The Appeal of Danger

TAMMY: Simon mentioned hearing that Junior Johnson has said racing should be more dangerous. That it shouldn't get too pedestrian. Make it a driver sport, not a technological masterpiece.

I thought about this comment this week when a video of Jeremy Foley and his co-driver rolling down the side of Pike's Peak during the hillclimb made the front page of CNN.com after making the rounds on Facebook and racing sites.



Apparently, they're OK. So, do people want danger in their racing? I think they do, at least a little. Do I? I admit to being fascinated by the wrecks, though I don't honestly ever sit there and hope for them.

Why do we want danger? I think it reminds us that what those drivers are doing is hard. It makes them heroes when they succeed, and makes us glad it's not us crashing. Of course, we all want the danger right up until someone dies....

But I agree with Junior Johnson. I enjoy watching NASCAR more than I enjoy watching Formula 1. It's not that the F1 drivers aren't working hard or fantastic at their jobs. But the cars are such technological marvels it's hard to see what the drivers are doing. And I guess I like a little rubbin' with my racin'.

What do you think, Obi Wan?

SIMON: I came across Junior Johnson's comments in Sports Illustrated (not the swimsuit issue). I don't think he was highlighting the danger as such, but more that he wanted to see more driver skill and less chassis design.

I suppose Junior's point is the best driver should win and not the best team of engineers. That's where it gets tough for F1. Operating a modern F1 car makes my brain hurt because it's so complicated, but the drivers seem to make it look easy (the bastards). But as much Junior laments the olden days, I don't think there's ever been a time where a competitive edge didn't come from car design to assist the driver.  Sorry Junior.

However danger is part of racing.  It's a risk vs. reward thing.  How close can a driver take a car and essentially get away with not ending up in a wreck. I think the creepiest thing a spectator at a race track ever asked me was "do you think we'll see someone die today?" Yes, danger is a part of the equation, but it's a small part.  You know there's danger, you accept the danger, but the thrill and excitement comes from the competition and defying the risk to find the limits of a vehicle.

That's us, but what do you all think--how much danger should be in motorsport?

Curbing Our Enthusiasms

I was thinking about Group B rally cars of the early to mid-80’s. The classification allowed ordinary cars such as Lancia Delta, Mini Metros, Peugeot 205s and Audi Quattros to be turned in fire breathing monsters. At the height of their development, these family-based hatchbacks were putting out as much as 600bhp. Sadly, the envelope had been pushed to its limit. After several major crashes and two deaths, the sport dialed back and the governing body outlawed Group B cars.

I always felt that was a shame. They were fantastic in competition and the sport lost some its excitement when manufacturers had to drop down to Group A cars, which had half the power and fewer bells and whistles. Instead of seeing the best the sport could offer, you got to see its second cousin with the limp and the lazy eye. But, I understand why the governing body (the FIA) saw the need to rein in the engineers’ imagination. The sport was getting bloody dangerous.

This isn't the first time motorsport has tried to rein technological developments. Formula One has changed the rules a bunch of times. It’s changed engine sizes, outlawed ‘ground effect’ cars, outlawed turbochargers, raised ride heights, reduced wing size, replaced slick tires with groove ones. Usually all these changes have been for the sames reason—to slow the cars down in order to increase safety.

I can't say I’m a fan of that thinking as a lover of motorsport and as an engineer. I’m not saying that because I’m reckless or I want to see drivers die. One thing I hated when I was racing was having to put up with people who came to see wrecks and not racing. I remember someone coming up to me in the paddock to ask who did I think would die today. No, I’d prefer to see the safety requirement increase to match the engineering, because the sport is about pushing the limits. I want to see the best-engineered and inventive cars out there and when it’s being curtailed, it kind of takes the shine off my apple.

But all that said, every conservative measure designed to slow the cars down doesn’t last. Within a few years, engineers find a way of working with the restrictions and still making the cars go faster. Usually within a few years, the cars are going quicker than before. It just goes to show you can't stop progress and you can't cub our enthusiasms for speed.

Yours on the fastrack,
Simon

Reading Hot Seat

by Tammy (who is pimping Simon's book today, though he didn't pay me to do so)

I read a lot of books about racing, especially fiction. Especially mystery. Though I'll be honest, there's always just a little underlying sense of competition when it comes to another racing mystery. A sense of, "OK, you're going to have to go some to impress me because I do this also." 

But inevitably, I have to bow to the master. Because Simon knows a hell of a lot about spinning a story, and about racing. (More than I do, about both.) 

I waited until I had a clear head and a couple clear afternoons and evenings, and I sat down with his new book, Hot Seat. And I loved it, even more than his first Aidy Westlake mystery, Did Not Finish. I was annoyed at having to go to work, not being able to stay home and finish it. 

I'm not going to spoil the plot for you, but I'll say that I love how we're getting to know Aidy's grandfather Steve and his friend Dylan better (I worried for Dylan the whole way through this book!), and I heartily approve of the strong female characters in this book (even if Chloe is a b*^%). Thanks for tossing a hard-as-nails female driver in there, Simon.

So, anyone who loves a good mystery, and especially if you're a fan of racing, pick up Hot Seat. You won't be disappointed. Good job, Obi Wan!

The Road Ahead For Porsche

SIMON: Volkswagen has taken a controlling interest of Porsche (after a seesaw battle where Porsche had a controlling interest of VW). What that means for Porsche is hard to say right now. However, it’s worth pointing out that VW already owns Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini to name a few and there's where things could get a little tricky for Porsche. VW owns a lot of car companies that already make supercars, so where does Porsche fit in? Does it mean that Porsche will become a badge engineering entity? I don’t think so. On the surface, VW lets its companies cooperate with each other and not crush their individual spirit. Certainly Audi, Lambo and Bugatti work with each other, although Porsche’s design philosophy doesn’t quite walk in step with the others.

