For the second month in a row, we are faced with a Friday 13th. At least it's a Friday though. Testing has finished now for this week, and we are still trying to come to terms with what we've seen. Here are some of the things we have been discussing:
- Journeyer posed an interesting question in the comments yesterday, which is more surprising - Brawn being at the top or McLaren being at the bottom? Opinions were mixed, so I'd like to hear yours.
- France has finally decided on which track they would like to use for a Grand Prix. Of course, they have to get the thing up to standard and present it to Bernie as a viable option. It hasn't been touched by the hands of Tilke, so it is already in our favour.
- We're also discussing the options of how to get all the bits of junk out of space, because we're worried about the people in the ISS. It seems like a serious accident is going to happen soon. I'm in favour of a big magnet, but if anyone has any other ideas, we'd like to hear them. NASA don't seem to be coming up with anything, but I'm sure the Sidepodcommunity can.
That's it for now. As ever, on a Friday, let us know your plans for the weekend. If you're up to anything exciting, we especially want to know, but either way, feel free to share. I'll see you in the comments.
How about we increase the rotation of the earth, therefor increasing the centrical force if the earth, thus increasing the decay of their orbit and have them fall back to earth faster to burn in the atmosphere.
I think they should redevelop Montlhéry. It is just sitting there rotting away in the Paris outskirts. True, they couldn't use the same track design but there is enough room to put a grand prix track on the grounds.
Aerial photo. Lots of development room.
I love the internet.
Sorry that didn't seem to work, it puts you in central Paris. I'll try again in a sec.
It is friction with the atmosphere that causes the orbit to decay so, if anything, I think increasing the rotational speed would cause debris to stay up longer.
Try this.
Plus it means our days would be shorter :(
But there would be extra days in the year. They could be new holidays
BATracer qualifying did not go well
1 - (11 min)
Qualifying 1:20.027 "Car didn't deliver the speed."
2 - (20 min)
Qualifying 1:20.884 "Almost spun but held on."
3 - (40 min)
Qualifying "Vehicle damaged following off-track caper."
4 - (56 min)
Qualifying
There is the small question of how that is to be achieved.
There was some talk of that a couple of years ago.
Races would be more frequent
A giant butterfly net.
What?
Seems like a good idea.
The other option is an accurate shoe throwing device http://www.sockandawe.com/
How about a giant space mounted laser gun?
Sharks with laser guns?
Not being in Europe kind of puts me at a disadvantage here, but does not Euro-Disneyland have a race track? It can not be any more "Mickey Mouse" than Magny-Cours.....
Now, if you want white-knuckle racing, use the old circuit at Rouen-Les-Essarts, and use whatever legal loophole Monaco uses to get past today's silly safety standards...
There was talk of a track being built at EuroDisney but I don't think it was ever built.
Just tell Bernie he's got the TV rights to all the space junk, he'll have it scooped up in no time, just so no-one else gets a look in!!!!!
My colleague just came in and said:
"Morning, no red nose?"
I must have stared at her blankly for at least two minutes. D'oh.
I've got a red nose, but that's what man flu does for you!
Awww.
aww. I've got the brightest pair of red heels on and a small RND09 badge. No red nose though. I'm at school late AGAIN tonight as i have to help with all the set moving for our musical next week, plus i've gotta go in all day sunday to do all the lighting and go over all the tech. Not sure i'm going to make it to monday :/ however it's warm and sunny today which is nice :D
Crikey. Ever think like you might be taking on too much?
yeah, funny you say that, hence why i had to give up on my photography Alevel. Although that's all good now. It's just a busy time of year for all this kinda thing. I can't really get out of the tech things though as, well, i'm one of the only people that know how to do it. All tech things are basically over by Saturday evening though, which is good. my problem is i kinda like being busy.. i'm my own worse enemy :)
Much better than being bored though :)
very true :)
i wonder why this computer doesn't like the doohickey anymore and prefers to show me some strange version of the ye olde commenting. it was fine yesterday.
anyway, i'll probably pop by later at some point ;) have a nice day everyone!
Morning all, what's occurring?
All quiet today. Just discussing the fact I forgot it was Red Nose Day.
Anyone seen this yet?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7941572.stm
They're admitting it?? Unheard of!
I know, we wouldn't have got that with Ron!
Just two days ago he said it was all fine, pay no attention to testing results.
It's all beginning to look an awful lot like 2004.
Except that with no in-season testing, it'll be THAT MUCH tougher to produce a good B-car and be competitive. They have to get it right NOW.
Whitmarsh seems to have the talking-to-the-media-lingo down already
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73695
Not sure I'm convinced though.
Norbert Haug's on REuters saying that the MP/4/"$ is too slow. And thats the guy that put the engine in it....
James Allen reckons we should all take a punt on Brawn winning in Melbourne: http://allenonf1.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/get-your-money-on-brawn-for-melbourne-win/
'...so stunning was the Brawn’s pace in Barcelona, it has caused all the F1 teams to completely revise their targets for the season. As I write this, there are briefings going on in all the team’s factories as the full impact of the Barcelona data sinks in.'
I still remain pretty sceptical. But then, I'm a conspiracy theorist who walks around with a tin-foil hat on all day...
So, Button for the championship then? ;)
I wonder if Alonso has any regrets about not joining Honda at the end of last season? :-D
"Renault boss Flavio Briatore has complained that rival teams are flouting the spirit of Formula 1’s rules with controversial diffuser designs – and warned that his team may lodge an official protest at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix."
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=45259
Can someone explaing to me what the fuss is actually about?
Erm... that the Renault is ugly AND slow?
Just pointing out the obvious... :D
The article does, I think:
"Williams and Toyota raised eyebrows when they unveiled their 2009 cars, which use creative shaping of the rear crash structure to effectively extend the diffuser’s central section beyond the new 175mm height limit, thereby generating more rear downforce."
However, we all pretty much believe the fuss is really that he's annoyed did not think of it himself.
i'm also thinking, he's covering himself for the moment everybody finds out that revised renault engine is uber-drivable and super-fast.
other teams: "we can't believe we let you have a performance gain"
flav: "i can't believe you're all using illegal diffusers"
Hindsight is a great thing. Lets face it no one really knew they would have this sort of pace I doubt even they did.
Thanks, I saw it was Briatore complaining and just skimmed over the article.
Lee McKenzie Brawn GP video on the Beeb: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7941029.stm
I'm sitting at my desk...dressed as Arthur Dent....life is good...
pics?
Heh, good old flav.
