Here are a few sites with swell dioramas

http://swaddsavale.wordpress.com/

And to a certain extent, so is politics.

Many of Mark's teammates from Penske Racing will be attending,including Karl
Kainhofer, Indy Hall-of-Fame crew chief; John “Woody” Woodard, crew chief on the
Porsche 917-10 and 917-30; Ron Fournier, Trans-Am builder; Chuck Cantwell, team
manager; Don Cox, Penske engineer; and Judy Stropus, Penske timer and scorer.
Another highlight will be a release of a new book “Mark Donohue: His Life in
Photographs.”Argetsinger will be Master of Ceremonies at a Mark Donohue Tribute
breakfast on Sunday morning, July 18.

I am not 100% sure these companies are up to the task.

Well, one day I was working on my computer, and suddenly I get this message that I had spyware and virus on my computer. I noticed my AVG was not working, so I figure I let the license lapse while I was out of the country, and was somewhat glad I got that notice from the nice folks at Antivirus Pro 2009.

I readily clicked on the removal button, and was prompted to buy the darn thing. In retrospective, the site was very fishy, dare I say, veeeeeeeeeeery phishy! However, afraid I would get major destruction on my hard drive, I signed up for the download, ran a scan, and was a happy camper. There is a sucker in all of us indeed.

I was a bit suspicious, because I did not get an email confirmation of the order, and the receipt that appeared on screen had somebody else's name, rather than mine.

Well, every single day, the same message kept on popping up, saying I had the same 31 spyware items on my hd, prompting me to remove them. Which I did.

After a few days, stress and all, I realized I had been big time scammed, and bingo, it does not take much sleuthing to find out this is a scam. There is no software. All you get is a screen, the silly pop-ups and a US$75.00 charge to your credit card, in my case, from a company called "professional BD Soft! from good ol' Latvia.

I did what I needed to do. Apparently it does not phish anything out of your computer, and at least on my case, all they did charge was the 75 bucks to my card - there was no shopping spree. Plus I removed the silly pop-ups and screen from my computer.

However, you might not be so lucky. They might have different modus operandi for different countries

Thus, if you get a prompt from Antivirus Pro 2009, know it is a scam, not antivirus software. Don't pay attention to the apocalyptic message displayed.

They got me good, but I am done with them yet.

'What if' scenarios for dead drivers are one of those wonders of life. Nice to put together, but totally useless. I tried a few of these with Ayrton Senna, and in the end, the experience is more painful.

The article concludes, like I did with some of my Senna scenarios, that Clark might have ended world champion in 1968, 1970 and 1972, in other words, replacing Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt and Emerson Fittipaldi. It is based on the premise that Clark would remain a Lotus loyalist to the end of his career, concluding that perhaps Clark would have retired after his fifth world title in 1972. It saw a 1973 title as a possibility.

Clark had won the South African GP of 1968, the first race of the year, before death took him away in Germany. The race was significant not only because it was Clark's last GP, and the one in which he overtook Fangio's record of 24 wins. It was also the end of sponsorless Formula 1.

Curiously, it was the very Lotus team that began the trend of carrying conspicuous non-racing related commercial sponsorship in cars, when the Lotuses came in Red, White and Golden livery as of Spain.

You might say, so what? I think this is important, considering the long term Clark career. For Clark was not your regular Jackie Stewart or Graham Hill, who did OK under the spotlights of TV, or talking to throngs of fans, and chatting on the radio. Clark did not fully adapt to fame, and in my analysis, he would not have taken too well to the age of commercial sponsorship.

Sure, in formative years sponsors did not milk dry drivers like they do today, but I believe two years of sponsor commitments would have damaged Clark's desire to continue in the game. I basically think that yes, he might have won the 1968 title, but Stewart would still come out on top in 1969, which might have been Clark's last season. I do not see him going on to 1970 and forward.

Whether Clark would have moved to another team, I do not know. Full commercial sponsorship was widespread only around 1972, so there may have been a few teams around in which Clark would probably feel less pressured.

Thus, in my scenario, we would still end with a 3-time Clark champion, with probably 30-32 victories under his belt. And still alive today.

I think this makes more sense for McLaren. McLaren and latin blood have not mixed too well lately, and Ron Dennis does get along much better with monosyllabic Finns. I expect Heikki to prosper at McLaren, and maybe push Hamilton very hard. He might have trouble fitting in in the first few races, like he did at Renault in 2007, but eventually will come good.

I was also not surprised to see Mutua Madrilena go. The Spanish insurance company claims the pullout of support has nothing to do with Alonso's departure from the Woking them...Sure.

I also expect Santander to pull out sooner or later. The sponsorship deal was obviously an 'ethnic' market deal, and it makes no sense for the Spanish bank to support a team with a British and Finnish driver, with a Spanish driver that will never make the race driving squad.

I was surprised, though, at McLaren's letter of apology to FIA, in essence acknowledging that more team staff than they originally thought had access to the Ferrari details. How this will play out on th analysis of the 2008 McLaren car, I have no idea. I do think FIA is ready o put this behind them and push forward. So is McLaren, which I expect, will stop appealing all types of decisions and filing all types of protests against other teams. Back to the track, guys!

Something weird struck me this morning, though. It has been announced that Ralf was slated to test for Force India, at the same time he was still hoping for a McLaren drive! This is a wide range of options for you! From best to worst!

Then there is the Prodrive thing. Not surprisingly, the team will not make the 2008 season, and probably will not enter F1 ever, after all. The customer car row seems far from a resolution, and the powers that be are unlikely to intervene, given that 22 cars on the grid is not that bad. I really do not think Prodrive will build its own chassis, and will likely not be the sport's 12th team.

I did not think it would be possible for Alonso to sit out a season. However, there is still a possibility that Renault will be punished for the alleged spy scandal of its own, with docking of points for the 2008 season, and in that case, I find it almost impossible that Alonso will drive for the team, at least while the punishment is being applied. This kind of leaves Alonso with nowhere to go, as Toyota seems pleased with the retaining of Timo Glock and Red Bull boss' Mateschitz has ruled out signing the Spaniard. It is a bit hard to imagine Alonso going to Force India...So, Alonso may yet take a sabbatical. I still believe Alonso let his emotions get the best of him, and he will pay dearly for this...

The fact tha Schumi is German plus had ties with Mercedes in his early career, in the late 80's, early 90's, is the only part of the story that would make any sense. Nothing else in the story is rational, though.

Michael Schumacher is a very intelligent man. In the last two years of his career he did struggle to keep pace with Fernando Alonso. He was still fast, capable of winning races and challenging for the championship, but Alonso definitely had the upper hand and came out on top both years. That same Alonso moved to McLaren and had trouble keeping up with rookie Hamilton. Schumi would not jeopardize his image by driving in the same team as the man that beat the man that beat him!!! It is a simple as that. He would rather leave that an unanswered question.

On the other side of the equation, McLaren could probably be world champion, today, if Fernando Alonso were not in the team in 2007. Or if Alonso was paired with a weaker driver. The last thing McLaren needs now is to pair another strong driver of Schumi's level against Hamilton. Ron Dennis would be indeed a very silly man, if he did this, and would likely anger Hamilton's management (his dad), who feels Lewis has to be number 1 in the team.

Michael Schumacher would not come back to F-1 without being ensured number 1 status at his new team. Something McLaren will not do.

Add to that the expense of hiring Michael, a consideration for a team that still needs to pay a reported 30 mm fine, and I think the German press has picked up on the wrong Schumacher! I would not be surprised if the weaker Ralf were retained by McLaren, though.

