An iconically named leader?
Whale Im really surprised that NOBODY has latched onto the fact that the man tabbed to oversee the Indy Cars ICONIC Board slated to select the leagues new 2012 chassis is some retired General Named Looney… As in LOONEY TUNES! Or is that just me? Hmm? Perhaps everybody is afraid of having to drop N do twenty push-ups, eh?
And the rest of the selection committee, after General William R. Looney III and Gil De Ferran had been named are a most interesting bunch, especially the ex-Ford/Jaguar connection… As Brian Braveheart, a.k.a. THE I.H.J. nee Brian Barnhart was added, along with Tony Purnell, Neil Ressler, Tony Cotman, Eddie The Goose Gossage and Rick Long. To read more about each of these participants, click here.
Meanwhile I suppose Id better drop N give Ol Gen. Looney III 20 push-ups on the double, eh?
Joe ‘N the Volcano
At least I think thats what that really Schnazy Volcano amusement thingy in Los Wages is called? (Las Vegas) Anyways today has been utterly chaotic for your Humble Scribe… But in a GOOD way!
Originally I was slated to leave for Sweden via Iceland bright N early Monday morning… And in case youve been indoors or in a Cave like Mwah… Then perhaps you havent heard bout some lil Seismic action occurring in Iceland recently? As in a FREAKIN Volcano erupted (again) for the second time in a month on Wednesday night; CRIKEYS!
Being that a total of 17,000 flights were GROUNDED yesterday… And Im assuming that the Airports N Airspaces will become utterly chaotic whenever flight travel is resumed… Then I just didnt wanna Roll the Bones for the moment, thus having deferred my travel dates…
So I spent the whole morning coordinating the rescheduling of my much anticipated Holiday and havent even caught my breath yet to watch the taped recording of last nights Formula 1 Qualifying from Shanghai, and will try relaxin a bit by hopefully listening to the Indy Car Qualie session provided I can get the IndyCar.com stream to cooperate, eh? Then Ill watch the F1 action Just-in-Time to get ready to tape the Race tonight; Blah-blah-blah!
Thus Im sorry for the lack of F1/IndyCar coverage, while Ill be raising a RedHook IPA or 3 to the Hundreds of Thousands stranded Abroad in what must truly be a NIGHTMARE!
So why does that long, long, long ago TV Show Hill Street Blues spring to mind when the Sergeant tells everybody Lets be Safe out there Today, Yuhs here!
Longing for the Beach
Which is where I wanted to stick IndyCar.Coms NEVER ending CRAPY internets stream, as may be a crab or Geo-Duck would drag it away into the Surf and put it OUT of its misery!
But, nevertheless I made it thru the PAINS of listening to another Indy Car Qualifying session via le internets… And NOPE Folks! Its ONLY INdyCar.Com that I have the ever-continuing Problemas with… As I tuned in at 2:25PM Pacific and was amazed to get a connection, but I was already worried as it cut out 3-Times before the screen went blank… So I refreshed it and got a momentary dose O Mike Yippee Kai Eh! King fillin time with Mark James before the CRAPY internets stream went TITS UP! SHEISA!!! As it went completely blank with an internet error screen…
As I had to power down… Pun intended? And then reboot the MUTHER and decided to do it the HARD way N log onto IndyCar.Com and go thru the myriad O Painful screens which Im getting really used duh, eh? So what gives Indy Car? I mean did Mr. Belskis cut corners on this service too? As in this is the ONLY internets site I have a reoccurring issue of NOT working with EVERY time I tune into a Broadcast, having LOST the connection 2.5 times today, but I digress…
Sure was nice to hear them talk up the Swiss Miss, nee Simona De Silvestro over You-know-who! As although simona just missed out on advancing to Round 2 as she was in on her final lap before Marco bumped her… De Silvestro will roll off P13 while Danna-Who? Is back in Row 10 with Taku-san; YEE-HAW!
Most impressive had to be TAG, who was running with a very sore left wrist as apparently he got his thumb caught in the paddle shifter during an incident during Friday practice and it was quite swollen with the FAZZT Race Team being worried bout possible Tendon damage, as Tagliani will start 7th tomorrow!
And amazing! NO TCGR Boyz in the Fast Six Final Qualifying session today… With YAWN! Three Peskies, Two Andretti Autosports and D & Rs BIG UNIT Justin Wilson being the lone interloper, eh?
Almost woulda been too scripted if Ryan The IZOD Dude Hunter-Reay coulda miraculously pipped Will Power for Pole, BUTT! Powers simply TOO DAMN FAST! Taking his third Pole Position in-a-row, with Wilson 3rd, Hulio P4 and TK, nee Tony Kanaan N Ryan Briscoe rounding out the Top-6.
And now Im gonna try watchin F1 Qualifying…
More Lotus fodder
Just finished watching last nights Shanghai Formula 1 Practice 2 TV coverage where SPEEDs Bob Varsha decided to bust out the trivial info of having seen it somewhere… (On le internets?) That this weekends Long Beach Grand Prix Indy Car action just happens to coincide with the 33rd Anniversary of some Cat named Mario Andretti winning the Formula Ones 77 USGP West held at Long Beach, CA aboard his Lotus 78-Ford.