Do you have a cup of tea?
probably not :P
i haven't taken any, but im sure im in some somewhere, will drop if i find any
Hi Sidepodcast,
What am i up-to this weekend? well i'm actually taking part in a race at the Silverstone circuit...a running race that is. It's the, Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon - and no, i will not have to qualify on Saturday; and no, i will not have to do an installation lap; and no, i won't have to do a lap of honor afterwards...so many jokes, so little time...
I will be on a no stop, lights to flags strategy - with a full fuel load of carbohydrate, etc...so many jokes so little time, etc... :)
S.
Wow, a female reporter who isn't flirting with Jenson! :)
do my eyes decieve me!?
:D
Quick hi to me and Christine. I have just seen our test page. I love it! .. and you both of course.
Thank you so much :D :D :D made my day so it has.
Massa on Brawn....
"What I can say for us (Ferrari) is that, if you took Brawn away, we are very competitive."
ahhhh. i just read your dent.
yell when the page is public and we'll plug it like crazy ;)
So, second fastest then? Who teaches these drivers to speak?!
Who would've thought we'd see that kind of statement back in the Schumi days, eh? :P As recently as 2006, this was next-to-impossible to even consider.
i thought jean todt already did that?
Cheers dank, great to see Brawn-F1 up and ready for it!
Lee McKenzie sounds like a bonny lass, so she does! ;)
Oh lord, not another one.
Ba-dum
Hey, you've got David Coulthard! ;)
After years of Louise Goodman, can you blame us? :-D
Good point.
I swear she had a thing going with DC and Jenson.....
All those weekends away...
Ha ha haaaa! :)
I wonder what she's going to be doing with herself for the next 8 months?
Going for long walks...feeding the ducks, etc...
She is most likely to be found at home, rocking away in her favourite chair, surrounded by a dozen or so cats.
I expect realistically to see her pop on BTCC coverage or something like that....
walls plastered with pictures of DC and Jenson, scowling every time Lee McKenzie comes on-screen.
Advertising Stanna Stair Lifts with June Whitfield...
Along with Carol Vorderman after she was replaced by that young version of her on countdown...
i cannot believe it. claire williams offered to chase jake around the a race circuit every race friday evening... and he declined!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2009/03/excitement_builds_as_season_ap.html
Hehe. I also like this bit:
Anyway, there have been stacks of people leaving messages along the lines of how excited they are about this. As much I'd love to believe it's all about the BBC, the departure of those untimely ads and the return of The Chain, it's obviously about much more than just that.
He's not normal!
maybe it's a blog entry for his wife?
- i'm going around the world
- i'm not running alongside fit women in the evenings
- i've bought a new laptop to talk to you
- i'm installing skype
either that or he's up for some panelling?
That's something that really surprised me. After all the griping about the commentary, ad breaks, bias etc. on ITV, it seemed that the single most important thing that the BBC had to do for their coverage was to bring back 'The Chain'.
Mind you, I shouldn't say too much more as 'The Chain' is my ringtone and alarm clock - and I was thinking about asking you if I could write a guest post about the song?
dummmm, dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dummmmmm, dummmm, dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dum dummmm
nuff said
Ok, i know every man and his dog worth their salt have seen this BBC trailer by now, but for those that haven't... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7911126.stm
Looks like an old Jordan and an old Minardy - and even an Ice Road Trucker gets in on the act!.
The start of The Chain at the end did start to awaken the F1 DNA that has been shackled deep down in my soul for the last few months...though. Just two-weeks to go! go! go!. Can't wait! :)
Maybe instead he wants DC and Jenson chasing him? :D
SidepodRumourmongers ;)
One of the first things I ever learned to play on bass :D
a controversial statement from top gear blog on the subject of mclaren's pace:
"...their times are also raising question marks about Lewis Hamilton’s ability to develop a brand new car. Last year he worked on tweaking the MP4-23 that Alonso had done such a good job of making fast the previous year in MP4-22 guise don’t forget."
that's not towing the bbc line at all is it?
a link would help:
http://sundayafternoonclub.blogs.topgear.com/2009/03/13/brawn-again/
NANGANANGANANGANANGA!
WAAAUUW-WAW, WA-WA-WA-WAAAUUW-WAW, WAAAUUW WAAAUUW WAAAUUW, WA-WA-WA-WAAAUUW WAAAUUW WAAAUUW WA-WA-WA-WAAAUUW
Sorry, you started it so I had to finish it :-D
Meh. Each to their own I guess. Pedalo does all of the grunt work anyway doesn't he???
I wonder what the relationship between Pedro and Lewis is nowadays? Pedro was always pretty pally with Fernando after all.
Ha, i was just about to put the link up myself. If you are Lewis Hamilton/McLaren fan - you better get down on your knees and pray that this is just extreme sandbagging by McLaren!.
This will make the smile on Alonso's face so big, that if he were a Mr Man...he would be, Mr smile :)
Bookies odds for Brawn Gp to win in Oz before the Barca test: 150/1
Odds now: 10/1
I am not looking at F1 info because that would be sick and wrong of me - I am not here and I'm not reading.
But the Brawn F1 thing made me remember something from SPC last season. Me said on the Austrialian Preview show something along the lines of, "perhaps what Super Aguri are doing is the greatest ever sandbagging effort of all time. Maybe they'll arrive in Melbourne and destroy the competition."
Perhaps Mr C had the wrong Japanese team and the wrong year displaying when he was looking into his crystal ball!
Anyway. See you on Sunday - I was never here!
He did, and I bet if it happens this year, he'll still find a way to say I told you so!! :)
That's just madness. Have the traders from the banks who got sacked started working in the betting industry or something?
:)
If i was a betting man, i'd quite happily take those odds.
I was just thinking about Jenson's win. Assuming that Brawn manage to reach as high as they did last year (which would be a very large improvement, not normally seen in F1), it would take an absolutely crazy race for them to win.
Add to that the odds of a new constructor winning their first race and it must be higher than 10/1???
Maybe Ross Brawn will bet the $40million TV money on his own team winning :)
That way he might win enough money to fund Brawn-F1 for another year...or maybe a long, long, fishing trip?.
Paddypower has Brawn GP to win constructors at 14-1, Jenson to win WDC at 12-1 and Barrichello 25-1.
In comparison, Vettel is 14-1 and Kovi 28-1
melbourne will likely be a crazy race.
will people please stop remembering things i said please!
I loved the interview Martin Whitmarsh gave.
Seems that he's been getting tips from Ron on how to speak like a git.
“In fact, it is that kind of resolute determination, coupled with expertise and experience of ultra-high technology and the ability to work accurately and quickly under pressure, that makes Formula 1 the great sport and the tremendous engineering challenge it is."
