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tagged: Open Wheel Notebook: Wherein, we pay a visit to Three Dot Lounge…
The revolution will not be televised. Photo: Mercedes
Three Dot Lounge is where lazy writers come to empty their notebooks. Herb Caen made a career out of it (with vodka in hand). So did Allan Malamud of the Los Angeles Times. We’re equally lazy, if not lazier, than either of those guys. We can do without transitions and segues. Those three little dots are the only crutch we need . . .
In F1, James Allen has just posted a lengthy interview (reblogged, of course) with Robert Kubica’s treating physician. If you strip away the bravado and optimism, it is difficult to imagine Kubica driving an F1 car again. His accident nearly severed his arm and amputation was a very realistic possibility. So far, Kubica’s return to functionality “surprised us” but “it’s still very difficult to say.” The doctor says all the right things, but if you read between the lines, nothing short of a miracle will return the gutsy Pole to the grid. Then again, there’s Niki Lauda . . . Speaking of which, Ayrton Senna died on May 1, 1994, 17 years ago. Not that long ago, but how things have changed. For the better, we think. Senna’s death was the last in F1 . . .
Bahrain put out a tepid press release this week reaffirming its interest in hosting a grand prix. Organizers of the Bahrain race had until May 1 to formally request a rescheduled date. That didn’t happen, and given the situation in Bahrain, it seems increasingly unlikely that F1 will return . . . More incredulous is the statement that “the national situation has moved on in a positive manner”, when, on the same day, a Bahraini military tribunal sentenced four men to death. What we find more than a little ironic is the hue and cry to avoid Bahrain, just two weeks after the Chinese GP. China has never been known as a defender of human rights, but the F1 world has concluded that a little autocracy is fine (so long as it doesn’t make the papers and embarrass anyone…) . . .
IndyCars visited Sao Paolo for a street race, and between monsoons, announced another race in Brazil. The city of Porto Alegre has inked a deal to host a race starting in 2012. This may be a nice spillover effect from the Sao Paolo race, but IndyCar has no business extending its brand in Brazil. It struggles to fill circuits in the US and has a tiny domestic TV presence. Before visiting Brazil again, bring back Laguna, Michigan, Chicagoland . . .
During qualifying at Sao Paolo, Honda ran a TV ad touting the reliability of its IndyCar engines, pointing out that no Honda engine has blown up since the company became IndyCars’ sole supplier. Our response: who cares? Your reliable engines are what make IndyCars a dull spec series. The Indy 500 made its name on “specials“, cars that were built to go one foot over the finish and then explode. A blown engine is the sign of someone pushing the limit, not a cautious engineer dialing it back to burnish the Accord’s reputation for reliability . . . Amazing to think that this is the same company that once powered multiple F1 champions . . .
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