David Hobbs noted how a Juan Mr. Rufus Parnelli Jones will be the man O honour this year in some sorta celebratory occasion of which Dan Gurney was the honoree last year and that others such as Brian Redman and Bobby Rahal amongst others should be on hand participating.
Actually the date was April 3, 1977 when Mario took the chequered flag ahead of that years title winner Niki Lauda, as Andrettis victory would be the first of his four that year: Long Beach, Spain, France and Monza, Italy, while his lesser known teammate, the late Swede Gunnar Nilsson scored his lone F1 victory at the rain soaked Belgian GP at Zolder…
Where Art Thou George?
Hence, I thought of Ol George Harrison a few dayzes earlier this week and thought it a perfect metaphor to scribble bout… As after all in his later life Messer Harrison was known to frequent the Formula 1 Paddock and even Chum about with his new found pal EJ, Yall know that plucky Irishman named Eddie Jordan… Who will always have a place in my Memorex for being a very colourful character in F1, a la Flavour Flav… Except NOT in the same BAD way as his Royal Highness FB, nee Flavio Briatore… Even if their fates were somewhat intertwined over the career path of a one Mr. Michael Schumacher, eh?
Yet, perhaps Ol EJ will dust off his Drum Kit N play a rousing rendition of Georges Taxman Song amongst other Dities the Boyz used to jam to while Harrisons GeeTar continues weeping…
RO-RO! Another Fenderlandz rant
Yeah, and I AINT even guzzlin Nyquil… But, Im still fighting this FREAKIN Cold, although Im going on Holiday next week NO matter what; Yuhs hears FRILLIN Cold…
So todays rant includes just a very fast look at a few Tin top developments of note, even if Ive never been exactly enamoured by Ol DC who I used to call SquareJaw. Amongst other not so PG rated thingys… As I suppose its silly to need to have villains in motor racing, eh?
Coulthard to DTM
In case you havent heard, Scottish ex-Formula 1 Piloto David Coulthard has agreed to compete in this years Deutch Touren Meisters (DTM) series as a Mercedes Benz competitor. Ol DC will begin his Tin Top adventure at the upcoming Hockenheimring event behind the wheel of a 2008 Spec Merc along with keeping his day job as an F1 Commentator for the BBC as his racing wont interfere with this.
Grand Am to Hookup with DTM?
Interestingly during the Last Lap segment of the Speed Report, (TSR) it noted that reportedly the Grand Am Officials had flown Across-the-Pond to discuss a possible rules sharing package with the DTM? Which Im guessing would be sorta like how the American le Mans Series runs off of the ACOs rules for the 24 Heurs du Mans. As wouldnt that be entertaining to see those silhouette Merc Door Bangers bouncing around Day-Toner…
Thunder Down Under
Marc of Full Throttle has been covering the Mega SuperStarz gala entry list for the upcoming SuperCarnivul race at Surfers Paradise later this year, as the V8 Supercars take over the abruptly dropped Indy Car event which is a real fan favourite… (Not to mention how much the Sheilas like it, eh?) Thus in order to spice up the show, Organizers have made it into a SuperStarz showdown with the likes of Chip Ganassis IndyCar Boyz, Team Penskes Aussie Twins, etc. Check it out here; SuperCarnivul update
WARNING: nofenders.net to Blackout?
Without going into the long winded rant I wrote about this story for future posting, It has been brought to my attention upon spending the morning discussing the travails of my current Vurd Butchering… That perhaps Id better warn my loyal No Fenders.net readers of a massive change that is most likely set to impact my site in the very near future…
Since beginning this blog in ZeppTember (September) of Twenty-Oh-Six, (2006) I have been publishing my racing stories thru the Blogger.Com blog platform which is owned by Google. Unfortunately it is an OLD style FTP blog which Google/Blogger.Com will NO longer be supporting as of Saturday, May 1, 2010.
Thus at the moment, I do NOT know how my dedicated Blogmeister Miguel will be able to rectify this matter? Or what the final impact outcome will be? As were hoping to continue on bringing you the latest happenings of the Motorsports Vurld via the internet Custom Domain of nofenders.net…
You can follow-up the latest developments at my other temporary address: www.nofenders.wordpress.com
If you wish to read some of the Techno-babble over what this FTP NIGHTMARE is all about, click here. And fear not, I will continue to scribble bout Motorsports until the impending Blackout deadline and beyond.
Thank you for your continued interest and support… And now back to my latest Motorsports scribblings, with more to follow; obviously!