Also the term "Chassis-centric" made me giggle...
Hungary 2006 crazy or just the usual crazy? If we get Melbourne 2002 then all bets are off!!!
The odds list.
L Hamilton 3 - 1
K Raikkonen 4 - 1
F Massa 5 - 1
F Alonso 5 - 1
R Kubica 7 - 1
J Button 12 - 1
S Vettel 14 - 1
N Heidfeld 22 - 1
R Barrichello 25 - 1
H Kovalainen 28 - 1
M Webber 50 - 1
T Glock 80 - 1
J Trulli 80 - 1
N Rosberg 100 - 1
N Piquet 150 - 1
S Bourdais 200 - 1
S Buemi 250 - 1
K Nakajima 300 - 1
G Fisichella 300 - 1
A Sutil 300 - 1
At the begining of the winter, I would of taken those odds on Lewis... now. ehhh.
Here here you leave Ron well alone!!
I do love Ron, but he can be so... well, Ron sometimes.
In other news, Kovy's a porker:
http://www.f1complete.com/content/view/11729/900/
In a small room somewhere in Newcastle, a small boy lets out a minor grin at the news of McLaren not being quick enough.
Then the grin is demolished with the possibility of mind games at work
massa thinks they're slow too:
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/03/13/mclaren-a-long-way-behind-says-massa/
I do think McLaren are slow but heigh ho that's racing! Can't dominate everyone all the time...lol!
Now if only quick Nick can step up this year to fill the void for me!
renault adding real-time chat to their blog next week:
http://my.ing-renaultf1.com/en/blog/961-Your-new-companion-on-the-fan-site-.html
I remembersomebody talking about the old black and yellow livery of Renault a few days ago. Then I found this.
I like!
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/renault-what-if-jpg
Am in ultimate joy right now. My online team just got our first ever pole, and it was at the guys home race in Zandvoort. Get in!
Wow! Renault, like, totally get it! :)
I just went to look at some pictures of the Barcelona testing session and I'm surprised having to admit that the new look of most cars is starting to grow on me.
Granted, many changes have been made since we saw BMW, Ferrari and the likes debut their new cars, but still, I never thought they'd be able to make their cars look this good (relatively speaking).
I think the Brawn GP cars are the best looking cars on the grid by far. I also like the McLaren, the Williams and the Ferrari. Hate the Renault and the BMW though. Toyota look hideous from up front.
What do you guys think?
Ferrari - Alright
McLaren - Alright, not to keen on those arrows though, but mweh
BMW - Rubbish, too much white, throw some more blue on it.
Renault - Poor, too much white, bring back yellow and blue
Toyota - Not bad actually
Williams - Ruined a good testing livery by adding white
Toro Rosso - I love it
Red Bull - Ditto
Brawn GP - Rather dull, I knoe they dont have sponsors, but they could spice it up a bit
Force India - Better than last year at least.
My thoughts on the liveries.
I like all the new cars apart from the Ferrari
It looks stunning from a low side on kinda swerving round a corner style shot but seeing it front on it's horrid.
The best looking at the mo for me is probably the Red Bull
Ah, sorry, I wasn't talking about liveries. I meant chassis. The shape of the car :)
http://sundayafternoonclub.blogs.topgear.com/2009/03/13/top-gear-grand-prix-09/
anyone seen this?!?!?!?!
I know, I needed a place to moan. All I moan about is the livery, the chassis mean nowt to me.
Oh I see :D
Good idea RG!!
Ferrari - U G L Y you aint got no alibi, you ugly
McLaren - Thought it was the best until I saw those exhaust ducts,
BMW - Bland colouring, lovely body work shape
Renault - Apart from the nose I really like it this year
Toyota - Ugly head on but great otherwise
Williams - Why change the livery?!! It was perfect before (ie testing livery)
Toro Rosso - It's tasty
Red Bull - Fantastic looking car, great wings and sidepods. I don't usually like RBR but they got my vote this year (well if Webber manages not to whine as per usual)
Brawn GP - Reminds me of the cars they put in the background on the Official F1 website (the none team branded ones) - Needs colour to make a proper judgement but liking the body so far
Force India - A big step up, now it doesn't look like a poor mans McLaren
How anyone can like those two cars is beyond me :-P
You'd think it was more important then them actually showing the races, the way it's been reported!
agreed.
Woah! You don't hear that from a championship defending team very often!
Good god I'm bored today.
I've even going through all the really old rubbish on the sky box...
Oh joy - the other half is off to India tomorrow for 2 weeks.
Last minute business trip as the person who was going to go is ill.
Is Pizza for 2 weeks a healthy diet?
Just vary whats on it and thats perfectly healthy
I'm waiting on Catchphrase at 8.00!
There is a cute little dog here in South Africa that is all excited about Jenson Button and the new BRAWN GP she watched the entire video on the BBC site barking enthusiastically. Last year during GP time she was mostly found sulking in the kitchen cupboard under the sink (especially when Jenson's Honda went up in flames!)
Although my favourite teams are BMW and STR if BRAWN GP annihilated every other teams all through the season I would love it (and to know what Honda senior management made of it!)
They BRAWN may well be light and Macca sandbagging but one can only wish these tests are confirmed during the entire season with winning results. At least confidence has been restored for all at Brackley.
There's something else on at 8pm but I don't wanna go in another which sport is better row again ;)
footballs better than catchphrase?
It's not football.
That's good, but it's not the right answer.
Nothing is better than Catchphrase.
:D
Not even, Formula 1?
Only if Roy Walker was commentating.
that would never work.
if i have to say what i see, then i see a fast brawny and a slow macca. but that can't be the right answer because it's just wrong!
He would've been great with Murray...
"And it's Hill! No... it's Villeneuve going past in the Williams.
I'm sorry Murray but I'm going to have to take your first answer!"
I have know just got the Churchill advert.
Never seen Catchphrase in my life.
I know what ya mean Flibster. I trawl thru channel 442 on sky and record all the old GP's then watch them during the close season. yesterday during bout's of boredom I watched the whole of the 1973 F1 season.... ahh they were the days. Still got 74 to 80 to watch and thats before 29th March.
ESPN Classic = Best Channel Ever
You are missing out my friend.
really? i never heard a good thing about it. please do tell.
I don't know, just the fact that there is usually a lot of football matches and old stuff like that on it that I like to watch. Say the other week, managed to watch the 5-4 against Arsenal where I couldn't really anywhere else.
