The Future of Motorsport?

Motorsport, internationally, seems to be going through a change, a bit of a crisis if you will allow me.

Formula 1 without Bernie Ecclestone. Another new era in NASCAR. Changes in Indycar. New cars in American sportscar racing. V8 Supercars without Australian built road cars. Formula E in its entirety challenging the accepted norms...

So the question must be... How to stay relevant in 2017?

Whether it is the relevance to manufacturers or to the fans, the fight to "matter" is the hardest of all.

F1 has not appeared as relevant to manufacturers as it once was for a while now. NASCAR have just introduced a completely bold, new race format and points structure in an attempt to stay relevant to the fans. V8 Supercars must change to stay relevant to both in the Australian marketplace, while Indycar dreams of being relevant again, outside of "the month of May".

There are so many distractions in the modern world vying for peoples spare time. Various sports, TV anytime all the time, cinema, coffee, alcohol, computer gaming, Facebook, gyms, shopping blah blah land...

In America, NFL has been the King of sports for a while now, although even they are finding life hard, with NASCAR the top motorsport. Then there is Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Soccer, College Football, Golf, Wrestling, MMA among others, quite a list, and that's before you consider the other forms of motorsport all fighting for sponsors and fans interest and Dollars. Over here Football rules over everything.

So how does motor racing stay relevant enough that existing fans keep watching, new young fans start watching and manufactuers care.

Attention spans are shorter than ever, so if you are NASCAR you try to stay relevant by bringing in a totally new, bold raft of changes. New race format, new points structure, new tech package. Only time will tell if the changes will work by bringing a younger audience to the sport. While I hope it works for the long term good of the sport, I can't say I am totally sold on the format changes...

In Australia, V8 Supercars are having to re-imagine themselves. Their sport has always been based around the concept of Ford vs Holden, or in more recent times specifically, Falcon vs Commodore. With a market place which simply was not buying these cars anymore the end of the classic/home Australian car industry was an inevitable shame. So what next for Australia's top motorsport catagory when they have no Australian rear wheel drive cars to race?

Maybe to start to figure this all out we need to consider what made motor racing relevant in the first place.

To manufacturers it had to be the age old adage "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday". To Richard Petty, "There is no doubt about precisely when folks began racing each other in automobiles. It was the day they built the second automobile.” So stock car racing and touring cars were originally about racing the cars manufacturers wanted to sell. Single seater racing was more about developing the breed, specifically designed cars built for the purpose of going racing and putting the lessons learnt into road cars.

But where do those principles take us in 2017?

Modern road cars in Europe are mainly front wheel drive hatchbacks or "crossovers" with 4 cylinder petrol or diesel engines and 6 speed manual gearboxes. Company cars might be prestige brand rear wheel drive, automatic, diesel saloons. In America if it's not a 4x4 SUV it will be a 6 cylinder, front wheel drive saloon, auto obviously.  In Australia it's about the same as America. Also the modern road car is a very aerodynamically efficient piece of equipment, designed to deliver the best fuel economy possible. Not naturally conducive to exciting "old school" racing.

Modern single seater racing still attempts to develop the breed to a certain extent while fighting the effects modern aerodynamic and tyre eficiency have on the quality of the racing. Spiralling costs have limited manufacturer support however.

There is however a more worrying trend in modern road cars, automation. It is becoming normal to have a car which parks itself. It is becoming normal to have automatic cruise control, automatic lane assistance or warnings, automatic brake assistance, 360 degree cameras, road sign recognition. Fully automated cars are coming and fast. Automatic gearboxes, albeit with paddle gearshifts are bit by bit killing the H-pattern manual. Younger drivers are learning on Playstations and expect the real thing to be the same. Automatic and automated are the watch words.

So, in true Carrie Bradshaw fashion, I couldn't help but wonder... What is the future of motor racing in an automated world?

If future cars are electric, drive themselves, park themselves, automatic everything, will anybody actually drive, let alone race?

Back in 2017, racing series still need to appeal to manufacturers and fans, still need to be relevant. I wish I had the answer, and I wait with interest to see how the next few years pan out for the 4 wheeled motor racing world.

