The first round of the 2009 season was both exhilarating and disappointing.  First and foremost… Kimi!!!  What the hell man?!?!  I was deeply disappointed that Kimi was unable to finish in the points let alone not finish the race.  My fear is that this trend will continue because they will not be heading back on European (home) soil for the next couple of races.  So they are stuck with the cars that they have now.  I’m hoping that Ferrari can get their act together and make the necessary changes to make the car competitive again.  To be out shined by a rookie team is not a good start in anyone’s book.  The only light at the end of the tunnel that I can see is that because the Ferrari cars of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa did not finish they would be able to make some limited modifications to the car(s) without incurring a penalty.

I will say that my hat does go off to Jensen Button though.  We are talking about a guy, who only a couple of months ago was questioning whether he would have a job or not.  The same goes for Rubens Barachello.  These guys were consistently at the back of the grid over the last couple of years and I can see how frustrating it could have been to have a car (Honda) that was crap!  Get a good driver(s) in a good car and you have a winning combo.

However, both Rubens Barachello and Jarno Trulli were lucky to have made the podium if it wasn’t for Sebastian Vettel’s accident with Robert Kubica.  This was unfortunate and as it stands now, Vettel will have to pay a penatly for the accident he caused as well as a ten spot grid penalty.  I’m not sure if I entirely agree with this though.  When I saw the accident, it looked as though Kubica closed the door on Vettel, leaving the young German with no other place to go.   However, I do believe that with Vettel apologizing on the radio to BMW for the incident left the door open for BMW to protest the accident.  I will say that Jarno Trulli made an excellent comeback because he actually started from the pit lane because of a rear wing replacement due to too much flexibility.

Then… to top off the finishing podium, Louis Hamilton takes third place because Jarno Trulli went off the course, got passed by Hamilton then re-entered the race and passed Hamilton back.  Because he did a pass under the Safety Car, Trulli got penalized for a drive through ten-second penalty (which couldn’t be assessed till after the race) and got relegated to tweleth place.

As much as I would have like to see Ferrari do better (ok… and McLaren), I was happy that the race was exciting and CRAZY!  I do look forward to the rest of the season and as for my Fantasy Formula One picks, I will have to rethink my B-Driver picks as well as my Team picks.  The A-Driver lineup is not looking so “A-Driver” in the standings and do not seem to be making as big of an impact as the B-Driver listing.  Yes, this will be a very unpredictable year… and I kind of like that.

Earlier this week, SyKart spent the evening hours applying the new format for Oregon’s premier indoor karting facility.  SyKart is mostly known for it’s tight and technical layouts with varying grip surfaces.  It’s also the host some of the best indoor karter’s in the country with the likes of Mike Smith of Smith Racing Development, Steve Pepka, Scott Santiani, Adam Kellerman, Scott Gaarde and so many more. 

The track seems to be longer and faster than before with longer, swooping corners and less tight-hairpins.  However two of the four hairpins are still high-speed hairpins with the last two hairpins being the tightest and most technical part of the track.  The pit layout is also part of the change where you must make two u-turns to get out of the pits.  As odds as it may feel it still works.  As you head out of the pits and drive along the spectator wall, it feels traditional to the original track.  Turn-One is a long sweeping left that you can take at full speed if you’ve turned at the right moment.  Keep in mind of the metal plate in the middle of the turn.  Then a short straight away into Turn-Two, where you realize that you’re traveling at top speed going into a hairpin right.  Fortunately the track is wide at the entrance and exit of the hairpin, which again flows into another short straight.  From there short straight again you have a very wide entrance and exit into Turn-Three, which if done right you can build your momentum from that corner to the longest straight-a-way on the course.  From the long straigh you have a long-long turn left that continues to another straight.  Turn-Four (that I just explained) can be taken in many different ways depending on your driving style.  I’ve seen people treat it as a double apex, a late apex, a single apex or just stay wide and find that there’s still a little grip out there that can help you carry your speed through to Turn-Five.  Turn-Five is a tight hairpin right.  The problem with this corner is that that it comes up on you faster than you think.  You really have to play with the brakes to find what works best for you to take this hairpin.  From here you travel down the final short straight to one of the most technical hairpin of the course, Turn-Six.  This has a tight entrance and exit and this can really make or break your race.

Since this is a high speed course times are quicker than before even though the track feels longer.  Most of the experienced drivers were getting in the low 29-second range in the 6.5-hp karts and it was almost a second quicker in the 9-hp karts.  With this new layout though it should be able to be ran in the reverse direction.  Those who have driven the course backwards are getting times that are close to 3-seconds to 5-seconds quicker.  That has yet to be verified.