If you look at all the discussion when it was announced that BBC had done the deal two things were top of the list of wants by a long way. First The Chain and second Brundle.
When the green flag drops the bullsh*t stops. Until then I don't believe anything.
Normally full of football - but occasionally has Murray commentated F1 races from pre-1990 :D
Good looking cars and proper commentating.
Got a couple of Silverstone races to watch in there at the moment, one of which commentated by Jackie Stewart. :D
i would like it stated for the record that i'm not buying that mclaren are slow, or that brawny are fast. i may have to phone in my predictions to skype shortly ;)
I had a read of the new look Autosport and one thing made a bigger impression on me that anything else in the mag and it was not a good impression.
I have never heard of Ben Anderson and frankly if I never read anything else he writes I won't mind a bit. For some reason Autosport sent him to test an Aston Martin GT car. Not the Le Mans car which Tomas Enge completely trashed by crashing at Signes. Not a place to have a crash. Mr Anderson was sent to try out a GT car that looked like a normal Aston Martin. Normally I love articles like that where someone who is not a professional racer drives a car and gives you their impression of it. Unfortunately Ben seems to think he is 12 years old and his only frame of reference for Aston Martin is James Bond and Timothy Dalton's Bond at that. Who in their right mind would pick the awful Dalton? The first 6 or 7 paragraphs are filled with infantile Bond references. For all I know so is the rest of the article but I couldn;t force myself to read any further.
If Autosport wants to continue to be taken seriously I suggest they find an adult to edit Ben's further writings. or they could do the decent thing and fire him.
Just finished the last episode on the last disk of the last series of The West Wing. Been watching them fron thevery first episode as I'd never seen them before.
Awsome series. One of the best written and acted series I've seen in a very long time.
I was going to phone my predictions earlier in the week but unfortunately I haven't a clue what I think will happen.
congratulations my friend, great feeling isnt it!?
i watched it all the way through....loved it so much....i started it again....now im on series 5 of the second time round....
I was gonna joke and say 'Webber-Buemi-Fisichella' but now I don't know and that might be the truth.
Speaking off good TV series, does anyone here watch 30 Rock? Five USA are (finally) showing the second series at the moment, it's on tonight at 9.00 I think.
As for F1 predictions, I have never had less of an idea what is likely to happen than I do now. Pretty exciting really!
*places wallet back in pocket*
thank you.
Massa spills the beans:
"No one can do the same times (as Brawn GP). Everyone was using less fuel, not only them. But their times were much faster than those that anyone else could do."
He also said the following in regards to his own team:
"Before Barcelona we were one of the quickest on the circuit, we were very competitive, in the leading pack. Now we're competitive, but behind Brawn."
I'm sure Ferrari bosses won't be happy that he's so vocal about fuel loads. But then again it could be more of them mind games...
if that's true that will make my year! which after the stress that has been this friday 13th and so far January and Feb, would be an achievement.
Arrggghh! I didn't even realize. Now something's going to go wrong :)
It is looking good for them though isn't it?
The cherry on top would be if they have Wurz back as their tester. I have a man-crush on Wurz :D
That was only a page and a half of what was a generally good magazine. There are quite a few really good articles in it but right now the thing at the front of my mind is someons's 12 year old fantasy of bein Timothy Dalton.
There is a lot of man-love here tonight!
i refuse to celebrate, the most i'm allowing myself is a smile and a 'woot' cause it's just been 4 days of testing.... i'll believe it when i see them race/ quali.. :P
Can't go wrong with Chris Gunter, F1 wise, I do have a little one on Timo Glock.
eeekkk.... have just turned on the tv... he certainly made me smile. i'm liking the white suit :)
I think you can safely believe that they are going to have a far better season than the last two and they are going to be at worst around the bottom of the points places.
that would be amazing. i really can't wait till the 27th march, it's going to be such a great day.
Thats a Friday, and I think my day may consist of English, French and Science.
Shall we break out the Village People costumes?
On a more serious note: One thing of concern about Brawn though is that they were the only team using their OZ aero package in testing. The other teams will probably close the gap quick enough when they get their aero updates.
What would be your dream scenario for the race at Melbourne. Who would you love to do well .. or even, who wouldn't you be disappointed to see at the back of the pack?
Rubens 1st, Jenson 2nd, Alonso or Vettel 3rd :D
one can only hope...
Did you get your Science exam results today RG?
The less you remind people, the more they forget.
It can't come soon enough.
I didn't realise until today that the race doesn't start until 7 am this year. Half the excitement was always getting up at 5 in the morning for all the build up!
YMCA YMCA run! :)
Yeah. A and a B, which I'm happy with. A for core which was dead easy and B for the much harder additional.
it's the last day of term for us, plus i'm off to a history conference in london.
Well done you :D congratulations
Remind people of what?
New toilets at Donnington. Hurray! (The old ones were 'orrible)
http://www.donington-park.co.uk/files/pdf/toilet_blocks.pdf
I am sure there will be a Parade Lap show before the race.
We've got half of the week after as far as I'm aware
Thanks
I do love a good toilet based PDF.
I missed last year when I Sky+ the race and watched it as soon as I got up, that way you missed all the ads too.
Yep, we have arranged it for them. ;)
Just turn up two hours early and go on tangent after tangent.
well.... my amazingly unrealistic dream would be
1. Jenson
2. Alonso
3. Rubens
4. Vettel
5. Massa
6. Webber
7.Nico
8 Kimi
that's just off the top of my head though :)
Oh hello, F1.com site redesign. Mostly the same as before, just with added red.
Well done R.G that's awesome!!! Congrats
What a rubbish list. ;)
Oii!!! I thought that was not bad
Insert FIA and Ferrari joke here
Thanks lou
I mean not a single BMW driver. Just shocking. ;)
They're making it too easy for us now.
looks like an awesome picture behind it, i wish i could get it :D
oh god, they didn't even cross my mind....
*ducks*
A few too many gallerys perhaps?
1st - Jenson
2nd - Vettel
3rd - Kubica
I'd love those guys to have a three way battle for the championship.
Brawn 1-2! Brawn 1-2!
lol :)
1) Nicky
2) Robert
Everyone else to be involved in a start line crash starting with Hamilton slamming into Alonso, causing 11 cars to go into him. Then Jenson Button's engine goes (soz lou) with Massa spinning in the oil causing another pile up leaving only Nick and Robert finishing.
A great thing about a Melbourne 1-2 for Brawn would be they'd get more points in that one race than the entire past 2 seperate championships as Honda.
A Mercedes engine? Nooo...
Have they said when its from? Might be from 2006?
didnt see that one coming ;)
meh it will never happen. :)
All right, Glock third.