The two million-dollar questions that remain are, where will Alonso go, and who will substitute him at McLaren.

Let us deal with the first issue. Alonso could do one of three things: a one year sabbatical, retire or go to another team. Sabbaticals no longer work in F-1. Lauda and Prost did them and were champions again, but that was many years ago, GP cars change at such a fast pace that once you are gone a while, you are no longer of much use in F-1. The only reason Alonso would consider a sabbatical would be to wait for a Ferrari seat to become available, an unlikely proposition at this point. So scratch that. As for retirement, Alonso is still very young, and hungry. He has not made a huge fortune yet, so scratch retirement. He will race next year. But where?

His name has been linked to Williams, Toyota, Red Bull and Renault. Let me go item by item again. Alonso seems to hold the belief that his very presence in a team is worth about a 6/10 sec improvement. He owes to himself the huge improvement made by McLaren this year. So, he likely believes that by leaving Mclaren, the team might sooner or later lose the 6/10 seconds it gained, and his next team will gain something like the 6/10 sec.

As I said before, Alonso is still hungry, and even though he seems to believe the 6/10 sec. factor, he is no miracle worker. If he were to go to either Toyota, Williams or Red Bull, the 6/10 sec would probably move the car up to 4th/6th on the grid, it would not be sufficient to make them possible winners. Toyota has the money to pay him, especially after disponsing of Ralf Schumacher, Williams is strapped for cash, and Red Bull does have money. The problem with the last two is they are engine customers. None of these situations would be a pleasant scenario for Alonso. So, the only reason that would prevent Alonso from going to Renault next year is if he fails to agree with his old team on contracual terms.

Alonso probably also believes that the reason why Renault went down the pecking order was exclusively because he left the team. This is partially true. Renault Pat Symonds himself acknowledged there were shortcomings in the car's design, that no driver could make up for, including Alonso. So while Alonso's presence in the team will motivate it, the equipe might struggle for pace. Notwithstanding, I expect Alonso to sign up with Renault.

As for his replacement at McLaren, the team has three options: get a seasoned driver, do the inhouse approach, or go experimental. Two seasoned drivers should be available next year, none of which is likely to rock the boat with Hamilton. These are Fisichella and Schumacher. Having them in the team will bring experience, the one thing Hamilton lacks, and which, incidentally, caused him to lose last year's title.

The inhouse approach is likely to be inexpensive, and should create a good environment for Hamilton. Gary Paffett is contracted to McLaren, and Pedro de La Rosa would appease somehow the Spanish sponsors Santander and Mutua Madrilena. None of them is likely to create problems for Hamilton.

Lewis himself mentioned a short list of possible replacements: Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen. Rosberg is still considered a young tiger, and I believe his dad Keke would not like to see his son in a number 2 position to Hamilton. Neither does Lewis dad want a driver like Nico paired against his son! Nico might actually be faster than Hamilton, and McLaren would again have huge driver problems. Plus, it will be quite expensive to extract Nico from his Williams contract. Adrian Sutil seems to be s fast driver, however, I do not believe he is worth one of the four best seats in the house. He might be a disappointment. I do believe that Kovalainen will be the number 2 McLaren driver next year. He has all the elements in place. He is fast, however knows his place, does not use the media to speak to his team, is good with sponsors and the press, not given to tantrums and was very much a team player at Renault. Plus Ron Dennis seems to like them Finns.

So this is my prediction: Alonso at Renault, Kovalainen at McLaren, a regular driver swap in the end.

The Amon F-1 project ranks among the least successful of the 70's, the era when Cosworth kit cars ruled, and when, in theory, building a competitive car should be a piece of cake. Luckless Amon was not lucky as a constructor as well, and his team suffered from lack of finances, poor component design and somewhat ambitious concepts from the onset. Amon was a man of principles, though, and he refused a drive with the competitive Brabham team, because he did not want to disappoint his mates in the team.

So, 33 years after the Amon F-1 car graced the F-1 fields, the car has become reasonably competitive in historic Formula 1 race. The car was rebuilt, and it is now raced by Ron Maydon. In a recent Grand Prix Masters sprint race, in England, the car finished in fifth place, battling the likes of a McLaren M23. In fact, in the picture below the Amon is racing in front of a McLaren M23, something unthinkable in 1974, when the M23 ruled. In front, a Brabham that might have been used by Amon at the time, if he were not so loyal to his team members.

The Amon is, of course, the baby blue car that appears after the Lotus 76.

Eventualmente, os holandeses compraram a ilha que ocupavam, dos índios Man-a-hat, daí o nome Manhattan que sobrevive até hoje. Dizem que a ilha foi trocada por um saco de sal. Se isto é verdade, não sei. Só sei que qualquer que tenha sido o pagamento, sem dúvida não daria nem para pagar o aluguel mensal de um estúdio em Manhattan, hoje em dia!!! Os aluguéis atuais sem dúvida são salgados.

Mudemos de cenário. No final do século XV, instalou-se a Santa Inquisição na Península Ibérica, que compreende Portugal e Espanha. Entre outras coisas, iniciou-se uma perseguição sistemática contra os judeus sefaradim que ali viviam. Alguns se converteram ao catolicismo, e outros resistiram na sua religião, embora, externamente praticassem o catolicismo. Outros foram mortos, e alguns fugiram para diversos locais, entre os quais a Holanda, onde havia liberdade (relativa) de religião.

Outra mudança de cenário. Os europeus chegaram no Brasil em 1500, primeiramente 'descoberto' por espanhóis (no litoral do Maranhão, mas aí é outra história) e um mês depois, pelos portugueses que chegaram na Bahia. Embora os portugueses tenham inicialmente tratado a nova colônia com descaso, em meados do século trataram de colonizá-la de forma mais sistemática, dado o interesse de outros países na mesma. Durante o primeiro século e meio de vida da Terra Brasilis, os portugueses tiveram que brigar com espanhóis, holandeses e franceses para manter sua imensa colônia . Não se deve esquecer, entretanto, que os reinos de Espanha e Portugal foram unidos durante algum tempo. A área que mais se desenvolveu no Brasil desta época foi o nordeste, com suas vastas plantações de cana, o petróleo branco do século XVI, que energizava pessoas, não veículos. E foi assim que Pernambuco se tornou uma área de muito progresso. Os holandeses, principais comerciantes do mundo na época, ficaram de olho em Pernambuco, eventualmente criando um assentamento da Companhia das Índias Ocidentais naquele assentamento.

Antes mesmo da chegada dos holandeses, diversos judeus iberos fugiram para Pernambuco. Estima-se que até 50.000 judeus tenham fugido para a área, durante um século.

Ou seja existia uma potencial triangulação Holanda – Pernambuco – Nova York. Pois bem. Os holandeses não colonizaram Nova York. Aqui mantinham um entreposto, sem idéias de ocupar a área permanentemente como colonizadores, o que era caro e trabalhoso, e popularam a área com alguns poucos holandeses, trazendo franceses huguenotes protestantes, como seus convidados. Aqui estou diferenciando entre o imigrante convidado, uma figura quase desconhecida do xenófobo mundo globalizado atual, do imigrante que imigra sem ser convidado, e muitas vezes contra a vontade do país hóspede.

Os primeiros judeus que imigraram para Pernambuco continuaram a sentir a perseguição religiosa dos portugueses, assim, muitos de converteram ao catolicismo tornando-se os chamados cristãos novos, enquanto outros praticavam sua religião às escondidas. De qualquer forma, as autoridades locais eram menos rigorosas e dogmáticas na sua perseguição aos judeus do que na Espanha e Portugal. Quando os holandeses tomaram Pernambuco, entretanto, os judeus passaram a desfrutar de grande liberdade de culto, devido à visão mais aberta do Governador Mauricio de Nassau, havendo um renascimento do judaísmo local.

