I believe the original topic has been resolved.

As you can probably see we are both just off being YabbGODS a tribute to both of us. Where about in the states are you?? I have a two week break in august near Boston and would like to see some racing if possible.

First off, well done to everyone that voiced their opinion. I was amazed at how quickly this thread took off.  I suppose it's a good sign that people feel this strongly about the subject.  Fatlad, no offence taken.  It wouldn't be the first time on this forum its been suggested that Americans just don't get it and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last.  If everyone on this forum agreed about everything it would be pretty damn boring.  I'm headed up to Mid-Ohio this weekend, soapbox in hand, to watch the ALMS kick off their summer campaign.
Fax

Matt, sad to hear of your experiences with BTCC.

I recall we had a postings 'session' a while back regarding Santa Pod and other drag race sites within the UK.

You'll be pleased to know the old corrugated urinal block has been removed and now replaced by a brick built facility.
The track still seems to be locked in the 70's though.  I don't know what the arrangements for spectators are in the US but the Pod still has a big mound of earth to stand on piled up on one side of the track and some very second hand tiered seating probably from a circus tent on the other side.

The race fan can casually wander from the pile of earth, around the rear of the strip, to the pit side and nose about to their heart's content at the cars / bike / racers.  Some 'top' teams have bought a tensor barrier to keep you from putting your sticky mits on the slicks but most welcome a bit of banter and enquiry.

Bearing in mind the value of the cars and tools laying around, there is no obvious security or heavy handed pit gorillas.  Some teams may have some self produced t-shirts for sale, the more enterprising ones sell smashed valves, pistons and the occassional engine block.

Last year I went to Ipswich's Foxhall Stadium to see the Ipswich Witches speedway racing.  The track was like walking back in time 20 years - and I loved it.

These, and more, are some of the reasons I ENJOY minority motorsport and would rather mow the grass than watch Mike and his pals tootle around a scaletrix track on Sunday afternoon.


(my Easter 2004 Santa Pod photos here - http://community.webshots.com/album/154821656CSvUEo (http://community.webshots.com/album/154821656CSvUEo) )

Hi Mark - I was only there 4 days - all work, with the Sunday at Oulton watching the boss's lad crashing out of the F Renault race on lap one!
Both Sebring and Petit Le Mans are the dog's knob - Sebring bigger - Road Atlanta is somewhat easier to do logistically and is closer (timewise)


Hello Rick
Don't get me wrong - I'm no 'purist' - idle banter is great (if it's amusing) - I'm sure you're correct - the activity on this forum will settle somewhat, now that the main event is behind us - it needs to be kept funny in my opinion. I do like a good ol' fashioned verbal punch-up though!
I live in Orlando FL (awful, but someone has to, I guess) Not sure about race action in the Baaaaaston area - I'm sure Fax will clue you up!

Watkins Glens 'close' by - well, 300 miles close by.

Nice shots from the Thunderball, Steve. Weather didn't look too good and the bloody pre-stage area is just as bad as it always was. Some pretty stout looking machinery though.
As you'd expect, US drag strips are a little more accommodating. IRP is the best I've been to, followed by Thunder Valley. Gainesville is good too. My local strip (Orlando Speedworld, at Bithlo FL) is better than the Pod, but it's not a minority sport here.
I stretch the Vettes legs at Speedworld from time to time, just to keep my hand in. Bracket/Handicap racing is fun, but hard on road tyres and heats up the tranny a bit. 12.66/102 is my best this season (on 50% worn Goodyear EMT's and a full gas tank - so not too shabby). Pennine was my favorite UK strip - a real friendly bunch of people and a bit of a short, bumpy shut-down, just to keep you on your toes, after a hard-charging pass!
Ooohh, I'm all nostalgic!  

We've finally got a decent Top Fuel European record.  Set at the May Santa Pod meet it may be a bit behind US times / speeds but it made a lot of people happy here :

Top Fuel Dragster: 4.832 seconds and 306.36 mph - Andy Carter

his site here: http://www.andycarter.net/ (http://www.andycarter.net/)

Plus, Pennine Raceway is now known as York Dragway (very cosmopolitan) - your nostalgia kick here : http://yorkdragway.intrica.co.uk/ (http://yorkdragway.intrica.co.uk/)
(their server runs on steam)

Oh sh*t Fax.  Now I'm really thinking how shitty it is that I've got to head to Chi-town instead of Ashland next weekend.  Really wish I could have done this one.  Let me reiterate I'm deffo on for a blast down to the Petit in September.