I agree with the sentiments echoing a Brawn 1-2, either driver winning would please me greatly. Vettel 3rd also. Buemi, Bourdais and Sutil to score points please.
Lou, Skype shortly?
am watching RND with rents. soz. :(
I'm doing the same. Robbie's doing a Little Britain sketch tonight : O
This outnumbered is pretty funny, never seen it before. BBC comedies are usually bit... meh but this is good!
I really hope Bourdais has a decent season, he deserved far better lest year.
It's my favourite comedy series!!
outnumbered is great :)
I know, might start watching it, but there is someone with a gooners top on.
it was going so well :D
Harry's impression of Deborah meaden is so insulting but brilliantly evil. Love it.
The dragon's den stuff in general is always great but I'm a fan of the show so it would be I suppose.
Won me back with Paul Whitehouse, Spurs fan y'see ;)
Reckon Lewis will pop up in a Comic Relief video anywhere? Can't beat charity for a bit of publicity, and Vodaphone never like to miss a bit of free advertising.
Outnumbered is worth watching. Those kids are so funny.
i think i read somewhere that the cast only actually have a few lines, the rest is improvised.
Won't doubt it.
Man love going Mr Tennants way :P
If thats the case, those kids are pretty damn talented
if that's true that's great especially for the kids although they surely have a few lines to work off. The main guy (forgot his name...)is a stand up comic though and brilliant on mock the week so i'm not surprised :D
Do you like/love Johnathan Ross?
Hugh Dennis, on the Now Show as well, brilliant.
i know it's wikipedia but - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outnumbered
just as i thought, it's semi improvised :)
I always thought it was very well scripted bt I guess with the limits on how long the kids can work that wouldn't be possible. Also the kids are not polished they come across as being natural.
Have tried to work out which bits are scripted and which are not before. Even if you know, it can be very hard to tell.
Little Britain
when are they going to just stop?
sadly, it doesnt look like soon
usually i like it, that was decidedly rubbish though
wow they are using lots of coldplay and sigur ros tonight. :)
was just thinking this. Hopeing for another certain band to pop up soon in the background ;)
Ah-ha. Comic Relief. Have I missed much?
Outnumbered = Brilliant.
Apart from a rubbish Little Britain sketch, been alreet.
you missed david tennant....
1 - Nick - OK I admit it the only driver I really have any sort of man-crush
2 - Rubens - to restore his confidence
3 - Jenson - my dog has a lady-crush on him
4 - DeSeb - he is a really good driver - also my second favourite driver
5 - Nico - to start the season good for Williams and my third favourite driver
6 - Timo - so everyone can forget Brazil - my fourth favourite driver
7 - Adrian - so FIF1 beats Macca - my fifth favourite driver
8 - Sébastien Buemi - to get points in his first F1 race
You see I have no bias toward German drivers!
Do you get them in lists and put them in orger?
David Tennant as Doctor Who or himself?
I guess the bits with the kids arguing with the parents is improvised and anything with ony adults is scripted but beyond that who knows.
himself. with the Scottish accent and everything :P
Himself, done well on Mastermind on Dr Who
I see.
he wasnt up against much! Davina was rubbish
What was her subject?
What a lot of drivel...
Comic Relief used to be funny....
Yes for my fantasy racers - my choice is based on pure emotion and sometimes who is the under-dog. Incidentally Jenson is sixth - just to show I have not totally excluded the Brits. That is as far as it goes I think - I guess Fernando could be seventh and Jarno eight. Lewis is bottom of the list - the rest unordered.
Big Brother! LOL
It's too planned now. They would be better going back to Lenny Henry, Griff Rhys-Jones and total chaos. TV presenters and actors are not funny. Comedians are. You would think Comic Relief could figure that out.
If they want a change let Frankie Boyle and Rhod Gilbert host it and give them a free reign. That would be funny. It may end up being taken off the air but it would be funny.
Maybe the after 10 one might work for that.
If it were a Brawn 1-2 I would celebrate hugely. I have really felt for the team and frankly Honda management - their heart might have been in the right place but nothing else was connected to it.
I sort of admire Felipe and Fernando for being so open it does show an element of yes they BRAWN GPare doing really well. I still think Macca are sandbagging. If they had big problems they would have done more laps to identify the problems.
They had to go mainstream otherwise they couldn't keep on beating last year's total.
From what i gathered from his gig i went to, Rhod seems pretty sensible, i say put Rhod and Michael McIntyre in charge :P that would be awesome. i missed the beginning... had Lenny been around yet?
At the start with an appeal
He will be later.
He's only appeared in the very first clip of the show being emotional when he was with a child blowing bubbles about next, cute little thing. But apart from that nope
ah cool :)
Add Marcus Brigstocke to that as well...
Joe Saward has some pics of the new proposed French GP circuit: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/new-french-gp-circuit-the-first-pix/
Are they sure that Tilke wasn't involved, looks awfully like a long straight followed by a tight corner
Also doesn't go over any bridges, what were they thinking?
Was expecting a loop the loop. am now bitterly disappointed.
:(
O_O
That's a big total and it's just 9:30pm...
Hang on... From £313k to £29 million?!
£9 million from sainsburys, 2 million from the mountain cliumbing thing
Where did the other 18million come from? Have I missed something?
313k was just from the BT tower
Where did you get 313k from?
Aaaah right...
Still, it's a hell of a lot for this early.
Oooh, a rant at the England football team, get in.
Who?
Every track needs a long straight followed by a tight corner. That is where overtaking happens. The long straight gives people a chance to catch up and the tight corner means a longer braking distance.
I've included my own ideas for the new france track
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/newfrance-jpg
The main pit straight now runs through old trafford, the first corner has been replaced, the next few corners now require the driver to drive through the lake, a loop the loop is on the back straight and after the corner after that, there is a jump through a flaming hoop and then the last few corners. an essential upgrade.
A flaming hoop is genius!
:D
So Man U are now becoming French or are you ground sharing with city.
Massa ain't gonna enjoy the lake (yeah, I said it)
The Glazers will sell the club to the GP organisers, you heard it here first ;)
If only Tilke was capable of that level of originalty.
Why are Comic Relief songs rubbish nowadays?
I liked the Proclaimers one, this one is distinctly, well, poor
Why does you name have a plus sign? ;)
Plus they aint showing it on the main show.
they need to show the news at one point ;)
I mean like last time they put into the main body, not the stuff on BBC2, and the time before.
did they have a top of the pops last time though? makes sense to include it in that.