Eventualmente, os portugueses tomaram Pernambuco de volta dos holandeses, e os judeus começaram a ser perseguidos novamente. Uma leva destes, uns vinte e poucos, decidiram sair do Brasil antes que a situação ficasse mais precária. Pararam primeiro em Curaçao, nas Antilhas Holandeses, e eventualmente seguiram viagem para Nova York, outra filial da Companhia das Índias Ocidentais. Esse fato é fartamente documentado.

Estes foram os primeiros imigrantes judeus de Nova York, e provavelmente, os primeiros imigrantes não convidados da cidade. Eram provenientes do Brasil, e quem sabe, pelo menos alguns deles nascidos lá. Uma coisa é certa: Partiram do Brasil.

Como nota de rodapé, dois fatos. Embora estivessem fugindo da perseguição religiosa, essa primeira leva de imigrantes judeus se deu mau em Nova York. O governador Peter Stuyvesant não compartilhava a mesma visão liberal de Nassau, e os colocou na cadeia, logo que chegaram. Eventualmente os liberou, mas restringindo a sua liberdade de culto.

Outro fato interessante. A primeira sinagoga de Nova York foi a Portuguese/Spanish Synagogue, formada com judeus iberos no próprio século XVII, muitos provavelmente procedentes do Brasil.

Part of the reason for Brazil’s lack of international racing was that the country had a single racing circuit, Interlagos, and even by 50’s standards, it was poorly kept. In fact, in those early days many a horse was seen wandering inside the course, during a race. In one such episode, Djalma Pessolato was killed in the 1000 Milhas of 1958, when he struck a horse. Another important issue was the struggle for power between the Automobile Club of Brazil (ACB) and the Brazilian Auto Racing Confederation (CBA), which made Brazil a pariah as far as the FIA was concerned.

Two notable developments occurred, that propitiated the return of international racing to Brazil, besides the peace between the CBA and ACB. The first development was the closure of Interlagos, which at the time was no longer the only racetrack in Brazil, but still the best, for renovations. This took place in 1968, and during the entire year of 1969 the track was closed. As a result of the track closing, a few drivers were compelled to try to race in Europe. Ricardo Achcar, from Rio de Janeiro, tried his hand in Formula Ford in 1968, winning a race. And then, in 1969, a certain Emerson Fittipaldi decided to give it a try as well. One should not demean Achcar’s accomplishment and pioneering spirit, but Emerson was really successful, winning several Formula Ford races, and switching to Formula 3 in the middle of the year. Luis Pereira Bueno, another top Brazilian racer, also tried Formula Ford, and won races, and a much optimistic Antonio Carlos Avallone tried Formula 5000 – he was way out of his depth in this category, though.

So, for 1970, Brazil had both a racetrack in reasonable condition, and a F-3 Champion. Plus, Interlagos was no longer the only game in town: the Rio track was still operating, and racetracks had sprung in Curitiba, in the South, and in Fortaleza, all the way I the Northeast. Brazil tried then to emulate the Argentines, which by 1970 had worked up to hosting Sports Car racing: a Formula Ford “temporada” was announced for early 1970, with races in Rio, Interlagos, Curitiba and Fortaleza.

The tournament was sponsored by BUA (a technical partner, a British airline which transported the cars and most drivers) and Rede Globo, the Brazilian TV network that from an early stage gave support to this car-racing renaissance in Brazil.

The major star of the tournament was in fact the Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi. However some future notable drivers took part in the 4-race series: Tom Walkinshaw, who would eventually run Benetton, own Ligier and Arrows, and as such, would eventually employ(and fire) Brazilian drivers; Vern Schuppan, the Australian who reached Formula 1 but was better known for his sports car exploits, eventually owning a Group C team that raced successfully in Japan; Ian Ashley, a driver who reached Formula 1, albeit unsuccessfully; Tom Belso, the Dane who was moderately successful in F5000, and reached F-1 in 1973, also unsuccessfully. Tony Lanfranchi, for many years a major factor in British racing. Valentino Musetti, for many years a factor in British libre racing, who would eventually race a Fittipaldi F-1! As well as a few other drivers who became footnotes in international racing Syd Fox, Lianne Engemann, Clive Santo, Peter Hull, Reg James, Ray Allen, Ed Patrick, Max Fletcher, Gabrielle Konig Representing Brazil, a few names such as Luis Pereira Bueno, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Norman Casari, Marivaldo Fernandes, Ricardo Achcar, Francisco Lameirão, Milton Amaral. All of these, at one point or another, raced internationally, with the first two reaching Formula 1.

Emerson handsomely won the Formula Ford tournament, and towards the late part of 1970, the Brazilian organizers decided to emphasize Sports Cars. A few international drivers took part in the traditional Mil Milhas, the Italians Carlo Facetti and Giovanni Alberti, both Autodelta B-team drivers, with an Alfa T33, and Corrado Manfredini/Gianpiero Moretti, with a Ferrari 512. In spite of much superior cars, the race ended up won by Abilio and Alcides Diniz, brothers and heirs to the largest Brazilian supermarket chain, driving an Alfa Romeo GTAM. Abilio is also future F-1 driver Pedro Diniz’s father. It had also been decided to hold a series of events for Sports cars, now using the Interlagos track. Called “Copa Brasil” (Brazil Cup), one could graciously say that the 3-race series did not attract top-flight sports cars teams. In fact, even quite a few of the top racing cars in Brazil did not take part in the series. It should be remembered that at the time, there were a couple of Lola T70s in Brazil, one Ford GT 40, in addition to a few Porsches, plus some rather fast Brazilian specials. The top two international drivers to appear were Spaniards Alex Soler Roig and Jorge de Bragation, both with Porsches. Emerson Fittipaldi would drive a 1.8 Liter Lola T210, and Wilson Fittipaldi Jr. a T70. In a rather non-understandable move, Nissan sent a 242Z, to take part in the humble series, with drivers Haruto Yamagita and Masami Kuwashima (the latter would attempt to qualify for the 1976 Japanese). At the time, Nissan was totally unknown in Brazil, so even as a goodwill gesture, the Nipponese trek seemed worthless. The only notable thing about the Brazil Cup was that Emerson, with the smaller-engined Lola, managed to outdrive the Spaniards, winning the Cup as well.

In January of 1971, the focus would again be on single-seaters, a Formula 3 tournament. In this occasion, Emerson would not be present, given that he was already a Formula 1 driver. Quite a few interesting characters showed up for the Brazilian series: a certain Alan Jones, in the early part of his international career, who looked like anything but a world champion; David Walker, the Australian that seemed set for a greater destiny, but ended up destroyed by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1972, at Lotus; Tony Trimmer, one of those guys you can’t help but feel sorry for, at least in terms of Formula 1, but who managed to win a couple of British Formula Libre titles in 1977 and 1978; David Purley, the Brit who became best known for his heroic exploit, trying to save Roger Williamson in the fiery 1973 accident in Zandvoort; François Migault, the French journeyman who seemed to have raced everything, everywhere, including the forgettable Connew F-1 contraption in 1972; Italians Giovanni Salvati, Claudio Francisci and Giancarlo Gagliardi – out of the lot, Salvati seemed to have the brighter future, which was not to be, as we’ll see later; a couple of Swedes, Torsten Palm and Sten Gunnarson, the former highly involved in management later in the 70’s; Swiss Jurg Dubler; plus a few regular British blokes, whose careers fizzled: Barrie Maskell, Peter Hanson and Mike Keens. Quite a few Brazilians were on hand, including Wilson Fittipaldi Jr, Jose Carlos Pace, Luis Pereira Bueno, Marivaldo Fernandes, Fritz Jordan, Ronald Rossi and Jose Maria Ferreira. Final score: Wilson Fittipaldi won a couple of races, David Walker one and Salvati one. Another interesting fact was the use of the Taruma racetrack, in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil.

