Put a fork in it

One year ago, Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor announced their intentions to launch USF1 based in Charlotte, NC and race in the 2010 Formula One World Championship with a chassis built in America. My recollection from following their initial press conferences and interviews was that they told us that the team and car had been in the works for years and the foundation of the team was well along. Looking back, I think us fans were a bit naive to believe Ken and Peter's story about the team's actual progress. 

Following my earlier blog entry about the possible failure of USF1 to complete their car and reach the grid in Bahrain for the start of the F1 season, a tweet appeared on the official USF1 twitter page that stated simply - "The US F1 Team web server is down and is being repaired as this is written. We are not gone, as many have reported. More news soon." Since than, their website has returned however no new information has been added since late January.

Today, after nearly a week of negative press and media reports about the team's demise, founder Ken Anderson spoke to the New York Times and admitted that the team lost some of its sponsorship funding and will not have the car ready in time for the season opener in Bahrain. He has requested permission from the FIA to miss the first 4 Grand Prixs of the season (Bahrain, Australia, China and Malaysia). 

While the FIA is highly unlikely to approve such a request, this seems to be USF1's only hope of launching their car in 2010. Adding to the complexity of the situation, another new F1 team is waiting in the wings and ready to go with their new car should an opening come available in the FIA approved team lineup for the season. Stefan GP, based in Serbia is supposedly going to be ready to race with the ex-Toyota developed 2010 chassis. 

Personally, I have been a huge supporter of the USF1 team and their concept of building a F1 car in America for the last 12 months however at this point, I am finding it hard to support Anderson considering the situation they have got themselves in. They knew the rules and that they had to be ready for the first race of the season. They said they would have 1 or 2 American drivers and they have none. They don't have any likely options on experienced F1 drivers at all now and I don't see how they can develop a car with rookie drivers. They are asking for an exception from the rules which isn't likely to build much support or respect from fellow teams. Finally, if a team is going to build an American car to compete on the world stage - I want a competitive, first class, ass kicking effort; not some fledgling amateur operation that embarrasses the United State's name. 

It will be interesting to see what transpires over the next week. However I expect USF1 is just about done with their dream and the 2010 F1 grid will feature 22 or so cars including two or three new teams without our friends in Charlotte.

 

UPDATE: SpeedTV Formula 1 commentator Bob Varsha weighed in on the status of USF1 on Sunday's Speed News report and Windtunnel. Check out the video from Speed News below.

US F1 is a no go?

Where there is smoke, there is fire. As of this morning, the rumors over the past couple months might be coming true. The new USF1 team announced in February 2009 seems to have stumbled mightily and may have failed in their quest to launch a new F1 team that was to be based in Charlotte, NC, USA just two and a half hours from my home. I have mentioned the USF1 team in several posts over the last year and was a huge fan of their planned team that was led by SpeedTV commentator and ex-WilliamsF1 team principal Peter Windsor. 

Apparently, the news has broken from various media outlets that USF1 failed to secure the sponsorship dollars they had anticipated and fell behind on the development of their new 2010 car. Their main contributor, Chad Hurley, the founder of YouTube is rumored to have pulled the plug on his involvement due to the team not delivering on their promised car that was to be ready to race on the grid in Bahrain in 22 days from now.

The rumors have been out there since December that USF1 wouldn't make it and Bernie Ecclestone, the boss of F1 has led the speculation all along. Whether Bernie simply knew more than everyone else or he started a self-fulfilling prophecy does not matter at this point. Clearly, USF1 faltered out of the gates having waited until last fall to open their shop and start fabrication of their car. Perhaps they should have targeted the 2011 season, perhaps they lied to everyone about how far they were or were not along in their preparation, perhaps the late decision in 2009 to delete the cost cutting measure implemented by ex-FIA president Max Mosley created a scenario in which their plan would not work.

While the story has not been confirmed in the media, its fairly obvious that the team is struggling. Their website at http://www.usgpe.com is down, their twitter feed hasn't been updated with much in weeks, their signed driver is reported to have gone back to Europe to find another drive for 2010, their primary investor is said to be shopping another new F1 team for involvement or ownership and their newly renovated (though leased) Charlotte headquarters is for sale.

As a F1 fan, as an American and as a North Carolinian, I am very disappointed to hear the news that USF1 could be done.  Unfortunately, being an open-wheel fan in the United States requires more fortitude than most of others sports so while the failure of USF1 would be sad, its not the end of the world.

In three weeks, 24 cars are likely to make it to the F1 grid in Bahrain including four and possibly five former world champion drivers with a minimum of four teams that could contend for the Driver's and Constructor's World Championship.

*Did Not Start

This past weekend, I was supposed to run the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. It was to be my first attempt at running a winter distance race. Considering the cold December, January and early February that we have had on the east coast - I felt fairly prepared for the race. Having run a sub-four hour marathon 3 and 1/2 months ago, I simply maintained my running over the winter and got in a couple outdoor long runs in mid to late January.