I think they did the song on an episode of Gavin and Stacey, but that was embarrasing and I like Rob Brydon.
Dont think so.
It's some doohickey bug. I keep removing it but it keeps coming back.
Try leaving it. I had a plus that appeared for three comments earlier in the week then left of its own volition.
We can't seem to replicate so he's having trouble fixing it.
Might be for spaces in between names
i dont get it. i had it once but i removed it and its stayed away
Yup, but why? Why sometimes and not others? Why hasn't everyone with a space in their name had the same problem? We can't seem to narrow it down.
Does anyone find Noel Fielding funny or do you all think that you could never tire of punching him?
Pass
Exactly.
i like the Mighty Boosh, but not enjoying this as much
Hmm, strange innit.
He seems a bit out of his depth doesn't he? Julian would probably do a better job.
I can imagine a dartboard with me throwing, he'll be on the triple 19.
I liked him in the IT Crowd but that's about it.
Wasn't it the Top Gear version last time?
Wasnt that Sport Relief?
Where's Liam?
i think i prefered top gear version to be fair
Though I did enjoy Top Gear of the Pops
hahaha, i wondered when someone would ask that....Oasis are generally considered Noel on his own
Don't get me wrong, I don't miss him in the slightest!
They wrecked Steve Redgrave's garden for Sport Relief.
ah yes, what a comic hour that was
Agreed. :)
But we've already heard Take That, we don't need to suffer twice.
Take That...... playing instruments?
My mind has just blown.
Plus the 600 times they've used the same song in the background
And gary barlow, well, EVERYWHERE.
It looks like miming drums is as hard as it sounds! :)
Noel Fielding is great. I particularly like his character from the IT Crowd
He was well out of time at the start when he was only hitting two sticks together.
They can also stop with that X-Factor rip off titles as well
Have you seen Bono? :P
Nice to see a bit of Tony Ferrino and Bjork too :)
Mute button ftw!
He's on TV now. :D
But I can't reach my remote,
Is that Philip Schofield on Bass?
Now that is the height of laziness!
Anyone else wondering why they are playing on the Friday Night With Jonathan Ross stage?
Ah, the magic of television :)
I miss Steve Coogan's characters :(
I remember the sketch he did with alan patridge for either CR or Children in Need thatw as in the studio and the audiebnce weren't sure whether to laugh if it was real or not. Had simon pegg too if I remember rightly...
Take That is enough to stir me from my chair... to switch off the sound.
Cheers Mum, deathly silence
You could try chucking something at the tv. Depends how much you want THAT band to stop.
Yeah, SImon Pegg was being the guy who played the Milky Bar Kid but his life had gne downhill since the adverts stopped! Genius.
Me too, I recently found all his old videos - 3 Fights, 2 Weddings and a Funeral, The Man Who Thinks He's It, Tony Ferrino's Phenomenon etc.
I also have the Tony Ferrino album, which features the duet with Bjork.
Wonderful stuff.
Simon Pegg was part of his support cast for the "Man Who Thinks He's It" tour. He's on the video being told off by Coogan for being too funny.
Never heard this song. Sounds like the ideal song for James Blunt. Broken strings.
All I can here is the downstairs television and wailing sounds.
I remember that Steve Coogan one. It was great.
Bring back The Stonk! :D
I never realised I could find the mute buttin in under 2 seconds by touch alone
Is Top of the Pops over now? Can I stop cringing at the dross? *un-mutes* No, hasn't stopped yet.
Top gear shuttle why?
Well, my ears just exploded.
Lucky you.
Oh great...
Very odd.
Just waiting for the eyes to go
What the f.....?
Am I hearing the chorus right or is my caffine wrecked brain making things up?
It's nearly over...
I can't see anything, my room is dark and all I can here is torture
Dawn French gyrating should do the trick....
Apparently this is what the youuff is listening to today :P
Stonk was OK, at least it was a proper song. The only really good Comic Relief songs are Living Doll, Help!, and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.
The Peter Kay one was pretty good too, but wasn't an official song.
My do I feel sorry for us
Hands up who flicked between channels to see if they were on both...
*raises hand, slooooowly"
Yeah, this modern music is rubbish, you can hear the words and the tunes are nice.
Finally, The Apprentice. This is the main reason why I've watched
I just turned the telly on to see how it was going this year. Saw that, and they announced Alan Carr. My TV is now off again.
Did she just say Fern Britton and Alan Carr??
I went back to Black Hawk Down.
At least Ewan McGregors american accent is funny. :D
Alan Carr? Where's Schofield?!
I liked that! In my defence, I was about 10.
On a non-Comic Relief note( or maybe it is), which of these 2 tracks do you think is better/the least bad?
Estoril or Buenos-Ares.
I vote Estoril, I actually like the track. It had that awkward uphill bit, liked that.
Detest Buenothing.
Never heard of em. In my defence, I was about -3
What did I miss on TOTP then? All the usual mainstream pop crap or anything decent?
Theyre the same track damnit!
*snarls*
Estoril but I've only seen recent MotoGP and touring car races on it.
I probably did see 90s F1 races on it but I've forgotten them.
Did Estoril inspire Catalunya?
Estoril was a good track. Popular with fans, drivers etc.
I can't picture the BA circuit which probably says how good it was.
hehe i turned the TV on mute when she came on :) lol
Estoril is in Portugal and BA is in Argentina.
The circuit maps used to look identical before they started tweaking Barcelona.
No no no I know that, they just seem so similar in my opinion. Same with catalunya.
okay, no idea if this is just me but sometimes the doohickey doesn't seem to show the new comments but sometimes it does :s
very occationally, but a refresh and its all good again
The Apprentice! About time.
Which doohickey?
Here here!
Estoril - I went to my first GP there. :D
I've just noticed that Sir Alan's receptionist no longer has an Amstrad eMailer on her desk, just a regular phone.
I bet she's relieved about that. What a piece of cack they were.
I prefer BA, good memories from an old F1 game :)
we had one of those... it was given to us. we had it for about 3 months before we 'accidentally' broke it.
He sold Amstrad
Probably because he's not involved with Amstrad anymore.
There was talk of a track being built at EuroDisney but I don’t think it was ever built. {Comment #18}
I believe money and politics were responsible for EuroDisney not getting an F1 track.
All quiet today. Just discussing the fact I forgot it was Red Nose Day.
My local Sainsbury's ran out of Red Noses yesterday. Luckily I found one somewhere else...
Shame - it would have given us a reason to go past the FIA trailer singing M - I - C - K - E - Y M - O - U - S - E. ;)
Of course.
