Bleacher Report - Articles by Dan Keshler

Senna: What Does The Future Hold?

Dan Keshler — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:48:38 -0400

Senna.

The name that captivated a nation, and the sporting world surely needs no introduction.

That legendary spirit lives on in 25 year old Bruno, nephew of Formula One master Ayrton. Already proven & multifaceted, one can only wonder when his time in an F1 seat will come.

Winner in British F3, Winner & vice champion in European GP2, F1 seemed the next logical step for Senna. His chance was thought to have arrived this year, after testing with Honda in 2008, he was rumored to replace fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello as second driver to Jenson Button in the 2009 Honda lineup.

The toll of the global financial crisis caused the withdrawal of Honda from Formula One in 2009, and Senna's ride evaporated with the factory squad.

After news surfaced that Senna had tested with Mercedes in the German DTM series, it was believed that he would run the 2009 season. Senna declined the offer from gracious Mercedes Benz, citing his desire to focus wholly on obtaining a Formula One drive.

In spite of yet more rumors he might replace Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Bourdais midway through the 2009 F1 season, Bruno signed with Team Oreca Matmut to compete in the 2009 European Le Mans Series.

He saw success in his first outing, scoring an LMP1 & overall podium finish with co-driver Stephane Ortelli at the 1000km of Catalunya. At the following Spa 1000km, he suffered a frightening high speed impact with the wall, causing heavy damage to the chassis of the brand new Oreca 01.

The car was rebuilt in time for the 2009 24 hours of Le Mans, but the decision was made to retire the car after two seperate incidents. It completed just 219 laps to finish 41st.

2010 presents a myriad of F1 opportunities, as Senna is being watched by Force India owner Vijay Mallya to replace Giancarlo Fisichella, and is also in talks with at least one other team.

When spoken to earlier this month, he admits that while this may not be the best of times to be vying for an F1 seat, he is confident he will find a Formula One drive in 2010. With contracts expiring and rumors swirling, it will be interesting to see how things resolve for the young Brazilian, but I think most of us hope his time comes soon, as we just want to see him drive.

A Look Ahead: 2009 Asian Le Mans Series

Dan Keshler — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:36:39 -0400

2009 has been a season of financial turmoil and thin ice for professional motorsport around the world, and nothing is more refreshing than seeing a new stage being prepped for top tier sportscar competition.

This year will be the inaugural season of the new Asian Le Mans series. Created by the ACO in the image of the European LMS and the spirit of the erstwhile Japan Le Mans Challenge, this series promises more of the standard 4 class GT & LMP action already enjoyed by fans around the globe.

While optimistic about this untapped racing market, the ACO is not oblivious to the current financial situation, and is offering generous incentives to APLMS entrants. The top LMP & GT teams will receive complementary entries into the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the ACO has also offered all European and American teams free transport of their cars & equipment to the events in Japan.

There are two races scheduled for this season. In true LMS fashion, they will be 1000km events, however the track time will be separated into two points bearing three hour races for each event. The first event will be held in Japan at Okayama International, and the second held in China at the Shanghai GP circut, also visited by Formula One. An abstract schedule with dates can be found at the end of the article.

The official entry list contains 31 cars, attracting well established teams from the ALMS, LMS, FIA GT and Japanese Super GT (Formerly JGTC). Some highlights include the SORA racing Peugeot 908 HDi, the student entered Courage of Tokai University (An engineering university in Tokyo), and the LMP2 runner up for the 2009 24 of Le Mans campaigning a the fan favorite Porsche RS Spyder.

GT1 will see 24 hour entrants Luc Alphand Racing's Corvette and Team JLOC's Lamborghini Murcielago, as well as long time FIA GT entrant Larbre competition's Saleen S7R. GT2 favorites are the Felbermayer-Proton & IMSA Matmut Porsche GT3 RSRs and AF Corse Ferrari 430GT, one of only two Ferraris in the field. A full entry list will follow this article.

In short, the ACO sees potential in the growing Asian endurance racing market, and sports car fans all over the world get a new, professional endurance racing series. Despite the current fiscal climate and the toll it has taken on the sport as a whole, the silver lining of 2009 is undoubtedly the Asian Le Mans Series.

Authors Note:

Some critical information, such as television broadcast schedules and driver information was not available at the time of this writing. Please check back frequently as this and other breaking news will be posted as it emerges, along with race analysis and other relevant information for the 2009 APLMS series.

