I'm in Petrolhead Heaven!!!

[Bengal]

Murph wins Bathurst

Shuey wins F1

And now Scott Dixon wins the Indy Racing League.

My first ever sporting triple treat - yehaaa!

Go Holden Go Ferrari Well done Scotty!

I'm in heaven!

 

[salivor]

Add in New Zealand managing to get out of jail and draw with the Indians and I can't think of a better weekend in sport in a looooong time.

Scott Dixon is a dead set Champion. Now we just have to wait until he hits the Formula One world. Schumacher retires in 2006 and Juan Pablo, Raikkonen and Dixon could be the ones to step up and take over the mantle.

 

[Bengal]

Add in New Zealand managing to get out of jail and draw with the Indians and I can't think of a better weekend in sport in a looooong time.

Scott Dixon is a dead set Champion. Now we just have to wait until he hits the Formula One world. Schumacher retires in 2006 and Juan Pablo, Raikkonen and Dixon could be the ones to step up and take over the mantle.

Yes the future of motor racing is looking bright, there's so much young talent on the horizon it makes for exciting times.

I don't know about you, but there is one I wouldn't mind never ever seeing in the winners circle - Jensen Button.
What a prissy name. I'm sick of hearing the commentators harp on about him.

As for cricket it was pleasing to see NZ get out of jail, however I can't say I'm really into it at the moment. It's better in summer when there's nothing else on.
Right now we've just had the League (with more to come of course) the motorsport, baseball is heating up (go the Sox) and racing is starting to hit its strides.
Oh I almost forgot the RWC lol.
Plenty of good sport left yet - cool!

 

[salivor]

I think Button has done his dash. I didn't mind him last year when he was at Renaut and they were looking like taking that 3rd spot in the constructors championship but I think its the last time he'll race in a slightly competitive car.
You can't really blame the commentators since they are mainly catering for an English market. I think they are just as sick of reporting on Button and Firman being at the back of the pack as we are of listening to it. Whether the Brits like to admit it or not, the power house of Forumla one is quickly moving away from England in both a Drivers and team sense. It wouldn't surprise me if Damon Hill will remain remains the last brit to win the Drivers title for another couple of decades or so.

I've gotta admit watching the Cricket has been hard work at times but its a big coup for the New Zealand cricket team. The Indians have made no secret that they are bitter about the tracks they had to play on last year in NZ and they want to teach us a lesson on their home soil. They had every opportunity to win this test but couldn't and Wiseman of all people, a spinner took 4 wickets in India, thats one hell of an achievement.

 

[Paranoid]

Salivor, I can see we gonna have some interesting discussions/points of view.
Pity most the motor sports seasons are coming to an end.

I think Button has done his dash.

I think that is bit harsh. He come a solid 4th in Japan and was very unlucky (thanks to the Honda handgreande) to not get a podium in the Indy in a very inferior car. He also blew away his very (apparently)talented world champion team mate away – not just in the season, but out of the team.
I certainly don't think he is or know if he will ever be a great, but he is still young and a long way from having his career scraped !

Schumacher retires in 2006 and Juan Pablo, Raikkonen and Dixon could be the ones to step up and take over the mantle.

What about Alonso and Webber ? So you got Dixon in a F1 seat before … well before he's even sat in an F1 seat ?

I must agree with the above about the British commentator though, who cares how many times Firman has been lapped or how slow Coulthard is or what lap Button's Hand granade exploded.

 

[salivor]

Button has some talent but hes on a steady slope downhill. Just look at it Williams to Renault to BAR, don't be surprised if he ends up in a Minardi ;-) . He has some bloody bad luck when in sight of the podium but I wouldn't read much at all into his placing in Japan. Remember that Alonso and Montoya retired and he had the Schumacher bros well back on the grid doing their best to take each other out of the race.

Alonso is under lock and key at the moment in a Renault which while competitive is never going to compete for a World Championship especially when the team they are closest to in speed, McLaren is bringing out the new car next year. I hear though that Ferrari are interested in him and they certainly wouldn't think twice about getting rid of Barrichiello.