At the end of the year, Brazil was getting closer to reaching its dream, Formula 1. So far, the Brazilians had proved to be sufficiently competent to hold international events. The next step was the Formula 2 Temporada, with races in Interlagos, Tarumã and in Cordoba, Argentina. The drivers that had gone to race in Brazil, up to that point, were either up and coming or washed up. Not so with the 1972 F-2 crowd. The most notable in the bunch was 1971 F-1 runner up, and F-2 champion Ronnie Peterson. The 3rd-placed Francois Cevert was also supposed to come, but ended up a DNA. Former world champion Graham Hill (he was also the first modern GP winner, besides Emerson, to have raced in Brazil) who had been world champion one three years before, was also present. Carlos Reutemann, who was runner up in F-2. And other promising racers: Tim Schenken, Bob Wollek, Henri Pescarolo, Reine Wissel, Jean Pierre Jarier, Arturo Merzario, who years later would star in a couple of Brazilian Grands Prix, plus the returning Italians Salvati and Francisci, as well as Migault. Also racing in the series were Peter Westbury, Mike Beutller, Carlos Ruesch and Spartaco Dini. Representing Brazil, Emerson and Wilson, Pace, Bueno, Rossi, Ferreira.

The result of the tournament was expected: Emerson won, with his main competition coming from Peterson and Reutemann. Sadly, Salvati, who was becoming an habitué in the Brazilian events, was killed in an accident in Tarumã, basically crushing the track’s future in the international calendar.

Headed by Antonio Carlos Scavone, with the continued support of Rede Globo Network, the Brazilians managed to bring Formula 1 to Brazil in 1972. The event would be a try-out for a possible inclusion in the 1973 World Championship. In fact, 1972 ended up being the most internationally active year in Brazilian racing. Only 12 drivers came for the GP: 4 BRMs, 4 Brazilians and the rest from assorted teams and nationalities. This was the beginning of the year, and Louis Stanley was still toying with the idea of a large team in every race. The Marlboro sponsored team brought cars for Beltoise, Gethin, Marko and Soler-Roig. Beltoise DNF’d, and the other three were amongst the four slowest cars. Brabham brought cars for Reutemann and Wilson Fittipaldi Jr.. Lotus was there with Emerson and David Walker. Frank Williams had a couple of Marches for Pescarolo and Jose Carlos Pace, while works March team had cars for Ronnie Peterson and Luis Pereira Bueno. All that was necessary to make the party complete was a Brazilian victory: it was not to be. Emerson scored the pole, and it was his brother Wilson who led from the start. Emerson soon put things in perspective, leading with ease, but ended up a DNF on the 33rd lap, after scoring the fastest lap The victory fell on Reutemann’s lap, with Peterson 2nd and Wilson Fittipaldi, 3rd.
The next international race was the 500 km of Interlagos. This was also a traditional race, held since 1957, and by many considered the Brazilian Indy 500. The race was held in the outside Interlagos circuit, almost an oval, therefore it was fast. During the 50’s and early 60’s, the race was run by old formula 1 cars with Corvette, Cadillac or Ford engines, the so called Mecanica Continental. For this event, the organizers managed to bring some interesting machinery, although the driver strength was not top class. Reinhold Jöst brought his Porsche 908/3. It should be remembered that in 1972, the Porsche works had walked away from the World Makes Championship, but kind of used Joest’s team as a semi-works squad, especially at Le Mans. Herbert Muller had brought a Ferrari 512 that was used in the Interseries championship, the European equivalent of the Can-Am. Autodelta had a T-33 Alfa for B-drivers Teodoro Zecolli/Giovanni Alberti. As far as international drivers of any current repute, this was it. Lella Lombardi was there with a weak Fiat Abarth, and ended up 11th. Christine Beckers was another girl driver in the field, with a Lotus Europa. There were a couple of Chevrons, for Paul Blancpain and Freddy Link. Corrado Manfredini and Gianpiero Moretti were racing Momo specials. There were a few Portuguese drivers, Carlos Salatino, Carlos Santos, Arthur Peçanha, as well as Argentine Ronaldo Nardi with a locally built Berta. Plus a seldom seen Grac 2 liter for Monegasque Lionel Noghes. There was plenty of variety on the Brazilian side: a Porsche 908/2, for Luis Pereira Bueno, the same car he used to race in the 1000 km of Austria, sponsored by Hollywood cigarettes, the same company that would sponsor Alex Ribeiro in F-1, in 1977, and later on, a host of Formula Indy teams; also sponsored by Hollywood, a Lola T210 for Tite Catapani; a couple of Avallone prototypes, one with a Ford engine, another with a Chrysler engine, piloted by Antonio Carlos Avallone, of F-5000 fame. Another interesting participant was a Lamborghini-engined Furia prototype, in addition to Ford Gt 40 for Paulo Gomes, who would race in F-3 in 1976, and achieved the 7th position in Le Mans, in 1978, with a couple of other Brazilian drivers. Marivaldo Fernandes was also present with a T-33 Alfa.

The race was a straight fight between both Porsches 908, the victory going to Jöst. This was Jöst’s first major international victory. Bueno was second, and Muller, third followed by Marivaldo’s Alfa. Noteworthy was the fifth place reached by Nilson Clemente in the Ford engined Avallone.

The second F-2 tournament took place towards the end of 1972. Some of the rounds (including the ones in Argentina and Tarumã) were cancelled, and it ended up being an Interlagos feast. Emerson was there with his trusty Lotus, which he used to win 3 races in the European championship. Pace was by then racing for Surtees, who brought the European champion Mike Hailwood. Rondel, run by Ron Dennis, brought cars for Tim Schenken, Henri Pescarolo, Bob Wollek and also for Ronnie Peterson, not a regular team driver. Championship runner-up Jaussaud also came, and so did Clay Reggazoni, who was not a F-2 regular at the time, but had been champion in 1970, Andrea de Adamich, in addition to a driver that would make a sensation in 1973: James Hunt, already under the umbrella of Hesketh Racing. Purley had returned, and a few other drivers to make trip South were David Morgan, with a Chevron, Brett Lunger, Jose Dolhem and a returning Ruesch. Brazil was represented by Emerson, Wilson and Pace, in addition to Lian Duarte, who braved the European circuit with the hapless Pygmee, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Francisco Lameirão and another optimist, Silvio Montenegro who had driven a VW Beetle in the 1970 Brazil Cup. There was no car for Luis Pereira Bueno.

There were no repeat winners in the 3-race series: Emerson won one race, Pace one and Hailwood capped his successful season with a win. All races were run in 2 heats, and it should be mentioned that Schenken won one heat in the first race, and Pescarolo in the last. The major disappointment was Ronnie Peterson.