OFFICIAL 2009 SEASON SCHEDULE

Rounds 1 & 2: 1000km of Okayama, Okayama Japan, October 30th - November 1st

Rounds 3 & 4: 1000km of Shanghai, Shanghai China, November 7th - November 8th

OFFICIAL 2009 SEASON ENTRY LIST (by class & subject to change)

LMP1
Sora Racing - Pesacarolo Judd
Sora Racing - Pesacarolo Judd
Sora Racing-Pescarolo Sport - Peugeot 908 HDi FAP
Tokai University YGH Power - Courage Oreca LC70
Team Oreca Matmut AIM - Oreca 01 AIM
Team Oreca Matmut AIM - Oreca 01 AIM
Signature-Plus - Courage-Oreca LC70 Judd
Speedy Racing Team Sebah - Lola Aston Martin

LMP2
OAK Racing - Pescarolo Mazda
OAK Racing - Pescarolo Mazda
NAVI Team Goh - Porsche RS Spyder
KSM - Lola Mazda
Speedy Racing Team Sebah - Lola Judd

LMGT1
Luc Alphand Aventures - Corvette C6.R
Team Nova - Aston Martin DBR9
JLOC - Lamborghini Murcièlago R-GT
Larbre Competition - Saleen S7-R

LMGT2
Drayson Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Team Felbermayr-Proton - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Team Felbermayr-Proton - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Team Hong Kong Racing - Aston Martin Vantage GT2
Hankook-Team Farnbacher - Ferrari F430 GT2
Team Daishin - Ferrari F430 GT2
Robertson Racing LLC - Ford GT
Endurance Asia Team - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
Hankook-KTR - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
IMSA Performance Matmut - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR
AF Corse SRL - Ferrari F430 GT2
China Racing FYI - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR

Ferrari Engine Woes Not Just for Customer Teams

Dan Keshler — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:49:34 -0400

Perhaps the big news coming out of Budapest this year is "Massa robbed of victory".

Perhaps not.

Any avid F1 viewer can by now tell you that something funny is going on with the Ferrari 056.

A Ferrari engine failure is not exactly news in 2008—it has earned itself numerous DNFs in the customer cars of Toro Rosso and Force India, but up until Sunday's race had only parked a works car in the Australian Grand Prix.

However, the driver of that car, Felipe Massa, fell victim once again to the 056's fickle reliability. Leading the race with three laps remaining, Massa's Ferrari engine decided it had raced enough.

Also interesting was the pace of fellow Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. After (presumably) news of Massa's failure reached him, the Iceman slowed considerably in what was seen by many as an attempt to conserve a possible wounded engine and secure his finishing position.

Is this all just a rather bad case of luck, or is Maranello aware of something more sinister lurking in their hardware?

Will the biggest question mark for a Ferrari championship come not from driver or car performance, but in the form of a frozen engine that will continues to wreak havoc on all three Ferrari-powered stables this season?

2009 Formula One Budget Cap Figures Released

Dan Keshler — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:07:12 -0400

Two days ago, I posted an article concerning the proposed budget caps for the 2009 Formula One season and beyond.

That article can be found here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/22617-Will-the-2009-Budget-Caps-Change-the-Worlds-Richest-Sport-

Today, new information has been made public, and we now have exact figures on what the budget constraints will be.

The expenditure for the 2009 season will be capped at $268 million, dropping to $214 million for 2010 and moving to the permanent figure of $170 million starting in 2011.

However, some of the largest areas of team expenditure are not limited by the cap. They include: engine construction and development, driver wages, marketing and promotion, and team principal wages.

For most teams, based on reported figures, they will be unaffected by these caps, which many speculate were designed to limit the teams aerodynamic development.

The 2009 aerodynamic regulations will likely nullify that concern, so it remains to be seen what effect, if any, these changes will have around the paddock.

Formula One: Turkey Marks First Finish for Sebastian Vettel

Dan Keshler — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:46:50 -0400

The Turkish Grand Prix marked the fifth event of the 2008 F1 season, but for German Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel, it was the first he successfully completed.

Vettel had previously fallen victim to one of the worst strings of bad luck we've seen in modern F1, after failing to finish in the first four races of the season. Three of these DNFs occurred on the first lap of each race, with the other being the failure of his Ferrari engine on lap 39 of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Vettel, who showed promise last year with two points scoring finishes, has simply been denied the chance to perform this season; but having finally finished a race, perhaps his luck will change.