Dixon has had serious interest from formula one teams and was well recieved when he visited a number of the teams earlier on. At 13 he was the youngest person in the world to hold a racing license. Hes had constant success at all levels and is about as successful as what Michael was at his age. Not to mention that his current team boss says that the only person hes seen on par with him for skill in indy is Montoya. I admit that I'm putting him in a formula one drive before this is not some bunny I'm over-rating because of national pride, he has the goods.

 

[Paranoid]

Ok, I agree with that. I still things he's done some impressive things despite a couple of tough seasons and his youth, but I agree that Button's future based on his racing team’s performance isn't looking to bright. Can't see BAR/Honda going anyone fast in the next few season, unless it is in reverse.

If Alonso sees out his Renualt contract (end of '05 ??) and the team is still not competing with the top 3 he will walk straight into a better seat – even if it means leaving Flavio. I'm sure Flavio will let him go to another team anyway, rather than lose his manager contract. He'll still only be like 22 years old at that point !

You don't think Renault will close the gap even more in the coming season though ? Look at the improvement in this last season alone and with single weekend engines coming in I think the engine power stakes will come down and may bring Renualt conservative engine closer if they can get it right. ATM I guess it is the most reliable to begin with, but that rule should favor them rather than the top 3 I would think.

I didn't know that about Dixon, as I said I don't know too much about him. I'd be interested how he goes, hopefully he gets a decent go in a half decent team if he has that much promise.

Cheers.

 

[salivor]

I'm pretty sure Alonso is on contract until 2005. Renault certainly has improved out of sight but at the end of the day they don't have the backing and resources of the big 3, Anyone who has seen Ferrari's facilities would wonder how any other car manages to finish within a lap of them.

I think the new regulations only continue to play into the hands of Ferrari. Their reliability has just been amazing in the last 5-6 years, Just look back to 98 and 99 when McLaren had a rocket ship but Ferrari managed to take them right down to the last race of the season because McLaren couldn't keep the car on the track half the time.

In saying all that while people like to say its the regulations that has closed the gap this year, I think it comes down to one thing, tyres. That Michelin tyre is simply amazing and being a Ferrari fan they really need to bite the bullet and switch. Bridgestone are basically pumping all their resources and testing into making that suit the Ferrari but still can't produce one that cuts the mustard. If that new McLaren is as half as fast as they are saying it is, on Michelins, you may as well hand them next years title now :roll: .

BTW have you read Verstappen's comments recently on the state of Minardi? Apparently they are an utter shambles, though its not hard to believe with some of their on track showings. They'd be better to pull the plug on the whole thing. I'm sure the likes of Honda in particular wouldn't mind going from being an engine supplier to an actual team. Minardi will always be a struggler, we're much better off with teams like Toyota who are prepared to sink in the cash to push their brand.

 

[Paranoid]

Fair points – not entirely convinced the regulations exactly play in Ferrari hands, though they possibly could. Ferrari does suffer from mechanical, electronic and hydraulic failures just like the rest of the field, but generally in the other non-race sessions and if in race conditions it is ALWAYS Rubens who copes it. Agreed Ferrari engine reliability is superior. However the engine regulations have not change for a number of years – everyone has to design new engines that last whole weekends, Ferrari find themselves in the same boat as everyone else – and although they are probably the best suited resource-wise, there is still a chance they could drop the ball or the other big 2 get it right quicker or better.

Personally, I think Ferrari winning the championships after 21 years was very good for the sport, but I don’t think continued Ferrari dominance is.

Verstappen’s comments and the Minardi situation aren’t nothing new – previous Minardi drivers just haven’t really commented on it before cause they either had not been in one of the better teams or were it was there only possible seat at the moment and probably in the future.

 

[salivor]

Ferrari certainly do have a bit of luck but their reliability has improved out of sight with another year of testing under their belt with the new car. Last year Rubens had some major problems but thats been ironed out and Michael in particular still has an amazing record of getting his car to the finish in recent years.

Williams look more likely to be affected most by the new regulations as they rely quite a lot on that powerful BMW engine.

I agree though that Ferrari winning the championship was great for formula one as they've always had the strongest following. The regulations are doing their best to bring the pack into it but Ferrari won't let their grip slip easily, just look at this year when they protested about the width of the michelins when they looked down and out.

 

[Paranoid]

Yep, MS no car failures in two season worth of races ... simply amazing.

And yes, Ferrari are the best at protesting rules while pushing the limit (and at times over it) themselves.