In the mean time I have found my racing fix in, what for me was a very unexpected place, motorbikes. Not MotoGP, but as an oval racing fan, AMA Flat Track racing in America, and for the first time ever, Speedway in Europe.

Watching a field full of the AMA twins drafting and sliding their way round the big dirt ovals across America, via the wonders of YouTube, has been a joy. I really look forward to seeing the renewed competition between Harley-Davidson with the new XG750R and Indian with the new FTR750. The changes being made to the AMAs top tier make perfect sense to me, answering most of the questions I had as a complete newcomer to the sport over the last few months. So a form of motorsport, seemingly in touch with the home market manufacturers, delivering exciting racing across America, maybe it can be done. I wish them well for 2017! Oh and the two new race bikes look great, proper "poster bikes" for the sport, which can only help. I just hope America takes notice!

Equally I have really enjoyed watching and learning about SpeedwayGP. An event has 23 heats, 4 riders in each, dirt ovals, no brakes, sideways! It's quick fire action all the way. Great entertainment. I haven't got my head round British Speedway with its teams yet but...

Hang on, short races, riders earn Championship points with each heat result, bit by bit the number of riders in the hunt gets cut down leading to an overall winner at the end of the day...

Maybe NASCAR is on to something after all...

Several Unexpected Treats, and Something Else

It is fair to say that in recent years I have grown a little tired, a little bored of motorsport.

I will always be a NASCAR fan, will always follow F1, from a reasonable distance, and will always look forward to the Indy 500 each and every year, regardless of whether I have paid attention to another Indycar race over the rest of the season, or not.

However I have recently watched several races which ignited something of the race fan in me again.

Readers may already know of my liking of the FIA Formula E series, and the latest race from Miami was no exception. I loved the shots of the race cars driving under the freeway, with the road cars going about there everyday business above them. In the first half Virgin Racings Sam Bird put on a great show, before fading with power issues later on, while in the second half of the race Scott Speed showed what he was made of. If only Virgin Racing could keep it together for a full race, come on Sam! A lot of race cars have got too big, too aerodynamic, probably too powerful to produce good racing.  Maybe Formula E, for all of its quirks it the opposite of this. Smaller cars, more room to race on tight city street circuits. No aero what so ever. Ok they may not be that quick compared to say a modern F1 car but that does not remotely bother me. The racing is good and that is what matters.

Readers will also know of my fondness for the Red Bull Air Race. The first round of the year came down to a gap of next to nothing between the top two. Really close, dramatic stuff. It's just a shame there's such a long wait for the next round... oh well... I'll live.

The other day I watched some of the 73rd Goodwood Members Meeting, namely the Gerry

Marshall Trophy. The Camaro's, Rover SD1's, Minis, Capri's, Dolimite Sprints, among others were an absolute joy to watch. If you want a lesson in what is wrong with modern touring car racing, then this is it! I still can't get the sight of the Minis bouncing all over the back of the big Camaros in the twisty bits but then literally waving goodbye on the straights and the SD1's drifting, out of my head. Just wonderful!

I have also recently discovered Roby Gordons "Stadium Super Truck" series. 600bhp, V8

engined, big off road pickup trucks. Designed to look like a Traxxas remote control car, who also sponsor the series, they roll, they oversteer, they jump, oh boy do they jump, they hit each other, they are great! If you fancy something different, try them out for size.

When was the last time you saw an ugly Penske Indycar. I may be in the minority in considering the DW12, as was, a good looking modern single seater but what it has morphed into is... not... I wait with equal amounts of excitement and absolute dread for the Indy 500 spec cars.

Lastly, someone has to mourn the loss of Chrysler to the UK motoring industry. So here I

go. I have owned a couple of PT Cruisers, and a Voyager and consider myself a bit of a Mopar guy, on a budget. OK so some of the cars were not great like the Sebring, but in the UK we had the PT Cruiser, the Crossfire, Dodge Nitro, the 300C. I may be in the minority but I will miss the only America company to sell "American" cars over here.

Till next time...