Cheers

Dave,
Sucks you can't make it this weekend, we've had some good times at previous Mid-Ohio ALMS meetings.  Reserve the Oh-sh*t seat in the Turbo Terror for me for the blast down to Road Atlanta and the Petit.  A good nine hours of primal scream therapy is always refreshing.
John

Harper M, you're a miserable, miserable cumudgeonly old bas tard. You get out of bed the wrong side mate or is it the gout playing up again? Whatever, something's made you liverish.

Of course you've never regailed us in the past on CA with your tales of drunken debauchery, jolly japes and scrapes....

Maybe you're getting too old for it all these days, you could be better off in future watching LM on Speed Channel from the comfort of your own bathchair, whilst Timmins the butler pours you another glass of sherry.

And I know how much you like these new-fangled smiley things too  >:(

Now just a frikin' minute there, Hoss.

I know I am not the only contributor who finds page after page of "hello, you still at work?" - "Nah, knocked-off early today" type threads to be rather tedious. Similarly, entire threads dedicated to the antics of a couple of sh*t-faced girlies, fantasized over by a drooling mob of Club Arnage bedecked strange people, is a similar  pain in the arse. Yes, it is true. Like yourself, I have posted about some of my Le Mans experiences - but I've always endeavoured to include a point - or something vaguely humourous, as opposed to "We're right nutters, we are! We all get pissed! Then we throw water at strangers and threaten them with violence, if they complain"
I do not believe it is either civilised or vaguely normal to step into the street and demand that a car stops - and then to abuse the driver, if he doesn't do your bidding - and then to add insult to injury by sticking some half-arsed roundel on the poor bastards paintwork.
I would definitely have driven over the tosser that did that to me.
I couldn't care less how people enjoy themselves, as long as it doesn't impact negatively on me. It is wrong to assume that everyone will find things as amusing as you do.
You may or may not recall, but I finally made your acquaintance on the Saturday night, at the Champagne Bar. You did seem a little the worse for wear, but at least you (and the guys who were with you) were civilised and friendly. I did my best to be the same.
I was reminded of Alistair Simm - you are a dead ringer, so whenever I read your aggressive, insulting, derogatory postings to me, I shall think of the Headmistress in the old black and white  St Trinians movies, to give me a mental picture of my Commer-borne nemesis.

Here's on other thing I've noticed..... in all the fabulous pix that have been posted, why isn't anyone drinking? Worrying, that.....
   
 

Oh no?? Look who's drinkin' here? Could it be Simm or George Cole? oright my son?

(http://www.selfpreservationsociety.net/photos/2004/poo%20bar/images/Lots%20of%20CA%20T%20Shirts_JPG.jpg)

Children please.

Thata enough

p.s.

Nice photo  :D

On the thread of F1 and those who are slating American circuit racing....

I took a few minuted on the saturday to speak with Canada Phil whp explained that watching the rcing live, you can see a particular driver planning his over take laps in advance, and its quite entertaining. Its smoething i have eaten humble pie on and wil see a race on day..


Matt H - I was hoping to say hello at the poo bar, but was very busy saying Hi, where were you and your Bro hiding ?

Now then Robbo!

We were there - rolled-up a little late so the majority of the mayhem had subsided.  Met-up with a few folks including Mr. Zarse who clearly had been drinking - absolutely no doubt of that at all.

I'm waiting to see that bus become part of your rolling gear to the Sarthe!

Steve, The Pod has improved immeasurably since the late seventies, when I started going regularly, OK the banking is still there, but it's become a bit of a tradition now, and I'd be sorry to see it go. Especially since it's part of the 'sound blocking' procedures and if it went it'd be replaced with the 'breezeblock' walls they had to put up at Avon Park.
The place does still have a long way to go, particularly in terms of toilets and catering facilities, but it gets better every couple of years.
From a racer's point of view it is unrecognisable, compared to 5 years ago, the pits are mostly tarmaced, the organisation is many times better than it was, and the track surface, especially at the international meets is the best in Europe.
Keith Bartlett deserves a medal for the amount of work and money he's put into the place over the years he's owned it.
He even resurfaced the entry road  :) which, old timers will know , used to need a 4x4 just to get from the gate to the track

<<mental not to self>>

Must go Drag racing at Santa Pod again soon - last time I went was the 1995 world finals........