On the fourth Saturday of January, Raleigh temps were in the upper 40's to mid 50's and I finished an 11.1 mile run from home to downtown in 1:35:30. My course included a 1.5 mile uphill finish and I still averaged an 8:36 pace which was only .07 sec/mile off my PR half marathon set at the 2007 Virginia Beach Rock N' Roll event. The rest of my training was on the treadmill at the gym and it included hills even though the Myrtle Beach course is flat. This time, two weeks ago, I honestly felt another 1:50 or better half marathon was possible.

Than like most winters, I got sick. Add to my being sick - I than ran the Krispy Kreme Challenge the weekend before the half marathon. It was only 4 miles and the sky was dry so I figured whats the harm?! Needless to say, my cold did not get any better last week before it was time to go to Myrtle Beach and it actually got worse. I went to the doctor where she reviewed my records and pointed out that I get sick every winter and its probably due to my running outside. She called it winter induced asthma and recommended I run inside during cold weather and that I should skip the half marathon. As I left the doctor office with a prescription of antibiotics and an inhaler, I couldn't believe that my own diagnosis all along has been right - that I am allergic to winter!

I admit, I began having my doubts about running Myrtle Beach that very day but I had no intention of actually not going and doing it. Part of the reason I signed up for the race was that a good friend in Myrtle Beach was going to run his first half with me. I didn't want to wimp out on that commitment to him plus I really wanted us all to hang out for the weekend. Than as Friday rolled around, the weather forecast for Myrtle Beach mirrored my health and took a dive. The forecast overnight was for 4-6 inches of snow and ice to hit Myrtle Beach and the race temps would be in the low 30's with a windchill dropping it to the mid-20's. Considering my health, the doctor's advise and the weather conditions that I was not trained for, I decided to forgo the race and stay in Raleigh.

In the end, I made the right decision but not for the reason I expected. At 10:30 PM on Friday night, the City of Myrtle Beach canceled both the full and half marathons due to the snow and predicted icy roads on race morning.

While I was very disappointed to miss this race, I wasn't nearly as disappointed as the thousands of runners that had made the trip to Myrtle Beach from all over the United States only to have it canceled after they had gone to bed for the evening. I understand the city's reasons for canceling the race but I also sympathize greatly with the runners who had made the training and financial commitment to race this event only to miss out running it because of a some light flurries that ended up not even affecting running conditions.

To my pleasure, many stubborn runners took to the course race morning anyways and completed the distance they signed up for and even got their finisher medals. If I had been faced with the same situation, you can be certain I would have been out there too to run the unofficial half marathon. Check out the story and videos from the unofficial race.

The City of Myrtle Beach and the race organizers have some serious work to do between now and next year if they expect to recover interest after the anger their race cancellation decision caused however they need not worry about my participating as apparently cold weather and running do not mix for yours truly.

Carpe Viam (as long as its warm)!

Glaze of Glory

Yesterday, some friends and I took on the Krispy Kreme Challenge again since we didn't get enough last year. Actually, the event is so much fun - how could we resist?! The event sold out with 6000 registered runners and again donates it's proceeds to the UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill.

Just like last year, I am suffering from a cold so my physical energy level was low for the race. Unlike last year, the weather was colder than normal for Raleigh in February with race temps in the low 30's and a cloudy overcast sky with rain or sleet threatening. Despite the colder temps, runners came in a host of silly costumes or lacking clothing all together. We saw people dressed as bananas, tacos, Elvis, in body paint, in underroos and even as a donut. I think there were even more speedo clad runners this year than last; it was way too cold for that.

My friend Jennefer and I ran together again but we pushed the pace this time despite my cold. Since I have been running over the winter, 4 miles should be no problem even in my condition. The hills of the race are significant and I was reminded constantly through the race. At the half way point, the organization was considerably better than last year. We each grabbed a box, I ate 1 donut - yes just 1 than we tucked our boxes under our arms like a running back with the ball and headed back to the finish.

We both maintained our pace and finished in the neighborhood of 44 minutes. I stepped off course and up the hill to touch the NC State bell tower. I recall the finish must include touching the tower even though this year, the finish was down on Hillsborough St. We hung around for a bit, met up with friends and watched the crowds come across at the finish. It seemed that a lot of people chose not to take on the actual eating challenge since so many others also toted their donuts to the finish.

With another successful event completed, I headed over to a nearby cafe for a proper breakfast of coffee, biscuits with sausage gravy and set my sites on getting healthy in time to run the Myrtle Beach 1/2 Marathon next weekend.

I didn't see ESPN filming this year but I did find this cool time lapsed video that someone posted on YouTube of the event.

Speeding down memory lane

With less than 6 weeks until the start of the 2010 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, I had to post this video compilation of F1 footage that I found from the past 30+ years. Sit back and enjoy this dramatic montage featuring the best and worst of greats like Schumacher, Alonso, Senna, Hakkinen, Prost, Mansell, Hill, Villenueve, Andretti and Raikkonen. While many of these moments are from the late 80's and early to mid-90's, it is as if they just happened yesterday to me.