2015 - Quick Thoughts

I am really enjoying Formula E. I like the good looking modern race cars, the city street circuits, and am enjoying the racing! I am hoping to go to London for the final round in June. The Virgin cars have rapidly become my favourite modern single seaters, with their flash chrome, red and purple colour schemes, but more of that in a bit...

Once again the Red Bull Air Race has got me hooked. Great spectacle, great entertainment and really close racing!

Oh dear, only three races in and we are already discussing this years NASCAR Sprint Cup Series aero rule changes, and not necessarily in a favorable light.

On the same topic, after the build up to, and, hopefully, drama of the Daytona 500, I find it hard to get excited by NASCAR over the following few weeks. To be fair, a general disliking of Atlanta and Las Vegas doesn't help... Yawn!

Also, I can not shake a feeling of disappointment towards this years Daytona 500. All that anticipation, those 15 or so laps of fantastic 3 wide racing and it ends under yellow, and yes I know NASCAR were right to put the yellow out, safety first blah blah blah, just don't ask me to like it. I wanted a last lap, last corner one on one slingshot for the win. The only comfort I took from the yellow was I am not sure it changed anything. As great as the racing was, I do not believe the drivers were able to overtake, one on one for the win, without a push from another driver, and on the last lap that was not going to happen.

I have been patiently waiting to see what the new Indycar aero kits look like.. and now the Chevrolet aero kit has been unveiled... One word... UGLY. The DW12 used to be my favourite modern single seater but not anymore... They had better race well 'cause that looks hideous!

On paper I like the "idea" of the new Nissan Le Mans car. A front engined sports car, a modern Panoz if you like. Something different to the normal mid-engined prototypes. But sorry what did you say? Front wheel drive? Oh dear, moving on...

As someone who has owned and loved two mark 1 Mazda MX5's I am loving the the look of the new version. If all I read about it is correct, it sounds like it will be a great car too, just like the original!

Another thing I like about Formula E is the School Series. I just like the idea of getting the host city's schools involved!

Marco Ambrose back in a V8 Supercar, and a Penske, of sorts! Sounds good to me. His car is pretty too!

I am looking forward to this year's BTCC. Lots of new driver, team, car combinations! I hope the relative stability in the rules package helps more teams get to the front.

And finally... the Honda Indycar aero kit has been unveiled, and guess what? Just when you thought things couldn't get any uglier...

Tradition or Show

Regular readers will know how much I love the Indy 500. From the pre-race ceremonies to the winners photo shoot, the Month of May is a highlight of the racing year for me.

I find it hard to describe my feelings on the morning of the race. Only the Daytona 500 creates the same level of tension, apprehension and excitement.

A huge part of what makes the Indy 500 so special is the tradition. The tradition of the venue, the Month of May, the show, the race.

The track may change, new road course, updated facilities but as a venue Indy holds on to its traditions, the Pagoda, the bricks.

The event may not take the whole of May any more but again the traditions are there, Carb Day, Bump Day and so on...

On race day, "Drivers to your cars", the baloons, Jim Nabors, great to see him back by the way, GSYE, all of the pre-race build up, the 3 by 3 rolling start, through to the winners milk...

The Indy 500 is steeped in tradition while also looking forward to who will become the next driver to win the great race.

It is with this appreciation for and love of the traditions that I internally debate the merits of finishing the race under yellow.

On one side you have the argument that 250, 000 fans at the track and millions more on TV have watched the most important and prestigious open wheel motor race in America only to see it end behind the pace car. The DW12 is so good at drafting and overtaking that a last lap move for the win is inevitable, and what a finish it would be. Who wouldn't like to see the 500 end with a photo finish to match this years Indy Lights race? If the race was run by NASCAR we would have three attempts at ending the race under green, three G-W-C's, so why doesn't the Indy 500 do something similar? More chance of a dramatic finish for the headlines and news bulletins.

The answer is simple... tradition!

This is not Daytona, this is Indianapolis and that's not how its done here.

The same traditions that dictate the winner drinks milk of all things also prevents such gimmicks from infecting the 500. What is so right for NASCAR is so wrong for the Indy 500. Note I said the Indy 500 not the Indycar Series, as you could argue G-W-C are a good idea at other Indycar oval races, but not at the 500, tradition says so!

