Jacques Spits his Dummy Out.

[Fax]

Perhaps I was a bit OTT on that little tirade I went on last night, but I get really frustrated when someone is tagged a jerk simply because he refuses to tow the company line and be a talking head for a tobacco company.  Jacques is a complete non-conformist just like his father. In that respect, he is a chip off the old block.  There's nothing new here either, Nelson Piquet & James Hunt were legendary for their refusal to do PR work and be stuffed into a suit & tie. Just in those days it was seen as being your own man, now you've got the FIA busting your balls everytime you speak your mind.  The sport needs people like these to offset the marketing manager's dreams like DC & Mickey the Shue.
Fax

[Bobblehat]

No prob Fax, I ranted it at you............

But not to do the PR in these days, is well commercial suicide, come on he did set the team up, and the name is British American Racing/Tobbacco so he is partly to blame for were he is. Not only PR to the fans and sponsers but also for the guys who build the car, look after them first, and from what i understand he was a bit of the big "I AM" around Brackley. But they still liked him cause he could race the balls of any car they built, well he had to realy they wernt that good

As for James Hunt he was his own PR

[Robbo SPS]

Fax,

I cant comment on JV pre F1, becasue i have never seen him in Cart , 500's etc , but in Formula 1 he has behaved like a spoiled brat. He hasnt shown me anything really special in a car , Alonso is doing well in an improving car .
SHut Me ( micheal ze german ) and DC are really anesthetic , go home  and moan at the wife, no one cares .

But 500's being a test of man and machine , machine maybe, but there isnt that much skill in it - retrospectively.

No real braking points , overtaking areas, planning overtakes many corners before , you keep your foot down , lift a little , keep the wheel slightly to the left or right , and hope the engine keeps running and the tyres dont blow. then you can worry about concreate walls.


Dont the drivers get dizzy ??

[Fax]

Hi Robbo,
Actually superspeedway racing is a bit more complicated than the old cliche of keep your foot down and turning left.  The key to being fast at a place like Indy is to have the car trimmed out aerodynamically as possible, run with as little downforce as you've got the balls for and then walk a very dangerous tightrope.  At 230 mph plus, the cars become terribly sensitive to any slight movement or change of pitch,  Nelson Piquet suffered horrendous leg injuries about a decade ago when while running hard in practice, when the yellow flag came out and he lifted suddenly, the aero balance of the car went all wrong, pitching him into a big spin and a violent, head on impact with the fourth turn wall.  It takes a very sensitive touch to drive a Champ Car at those speeds and Keke Rosberg has always said that the reason he never attempted Indy was that he never felt he had a delicate enough touch to do it without ending up over at Methodist Hospital in the care of Dr. Trammell.  Passing is all about being able to stay close enough to the car in front through the corners to be able to use the slipstream down the straights, but like most single seaters, they're very dependant on clean air flow for the aerodynamics to work properly.  When behind another car they lose grip suddenly so it becomes a case of hanging on for dear life through the corners and then it becomes a drag race to the apex of the corner, usually taking place at about 230 mph.
Fax

[Dave H]

Hey Fax:

I don't think you need to apologize for speaking your opinion.  Remember, Club Arnage is all about picking fights!  I find your comments interesting.  I always thought JV was pretty cool in his Champ days - certainly mixed it up - far more interesting to watch than Mansell climbing out of his car half way through a race with a "bad back" as soon as it was clear he wasn't in a potential winning position.

P.s. Are you beginning to become as morose as I am at the prospect of not being at RA next weekend?  Thought so.

dh

[Fax]

Hi Dave & Matt,
Yeah, I'm starting to get a serious case of the sulks over the Petit.  Contemplating spreading red clay all over my living room, stuffing R2 full of Buds & Gwin's and parking him in front of the TV.  Give my love to Tessa when she gets into town and tip a few cold ones for me.  Dave, thanks again man for the suite gig a couple of weeks ago.  That was a blast.  Nothing like the jungle yell of those 3 litre screamers reverberating off the stands on both sides of the pit straight.  On the subject of JV.  He had one of the most priceless post race comments I've ever heard after his '95 Indy win.  He and the team are in victory lane with the usual chaos going on around him, well, Jack Arute (for all of our Euro friends, this guy is completely in love with himself, has the perpetual George Hamilton tan and is always trying to come up with something self-serving and clever to say. Just a total obnoxious w**k*r)  sticks his ABC sports microphone and asks Jacques "Did you win this race for your dad?" Jacques looks back with a bemused expression and says "No, my father's been dead for over a decade, I won this for myself and the team"  for once Arute didn't have a clue what to say, its was f**k*ng precious!
Fax  

[Bobblehat]

Great reply from JV would not expect less. I just wounder how Damon Hill would of repyed

[Liszt]

I met JV during testing at Silverstone in '97.  Seemed a nice bloke.  Stopped to sign an autograph and had a chat about the car and circuit.  I think a couple of years in a crappy car and lots of bad press have made him a bit bitter.  I think he would be best doing a season in a another series, do well and come back saying "yeah been and won that, it was the car that was crap not me"