The dicey world of Formula One

I mentioned in an earlier post that 2010 could well be the last roll of the dice for Formula One. The hype over the last few months was huge. There were going to be new teams, new cars, new drivers, plus an older returning one, new rules and a new point's system.

Well, as far as I'm concerned, the opening race in Bahrain was a monumental letdown and the first roll of the dice ended in crap.

No passing, no fuel stop where drivers might have been able to pass, no dicing - just big heavy cars following each other around a boring circuit.

I reckon the most interesting part of the race would have been the team and driver debrief.

Especially when a team principle must have had a go at his 20-year-old driver, wanting an explanation, of how a bloke old enough to be his Dad (Michael Schumacher) kicked his butt to finish sixth having not raced for three years.

Oh, and if I was Jenson Button, I'd be having a quiet word to myself wondering how, as the world champion, I got beaten by an old guy in my old car.

When everyone complained how tedious the race was, including the drivers, Bernie Ecclestone's reply was along the lines of, "You made your bed now go and lie in it." Not really all that helpful Bernie.

I watched the opening round of the IndyCar IRL championship later the same morning knowing a Kiwi, Scott Dixon, was competing. Even if the race around the streets of Sao Paulo was a procession, at least I had someone I could root for.

Even before the first lap was completed there was chaos with cars flying off in all directions and indeed on top of each other. After the carnage was cleaned up racing resumed and didn't disappoint, which brings me to the weekend just gone.

It was the last round of MotorSport New Zealand's Summer Season of Motor Racing in Taupo. The track leaves a little to be desired, compounded by the Hauraki Chase which is just plain odd.

The general consensus is to remove the yellow tyres to make it more challenging and interesting. From memory, the tyres were only put there for the A1GP cars. As they won't be back again, why not take the tyres away.

What was most disappointing was, outside of the V8s and one TRS race, how boring it all was - partly due to the small fields, but also some of the classes competing.

How anyone can class Suzuki Swifts, Minis and oddball production cars as premier I have no idea. Even more so, if you combined all the three classes they still wouldn't have filled the grid.

I'm not just having a go at these three classes as in some of the others the top six reverse grid race just about reversed the whole field.

Before anyone starts banging on about the cost and low number of entries have a look at some of the other cars racing around New Zealand.

Last weekend would have been fabulous if along with the V8s, TRS and Porsches, the event had the F5000s, muscle cars or even the GTs.

Not only do they all sound like race cars but also they have big fields. God Lord, why not introduce the E35 BMWs - there's hundreds of those racing.

At the last A1GP meeting at the same circuit I did my own little vox pop that the fans were more interested in watching the muscle cars than any other class.

For the purists that must hurt, but without fans turning up and poor television viewership, meaning no sponsors, the sport will tank and we'll all end back watching half arsed stuff racing in ploughed fields.

I don't have all the answers but I would strongly suggest MotorSport New Zealand put what classes' race at tier one meetings high on their agenda.


- Eric Thompson