Re: Rahal named as new team manager of Jaguar F1

Barton Brown wrote ... > I'm also convinced that George is somehow finagling with ABC (perennial > Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 broadcaster -- there's some high-dollar ad > spots) to ruin CART: has there ever been worse coverage in the history > of live TV race broadcasts than what we've seen from ABC this year and > most of last? Although I love F1, the video feeds from the various international TV networks often defy logic (or even description). I think they end up worse. > I swear they're somehow slightly time-shifting the broadcast so they can > go to commercial break just before the rare "something-of-interest" > happens on the track Although I love F1, "something-of-interest" has become rarer there every year. I really can't see what advantage F1 would have from any dealings with George other than using his track. They don't need him. He'd love to see CART die, but I think they're stronger than IRL still. And the idea of an American open-wheel series being the "minor leagues" for F1? If they stop running ovals and start using standing starts -- I guess it could happen ;-)

The ever scooperific Autosport is announcing today on their webshite: Jaguar set to announce Rahal at Indy Bobby Rahal will be confirmed as Jaguar Racing�s new team boss at next weekend�s United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis. That oughta put CART in another tizzy. Forgive me (I know you won't) for being a wild-hair conspiracy theorist, but I see the hands of Tony George and Bernard Igglestone in this one. Could it be (pure, unalduterated conjecture) that Tony and Bernard are working towards a unified, one- or two-tiered global open wheel series, along the lines of NASCAR's Busch Grand National and Winston (Coke?) Cup? Remember, you heard this nonsense here first... Rahal actually had two F1 starts in his career, but it sure was a while ago -- I wonder why they picked him, of all people ... unless it's part of the George/Ecclestone Master Plan to destabilise and disband CART completely I'm also convinced that George is somehow finagling with ABC (perennial Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 broadcaster -- there's some high-dollar ad spots) to ruin CART: has there ever been worse coverage in the history of live TV race broadcasts than what we've seen from ABC this year and most of last? Paul Page would put a crystal meth head to sleep, and I swear they're somehow slightly time-shifting the broadcast so they can go to commercial break just before the rare "something-of-interest" happens on the track -- and of course none of their cameras caught it, so you can't even see a replay. There's foul play afoot here... BB

"Barton Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > unified, one- or two-tiered global open wheel series, along the lines of > NASCAR's Busch Grand National and Winston (Coke?) Cup? Remember, you > heard this nonsense here first... Nascar and Winston .................. "global" ? That brought a smile to my face :-) They were AMERICAN national series who tried to unify - global is stretching the boundaries of the North American continent just a little !! Peter PS: Don't wish for Ecclestone no matter what he offers to CART - the man is the devil incarnate !!

well, he DID call it nonsense...... <g> Bad-Boy <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:gE8w5.802$[email hidden]...

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> > "Barton Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > unified, one- or two-tiered global open wheel series, along the lines of > > NASCAR's Busch Grand National and Winston (Coke?) Cup? Remember, you > > heard this nonsense here first... > > Nascar and Winston .................. "global" ? That brought a smile to

my > face :-) > > They were AMERICAN national series who tried to unify - global isstretching > the boundaries of the North American continent just a little !! > > Peter > > PS: Don't wish for Ecclestone no matter what he offers to CART - the manis > the devil incarnate !! > >

In article <[email hidden]>, Barton Brown <[email hidden]> wrote: > [email hidden] wrote: > >Or is "Alessandro" Zanardi's full name (I've only heard him referredto > > as "Alex")? > > Yes, when he ran F1 prior to his CART career, he was called by hisgiven > name, Alessandro, just as "Max" Papis' real name was Massimiliano > before he crossed the pond. Americans generally have problems with That must explain how Helio Castro-Neves morphed into Helio Castroneves this season! <G> > polysyllabic monikers, preferring more "down-home" handles like "Bud", > "Bubba", "Ace", "Goober", "Gomer", and "Opie". I believe this isbecause > it's hard to work them long names around a wet plug of chawin'terbaccy... You forgot "Buddy," "Scott," and "Dale" in there! <G> ;-) -- JB Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Yes, but he's at least as "american" as Jaguar, and he represents a familiar name to many Americans -- he represents someone that I could see my fellow Americans cheering for (as opposed to, say, Al Gore <G>), so he would be a likely candidate in my book, if a proper American-born driver couldn't be found. -- JB In article <8psn7b$qp1$[email hidden]>, "S�an Connolly" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > Despite his South American origins and his lackluster > > performance in F1 last year, I could see Zanardi as a likelycandidate

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> > to become the "American" driver for the "U.S." team. > > Zanardi is Italian isn't he ?!. > > GW > >

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In article <[email hidden]>, Barton Brown <[email hidden]> wrote: > "S�an Connolly" wrote: > > > > Zanardi is Italian isn't he ?!. > > Well, he USED to be, before he was adopted by CART fans and had hisname > changed from Alessandro to Alex! Are you thinking of Alessandro Zampedri, versus Alex Zanardi? Or is "Alessandro" Zanardi's full name (I've only heard him referred to as "Alex")? -- JB Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