I remember when Fiat took over Ferrari in the 80’s. There was a lot of concern that there'd be a lot of interference and cars would suffer because of it and there's some truth to that. The Testarossa did have a lot of Fiat switches and knobs, etc., but in the long run, Ferrari does seem to have benefitted from their ownership. Personally, I don’t think Porsche will suffer the issues as Ferrari. However, I am interested to see where they fit in. Audi engineers seems to have done a lot of the development for Lambo and Bugatti, but will Porsche be left alone or will there be some competition between Audi and Porsche engineers to do some special projects. That’s where there could be some internal rivalry.

What do you think Tam Tam?

TAMMY: My first question is about the plan of Porsche to come back to Le Mans with a prototype ... which would presumably go up against Audi for top honors. That will be interesting. I don't see a lot to worry about in terms of a different company philosophy. At least, I don't expect Volkswagen to water down Porsche's class and racing heritage.

My second thought is that it's sort of a non-issue. The two companies have come full circle, back to where they started, given that Dr. Ferdinand Porsche designed the Beetle for Hitler in 1933. And the two companies' product lines have always been mixed. (My husband has a story about working on a free 1978 Plymouth Horizon and discovering that the VW/Audi branded half-shaft could only be purchased at the local Porsche dealer.) So I don't think much will change, at least between VW and Porsche. Now, will there be any competition for favored status among those products owned by VW? That could get interesting....

Do any of the rest of you think differently?

The Turn Off Factor

By Simon

Mercedes are turning me off of their cars. I’m sure Mercedes don’t much care, but I kind of think of it as a shame. I always viewed Mercedes as a classy car company. They were the German Rolls Royce, but over the last twenty years or so, I think they’ve tarnished this image with a quest to develop muscle cars. Case in point is the car pictured below—a Mercedes CLK GTR. This car made the news last week because it was expected to rake in a million pounds at auction.

A million quid for this train wreck? You’ve got to be joking. Yes, only a handful were made. Yes, it has jaw-dropping power. But come on, it looks like Mercedes raided a tacky after market body-kit outfit when it came to the styling. And this is my problem with Mercedes of late is with its vulgar display of design and power output. Whereas Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Jaguar, etc., have turned out some elegant looking supercars that operate as good as they look, Mercedes keep putting out cars that look like house bricks on wheels then compound the problem by shoving way too much power through the wheels. They’ve turned out a number of cars that can’t handle the monstrous power they develop.

Mercedes has a fabulous research and development programs, so it baffles me why they keep turning out these cars. For all their ability, it’s about time we saw some true Mercedes class.

My Car Talks to Me

by Tammy

I got an e-mail from my car this week. Really.

See, a month ago we leased a new car (a Buick Verano: needed something to drive more than one other person around in, got a great lease deal), and because it's a brand-new car, it comes with all the bells and whistles. It's got Sirius XM radio and OnStar. And I love the fact that someone will call me if they sense I've been in an accident.

I was also told I'd get status updates, but I didn't think much about it. I was too busy trying to adjust, after going from my 1989 BMW 325i to something that felt like a rental car.

Then it e-mailed me.

OK, OK, OnStar e-mailed me to tell me my left rear tire was 3psi low.

The most interesting part of the experience so far has been telling my parents about it and having my mother ask if that wasn't creepy, that some system knew so much about where I was and what I was doing. And wasn't that a little Big Brother?

My opinion? It's awesome. I don't care who knows where I'm going, but if there's technology available that can help me avoid problems I wouldn't otherwise know about? (Or can reach out to me if I've been in an accident?) Sign me up.

I realize this is a generational thing, because I know people my parents age who refuse to use club cards at the grocery store because they don't want someone tracking what they purchase. But in this day and age, any authority can track pretty much anything about me through credit card logs and my cell phone. So why not add my car to the list?

What about you? Do you embrace technology? Do you want e-mails from your car?

Now excuse me, I have to go find an air compressor....

Olympic Moments

TAMMY: Who can escape the Olympics these days? Not me. I'm a happy victim. But they raise a number of questions:

What am I going to do this weekend with the Olympics and an ALMS race on?
Are those U.S. female gymnasts really good friends?
WHO out there cares about the medal count by country?!?! (I HATE THAT.)
And what golds would we award to our favorite racers?

Gold Medal in Whining (F1 division): While last year the honor belonged to Lewis Hamilton, this year, I'm awarding the honorary gold to Sebastian Vettel who berated his engineers for not doing something to get him unstuck in last weekend's race in Hungary (see the entertaining article from PlanetF1.com, which refers to him as "Princess Stampy Foot").

Gold Medal in "Where Did He Come From?" (NASCAR division): To Jimmie Johnson, who somehow seems to be making a surge to claim a sixth title in seven years. He just won his fourth race at the Brickyard. Don't count Jimmie out of anything.

Simon, do you have any answers?

SIMON: I quite like the Olympics, so I'm not complaining too much.  However, I do have a couple of golds to hand out.

Gold Medal for being a surprise package: Romain Grosjean has been a surprise star in the Lotus this year and if he keeps up his performances, I can't see him being there too long.

Gold Medal for Whining: Anyone who has bitched about the Pirelli tires in F1.  Yes, they aren't very good, but everyone has them, so stop moaning (and I'm looking at you Mr. Schumacher).

4th Place Special "Tin" Medal: This goes to Jenson Button while he works out how to get back to the front of the grid.  He needs the encouragement.

TAMMY: Oh, I love the Olympics, too. And I like your medals. What do the rest of you think? Any special medals we need to award?