I am genuinely split. Doing everything you can to end the race at racing speed would be good for TV and attract fans who watch NASCAR week in, week out. For a sport trying to reassert its place in the American imagination a dramatic finish to the most important race of the year would be just what the doctor ordered. Fans would love it, TV would love it, therefore sponsors would love it. However Indy is a place of tradition, and tradition says the race is 500 miles long regardless of what happens. Is it time for tradition to take a back seat to the show or do the traditions continue?

Having watched the last two Indy 500's end under yellow and having seen the excitement the Indy Lights race created maybe it is time for a new tradition.

However it is with the traditions of the Month of May in mind I congratulate the winner of the 2013 Indianapolis 500, Tony Kanaan!

Izod Indycar Series 2013, Round 4 Sao Paulo

If you can't watch it all, watch the last 10 laps, it will be worth it!

2013... A Good Year for Racing!

It occurs to me that 2013 is building up to be a vintage year for fans of motor racing.

I watched the last couple of Grand Prix and they were good... very good. I don't usually care for F1, too technical, boring drivers, ugly cars, too, well, dull. However this year we have seen not only some of the best racing I can remember seeing in F1 but some of the best racing anywhere, period. Some may say its only due to the artificial mix of tyre compounds, KERS and DRS, and the racing is not "real". Personally I say humbug! Good racing is good racing, and this year F1 has produced a show worth watching.

Long may it continue!

By the way, while we on the topic of F1, I can not help but laugh at the reaction some have when certain drivers "go racing".

Oh didums your team mate overtook you, or pushed you a bit hard or disobeyed orders or blah blah blah. This is what racing is about, if you do not like it then retire and let another young hotshot have a go.

However in 2013 F1 is not the only championship which seems to have got its "stuff" together as this years NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is producing great racing every weekend.

We had a great race at Talladega, Bristol has its magic back, and for the first time in years the cookie cutter mile and a half tracks are great to watch.

Whats the one common denominator?  The Gen 6 race cars. It is fair to say that so far this year NASCARs extensive R&D has paid off... big time. The cars look great, they look relevant, and boy are they racy!! So racy in fact that I might actually look forward to Pocono this year... anyway... this year we are seeing the drivers racing closer together and with more side by side racing than we have for years.

Again, long may it continue!

But F1 and NASCAR are not alone in producing great shows for the fans as the Indycar Series is delivering the goods as well.

I grew up more of a NASCAR and CART fan than F1 fan. The racing was better, the drivers more fan friendly, the cars better looking, you get the idea. While I have never stopped following and being a fan of NASCAR, my alegence to Indycar has waned in recent years. Aside from the Indy 500 (always a favourite occasion) I lost track of the sport once the IRL ceased to be. I used to love the close oval racing the IRL produced, and the great road races that CART at its best produced before that and I have missed this style of racing. With this in mind I have rediscovered American open wheel racing this year.

I have watched this years races in reverse order and have enjoyed them. Again cars capable of running close together and drivers making the most of it. While I was disappointed that the series did not opt for a bolder design of car when the current spec car was introduced the car has grown on me. Another race car that looks great and races well. Am I looking forward to the Indy 500? You bet!

Again, long may it continue!

 

I have also been watching this season of Australias V8 Supercars, and again, what great racing. The new rules have kept the gap between Ford and Holden close and its only a matter of time before the Mercedes and Nissans get to the front. On the topic of touring cars, in the UK the BTCC has produced some good races as well.  Once the BMWs, Toyotas and Fords are consistantly up front

with the Hondas and MGs the championship will be back where it belongs.

Good racing in 2013...

Long may it continue!

Top 10 Reasons I Am Looking Forward to 2013

10 - More NGTC = Better BTCC

It's a bit early in the year for motorsport over here but with drivers being announced and the prospect of more NGTC cars on the grid, 2013 should build on the momentum the series gathered last year.
 

9 - New NASCAR race cars
 

8 - Grand Am Daytona Prototypes, last year before "merger"

2013 is the last year for the Grand Am Series as we know it as next year it will merge with the ALMS series. I like the Daytona Prototypes. They look good, sound good, and as last years championship and this years Rolex 24 at Daytona show, they race good too! I hope the newly merged series keep the Prototypes as the top class next year, and don't let the overly technical, expensive, irrelevant European machinery wreck their own homegrown championship!

