Some Upgrades Ought To Come Standard

The ISC has partnered with a firm called the ISS (confused yet?) to implement a texting service for all fans at ISC tracks. Spectators will now be able to communicate directly with the racing operations center. This is a huge win for any fans who find themselves in a situation of distress, or worse. More here.

F1 starts down under

The talk all week has been the speed of the newly named Brawn GP Racing (formerly Honda). Watching qualifying this morning, however, I was struck more by the lap times, which are stunningly fast considering the FIA has been trying to get the overall speeds down. So much for making the cars more generic by truncating development, eh? Soon the 'Schumacher-esque' speeds will become the norm it seems.

But for now it will be all about Brawn and Williams, at least until the FIA have their say about the 'diffuser row' in Paris in a few weeks. Here's a good bit on Ross Brawn, someone I've always admired.

Truth in 24

Just one last Audi mention on the weekend- I had the chance to see Truth In 24, the documentary on the Audi R10 this week and it is fascinating from start to finish, both for technical and 'project management' standpoints. OH yes... a bit of facing goes on as well. Catch it on ESPN Friday March 20, or look for it to appear at a special event near you. Great stuff. Intersport and NFL Films did a very nice job visually on the film as well, this was no small production.

Mcnish to Appear on Wind Tunnel

Wow, where did the week go?! Like an R10 TDI, it left us in the dust. Which leads us to... the LeMans series. Again. Americans can catch Allan McNish on the fantastic Wind Tunnel, hosted by Dave Despain, this Sunday evening. I'll be interested to hear McNish's thoughts on the new R15 TDI.

The ALS series kicks off at Sebring next weekend. Sebring is fun precisely because you get to see some new things unveiled. To that point, look for the new Acura proto-types slated to appear.

Update: Some great information and a picture of the new R15 can be found on the Formula1Blog here.

'Green Racing'

Yep, it's gaining credibility. Audi ran a car in the American LeMans series last year that ran on biodiesel...KERS, not exactly green but still a step in the right direction, is now embedding itself in Formula One. And the U.S. EPA is apparently paying attention and giving a tip of the cap to the American LeMans Series.