The year ended with a second attempt to an International Brazil Cup. Again the fields were very depleted, and it became obvious that the Brazil Cup was a concept that simply did not catch on. However, Willi Kauhsen did bring a Porsche 917K, Georg Loos was there with a McLaren Can Am, and Andrea de Adamich had a T33 on loan from Autodelta. Albert Pfuhl, a midfield runner in the Interseries was also there, and Wilson Fittipaldi had a Porsche 917 to face the Europeans. The rest were Brazilian racers, the notable absentee the Hollywood 908, which had been retired from competition (there would be no category for foreign cars in 1973). The races were short, with the obvious intent of ensuring there would be cars running in the end, and Kauhsen won one, Loos one and Wilson one. Wilson was considered the champion.

The one significant thing about the 1972 Brazil Cup was that with it, a cycle was ended. The objective of all of these international races and series had been achieved, and Brazil was included in the 1973 Formula One calendar. In spite of rumors of further F-2 Torneios, a sports car race scheduled for Goiania in 1973(*) and perhaps a World Makes round to replace the Buenos Aires event which was cancelled in 1973, the sole international race in Brazil, other than the GP, for many years, was the official opening of the Brasilia race track, run for Formula 1 cars in 1974, and duly won by Emerson Fittipaldi. Among other factors that influenced the demise of such tournaments in Brazil, was that the driving force behind bringing back international racing to Brazil, Antonio Carlos Scavone, was killed in a Varig airplane crash in Paris, in 1973.

It was only during the 90’s that international racing, other than F-1(**), returned to Brazil, as Formula Indy, Formula 3000, BPR, DTM and international participation in the Mil Milhas.
(*) The Goiania racetrack was finally opened in mid-1974. The 1973 Sports Car race was on FIA’s official calendar, though.(**) During the 80’s there was an attempt to create truly South American categories. Initially a South American Formula 2 was created, and later replaced by international regulation F-3. For the purposes of this article, we do not consider these events to be truly international, rather regional, as participation was restricted to South American drivers.

The major change was the high volume of participation of Brazilian made cars in racing, which eventually would mean that the public, who was accustomed to watch races featuring large 4.5 liter, 200 HP V8 engined race cars, would have to get used to watching myriad DKWs and Renault Gordini saloons on the race tracks. The historic victory by a Brazilian made FNM JK in the 1000 Mile race of 1960, with Chico Landi and Christian Heins, would show that Brazilian made cars could indeed beat the American horses. The FNM would win many other long distance races in 1960 and 1962, and all of a sudden, long distance races became more common than sprints.

FNM’s success meant further commitment from Vemag, and two other works teams: one from Simca, and the other from Willys. FNM was a government owned factory, always on the urge of bankruptcy, so although it had the most powerful and modern car around, licensed by Alfa Romeo, the “works” team would soon disappear from the tracks (some privateers would continue using the car until 1974). The latecomer Willys team, created under the influence of Bino Heins, would soon bring to the tracks a car called Interlagos, which really, was an Alpine design, built in Brazil. It would soon win everything in sight, until Simca got tired of being beaten, and brought 3 Simca Abarth 2 liters to Brazil. These basically dominated the 1964/1965 seasons, and were returned before the end of the latter season. By then, Vemag had built the Malzoni GT, which although down on power, had the advantage of great torque and front wheel drive, which came in handy in street circuits. However, the days of factory teams were counted, as the three factories that had works teams would be taken over in 1966/1967, and the racing programmes either cut down or downright abolished. Ford took over Willys, which showed some interest in racing, fielding Bino prototypes in the 67 and 68 seasons, while Chrysler took over Simca, and VW, took over Vemag, both teams being closed.

The Interlagos 500 KM continued to feature Mecanica Continental cars in the early part of the decade, some of which dated back to the 30’s. They began to show their age, and by 1965, had been abolished from this race, having been considered unsafe. Racing had changed in Europe as well, and the current breed of racing car in the old continent was not suitable for large American engines, there was no renewal in terms of chassis. It is noteworthy that Formula 1 cars had 1.5 liter capacity in those days. In 1962, there was an attempt by Chico Landi to implement Formula Junior racing in Brazil, and while the ten or so cars were not enough to fill out a grid, eventually the cars were used in Mecanica Continental races. Above all, they were more modern, rear engined designs, and being nimble, even DKW and Gordini engined cars were able to face off Corvette engined dinosaurs. It was in one of Landi’s Juniors, albeit FNM engined, that Celso Lara Barberis died in the early part of the 1963 500 km race. In 64, there were no continentals in the race, only GTs, prototypes and touring cars, so it looked as though the old GP cars would be once and for all retired. The last Mecanica Continental races took place in Interlagos in 1966.

As for the carreteras, they continued to appear in large numbers, especially in the 1000 Mile Race, and in Rio Grande do Sul and Parana. Carreteras would win the 61, 65 and 66 1000 Mile Races, but by 1967, were pretty much outclassed. The only carretera to see off the decade competitively was Camilo Christofaro’s 18 numbered Chevrolet Corvette. Even in Rio Grande do Sul, the carreteras started to give way to Simcas and JKs, and street racing was being considered dangerous and a nuisance, as Brazil’s fleet grew, and road usage became essential.

Rio de Janeiro opened its first proper track in 1966, Curitiba also had its own autodrome, and Brasilia held races around its streets; Guaporé and Cascavel got dirt tracks. Races were held in a number of cities during the decade: Salvador, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Campo Mourão, Lages, Cascavel, Piracicaba, Araraquara, Petropolis, Passo Fundo, Santa Maria, Goiania, Pelotas, Vitoria, Fortaleza, etc. The use of locally built cars popularized auto racing, as never before, although it was still considered a rich man’s game.

There was an attempt to implement Formula Vee racing, in 1966, which basically was unsuccessful. Two championships were run, the first in 1967 won by Emerson Fittipaldi, but VW was not too bullish about supporting the series. In addition to that, Interlagos was closed for major repairs in 1968 and 1969, so, without any racing in Brazil’s major race track, it appeared a little dangerous to race the fragile Vees in street circuits.

Street racing would also take a major blow, with the Petropolis debacle in 1968, and it seemed that if racing were to survive in Brazil, race tracks would need to be built – period. Local authorities were becoming ever more reluctant to open their streets to race cars. Another major consideration was that several very powerful race cars were being brought into Brazil, by the late 60’s: an Alfa P33 and a Lola T70 were two major additions in 1969, and more was to come. Gone were the days of humble DKWs and Gordinis.
Starting in 1968, Brazilian race drivers were trying their hand in European racing, and it became clear, with Interlagos closed, that unless other race tracks appeared around Brazil, racing might die. The Brazilian drivers achieved quite a bit of success in those two first years, Ricardo Achcar winning a F-Ford race in 1968, and Emerson Fittipaldi winning several Formula Ford and F-3 races (and a championship) in 1969, and Luis Pereira Bueno winning in F-Ford as well.

During the works cars years, the factories did attempt to go racing internationally. Willys would every once in a while cross the border to Uruguay, and race in Rivera (a stone’s throw from the Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento) and Piriapolis, with a high level of success. Privateer Gaucho drivers would also visit Rivera often. A major undertaking was the building of an Alpine based Willys F-3 car, which was called Gavea. Luis Greco, Willys’s boss, had the vision of creating a Brazilian Formula 3 category, which came to nil. It would actually be a Formula Renault of sorts, which turned out to be Formula Ford in the 70s – that is another story. The Gavea ended up running in the Formula Libre Interlagos 500 of 1965, finishing second to the all conquering Simca Abarth of Jaime Silva, and was fielded in the International F-3 Temporada in Argentina, in 1966. Driven by Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., one could not say the outing was successful, although it was a first time try. This was the last action the car saw. Simca attempted to crack the Grand Prix Standard in Argentina, with EmiSul powered sedans, but all 5 cars broke down.

