Thursday, July 30, 2009

Massa Will Race Again!

Felipe Massa's doctor, Dino Altmann, affirmed his believe that Mass will race again.
“I have no doubt Felipe will race again,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’m sure of that. The situation is still delicate, but I believe his life is not in danger anymore. From the beginning I felt that the trauma wasn’t as extended as it was believed, but the improvements of the last hours have gone beyond our wildest expectations.”

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Michael Schumacher to Return to F1!

Ferrari issued a statement today that Michael Schumacher will return to the team to replace the injured Felipe Massa.
Schumacher was quoted as saying: “The most important thing first: thank God, all news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again,” said Schumacher. “I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo, and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe.
“Though it is true that the chapter of Formula 1 has been completely closed for me for a long time, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.”
Massa is expected to return at least by next season, according to sources.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Wendelin Wiedeking Toppled as Porsche CEO

From The London Times Today at 00:45
"Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car manufacturer, is set to fold Porsche into its expanding empire after toppling Wendelin Wiedeking, Germany’s highest-paid executive, from the helm of the sports car company yesterday.
Mr Wiedeking, who leaves with a €50 million (£43 million) payoff, told Porsche workers in an emotional farewell that he had fought to the last for the company’s independence. Uwe Hueck, head of Porsche’s works council, said: “They treated you as if it were a public execution.” The crowd roared its approval when Mr Hueck promised to launch a “galactic battle” against VW if the company tried to cut jobs.
The battle metaphors were appropriate: the ousting of Mr Wiedeking and the inevitable takeover by VW spells the end of a fierce power struggle not only between giant and tiny carmakers, but also between feuding strands of the Porsche family.
Mr Wiedeking built a 51 per cent holding in VW last year and had obtained options for another 20 per cent of stock. The aim was to secure such a thumping majority that it could not only transform what he saw as the sleepy VW management ethic, but also gain access to its cash reserves.
However, Porsche overreached itself and became saddled with €9 billion of debt. VW, under Ferdinand Piech, its supervisory board chairman,moved swiftly to mount a reverse bid.
Mr Piech, 72, is the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, who designed the VW Beetle and established the sports car company that bears his name. For Mr Piech, the bid answered the question of what mattered most: the continued independence of his grandfather’s once highly profitable, but now debt-heavy company with its racy 911 Carreras, or the sacrifice of some entrepreneurial freedom in return for the financial security of belonging to the VW group.
One industry analyst said: “Piech had to decide three things: what was best for Porsche’s survival — after all he also sits on the Porsche board, as a family member, he’s not just a VW man; what was best for his grandfather’s historical legacy; and what was best for his own legacy.” In the end, it seems that Porsche will become one of VW’s ten marques, alongside the likes of Audi and Bugatti, with some autonomy. Most experts see that as a clear victory for Mr Piech."

Best Comment About Racing in 2009

This comment was made by David Malsher, an editor for RACER.com, about the Indy Car Series but can apply to NASCAR, and to some degree, F1 as well.
" To my mind, these underperforming ICS teams have a choice. They can either continue making internal changes that are merely swapping like with like (which, over time, looks increasingly like rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic), and then spend 2010 wondering why they’re flatlining."

Monday, July 20, 2009

Henry Surtees Dies

Henry Surtess, son if former Motorcycle and F1 Champion Sir John Surtees was killed in a tragic Formula 2 crash at Brands Hatch Sunday morning.
The 18 year old was proving to be a fast and competitive driver and it is because of an apparently needless accident that he died. A wheel came off another car after a crash, which with the safety rules tethering wheels to the suspension, should not have happened.
Our condolences go out to the Surtees family.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

FOTA Press Release Today - The War is On Again!

Date:
8 July, 2009

Representatives of all FOTA teams attended a meeting of the Sporting Working Group at the Nürburgring today.

During the course of this meeting, the team managers were informed by Mr Charlie Whiting of the FIA that, contrary to previous agreements, the eight FOTA teams are not currently entered into the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and have no voting rights in relation to the technical and sporting regulations thereof.

It will be remembered that all eight active FOTA members were included on the “accepted” entry list as endorsed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and communicated by FIA press statement on June 24.

In light of these claims, the FOTA representatives requested a postponement of today’s meetings. This was rejected on the grounds that no new Concorde Agreement would be permitted before a unanimous approval of the 2010 regulations was achieved.

However, it is clear to the FOTA teams that the basis of the 2010 technical and sporting regulations was already established in Paris.

As endorsed by the WMSC and clearly stated in the FIA press statement of 24 June “the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April 2009”. At no point in the Paris discussions was any requirement for unanimous agreement on regulations change expressed. To subsequently go against the will of the WMSC and the detail of the Paris agreement puts the future of Formula 1 in jeopardy.

As a result of these statements, the FOTA representatives at the subsequent Technical Working Group were not able to exercise their rights and therefore had no option other than to terminate their participation.

The FOTA members undertook the Paris agreement and the subsequent discussions in good faith and with a desire to engage with all new and existing teams on the future of Formula One.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

A Federal Court in Charlotte, NC ruled in favor of Jeremy Mayfield, yesterday. He is now able to race in NASCAR sanctioned races after NASCAR, based on a questionable drug test, suspended him indefinitely. Mayfield had said the a combination of over the counter drugs had contributed to the blood test indicating methamphetamine use. This was backed by some physicians.
"In the court filings, Judge Graham Mullen said that the financial harm to done to Mayfield preventing him from racing, substantially outweighs the potential harm to NASCAR.
NASCAR officials stood by their arguments while respecting the court ruling. However, they plan to continue to fight Mayfield’s case in the courts." (RACER.com)
If this ruling stands NASCAR needs to rethink it's drug testing program to make sure of it's accuracy before ruling against a driver or crew member and ruining their personal and business lives.