7 - New NASCAR race cars

 

6 - Year 2 for the new Indycar Series

With a year in the books the Indycar Series should produce more good racing as hopefully more teams and drivers will be competitive in the DW12 chassis this year. Roll on Indy 500!!

5 - NASCAR Trucks on Dirt

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series... at Eldora... on dirt... What's not to look forward to?

4 - New Air Titan technology for NASCAR
 

For a sport which relies on dry weather, the last couple of NASCAR Sprint Cup seasons have been blighted by rain delays early on in the season. The most famous effect of rain was the JPM vs track drier fireball incident at last years Daytona 500. This new technology, developed by NASCAR basically blows the water off of the track so the track driers can dry the track and not the water on the track. Once the water is on the apron another machine sucks the water up. It is a bit like washing your hands and then using a hot air hand drier, the quickest way to dry your hands is to shake the water off and then put your hands under the drier. This should dramatically reduce rain delays. Simply put, in the event of rain, more racing, less waiting!
 

3 - New NASCAR race cars
 

 

2 - Mercedes and Nissan join V8Supercars

The new spec V8Supercars look great! Mercedes and Nissan have joined stalwarts Ford and Holden on the grid this year under the championships new rules package. The Mercedes is especially tasty!! I can't wait to see how they race. The only pity for me is that after years of supplying the pace car, Chrysler have not joined the grid with the 300C SRT, oh well at least the pace car is still a Mopar!

 

1 - New NASCAR race cars, have I mentioned it?

OK I am in love with the new Ford, Chevy and Toyotas in the Sprint Cup Series! You might have gathered, I am of the opinion that if a car looks right it probably is right, and these look... right! I hope the American press and the fans give NASCAR, the teams, the drivers and Goodyear the time to get the racing package right at all tracks. The prospect of 43 of these 2 and 3 wide, nose to tail at all types of race track is one I look forward to. This will be a learning year but the sport has the right goals for this car!
 

2012 NASCAR Chase Finally Gets... Lively!

Lets face it, the 2012 edition of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has not produced the most exciting racing in the sports history. In fact it is fair to say the racing has, on the whole, been dull.

To be honest the racing last year was pretty tedious too, but the season was saved by a dramatic change of form by one driver and an especially close points race. The two protagonists rarely raced side by side against each other before the final race of the year.

For me this years Chase for the Sprint Cup has lacked the on paper drama of last year and was devoid of any real on track action... Until last week.

The charge towards the top of the table by the 48 team has taken an already pedestrian year into the realms of inevitability... Until... Brad put up a fight at Charlotte. OK he lost the battle but the fight meant everything. Here was a young driver who was not going to roll over and let the all conquering giant push him around. On that day Brad Keselowski said if you want it you'll have to go through me first. The fight was tough but the line was never crossed.

Suddenly the Chase gained an edge and this time the talking point was not an on paper battle but an on track one. Now I was interested, I was excited, this is what stock car racing should be all about, not fuel mileage, not strategy, and certainly not track position. One-on-one, two wide, rubbing fenders at nearly 200mph!

Fast forward a week and battle resumed only this time it was two different drivers putting up a "fight". The racing was once again lacklustre until the very end when it is fair to say all hell broke loose. The 2 vs. 48 points battle swung in favour of the youngster in the Blue Deuce as the 48 had a bad day at exactly the wrong time, so a good day for the on paper battle. At the same a different rivalry reared its head, Gordon vs. Bowyer.

Short version, in Jeff Gordons eyes Clint Bowyer has been pushing him around all year and the contact between the two at Phoenix was the final straw... To Bowyer, the 24 just blew his chance at the Championship... Mayhem ensued... On track... And off...

With both cars in the wall and out of the race, a mass brawl in the paddock, and Bowyer sprinting towards Gordons hauler looking for a piece of the action, or at least a piece of Gordon, if nothing else it must have made for a good news story that evening and has certainly proved the drivers are passionate about the sport and the Championship, even if the racing has not always reflected this enthusiasm.