The 60’s were also the last attempts to hold hill climbs in Brazil, in fact, a Brazilian Hill Climb championship was created in 1967. Not surprisingly, this was the last edition of this championship. Races on roads were also about to fade: the Rodovia do Café race in Parana, in 1968, was basically the last major race on a highway in Brazil, won by Ubaldo Cesar Lolli in an Alfa GTA, a car that won many races in Brazil between 1967 to 1971.

Long distance racing reigned supreme during the 60’s, although São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro championship races were always sprints. The latter carretera and mecanica continental races were all sprints, given the machinery was obviously unable to withstand several hours of racing. 2 hour races, such as the IV Centenario race in Rio de Janeiro, were not uncommon. This race was won by a Ferrari engined Ferrari!

The Chevrolet Opala, which would be widely used in racing in the 70’s and 80’s, was used for the first time in racing in 1969, winning right from the bat. VW Beetles, which in the early 60’s were very slow and shamefully beaten by cars with smaller engines, had began to feature strongly in results, some of them equipped with 2 liter engines. Another new generation car to be used in racing was the Ford Corcel, which basically was a Renault design left over by Willys. Alfa Romeos features strongly during the 60’s, and BMWs reached the scene in 1968.

Another important fact of racing in those years, which had a negative impact on international racing in Brazil, was the fight between the Brazilian Automobile Club (Automovel Clube do Brasil) and the Brazilian Auto Racing Confederation (CBA). The heart of the question was, who had the authority to sanction races in Brazil. The Brazilian Automobile Club would often threaten drivers of suspension, when they ran in its nemesis-sanctioned races. To make matters more complicated, a number of racing clubs got involved in the mess, which threw Brazil way out of the international racing calendar during the 60s. Apparently, peace had been achieved by 1969, but the whole decade had been lost, as far as international racing was concerned.

THE 60’s in names
DRIVERS

Local Scene
Camilo Christofaro, Ciro Cayres, Jaime Silva, Chico Landi, Christian Heins, Emerson Fittipaldi, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Emilio Zambello, Piero Gancia, José Carlos Pace, Luis Pereira Bueno, Bird Clemente, Mario Cesar de Camargo Filho, Marivaldo Fernandes, Anisio Campos, Francisco Lameirão, Rodolfo Olival Costa, Jan Balder, Antonio Carlos Aguiar, Luis Valente, Celso Lara Barberis, Catharino Andreatta, José Asmuz, Vitorio Andreatta, Aldo Costa, Eduardo Celidonio, Jose Fernando Martins, Altair Barranco, Angelo Cunha, Norman Casari, Bob Sharp, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Roberto Galucci, Luiz Greco, Justino de Maio, Eduardo Scurrachio, Ubaldo Cesar Lolli, Anotnio Carlos Porto, Ricardo Achcar, Caetano Damiani, Nelson Marcilio, Jose Ramos, Mario Olivetti, Antonio Mendes de Barros, Ismael Chaves Barcellos, Orlando Menegaz, Ítalo Bertão, Nactivo Camozzato, Ailton Varanda, Alvaro Varanda, Carol Figueiredo, Ludovino Perez, Luis Fernando Terra Smith, Jose Maria Giu Ferreira, Ettore Beppe, Walter Hahn, Nathaniel Townsend, Alex Dias Ribeiro, Marcelo de Paoli, Roberto Dal Pont

International
Emerson Fittipaldi, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Christian Heins, Celso Lara Barberis, Fernando Barreto, Antonio Carlos Avallone, Luis Pereira Bueno, Ricardo Achcar, Bird Clemente, Fritz D’Orey

CARS

Touring: FNM JK, Simca, DKW, Gordini/1093, VW Sedan, Opala, Corcel, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Alfa Romeo Zagato, Alfa Romeo GTA, Fiat-Abarth, Renault R8, Mini Cooper, Chrysler Regente, Ford Escort, Saab

Singleseaters: Fitti-Ve, Aranae-Ve, BRV, Sprint, Tubolare, AC, Amato, Landi Jr (JK, Simca, DKW and Gordini), Ferrari-Corvette, Alfa-Corvette, Maserati-Corvette, Willys Gavea Formula 3

Prototype/GT/Sports: Willys Interlagos, Simca Abarth, Simca Tempestade, DKW Malzoni, Brasinca Chevrolet 4200, Carretera Chevrolet, Carretera Ford, Alpine, Prot. Bino, Fitti-Porsche, AC-VW, Alfa Romeo P33, Lola T70, Prot.Elgar VW, Lorena Porsche, Puma-VW, VW Bi Motor, Porsche 356, Karmann Ghia Porsche, Ferrari GTO, Maserati 3000, Maserati 4500, VW-Porsche, Porsche 911, Lotus Europa, Karmann Ghia Corvair

CATEGORIES: Touring Cars, GT, Protoypes, Mecanica Continental, Carreteras, Formula Junior, Formula Vee

The opening of new permanent tracks was a major feature of the new decade. Not only was Interlagos reopened in early 1970, with the finale for the International Formula Ford tournament, another important race tracks was inaugurated that year Tarumã, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Cascavel’s paved track was open for business in 1973, Brasilia and Goiania were inaugurated in 1974, Guaporé’s paved track opened in 1976, and the new, international level Rio de Janeiro track began operations in 1978. As a result, the last of Brazil’s “street” races, took place around the Mineirão stadium in Belo Horizonte, and Salvador’s streets, in 1972. After that, the only racing events on open roads were rallies, until safer, modern street racing resurfaced in the 90’s, in the streets of Florianopolis and Vitoria.

Commercial sponsorship had been present in Brazilian racing since the 30’s, but given the niche status of the sport, it was never taken seriously by sponsors. It was more a case of driver friends who happened to be business owners giving a few bucks to race drivers, who in exchange painted a company’s name on a car. In some cases, the driver owned a business, and used the race cars as a moving billboard for the few people around the race track to see (sometimes quite a few thousand). In other words, sponsorship lacked the branding aspect, sports marketing of modern sponsorship, which really began in Formula 1 in 1968. By 1969, some Brazilian race cars featured well painted logos, and by 1971, two major companies, Hollywood cigarettes and Brahma beverages, had initiated a new phase in commercial sponsorship. Hollywood would sponsor a team in local racing until 1976, and it won many championships, in several categories. In spite of the long lasting economic crisis that began in 1974, by the closing of the decade, hundreds of companies, had at one point or another sponsored race teams, at various levels of commitment. More important, companies began investing in the international careers of racing drivers as well.

The decade began with Brazil’s opening up to international racing, for the first time since the 50’s. The driving factor for this was Emerson Fittipaldi’s success in Formula Ford and Formula 3, in 1969, and the resolution of the ACB and CBA dispute. As a result, a number of international tournaments were held, for different categories, with the ultimate goal of achieving a steady Formula 1 Grand Prix date for the country. In 1970, a Formula Ford tournament was held in the early part of the year, a Sports Car tournament called Copa Brasil held in the latter. A couple of Italian teams also took part in the 1000 Mile Race, with current sports cars, an Alfa T33 and a Ferrari 512. In 1971, a Formula 3 tournament was held in the early part of the year, and a Formula 2 series at the end. In 1972, the goal was almost reached: the first Formula 1 Grand Prix proper was held in Brazil, although without championship status. During the rest of the year, another, last F-2 tournament was held, a second Copa Brasil for sports cars, and, for the first time, an international Interlagos 500 KM race was held in September, won by Reinhold Joest. By 1973, Brazil got its first official F-1 GP, which has been on the calendar ever since. The Brasilia race track was inaugurated by a one-off non-championship F-1 event, in 1974, won by Emerson Fittipaldi.