"Bad-Boy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > Peter > > PS: Don't wish for Ecclestone no matter what he offers to CART - the man >is the devil incarnate !! > Then he 'must' be the Father of the man who owns the Brickyard track. (whose name I durst not speaketh) for that man is truly the 'son' of Satan. Several years ago..when Disney first partnered with the founder of the IRL, you know who, I made many comments that Disney would probably find some way to promote the IRL at CART's expense. ESPN is owned by ABC which is owned by Disney. We don't need Scully and Mulder to sniff out a rat. If Ford has been drawn into the conspiracy also, then I think it is only a matter of time before Soicihiro Honda...or whomever is in charge overthere...Names Roger Penske as the team manager of Jordan/BAR. dave henrie

Dave Henrie wrote: >I think it is only a > matter of time before Soicihiro Honda...or whomever is in charge > overthere...Names Roger Penske as the team manager of Jordan/BAR. > dave henrie Too late, Dave! F1news.com is reporting this evening (this story following *their* report on Rahal taking over Jaguar): >> Reports ahead of the Italian Grand Prix suggested that another CARTteam boss, Barry Green, is on his way to the BAR team where he will fill Craig Pollock�s shoes following reports of some internal disagreements between Pollock and part team owner British American Tobacco (BAT) over budget blows. >> And those "budget blows" as reported widely, most notably in today's Autoweek, revolve around the WHO's intention to ban ALL cigarette advertising worldwide by 2003, which, if successful, would render the EU's already-passed resolution to end ALL cigarette advertising in the European Union by 2007. Several people in this forum have commented that this will never happen, WHO doesn't have the power to do it, EU *won't* do it... I think you're grossly overestimating the power of the tobacco companies: if they can get their hides nailed to the wall in the US, the home of tobacco, they can get waxed anywhere. I also think people understimate the popular support for banning all cigarette advertising, period. It's going to happen, and it's going to happen soon. Just my opinion, but time will tell... meanwhile, there's inevitably going to be a scramble for sponsors, both individual teams and race series, over the next couple years -- another reason I think one or the other open-wheel car series in the US is going to go under. Oh, and to whomever misread it, I was *not* suggesting Busch Grand National and Winston Cup were global, I was suggesting the possibility of a global two-tiered series for open wheel cars, much more closely tied to one another than the current feeder series -- F3000 -- is to F1 (as Busch is closely tied to WC). Simply because CART/IRL runs ovals as well as road courses does not mean it wouldn't be a useful training ground for F1 -- in fact, it would be interesting to see a unified open wheel series run all over the world, with a "World Shootout" for the various national champions to come together and race each other -- like the Formula Ford Festival or the ARRC. AT any rate, I think *something's* going on -- you can't have two lame-dick series like CART and IRL surviving when there's going to be a scramble for sponsorship money; not with the miserable gates and TV ratings that BOTH series have been getting. Just my thoughts BB

Barton Brown wrote: > >And those "budget blows" as reported widely, most notably in today'sAutoweek, revolve around the WHO's intention to ban ALL cigarette advertising worldwide by 2003, which, if successful, would render the EU's already-passed resolution to end ALL cigarette advertising in the European Union by 2007. I *meant to say, "would render the EU's already passed resolution ..... redundant. BB

This is alarming -- I see Bobby Rahal as a huge stabilizing influence for CART. Overall, I think open wheel racing is better off with Rahal in charge of CART, and the chances of cooperation between the IRL and CART have never been better than they are now with Rahal at the helm. On the other hand, IRL and CART issues aside, I see Rahal's involvement with Jaguar and F1 as a positive step towards developing an "American" presence in the F1 ranks, which is something F1 needs to help establish a casual fan base in the U.S. (the hardcore base is already in place). Jaguar is owned by Ford, which gives it American ties, and Rahal is an Ohio resident and a former Indy winner (you can't get much more American than that combination), so all that's left would be an American driver behind the wheel -- or one that Americans could identify with. Despite his South American origins and his lackluster performance in F1 last year, I could see Zanardi as a likely candidate to become the "American" driver for the "U.S." team. When it comes to other potential drivers for the Rahal/Jaguar "U.S." F1 team, Little Al is probably too far past his prime, but I think Michael Andretti might still have what it takes to give F1 another shot (he couldn't do much worse than Alex did last season). Then again, Tony Stewart would be a hoot to watch in F1 -- or maybe Jeff Gordon, for that matter. Scott Sharp has a lot of talent and a lot of road racing experience, despite his tenure with the IRL for the past few years, so he might be someone to consider, and Buddy Lazier seems to be just hitting his stride, so maybe F1 would be a good place for him to try next. Then again, there's always Sarah Fisher -- wouldn't THAT be something to see!? Hey, it's a stretch, but it's a LOT better than wading into the muck and mire of the IRL/CART debate again, isn't it? ;-) -- JB In article <[email hidden]>, Barton Brown <[email hidden]> wrote: > The ever scooperific Autosport is announcing today on their webshite: > > Jaguar set to announce Rahal at Indy > > Bobby Rahal will be confirmed as Jaguar Racing�s newteam > boss at next weekend�s United States Grand Prix in > Indianapolis. > > That oughta put CART in another tizzy. Forgive me (I know you won't)for > being a wild-hair conspiracy theorist, but I see the hands of Tony > George and Bernard Igglestone in this one. Could it be (pure, > unalduterated conjecture) that Tony and Bernard are working towards a > unified, one- or two-tiered global open wheel series, along the linesof > NASCAR's Busch Grand National and Winston (Coke?) Cup? Remember, you > heard this nonsense here first... > > Rahal actually had two F1 starts in his career, but it sure was awhile > ago -- I wonder why they picked him, of all people ... unless it'spart > of the George/Ecclestone Master Plan to destabilise and disband CARTcompletely > > I'm also convinced that George is somehow finagling with ABC(perennial

