Shock and Awe
Despite the lack of noise, reliability and speed, Formula E intrigued me from the start and after one round, I can't help but think what happened Saturday was a historical milestone for motorsports.
Formula E is where motorsports were a century ago. The cars aren't fast, the technology is unreliable and we all think we know what will make it better but chastising this series for it's short comings after one event is like getting on a first grader who is struggling with multiplication. They are a first grader for crying out loud. They have plenty of number to develop their skills, the same way Formula E has plenty of time to develop their product from it's current form.
Passing wasn't easy as drivers had to be crafty and strategically calculate each move. Top speeds were nothing to brag about, the Scion FR-Ss from Toyota Pro/Celebrity race turn faster lap times but the current cars weren't always doing 230 MPH laps around Indianapolis or thunder through Eau-Rouge in seventh gear. Race averages under 100 MPH were a common thing in the early days and that's where we are at with electric racing. It doesn't mean it won't improve. Do you think anyone in 1911 thought after completing the Indianapolis 500 at an average speed of just over 74 MPH thought that's the way it was going to be for years to come? No. It gradually improved. Each stride was celebrated though. Breaking the 100 mph barrier was a big deal as was 125, 150, 175, 200 and so on.
The switch car aspect is a negative and my uncle and I discussed that over a month ago. What that says is, in the current state of electric automobiles, you need two cars to support your lifestyle. That isn't practical and we all know that. Would have two, 12-lap races been better than one, 25-lap race? I would argue that having one race for about a half hour, then waiting for the cars to charge and having another half hour race wouldn't have been the best for the series. After all, it would be much more difficult to get the TV partners to agree upon having two separate two-hour television windows set side for the series. Switching cars is not ideal but it is where we are at.
The series is set up to be the platform for electric automotive development for many different manufactures. Audi already has a stake in a team. Nissan is always looking to develop electric cars. If you were a Formula E team, why wouldn't you call Tesla and form a partnership? Formula E is set up for many different manufactures to come and play. Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota, BMW, the list is endless.
We are a generation who has had everything served on a platter. We expect cars to do 230 mph, engines to last for thousands and thousands of miles and every race to be better than the next. We do not know how to be patience and let something bud. Everything has to meet all preconceived notions otherwise it will be deemed a failure and not suitable another for our time and attention.
We are a generation who has had everything served on a platter. We expect cars to do 230 mph, engines to last for thousands and thousands of miles and every race to be better than the next. We do not know how to be patience and let something bud. Everything has to meet all preconceived notions otherwise it will be deemed a failure and not suitable another for our time and attention.
Battery durability will improve, the cars will get faster and pit stops will evolve. The first race averaged a speed of 61.2 MPH. The bar is set and each team and driver will be looking to raise it after each race.
The bad thing is the next race isn't until November 22nd. I love that this series is on a autumn-spring schedule but I hate the wait. Sure, there will be Formula One and MotoGP to fill the gap but Formula E is completely unknown. Formula One is going to be Mercedes vs. Mercedes with Daniel Ricciardo ready to pounce. MotoGP is Marc Márquez's to lose while the Yamahas and his teammate Dani Pedrosa try to knock him off. Formula E is up in the air. If you would have told me Andretti Autosport would be leading the Teams' championship after one race, I wouldn't have believed it. And after that finish, who knows what will happen next. Ten rounds is a fair amount but another two or three would have been great.
IndyCar Looks Forward
The DW12 won't last as long as the IR-03 if Derrick Walker has his way. He is already talking about a new car for 2018. I like that the series is getting on top of this while the current cars is finally getting it's feet under itself as a reliable chassis.
However, after watching the IndyCar grid shrink by two cars each year since the introduction of the DW12 the one question Walker and IndyCar has to ask themselves when it comes to the next generation chassis is how can we get more teams on the grid full-time and how can we get more cars attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500? The only car that made one-off appearances outside of the month of May was the #16 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda with Oriol Servià and Luca Filippi each making four starts. There were no surprise additional entries for any of the qualified drivers left on the sidelines as there were only 22 full-time entries.