Has anyone seen the new calendar feature BBC F1 are testing? One click and it downloads all the race weekend info to iCal or Outlook. Pretty cool.
that's rather cool. wish i'd known they were gonna do that before i typed it all in the other day...
Except we already have the dates...
*cough*
http://www.f1minute.com/f1-calendar/
as you were.
lol i've already added that to my google calender ;) , i've no idea how i would have got it from google calender to outlook on the desktop computer though. so i just quickly typed it all up... there prob is a way but i wasn't thinking at the time.
is rg still around? only we're looking into the solving the mixer situation at the moment (essentially by throwing the credit card at the problem).
if we sorted audio by sunday, would you be up for hosting a panel?
you can just export in ical format and import into outlook.
I see from the wiki Jackie's name has disappeared from the list of panellists.
well it's done now ;)
Sunday, check my diary, i have spurs v villa pencilled in at 4pm, should finish by 6ish. Start at 7 yeah, yeah sure.
41 million so far!
Blimey!
cheers sir. will confirm tomorrow evening. may have to do a test broadcast too.
By the way, the Office the Opera is a real project for Comic Relief
Tell ya something, can't wait for the Digest Season Preview.
http://drop.io/download/49baee6e/e382bc4d735b1d6cda40cb4de24058642d702989/d0ba0b70-f3bc-012a-2186-0012799407ec/e20c0130-f255-012b-d430-f6425b268058/00001_large.jpg
beaaaaaaaaautiful picture :D
she be busy working on it.
cant help but think of feeling good looking at that...
it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life, for brawn... and they're feeling gooood
'cept for the yellow.
i'll be on me way now.
perfect :)
something tells me we have a few more brawn gp fans around these parts now :P
you'll get used to it. it's not as bad as Renault's livery.
Hi from a train going 180km/h home from poker night. Was good fun but lost about £15 :-(
How has your night been? Any news?
I still dont get why they chose fluorescent yellow, I mean really of all the yellows they went for that!
well if it were any other yellow would everyone talking about it as much? ;)
fastest live commenting, ever?
maybe not, but i'd be complimenting it more ;)
That is going to be seen a challenge by some people.
Just realised what the date is tomorrow...
March 14th.... Male version of Valentines day. ;) I have steak in the fridge too!
bassano is the highest commenter right? do we have any other records?
I think Lou could beat Bassano's record if Buton wins a race this season.
i'm sure Brawn wouldn't leave it like that... maybe they are gonna add stuff to it throughout the year?
:D hehe you mean Button :P and yes i certainly will :D
He was going so fast his t's got squished together.
:D
What was left at the back of the paint cupboard?
i'm thinking there would be lots of white, some red, green, and blue.... not sure about highlighter yellow though :)
Maybe they over ordered on office supplies?
They drained 600 highlighters for the ink.
maybe they were planning on having an all black and white livery but someone's kid was playing around with highlighters near a sketch of it? :P
I've set a record, I'd never even thought about that
Woo hoo!
I reckon it was just jenson getting ecxited by the news
Just returned from Watchmen which was most excellent btw
Maybe they painted it that colour to hide the flo-vis ;-)
Ive read it appeals more to fans of the book than new ones
Also Alianora just won Monaco '86 in her Minardi, after leading 32 laps. They're currently 4th in the WCC. If I sound less than enthused, it was because I led 35 other laps and finished 2nd. And that was my home race!
Great performance from Alianora.
I need to find a different strategy somewhere. I won the first race and since then I have had good pace but whatever strategy I try I don't get the most out of the car.
I could kinda see that but would still recommend it.
Not your run-of-the-mill comic to screen adaptation
I've read the book and watched the film and minus the ending, the adaptation is fantastic. Follows it very well and I personally think the film ending is better but thats down to personal opinion.
Alan Moore still won't like it though.
I also think it is a very good adaptation. I had a problem with the look of Veidt but other than that I thought the movie was a visually perfect match to the book. I am also happy with the ending as it works well and is more plausible than the one in the book.
Why are Comic Relief songs rubbish nowadays? Comment #282}
Unfortunately the rest of the mainstream music industry has turned rubbish in the last year or so as well. And then they wonder why the music industry is in turmoil...
Also Alianora just won Monaco ‘86 in her Minardi, after leading 32 laps. They’re currently 4th in the WCC. {Comment #432}
I was amazed to see this. The first win I ever had was account-sitting a 2006 game at Monaco, but there were only 9 other competitors then and I was leading at the end of lap 1 by dint of a fairly odd strategy. I'm not sure what I did to get this win, though.
In the last year? It's been rubbish for longer than that.
It has been rubbish for as long as I can remember. Even in the mid 90s when I liked it I didn't really like it and wished I'd heard of other stuff... nowadays I wish I'd found it earlier.
Actually the last year hasn't been all that bad in comparison.
i'm off to bed now. night all x
Around about 2000 was the worst I've known it, certainly on radio.
Night
Night Lou.
Night Lou
Night Lou.
I am home now and in my PJ's just decompressing and hydrating before sleep (so I am not so hungover later when wifey wakes me up to drag me to the shops...)
Now be nice....
Tenuously related topic... just wandering aimlessly around Last.fm and ended up on the Sidepodcast group. Our combined music taste isn't TOO bad, particularly once you expand past top ten...
Re: Mclaren and the sandbagging/problem car issue:
I've just been told about this link on the newsgroup rec.autos.sport.f1 that also claims that Mclaren are having car troubles as they have lost a lot of technical staff (ironically to Gonda).
The article also speculates that the major reason why Brawn is so fast and Gonda was so slow was that the Japanese part of the equation were mismanaging their part. He gives a specific example which is quite shocking if indeed true.
I'm not sure if this person is telling the truth or not - in fact I kinda hope it's all a lie as it all sounds ludicrous. But anyway, it's well worth a read...
if i can make it past the offensive abbreviations, i don't understand how anyone can swap the pin-outs on a standard ecu? if they did, it wouldn't be standard. unless the chap is delving deep into the archives for that one?
it's tough to believe, but we do know mclaren have spent an awful lot of time going in a straight line. so maybe there's something in it.
The guy hasn't a clue. Honda are competitive because the Japanese have left? So the car was no good 3 months ago now it is the best car on the grid. The only thing that has changed in that time is the engine and nothing to do with the management of the company.
As for Newey not being at McLaren. Last year's car was pretty good and so was the one before that.
The one before that was the one that was during 'Spygate' though...
Yeah sorry about that - I assumed by stating it was r.a.s.f1 you guys would know it would have been a bit on the crass side (it goes with the territory I am afraid).