Force India Owner Vijay Mallya Slams Customer Teams, But Who Built His Cars?

Dan Keshler — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:11:02 -0400

In an exchange on the grid at Malaysia, Force India owner Vijay Mallya made some interesting remarks about his disdain for "customer cars," but neglected to mention that his team didn't build the ex-Spyker car they run.

ITV commentator Martin Brundle said this to Mallya:

"You build your own car. Obviously Aguri don't to an extent. You're violently against customer cars and such, but you need to keep the grid fully populated. Its a tricky problem for Formula One."

Mallya responded with this pretentious remark:

"It is a problem for Formula One and you know, we have to run a full factory, we have to have research and development programs and wind tunnels and everything that goes with it and obviously its a lot more expensive, a lot more difficult than those who can just go and get chassis from others..."

Lets pause right there and examine that statement. It's obviously a jab at Aguri, but Mallya and Brundle seem to imply that Force India built their car, and didn't just "get it from others," which simply isn't true. While they may have every intention of building their own car in the future, the VJM01 is simply a reworked version of the 2007 Spyker F8-VII—not unlike the way the Aguri SA08 is a reworked 2007 Honda RA107. Force India also uses Ferrari customer engines, not unlike the way Aguri used Honda customer engines.

While the designer of the Spyker, Technical Director James Key, continues to hold that position for Force India, the fact of the matter remains: Mallya simply purchased him along with the car, and where Aguri was a brand new F1 team, Force India is simply the re-branded Spyker-Midland-Jordan team, purchased by Mallya.

Whats the real definition of a customer team? That, apparently remains open to interpretation, but Vijay, don't pretend for a second you built the car or team that you bought.

I'd love to hear opinions on this, please let me know where you stand on this issue.

Formula One: Ross Brawn of Honda Announces Further Aero Tweaks

Dan Keshler — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:50:42 -0400

Honda's Ross Brawn has announced that, after the relative success of the "bunny ears" aero changes, that they will introduce more unique aero refinements for the Monaco Grand Prix.

The new nose seemed to help the team keep pace in Spain, and it was well received by the drivers after Jenson scored the first points of the year for Honda at Catalunya.

"We should have some visually interesting new parts for Monaco, the highest downforce circuit so far," Brawn said.

It can be assumed that Honda will make good use of the downtime until the aerodynamically demanding Monaco GP to further test and refine their aero package.

As surprised—and subsequently impressed—as we were by the "bunny ears," we can only imagine what's in store.

Disappointing news about the future of F1 gaming (Codemasters gets F1 license)

Dan Keshler — Sat, 10 May 2008 15:03:34 -0400

UK developer Codemasters revealed earlier this week that, much to the dismay of the sim racing community, they have picked up the license to create and distribute an F1 video game. As F1 tries to increase its reach, an licensed game was inevitable.

Rumors circulated earlier this year about a possible EA Sports F108, after it was reported that they signed Lewis Hamilton to appear on the cover. I'm not sure what this news means for the rumored EA project, but it is something that Peter Moore is very eager to make happen.

Let's examine why this news is indeed so troubling. Codemasters games, though popular and generally well received, are not very realistic portrayals of race driving. Most notable are the Race Driver and Colin McRae series. The latest is CMR:Dirt, which shares its engine with the upcoming Race Driver Grid and the new F1 project.

Neither of these games provide a good racing experience. The handling is terrible, and after having tried the Grid demo today, I am very worried about what they may try to pass off as an F1 racer.

There is absolutely no sensation of accurate speed, grip or suspension travel in Grid. The cars seem to glide around the track as if they were on ice, and either possess endless traction, or none at all. The lauded damage modeling, while detailed, is FAR from realistic. In my experience, cars that roll over generally do not finish races.

I suppose some news about the future of F1 gaming is better than none, but with much more promising sims on the horizon, we may as well hold out for iracing, GTR Evolution, STCC, etc.

Sims are a tough market, and I doubt we will ever see another professional F1 sim, as the license is so expensive that to turn a profit Codemasters must create a game with mass-market appeal. But it remains to be seen what we will get, and we can try to remain hopeful, despite Codemasters "track" record.