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> Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 broadcaster -- there's some high-dollar ad > spots) to ruin CART: has there ever been worse coverage in the history > of live TV race broadcasts than what we've seen from ABC this year and > most of last? Paul Page would put a crystal meth head to sleep, and I > swear they're somehow slightly time-shifting the broadcast so they can > go to commercial break just before the rare "something-of-interest" > happens on the track -- and of course none of their cameras caught it, > so you can't even see a replay. > > There's foul play afoot here... > > BB >

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> Despite his South American origins and his lackluster > performance in F1 last year, I could see Zanardi as a likely candidate > to become the "American" driver for the "U.S." team. Zanardi is Italian isn't he ?!. GW

"S�an Connolly" wrote: > > Zanardi is Italian isn't he ?!. Well, he USED to be, before he was adopted by CART fans and had his name changed from Alessandro to Alex! BB

[email hidden] wrote: >Or is "Alessandro" Zanardi's full name (I've only heard him referred to > as "Alex")? Yes, when he ran F1 prior to his CART career, he was called by his given name, Alessandro, just as "Max" Papis' real name was Massimiliano before he crossed the pond. Americans generally have problems with polysyllabic monikers, preferring more "down-home" handles like "Bud", "Bubba", "Ace", "Goober", "Gomer", and "Opie". I believe this is because it's hard to work them long names around a wet plug of chawin' terbaccy... BB

(snip) the US, the home of tobacco (unsnip) It depends on what you mean, Bart. China can actually be considered as "the home of tobacco" if you are talking about (a) number of smokers per capita and (b) total lack of anti-tobacco laws. -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Barton Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

"Barton Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> [email hidden] wrote: > >Or is "Alessandro" Zanardi's full name (I've only heard him referred to > > as "Alex")? > > Yes, when he ran F1 prior to his CART career, he was called by his given > name, Alessandro, just as "Max" Papis' real name was Massimiliano > before he crossed the pond. Americans generally have problems with > polysyllabic monikers

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You just watch your language pardner...we have children over here showing us where all the good porn sites are and we don't need no words not suitable for thier precious little ears...;> dave henrie

In article <[email hidden]>, "Bruce Kennewell" <[email hidden]> wrote: > But doesn't that theory clash with the use of such long names as > "Billy-Bob", "Billy-Joe", "Peggy-Sue", "Bo-Peep" etc? > > (How come there's never a "Billy-Bill" or a Bobby-Bob"?) Those guys transcend their redneck roots and become pop/rap stars -- like "Marky-Mark" . . . ;-) -- JB

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> -- > Regards, > Bruce Kennewell, > Canberra, Australia. > --------------------------- > > Barton Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > [email hidden] wrote: > > >Or is "Alessandro" Zanardi's full name (I've only heard him

referred to > > > as "Alex")? > > > > Yes, when he ran F1 prior to his CART career, he was called by hisgiven > > name, Alessandro, just as "Max" Papis' real name was Massimiliano > > before he crossed the pond. Americans generally have problems with > > polysyllabic monikers, preferring more "down-home" handleslike "Bud", > > "Bubba", "Ace", "Goober", "Gomer", and "Opie". I believe this isbecause > > it's hard to work them long names around a wet plug of chawin'terbaccy... > > > > BB > > Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.

Dave Henrie wrote: > > > polysyllabic monikers > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You just watch your language pardner...we have > children over here showing us where all the good porn sites are and we don't > need no words not suitable for thier precious little ears...;> > dave henrie I hope no one thought I was referring to Moniker Lewinski... BB

But doesn't that theory clash with the use of such long names as "Billy-Bob", "Billy-Joe", "Peggy-Sue", "Bo-Peep" etc? (How come there's never a "Billy-Bill" or a Bobby-Bob"?) -- Regards, Bruce Kennewell, Canberra, Australia. --------------------------- Barton Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > [email hidden] wrote: > >Or is "Alessandro" Zanardi's full name (I've only heard him referred to > > as "Alex")? > > Yes, when he ran F1 prior to his CART career, he was called by his given > name, Alessandro, just as "Max" Papis' real name was Massimiliano > before he crossed the pond. Americans generally have problems with > polysyllabic monikers, preferring more "down-home" handles like "Bud", > "Bubba", "Ace", "Goober", "Gomer", and "Opie". I believe this is because > it's hard to work them long names around a wet plug of chawin' terbaccy... > > BB