Barry Sheavils was driving in Alcohol then  :o

As Steve Brown will confirm, you've got the perfect meet coming up in September.
The Euro (World) finals, biggest one of the year, it runs for 4 days now

Completedly agree with you Steve about the improvements, it's just that I have an old fashioned sentimentality for the place  :D

Regarding the US drag racing facilities, as Matt said its not at all a minority sport over here.  There's a huge amount of corporate involvment and TV exposure, the semi's and finals of the big meetings shown live on the ESPN network.
The facilities themselves are usually state of the art, spacious tarmac paddock, air-conditioned suites and press boxes, etc.  I've been to Cloumbus for the US Nationals back in the early ninties and found the place as spectator friendly as any of the US circuts.
John

Thanks John, just need to book my tickets now.

I've been meaning to find an excuse to get to the States for a big NHRA meeting for a while, I just need to go raid the money tree again.

After a similar discussion on drag racing on here recently, I put the 29th of May weekend in my diary.
However, as luck would have it, well, as it always has it actually, my Mum decided to make the trip down to H Heights for that weekend. An event like getting my mum 'dahn sarf' puts NASA's efforts regarding the robotic exploration of Mars well into the shade. Everything, including tectonic (and bowel) movement had to be put on hold.
But, I still have the September date marked up. Give me a shout nearer the date Steve, and we'll see if we can arrange something. Will we be able to buy tickets at the gate? this is what I'd intended, but your earlier post suggests there might be some demand.
H

H, you can book tickets in advance, and save a bit of money, but as is always the way with our weather, if it's raining they don't race.

Tickets are easily available on the gate, for a day or the whole weekend for camping.

European Finals 9th - 12th September (be there or be........somewhere else!)

http://www.santapod.com/ (http://www.santapod.com/)

would any of our American counterparts care to fill us in on whether there is a NHRA meeting between 1st-16th August this year in Orlando or somewhere within 100/200 miles of there??

I want to see American Fuelers and we are going on holiday there in August..........................

Any other motor racing events in that area over those two weeks?

Cheers Steve. What would be the best day to attend, Sunday?
H

Your SOL if it's Top Fuel Action that you want. nearest NHRA facility to O'town is Gainsville Raceway www.gainesvilleraceway.com - no big league stuff in August - but plenty of Run What Ya Brung (Friday nights) at Gainesville and Orlando Speedworld (Sat nights).
Of course, there is the Don Garlits drag racing museum at Ocala (about 1 hour north of Orlando on I-75.
Lots to see and do at Daytona International Speedway - any time you visit - but you'll have just missed the Pepsi 400, which is a great race under the lights.
Also check out Moroso Motorsports Park and Homestead Raceway for club events.
Next year, plan your visit to co-incide with 12 Hours of Sebring (March) or Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (Oct).
I live in Orlando, so if there's any local info or bookings needed, let me know.
Brink your sunblock, it's f**k*ng boiling at the moment.
Matt

Just an after-thought Brad - you can't take your hire car to a Run What You Brung event - you need the title.......

Saturday will be qualifying so you may get to see some impressive runs and Sunday is the eliminations / finals so probably BOTH  ;) but Sunday definately.

/me wonders who on earth Matt could be referring to.....

Don't you just hate it when that happens.  ::) Personally I only like to post about sensible but morally important issues, like world peace and toaster settings. It will be a sad day on the internet when flippancy rules supreme.

I would certainly say both days if possible, simply to avoid being told "The European record was broken yesterday" as I was a couple of years ago.
Anyway, there's nothing quite like being woken up at 9am by Spuff warming up the funny,when your head is still pounding from the night before.

Steve, maybe this time we'll actually meet up, now that I'm sure what class we're racing in.... and assuming Phil remembers to bring the Pop.... ;)

 

Sim and Zarse. Virtually identical.

Hmmm...

Hi Matt,

I do remember meeting you and your bro and strangely enough, a pleasure it was too! I also remember you gave me a tin of Guinness, like i needed it at that point. I think the photo above was taken shortly afterwards. Sorry for being pissed, I really can't have been making much sense by that point in the evening.

I never thought about the likeness between me and Sim before, usually have Sir Anthony Hopkins/Dr Lecter levelled at me, so to be likened to a comedy genius is to be taken as a compliment I assume.

Hi Andy
I thought it was highly amusing that you apologised for being pissed. I would have been very disappointed, had you had your sh*t together by that time in the evening.
I now see the Hopkins likeness also - though I'll stick with comic genius Simm - and yes, what else could it be but a compliment.
 Give my regards to Lavender Hill.