rec.autos.simulators

  Back when Michael Andretti tried F1, one of his many problems was
the seemingly magnet his Mclaren Ford had that attracted the black
car of Karl Wedlinger.  Now why  does this make a ***?
  Many of you may now know how I feel about drivers and corparations
protecting themselves and their reputations.  Now lets REALLY dig
into this...
  Why did Mikey fail?  Forget the lack of practice,  the fact he still kept
jetting back to the States between races...what you need to remember is
that Karl kept MA from getting any real seat time.  Why?
  McClaren as a company was VERY unprepared for that season.  Senna was
holding the entire team hostage with his salary negotiations...Money that
could
have been used to secure a decent engine package had to be held back
until Senna had been resigned.   So the Big Macs started the year in
essentially
customer Ford engines.   What would have happened if MA had done well
early?  Ford would have been trumpeting the results all over the USA.
Chrysler...which had no racing program at the time...didn't want to see
Ford do well with an American in the world's top racing series...
  did they have any contact, monetarily with Wedlinger?  I don't know..
But I do know that when the Chrysler Viper became KING of the
GTS class, Karl was on the Chryco payroll.  And now with the new
Chrysler LMP being debuted this weekend...who is one of the Team
drivers slated to drive the Chrysler LMP at Le Mans????
  (here's a small bit of a speedvision story about the drivers...)
___
In addition, the team has announced three additions to its driver strength
for Le Mans.
Joining Yannick Dalmas, Olivier Beretta and Karl Wendlinger will be
Frenchmen Stephane Sarrazin and Franck Montagny and Germany's Norman Simon.
___
   There is our buddy Karl...still on the Chrysler Payroll.
     Think what you may...but when you connect A to B time after
time...who's to
say what skulldugery exists in the day to day world of high stakes high
finance racing????
Dave "Skulder"Henrie

Agent Skulder,

You have been taken off the X-Files.  Please continue with your
assigned duty at the Telemetry analysis section.

Sorry Dave, I can't agree.  The racing industry is filled with
overlapping interests from sponsorships, previous alliances between
drivers from karting or other leagues, etc.  Companies like GM and
Ford are so huge these days that it's hard to not link a driver to
either one and probably sometimes both.

Maclaren didn't have the best car then and Michael wasn't as fortunate
as JV and Damon Hill who were both made to look very good in the
stunning (at the time) Williams.  Please JV fans, I don't believe JV
and DH are in the same class, but JV's transition into F1 was made
easier by having a competitive reliable car.  His obvious talent has
been demonstrated enough times for me to not admire and respect him.
As for Damon Hill, wellllll.   But this isn't the time or place.

As for you DanaFox, I suggest you do the following experiment.  Look
for evidence of more improbable things.  Say Michael Schumacher versus
Ralf Schumacher or Frank Williams versus Enzo Ferarri(about that
wheelchair accident) or how about Murray Walker versus James Hunt(no
disrespect intended).  You could probably find evidence supporting
maliciousness or foul play if you dug deep enough.  None of it would
be substantiated or conclusive, I believe, but just as believable as
your Wendlinger - Andretti,  Verstappen Montoya conclusions.

I'm having fun with the whole X-Files thing, but I think we should let
it go for a while and enjoy the sport for the entertainment and
technical wizardry on display.

Just curious, are you a Michael Andretti fan?  My personal opinion on
him is that although he has become a master in the Cart leagues in
it's various guises, he has not shown the versatility of his dad in
driving other vehicles competitively.  Even in Cart, I always felt
that there were more talented (but less consistent) drivers around.  I
think it makes these more talented drivers more successful at F1 than
the solid consistent drivers.  Much as I dislike his style, I think a
young Paul Tracy would have been a better driver to take to F1 than
Michael.

Just my opinion, Agent Skulder.  I enjoy reading yours...

cheers,
Ian

Sorry David but I can't agree. Claiming Chrysler hired Karl as a "hitman"
against  Mike is about as far fetched as it gets. Also, at the time you have
to remember that Chrysler was getting a whole lot of press for all of the
new and innovate vehicles they were debuting (Intrepid, Ram, Viper GTS.
etc..... ). Believe me they had better things to do than make sure Mike
failed in F1.

Like Ian said, most historic events can be twisted into a *** if you
try hard enough.

Also, In defense of Michael, he may never garner the respect his father
has/had as a pure race car driver. He might not have the story book career,
but times are quite a bit different from when Mario drove. IMO, anybody that
has a CART championship and podium finishes in CART, F1, and Le Mans has got
to be considered one of the greats.

Tracy had a test for Benetton in 95 i think, ive got the transcript of his
pit communication in my garage.......he didnt go that quickly.

pez

Dave.....look what you started!  You did this on purpose?

Tom

Hi,

I stand corrected :)  The Benetton in 1995 wasn't too bad a car to
drive.  Probably 2nd only to the Williams, but my memory is not too
good.  Mind you, IMO Tracy would have looked a poor second to JV in
terms of the inevitable comparisons people would have made.

Regards,
Ian

Of COURSE he did...<g>

Eldred
--
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. R.I.P. 1951-2001
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
F1 hcp. +28.67...F2 +151.26...

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

   Sorry Ian,  I had to go to deja/google to see your reply..
I wonder how many other threads are getting cut off by outlook express?
  Anyhow...for a LONG time I thought Mike Andretti was the WORST!
I grew up liking Al Unser(sr) and that naturally transferred to Al Jr.
  The year before he left and the year after he came back to CART,
Andretti was an EXTREMELY dirty driver...it took two years but
CART finally put him on probation.  I can think of at least half a dozen
drivers who got their rear tires shredded by Andretti.  He rarely finished
a roadcourse with both the endplanes on his front wing, because he was
always using that part to slice tires of those who were holding him up.
Ask Vasser or Gordon...they seemed to be favorites of his...hmmmm
another *** perhaps..???....
  In the middle years of CART, I think tho...that Andretti was the finest
driver
in the series..(still didn't like him tho...)  He had Tracey's pure speed
and Unser Jr's
guts, all he lacked were the SMARTS that drivers like Fittipaldi & Rahal
displayed.
  He's a CART Champion, but only one time,  his 'take no prisoners' style of
driving probably cost him at least two other series titles and at least two
wins at the Big Race which used to be the biggest spectacle in racing.
  I do believe the Indy 500 and his stocky frame have kept him from showing
the
overall talents he seemed to have inherited.   Tied to the big oval,
searching for that
win...kept him from seeking drives in other series...until the Mclaren deal
opened up.
I can't think of another time, except for that GASTLY 3 wing Mclaren just
before Adrian Newey joined the team, that the Mac-squad produced a worse
car.  No real engine and a team focused 99% on Senna...no way he could have
done well...
  My old dream was for Andretti & Unser Jr to take Gurney built Eagles back
to
Europe....that would have been something...
dave henrie