So all of this drama brings NASCARs "have at it" policy back into the limelight. How physical can drivers be, can drivers take the "law" into their own hands, how far will NASCAR let them go, and will the drivers care? How much "it" is too much?

Gordon did not hide from the fact that he took Bowyer out, in fact he told his team that was what he was doing before he did it. In a country where scripted wrestling is entertainment, and where hockey players are allowed to kick the living whatsits out of each other, why can't stock car drivers suffer from road rage at times. Don't tell me you haven't wished you could do the same to the guy driving in front of you on your way to work... Or... Did Jeff Gordon cross the line by retaliating?

For me the fact that one of the drivers involved was racing for the Championship is irelevant. Just because Bowyer was third in points does not make him untouchable. If anything he should race with the understanding that he has more to loose than others if anything happens.

So should Gordon have retaliated? Yes... Er... No... But at the same time definitely... But maybe not...

Let me try this again - Anything that puts a driver at risk is a bad idea and lets face it, even with safer cars and SAFER barriers, hitting a wall in a stock car is always a risky business.

However this is NASCAR, not F1. If you want purist racing with emotionless corporate machines as drivers, watch you average GP. If you want hard hitting, physical racing with real, emotional human beings behind the wheel watch touring cars in Europe or stock cars in the States. In the case of NASCAR this sort of incident is what the sport is based on. The cars have bumpers, and the drivers know how to use them. When the time is right you can substitute the word "cars" for "drivers" and the word "bumpers" for "fists" in the last sentence, and point still stands. If you don't like it go race Indycars!

Of course NASCAR have to be seen to clamp down on this sort of thing. This is a family sport and the idea of driving your rival off the track and then fighting about it afterwards is not what NASCAR wants to be known for in 2012, so fines and probationary periods are handed out to the relevant parties. However NASCAR is a "show" and the sport needs action and rivalries, so this is in fact exactly what the sport needs. You can imagine the sports top suits saying to Gordon, Bowyer and co. "We can't let this happen on out race tracks!" and as soon they have left the room, "Well that was good wasn't it!".

I think the sport needs more action, more side by side racing, less strategy and less importance on track position. The sport needs, and has always needed rivalries between drivers and a bad guy. If temperatures boil over every now and then, good! After all, this is not F1!

I still consider "Have at it" to be the right principle for NASCAR to be run by. Hopefully the new for 2013 cars will make the racing better and then we will have a sport worthy of the news reels.. With or without the fights!

Mid Season School Report

F1

How many different winners...

From how many races...

Alonso came from which position on the grid to win...

Late pass for the lead and lots of overtaking at Silverstone?

To steal a line from the end of the movie "Independance Day", "not bad, not bad at all!"

NASCAR

I think the phrase "must try harder" sums up this year. The two stories of the year so far have to be an overabundance of average, lacklustre racing for the most part, and Dale Jr wins ends his winless streak.

It's a good thing the restrictor plate package works so well!

The new spec car bodies debuting next year can not come quick enough!

BTCC

So far we know the new Civic is a very good car, period. We also know the MG6 is also a good car in the hands of Jason Plato... When it runs... And when Plato stops complaining...

Some really good racing this year, offset against some bizarre races where the drivers seemed hell bent on taking themselves out. The current grid format of qualifying, race 1 result gives the grid for race 2 and randomly reversing some of the front runners for race 3 is working very well.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some changes made to the NGTC cars for next year as the suspension gets damaged too easily when the cars race close together. Otherwise so far... So good!!

Grand Am

So far this year I have watched the Daytona 24 Hours, the Mid Ohio race and some of the Watkins Glen race... And I have enjoyed what I have watched! Good racing from the latest batch of Daytona Prototypes on some of Americas best road courses.

Keep up the good work!

Indycar

I was lucky enough to see the closing stages of this years Indy 500 but thats about it. I enjoyed Indy and from whats I read the season is going well.

Now lay off of the politics and concentrate on the product, the racing, for a while and spread the word!

2012 INDY 500 - THERE WE GO!!!

Congratulations to Dario Franchitti... now three time... INDY 500 Winner!!