As for local racing, 1970 was a buffer year. Long distance races still seemed to prevail in that year, but there was a change of mentality in race promoters. The lesson learned in Europe, mainly England, was that a number of short events for different categories, held in heats, provided more bang for the buck for spectators. A successful experience in Interlagos, in early 1970, paved the way for the future. By 1971, three national championships had been organized: one for Sports Cars, mostly comprising long distance events contested by a number of Porsches (908, 910), Lola T210, Ford GT40, Royales, Alfa GTAs, mixed with locally built prototypes, and assorted Pumas (a Brazilian VW engined GT), touring cars, and an odd 50’s vintage Maserati for good measure, etc; a Touring car championship, which in its first edition also comprised of long distance events, but would shift to a sprint format in coming years, and a Formula Ford championship, with locally built cars, called Bino. These were in fact, a continuation of Willys’ Luis Greco’s idea from the 60’s, and the power plant was the Corcel engine, which began life as a Renault. So this was more of a Formula Renault, then Ford, I suppose. At any rate, Ford decided to invest in the category, something that VW did not do in Formula Vee’s case. The 1971 Touring car championship had many scheduled rounds, in Curitiba, Fortaleza, Salvador and Belo Horizonte, that were cancelled, so it was a troubled first year.

By 1972, another championship was added, for locally built sports cars, called Division 4. These took over sports car racing in 1973, by which time the Sports Car with foreign cars had been canned. In 1973, Division 1 (Group 1) events were run for the first time, in long distance events that caught the fancy of the public, basically due to the fight between Ford x Chevrolet. By 1974, a Group 1 championship was organized, and Formula Super Vee was implemented in Brazil. The local scene seemed healthy enough, until the Government stepped in 1976, initially deciding to prohibit racing as of 1977, and then declaring the prohibition effective immediately . The reason was that racing was supposedly a waste of precious fuel, that cost Brazil so many billions of dollars a year. The racing authorities proved to the dictators, however, that the entire fuel spent in the Brazilian racing calendar corresponded to only 15 minutes of fuel use in the City of São Paulo, hardly putting a dent on the country’s recalcitrant balance of trade! The government reversed its decision, however, long distance races were banned from 1977 on.

In Rio Grande do Sul, with the opening of the Tarumã race track, street/road racing was no more to be. The carreteras were by the beginning of the decade gone, in fact the last driver to race a carretera in Brazil was Camilo Christofaro, with his famous number 18, in 1971. However, regional racing in Rio Grande do Sul remained healthy. Among other things, most of the 25 Bino Formula Fords were bought by gauchos, enough cars to justify holding a regional Formula Ford championship that was run for many years. There was also a healthy regional championship for Touring cars, run during the course of the decade. São Paulo had some regional racing as well, most notably Super Vee and Formula Vee regional championships in 1975, which were contested by dozens of cars. Also noteworthy was the Division 3 championship of 1974, which was won by a retiring Ciro Cayres, one of the mainstays of Brazilian racing since the 50’s. The decade would also witness the retirements of Camilo Christofaro, in 1979, and Chico Landi, in 1973. Division 1 (Group 1) was also hotly contested in São Paulo in the mid 70’s.

As we saw in previous articles, race cars had been built in Brazil since the 30’s, but basically they made use of existing racing/street car chassis/components, and were mainly equipped with American V8s. Chico Landi attempted to launch Formula Junior in the early 60’s, building about 10 purpose made chassis without great effect, and Formula Vee was equally unsuccessful, in spite of several chassis being built by Fitti and Aranae, and other constructors to be announcing programs. Starting around 1967, several one-off prototypes sprung here and there, including the Fitti-Porsche and the Bino, among others, and most were VW powered. Anisio Campos first attempted to actually manufacture race cars a a business with the AC in 1969. By 1970, the fever caught on. First with the Furia, which built only 3 cars, then with Avallone, Heve, Manta, Polar, Kaimann (under license from the Austrian manufacturer) in addition to 25 Bino Formula Fords. Many of these racing car manufacturers built cars for several categories, until about 1975. That was the last year of the prototype series, and race car building in the 70’s simply did not prove to be good business. Chassis would be used for many years, so there was no market for new cars, or money for development of updated models. So most race car building during the 70’s stopped after 1975, and the cars used were simply revamped chassis.

The Super-Vee series was the major series for the rest of the decade, and two of drivers that took part in it actually reached F-1: Ingo Hoffmann and Nelson Piquet. The new Group 1 championship with short sprints began in 1977, by which time Chevrolet’s Opala had surpassed the Ford Mavericks in performance. In that same year, Fiat began its racing activities in Brazil. There was a strong migration towards single make championships, and in fact, Division 3 (highly prepared touring cars) pretty much collapsed before the end of the decade - first the top category, in which Mavericks and Opalas raced, then the up to 2 liters category. By 1979, the top Group 1 class had been transformed into the Brazilian Stock Car championship, which has been well organized from the beginning, and still exists today, in a highly prepared form. Formula Ford and Super Vee still continued, the latter suffering from dwindling grids. There was a series for VW Passat Group 1, and one for Fiat Group 1 cars, in addition to the dying Group 3.

Brazil also joined the exclusive club of Formula 1 manufacturers in 1975, when Wilson Fittipaldi Jr. started the Argentine Grand Prix in his own Fittipaldi FD-01. However ambitious the venture, there was an element of naiveté about it, namely insisting on building the whole car in Brazil in the first years, and using a designer with no top level experience, Brazilian Richard Divila. Such naiveté reached the pinnacle with the signing of brother Emerson as number 1 driver for 1976. In spite of a fair 1978 season, with the Caliri revised Fittipaldi F-5, the Fittipaldi Formula 1 experience was by and large a disappointment, and pretty much ended Emerson Fittipaldi’s F-1 career on a sad note. Starting in 1977, the number of Brazilian drivers trying their luck in Europe grew considerably, starting the trend that continues to this day. By the closing of the decade, Nelson Piquet looked like a future world champion, and so did Chico Serra, to a lesser extent.

A major technological development took place in 1979, when the government again prohibited racing, due to fuel considerations. In little less than 1 month, racing car teams converted their cars to run on alcohol, a fact that was actually quite welcomed by the government, which faced some opposition to its alcohol fuel program.


The 70’s In Names
MAIN DRIVERS

Local Scene – Paulo Gomes, Antonio Castro Prado, Francisco Lameirão, Luiz Pereira Bueno, Lian Duarte, Camilo Christofaro, Ciro Cayres, Abilio Diniz, Alcides Diniz, Mauricio Chulam, Marcos Troncon, Clovis de Moraes, Francisco Feoli, Amedeo Ferri, Pedro Carneiro Pereira, Marivaldo Fernandes, Jan Balder, Antonio Carlos Avallone, Pedro Muffato, Francisco Artigas, Amedeo Campos, Ingo Hoffmann, Alex Ribeiro, Leonel Friedrich, Arthur Bragantini, Milton Amaral, Edson Yoshikuma, Alfredo Guarana Menezes, Luis Moura Brito, Toninho da Matta, Ronaldo Ely, Alencar Junior, Raul Boesel, Affonso Giaffone, Jose Giaffone, Bird Clemente, Nilson Clemente, Celso Frare, Edson Graczyk, Mario Pati Jr., José Pedro Chateaubriand, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Lino Reginatto, Claudio Mueller, Enio Sandler, Fernando Jorge, Eduardo Celidonio, Alfredo Guaraná Menezes, Bob Sharp, Edgard Mello Filho, Reinaldo Campello, Vital Macahdo, Adu Celso, Julio Caio, Clovis Ferreira, Ricardo Oliveira, Julio Tedesco, Jose Carlos Palhares,Atilla Sippos, Jose Travaglini, Antonio Freire, Luis Schaffer, Fernando Dias Ribeiro, Walter Soldan, Luis Paternostro, Alexandre Negrão, Mario Olivetti, Angi Munhoz, Luiggi Giobbi, Emilio Zambello, Piero Gancia, Luis Landi, Roberto Fiuza, Camilo Christofaro Filho, Aloisio Andrade Filho, Jose Rubens Romano, Arialdo Pinho, Jose Moraes