If you follow the thread, he did post before Mclaren officially announced that they were having difficulties - but that may just be a coincidence...
Fair point - but I read somewhere today the difference between the Gonda and Merc is about 70hp!
But I think the issue here is how the Japs were running things on their end. So even if they did have a quick car this year, if the Japs were around, it would be nowhere near as good, because the way the Japs were running it, it wouldn't be able to maximize its potential.
haven't read a newsgroup for about 10 years. had no idea they still existed?
I have seen a couple of figures quoted but there does seem to be a substantial difference but that is an engine development problem not a management one. Bear in mind that the only reason they probably didn't know the engine was so bad was because they had so many aero problems that they didn't have a baseline.
Only using stuff like google. Content is poor, language is bad and flamings, abuse and spam run rampant.
The only good newsgroup I belong to is a private F1 newsgroup, in fact!
Mind you, didn't Honda get their guy from MotoGP to design the car?
:waves:
i'll stick with doohickey.
Hi Pat ;-)
I stopped following RASF1 about 2 years ago when OE didn't like storing the messages any more. Google Groups is too unwieldy for me.
Sounds like he developed the engine too - used a couple of bike blocks and fused them together?
I agree but he is suggesting that because the Japanese have left the team has somehow found all this performance. Bear in mind Button signed a 3 year contract with Honda a few weeks before Honda announced their pull out so until then which was well after the design was signed off everything was being run to the Japanese model. In effect the Japanese produced this car.
I can't even get a working news server to run on OE - haven't been able to for a few years, in fact :-(
Never really paid any attention to them.
I disagree. Ross Brawn oversaw this car - that's why Honda hired him to start with.
I don't think ISPs are really supporting them any more.
And now OE is gone and we've got this useless Windows Live. OE was bad, this is worse, and no I don't like Thunderbird.
Yes he quit earlier this year and made some really stupid comment along the lines that he did not understand aerodynamics or something similar.
That's so 90s!
With Japanese management and a lot of input from their techs...
gmail?
That's how they made the Honda F1 engine in the 60s.
You can't add a newsgroup server to gmail.
point taken :)
That's a very good point - the people he chastises for bad management effectively designed and built this car. I would think of the BGP001 as the 'Toro Rosso' and Gonda's original 2009 car was the 'Red Bull' (If that makes sense at 3.30am :-) )
Therefore a Japanese pullout would have zero effect on the car - so why did they pull out if the car they made is so good?
I'll never understand Gonda's racing philosophies I guess!
I think the Japs let him do his own thing. Ross would listen to who is worth listening to.
Their techs? But most of their techs weren't Japs - they were those based at Brackley. Which leads to my point - the guys who did the actual work were actually pretty good. The problem lay with the guys who were setting the technical direction - the Japs, most notably the guy that came from MotoGP.
My point is that the guy who wrote the original comment said that the car was competitive because the Japs had pulled out. My point is they were still running the show. Brawn may be responsible for the design but the fact is the Japanese management was still in place and had they stayed the chassis/aero would be just as competitive.
I was under the impression there's a big Honda research centre in Japan which was also in play.
I think that was for the engine though...?
Point taken. But somehow, I really do think that they wouldn't be this good had the Japanese stayed. I can't put my finger down how exactly that would happen.
I'm sure they did aero work, wind tunnel work.
They pulled out for global business reasons. To them F1 is an advertising program and effectively they have slashed their advertising budget because they know sales are going to be low.
To us competitiveness in F1 matters. To them the millions of dollars they save go straight to their bottom line.
But had Honda 2009 been successful, they would've sold more cars. So wouldn't that affect their bottom line too?
Then again, they'd have to consider if the increased sales were enough to offset the cost.
Just like Ford's pullout at the end of 2004 - blame the accountants!
A lot of the research is done in Japan. Honda have always used that centre to train people for their road car operation in the ways of F1. That is the reason Honda were running wind tunnel tests in Japan.
right now, cutting costs will sell cars, and nothing else.
So what did Brackley do then?
Cutting costs will improve your profit, but that won't change your revenue any. You'd just sell the same number of cars. I'd even argue to a certain extent that due to the pull-out from F1, they'd sell less cars.
The way the global economy is they have to cut costs. They have the choice of pouring a few hundred million dollars into an F1 team or using that same money to pay salaries so they can hang on to the people they will need when the car market picks up. They can use the money for maintenance or upgrades on their car plants while they have downtime. Making changes to a plant when it is running is near impossible and while they didn't want the downtime they have to use it and to use it they have to find a budget when they are making a loss and expect to continue making a loss.
the problem honda have right now, is not to do with revenue specifically.
they have literally made too many cars and have no room nor reason to make any more.
they just need to start shifting them.
More of the same and all the building of cars.
The reason Honda spent so much money was partly due to duplication.
That's really dumb. Why would you have two design centres? That would lead to so many conflicts and duplication the team would never move forwards!
Clearly they did move forward. But it is not a great plan.
After moving a long way backwards though. Maybe Brawn brought with him some coherence and structure that was followed a lot better than the previous philosophies?
It is alledged that they made too many with the steering wheel on the wrong side (left).
oops!
I am sure Brawn has made a lot of changes and put them straight on a few things. He knows how to put systems in place to do things efficiently.
He is also a very good designer and that is something he doesn't get credit for. He designed the Group C Jaguar that killed Group C because it was so advanced. Group C cars provided great sportscar racing for more than a decade and was incredibly strong and he killed it with one design. He also designed bits for Ferrari when their designers were overloaded.
Surely the majority of markets sit on the wrong side of the car so that should be a good thing?
what do you think luca makes of the 001's pace?
Which Jaguar was this? I thought the Peugeot 905 that dominated from 91-93 killed off Group C racing?
The Japanese drive on the same side as the UK so they won't be able to fob them off there :-(
I can't remember the number but he basically designed it as an F1 car and it meant that for anyone to build a competitive car required a lot of work and money whereas before they could buy a Porsche 956/962 and be instantly competitive if they put good drivers in the car. Peugeot were prepared to pay to play but Brawn delivered the fatal blow.
I was thinking of the rest of Europe. Presumably they haven't made British spec cars in left hand drive.
I think Honda may make some cars to UK spec and some to EU spec.
This one - the Jaguar XJR-14?
To be fair, it wasn't THE reason Group C was killed off but you are right in using it as a prime example of why Group C died off so fast...
Not if most of them were destined for the US.
Just realised the time, night all. Work later :S
night andy.
i may sleep too.
Sounds like a plan. Night all :-)
Night.