Tomaso
Fernando’s Rotten Egg
Whale I must say that I joyously shouted out loud when Fredrico Suave, a.k.a. Fernando Alonso DONE BLOWN UP! With just two laps remaining in todays overly intense Malaysian GP… As he was doing a masterful job of driving around a muddled Gearbox which I must say sounded quite nasty…
And although I mused to myself how this seemingly put Ferdi into the annals of Schumacher lore; recall Michaels amazing drive in the Benetton way back in 1994 at the Spanish Grand Prix, when being stuck in 5th gear for the majority of the event, nevertheless the German brought his stricken ride home runner-up behind Arch-nemesis Damon Hill…
And thats the difference folks, as Michael preserved his equipment and finished the race, whilst Alonso thrashed his unnecessarily trying to beat JENSE in his rivals Team McLaren over a lowly eighth place… Hmm? Is Alonso still reeling over his troubles of driving at McLaren? Hence Alonso was classified 13th and Ill be most intrigued to see if Fredrico loses the Crown by a scant two points, which he would have scored by finishing in P9…
Winging it in KL
So Im feeling a bit like being in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, albeit not quite the downpour, but very windy nonetheless… As I find it somewhat bemusing how everybody; including the FIA knows that it RAINS every day in Malaysia at almost exactly the same time every afternoon, when guess what? Thats right in the midst of Qualifying plus the Race!
So youd think that all of the Heavy Hitters would indeed go out early in Q1 and put a Flyer in the Bank… As Hobbo, a.k.a. David Hobbs likes to say, but NO! Most amazingly the Scuderia, nee Ferrari sat contently in the Garage, with perennial arch rival McLaren following along, hoping for the WET stuff which had shown up right on Que to dissipate before the end of the 20min session… While we were witness to first Lewis Hamilton doing a snap spin before his teammate Jenson Button simply Aquaplaned into the Kitty litter where he sat with his Mercedes lump idling in hopes of getting pulled out of the gravel trap while in P13… But to NO avail! As if to show just how rough the conditions were, Michael Schumacher ended up in 14th even after having pitted to put full WETs on his racecar… Although it was the trio of Heavy Hitters that I must confess I was rooting against.
As with less then 6mins remaining both Ferraris and the lone McLaren were ALL outside of P17 and in danger of not making it thru the Q1 Qualie session as I cheered mightily against JAGUAR (Hamilton) N Fredrico (Alonso) making it! As theyd simply messed-up their respective strategies… Albeit I had a good chuckle over Bosom Buddies Alonso snatching P19 away from Hamilton in the waning moments, as shockingly Fernando will start in Row 10 alongside his good friend Louise (Hamilton; 20th) with Felipe Massa directly behind rolling off in P21. As its the very first time ever since Knock-out Qualifying began that both Ferraris have FAILED to advance out of Q1!
And although JENSE did survive Q1 in 13th, he was unable to return his beached MP4-25 to the Pit lane in time to proceed into Q2 and therefore will line up 17th alongside The Scrumptious Juan, a.k.a. Jarno Trulli in his Hometown Lotus affair, while all four of the mighty McLarens & Ferraris start behind KOVYs (H. Kovalainen) Lotus in P15 and Virgin Racings Timo Glock in P16, both drivers having made it into Q2 for the first time in their respective Teams short historys, as only the second Virgin and Both Hispania Cars start further back then those mighty Big bucks Constructors…
And Q2 was another entertaining session as I found myself rooting for The Old Man, DER TERMINATOR better known as M. Schumacher who scraped his way into Q3 by finishing on the bubble in P10.
And then the RAIN came again with Q3 being Red flagged with 7+ minutes remaining as the circuit had become a veritable Lake Sepang with standing water everywhere apparently NOT being conducive to surfing the Formula 1 LandSharks with their mandatory FIA Legality Planks underneath their ultra low ride heights… As the Final Session featured an interesting cast of Grand Prix Animals going in 2-by-2 fashion…
As both Red Bulls, Mercedes, Williams and Force Indias made the Top 10, with The Krakow Kid, nee Robert Kubica in the Frey, plus first time Debutant Kamui Kobayashi for the somewhat maligned Sauber concern… Although it possibly would have been better to lose his front wing this weekend instead, as the Team has now reinforced the C29s Front Wing pylons…
And it was the Red Bull on top again, but not who Yall are guessing, as it was Mark Webber instead, as Ive just realized that the lone Aussie has Four Germans behind him… With Nico Rosberg claiming his first Front Row start with ZEBB (Vettel) in P3 and Adrian Sutil alongside in P4.
Schuey will roll off a disappointing 8th, while Rubino (Barrichello) was finally out qualified by his younger teammate Nico Hulkenberg (5th) and the ageless Brazilian will start alongside his Chum Michael in 7th. Kubica was a fine 6th, while New Boy Kobayashi will start from 9th with Vitantonio Liuzzi next to him in P10.
And there was some idle(?) speculation made about how perhaps the Teams with both cars in Q3 had put their Drivers on different set-ups to cover the range of possible weather? Although I think its supposed to Rain again tomorrow, about halfway thru the Race, as apparently Uncle Bernaughty wants to insure there will be another Spectale du Jour!
Swift 66 get’s it’s Kicks!