IndyCar has lost many teams in recent years, contributing to the shrinking grids. If Dreyer & Reinbold, Panther, Dragon, HVM and Conquest had all managed to keep one car going full-time, the grid would have 27 cars and we aren't having this discussion. Panther and Conquest are gone. HVM's equipment is being used by Andretti for Carlos Muñoz, D&R came back at the Indianapolis 500 earlier this year but becoming a full-time competitor again doesn't look likely for 2015 and Dragon has moved on to Formula E.
I look at GT3 racing and how it has evolved into the formula of choice for GT racing. You can take a car, run the Dubai 24 Hour in January, Bathurst 12 Hour in February, a full season of Pirelli World Challenge, 24 Hours Nürburgring in May, Spa 24 Hours in July, the Baku World Challenge in November and end with the Gulf 12 Hours at Abu Dhabi in December. All those races with the same car with no major changes having to be done.
I look at IndyCar and the current chassis can only be used for one series and one series only. Dallara builds chassis for IndyCar, Super Formula and Formula Renault 3.5. Instead of building three separate chassis for each series, why not build one chassis and set the engine rules for all three series with the only things that would need to be changed to go from road course-ready to oval-ready would be suspension parts and bodywork?
In theory, it would open the door for dozens of teams on two other continents to attempt the Indianapolis 500 while creating the opportunity for teams to compete in a plethora of different races around the globe. It would set the stage for the Indianapolis 500 being a true international race with teams from around the globe and while potentially having Chevrolet, Honda, Toyota and Zytek engines on the grid, which all produce around the same amount of horsepower. Even more important, it would save Dallara money. I think it would be sensible to consider it.
Clamping Down on the Chasers
The Chase began this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Brad Keselowski won and has locked himself into the next round, but it's not the only NASCAR championship coming down to the wire. After this weekend, there are seven races left in each the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.
Neither one of those series have a Chase and I have been convinced that NASCAR truly isn't convinced by the Chase yet either, despite it's use for over a decade. Look at all the other rule changes NASCAR has made in recent memory: Green-White-Checkered finishes, double-file restarts, the lucky dog, the point system. All were across the board changes in the three series yet they still have yet to introduced the Chase to the two lower national touring divisions. Wouldn't you think, after eleven iterations, NASCAR would have the confidence that the Chase would work at the Nationwide and Truck Series level?
They haven't but I believe just because the Nationwide and Truck series use traditional point systems, doesn't mean their championship can't be highlight and can't allow the championship contenders to battle it out. I have ready said there should be a hard limit on how much moonlighting goes on between the national touring divisions but until that happens, I think NASCAR should bar all Chase drivers from competing outside the Cup races. It's too risky. Imagine if Keselowski goes out and gets hurt doing the Nationwide race at Dover. Your championship leader is out and losing a championship contender kills the Chase.
Secondly, it would give these Nationwide and Truck regulars a chance to take the spotlight and battle for their own championship without any interference from moonlighters. Sure, there will still be a few drivers moonlighting. Kyle Larson and Paul Menard showing up but you would get rid of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Matt Kenseth and any other driver looking to dip their toe into the water.
I want to see Chase Elliott, Regan Smith, Ty Dillon, Elliott Sadler and Trevor Bayne racing for victories, not for fifth place. I want them to get a chance to show off their skills, not have the spotlight taken from them.
Clamping Down on the Chasers
The Chase began this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, Brad Keselowski won and has locked himself into the next round, but it's not the only NASCAR championship coming down to the wire. After this weekend, there are seven races left in each the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series.
Neither one of those series have a Chase and I have been convinced that NASCAR truly isn't convinced by the Chase yet either, despite it's use for over a decade. Look at all the other rule changes NASCAR has made in recent memory: Green-White-Checkered finishes, double-file restarts, the lucky dog, the point system. All were across the board changes in the three series yet they still have yet to introduced the Chase to the two lower national touring divisions. Wouldn't you think, after eleven iterations, NASCAR would have the confidence that the Chase would work at the Nationwide and Truck Series level?
They haven't but I believe just because the Nationwide and Truck series use traditional point systems, doesn't mean their championship can't be highlight and can't allow the championship contenders to battle it out. I have ready said there should be a hard limit on how much moonlighting goes on between the national touring divisions but until that happens, I think NASCAR should bar all Chase drivers from competing outside the Cup races. It's too risky. Imagine if Keselowski goes out and gets hurt doing the Nationwide race at Dover. Your championship leader is out and losing a championship contender kills the Chase.