I’d like to send a special thanks to the employees of SyKart for spending such long hours to make our lives more fun.

Changing the point system is needed and long overdue but winner going to the most wins in not the answer.

The FIA have approved that the 2009 Formula One Driver’s Championship will go to the one with the most wins.  As good as this may sound and yes, the one with the most wins should be the champion.  However, there is a very high likelyhood that this is not good enough.  A Champion should be based on his/her performance for the entire season.  This brings to light the old cliche, “we lost the battle but not the war”.  Here is an example:  Let’s say a driver wins five races throughout the season and nobody does any better than that.  This would make most sense for that driver to win.  Now lets say that every race he did not win, he crashed out, had mechanical falure or finished outside the points… like in last-place.  Should a champion go to someone who is only briefly at the top for short periods of time or should a champion be the best driver for entire season.  I have a feeling we will see a champion on the podium but in reality of the point system he/she could be place second, third or worse.  Then to top it off, the point system doesn’t apply to the champion but rather they are applied to second place and below. 

The better solution (and this has been proven in other forms of motorsports), is to incorporate more points.  So instead of 10 points being the maximum boost it to 20.  However there’s been complaints that if someone gets too far ahead then drivers will lose interest in going for the overall championship.  This is where I’ve stated in the past that there needs to be points handed out for qualifying as well.  

It will be interesting to see how things progress throughout the 2009 F1 season.  It could work out to the favor of the FIA or it could be a complete flop.  I feel that the risk is too high for playing games with the drivers and their overall championship.

Kimi Raikkonen 2007 Formula One Drivers' Champion

Soon all the pre-season testing will be done and the first round of the Formula 1 season will begin.  With all the rule changes, there are way too many unpredictabilities.  Brawn GP is testing well setting some very impressive times.  Ferrari have been on the top of the time sheetswith some KERS problems and McLaren are scattered everywhere on the time sheets and have had all sorts of KERS problems, but all is well they are quick.  The front wings are so huge now that turn one will be very interesting.  I think that if you’re in the front of the starting grid you’re golden and if you’re at the very back you have a good chance to really steer of the turn one accident.  If you’re in the middle of the pack… you’re screwed!  Once underway KERS and adjusting on-the-fly down-force could make a fast car slow and a slow car fast.  Drivers are also sacrificing weight to take advantage of the power to weight ratio, especially once the KERS system engages.  It seems that drivers this year have incorporated more of a diet to increase that power to weight ratio.  With the likes of slick tires, KERS, new aerodynamic restrictions, this season will be more of a “drivers” year than a “manufacturers” year.  Now the manufacturers are on a more level playing field than ever before and what it will come down to is driver adaptability to those changes.  Yes, reliability will play a huge role, but when it’s all said and done, the best “driver” will win.  Not just the car…  So on that note, I feel that Raikkonen, Alonso, Hamilton and even Webber have a good shot if their driving abilities are needed more than ever.  In any case, this will be a fun season and I hope that whatever happens, Kimi wins… I mean Ferrari… I mean, I hope you enjoy it too.

Kimi Raikkonen Pre-Season Testing (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images Europe)

Hello All F1 Fans (or Soon-To-Be-Fans),
 
The Formula 1 season doesn’t start till March but it’s that time to start getting ready for the Fantasy F1 league itself.  With this year’s new rule changes there really are no favorites and the season is predicted to be wide open. 
 
Registration fees have continued to be cheap so it will be fun for first-timers and not so intrusive on the income with the current economic conditions.    The fee of $10 is a one time payment and covers the entire 2009 season.

http://uk.f1.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1
 
First you will need to register your team on Yahoo’s Fantasy Formula 1 site.  Then you will need to click “Join a Group”
 
Group ID Number: 403
Group Name:  Oregon
Password:  Senna
 
Points system:  We will be using the Yahoo Fantasy Formula 1 point system (we’ve used this one for the past two seasons) and will go by their rules. 
 
Registration Fee:  $10 (entire season; approx. $0.50 per race!)
Cash or Payment via PayPal to:  subarubernie@hotmail.com
Payout at the end of season and will be based on percentages after everyone has registered but hopefully before the first race starts:
    10 people or less = 1st place only.
    11 – 15 people = 1st and 2nd place.
    16 – 20 people = 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
 
Please forward this to anyone who you think might be interested in joining this unpredictable season.  I don’t know a lot of people’s email addresses so if you could forward to any of them that would be great.
 
If you have any questions, please email me.  Also if you have any thoughts on making it better… keep them to yourself!  Just kidding.