Secondly, it would give these Nationwide and Truck regulars a chance to take the spotlight and battle for their own championship without any interference from moonlighters. Sure, there will still be a few drivers moonlighting. Kyle Larson and Paul Menard showing up but you would get rid of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Matt Kenseth and any other driver looking to dip their toe into the water.
I want to see Chase Elliott, Regan Smith, Ty Dillon, Elliott Sadler and Trevor Bayne racing for victories, not for fifth place. I want them to get a chance to show off their skills, not have the spotlight taken from them.
Champions From the Weekend
Johnny O'Connell won his third consecutive Pirelli World Challenge GT championship. He defeated Mike Skeen by 156 points. Anthony Lazzaro finished third, 186 behind O'Connell. Andy Pilgrim finished 220 points behind his Cadillac teammate with Andrew Palmer rounding out the top five in the GT championship, 302 points back.
Lawson Aschenbach won his second consecutive Pirelli World Challenge GTS championship. He had to come from behind entering the final weekend. Jack Baldwin finished second in the championship after winning the final race on Saturday at Miller Motorsports Park. He finished 50 points behind Aschenbach. Mark Wilkins was the GTS championship leader entering the weekend but retired from each race and dropped to third in the championship, 108 back. Dean Martin and Jack Roush, Jr. round out the top five in GTS, 342 and 365 points back of Aschenbach respectively.
With a sixth place finish at Lausitz, Marco Wittmann clinched the 2014 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championship with two races to go. Mattias Ekström, Edoardo Mortara and Mike Rockenfeller entered the weekend as the only other drivers mathematically eligible to win the championship. Ekström and Mortara both failed to score points at Lausitz and Rockenfeller finished in tenth, not enough to keep hopes of retaining his title alive.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Lucas di Grassi, Guy Smith, Robert Thorne, Nick Esaysian, Jack Baldwin and Brad Keselowski but did you know...
Valentino Rossi won at Misano, his first victory of the 2014 MotoGP season. Marc Márquez fell while running second but did recover to finish fifteenth and get the final championship point.
Pascal Wehrlein won the DTM race at Lausitz and in doing so became the first teenager to win in DTM history. Wehrlein becomes the youngest winner in DTM history at 19 years, 10 months and 28 days old. The previous record for youngest winner in DTM history was Dario Franchitti, who was 22 years and 2 days old when he won at Mugello in 1995.
Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell won the Sandown 500. Whincup extended his championship lead to 273 points over his teammate Craig Lowndes.
Sébastien Ogier led a Volkswagen 1-2-3 over Jari-Matti Latvala and Andreas Mikkelsen at Rally Australia. Ogier leads Latvala by 50 points in the championship with three rounds to go.
The Morand Racing Morgan-Judd of Christian Klien, Gary Hirsch and Pierre Ragues won the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard. The AF Corse Ferrari of Matt Griffin, Duncan Cameron and Michele Rugolo won in GTE with the SMP Racing Ferrari of Olivier Beretta, Anton Ladygin and Devi Markozov winning in GTC.
André Lotterer returned to Super Formula with a victory at Autopolis. He trails João Paulo de Olivieira by 3.5 points with three races to go.
Galid Osman and Ricardo Maurício split the Stock Car Brasil weekend from Velopark.
Esteve Rabat won his third consecutive Moto2 race of 2014 at Misano while Álex Rins won his second consecutive Moto3 race of the season.
Kevin Harvick won the Nationwide race at Chicagoland. Kyle Busch (shocker!) won the Truck race.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula One is under the lights on the streets of Singapore.
NASCAR heads to New Hampshire.
The FIA World Endurance Championship is back after three months off at Circuit of the Americas.
Formula One is under the lights on the streets of Singapore.
NASCAR heads to New Hampshire.
The FIA World Endurance Championship is back after three months off at Circuit of the Americas.
IMSA is joining WEC in Austin.
The Blancpain Endurance Series ends their 2014 season with the 1000km Nürburgring.
The Blancpain Endurance Series ends their 2014 season with the 1000km Nürburgring.