International Scene – Emerson Fittipaldi, José Carlos Pace, Nelson Piquet, Wilson Fittipaldi Jr., Ingo Hoffmann, Alex Ribeiro, José Maria Ferreira, Norman Casari, Francisco Lameirão, Luis Pereira Bueno, Tite Catapani, Ronald Rossi, Fritz Jordan, Leonel Friedrich, Jan Balder, Marivaldo Fernandes, Marcos Moraes, José Pedro Chateaubriand, Pedro Victor de Lamare, Mario Pati Jr., Lian Duarte, Rafaele Rosito, Chico Serra, Mario Ferraris Neto, Aryon Cornelsen, Paulo Gomes, Mario Amaral, Placido Iglesias, Luis Siqueira Veiga, Fernando Jorge, Julio Caio, Luis Carlos Moraes

MAIN CARS

Singleseaters: Bino, Fitti-V, Polar, Avallone, Heve, Kaimann, Mueller, Newcar, Rio-V, BRV, Pati, Govesa, Cianciaruso, Aranae, Pateco, Squalus, Manta, Feca

Touring cars: Chevrolet Opala 2500, 3800 and 4100, Maverick 4 and 8 cylinders, Dodge Charger, Dodge Dart, Chrysler GTX, Alfa Romeo 2300, FNM 2150, Simca V8, Dodge 1800, VW 1300, VW 1600, VW 1600 4 doors, Chevette, Ford Corcel, Fiat 147, VW Passat, Alfa Romeo GTA, Alfa Romeo GTAM, BMW 1600, DKW 1000

Sports/Prototypes/GTs: Porsche 908/2, Porsche 910, Porsche 907, Lola T70, Ford GT 40, Lola T210, Alfa Romeo T33, Avallone (Chrysler, Chevrolet and Ford), Berta-Hollywood Ford, Polar (VW and Ford Turbo), Heve (VW), Manta (VW, FNM, Chrysler and Chervolet), Fúria (FNM, Chevrolet, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Chrysler), AC-VW, Fitti-VW, Casari-Ford, REPE-Ford, Snob’s Corvair, Prot. Pato Feio, Prot. Camber VW, Prot. Bi-Motor VW/DKW, Newcar-VW, Sabre-VW, Puma-VW, Lorena-VW, Meta-20(Chevrolet Turbo), Royale (Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Ford), Carretera Chevrolet, Interlagos

CATEGORIES: Touring Car (Division 3 (highly prepared), HotCars (replaced Division 3) Division 1(basically showroom stock), Stockcar, single make championships for VW Passat, Fiat 147 and Ford Corcel, Formula Super Vee, Formula Vee, Formula Ford, Division 4(Prototypes), Division 6 (Foreign prototypes)

INTERNATIONAL RACES/TOURNAMENTS: F-1, F-2, F-3, F-Ford, Prototypes/Sports

Ron Dennis stated to the press he could not help but appeal the ruling by race stewards in Brazil, who found the illegality of the BMW's and William's fuel to be questionable, inconclusive. So now McLaren will appeal the Brazilian stewards decision.

For sure Dennis and company feel that if Hamilton were declared champion, due to the other team's fuel improprieties, this would be sort a vindication for all the trouble they went through this year. I do not question at all that McLaren feels it is a victim in the whole spygate proceedings.

However, the team's problems could be much worse, and McLaren knows it. Both drivers got to keep their points and go to the final race potential championship winners, plus the team was not disqualified for 2008. Additionally, Lewis Hamilton's committed a few improprieties of his own in the last few races, and was not punished with the full letter of the law. I do believe his driving behind the safety car in Japan was way to erratic, and probably so with the intent of creating havoc behind him (which it did, eliminating the second and third placed cars at the time). Then there was the tire issue in Brazil (settled with a 15K fine) and Hamilton's own admission that he messed up Raikkonen's best lap. So McLaren has very little to complain, as far as being ill treated by officialdom after the spygate verdict was given.

On the other hand, it seems that drivers, cars and placing scores are considered detached, separate entities from each other. For McLaren was first docked points in Hungary, then docked points for the entire championship and nobody moved up the order in both cases. Back in the old days, if a car was disqualified, the driver was also disqualified, and other drivers/cars moved up the order. So even if the BMW and Williams are disqualified on appeal, since the Brazil officials did not disqualify them after the race, there would be no moving up the order. The fuel rule is also unclear at this point.

One can say whatever of Ron Dennis, but he has always acted as a gentleman, and it is time for him do begin acting like that again. In the unlike even Hamilton becomes the first championship winner in Court, all the good Dennis has done in F-1 all of these years might be wiped out with a single stroke of poor sportsmanship. All everybody will remember is that Lewis needed the Court's help to come out the winner. Let go, Dennis, for the good of the sport.

In spite of my predictions, a few days ago I wrote that Kimi Raikkonen could kiss the championship goodbye. I really saw things that way. It looked increasingly difficult even for a driver of his caliber, but the almost impossible did happen. In the last two races of the year Kimi scored 20 points, and Lewis only two!

What I am going to say in no way takes away Kimi's exceptional merit, but it was so much a case of Raikkonen winning it as Lewis losing it. Lewis had the trophy in his hands, and his inexperience caused him to miss out on being the first (and probably only) rookie champion ever in Formula 1.

Hamilton's driving, so smooth and reliable all year long, looked decidedly ragged as of late, and mistakes, almost absent in the initial 15 rounds of the championship, emerged in big fashion at China and Interlagos. Part of it was lack of experience, maybe part a little early onset arrogance, spiced by a lot of pressure. Had Lewis kept it really cool in the last two races, just finishing races, he could have easily walked away champion.

At Interlagos, Lewis' bad day began right at the start, when Raikkonen got the better of him, and Alonso also passed him. Had Lewis stayed behind Alonso, he would have ended a sure champion, instead, he tried to race his nemesis teammate, had an off track excursion and from then on the day was an unmitigated disaster for the Brit. He did have temporary mechanical issues during the day, but the fact is, there were so many retirements in Brazil, that the mechanical woes were not what killed Lewis' title aspirations: his racing Alonso did it.

Next year we will have Hamilton in his sophomore year, and the bad experiences from the last two races will serve him well, for sure.

I do believe that, in a sense, it was better off that Raikkonen ended champion, for F1's sake. Had either McLaren driver won, invariably there would be many who would call the championship into question, tainted etc. As Ferrari ended up winner of both championships, now everybody can stop whining and get ready for next year. Sure, had Hamilton won in his rookie year, this would make excellent copy for a while, but in a sense it would take away a little bit of the mystique of Formula 1, forever. Lewis will definitely be a multiple world champion, at the end of the day, so it is not as if this is a one time shot chance lost.

Kimi was a worthy champion. Some might say he did not deserve to be champion, given his early season performance. The same could be said of Hamilton, on the strength of the last two season races - when Lewis looked like just another fast rookie, that is all, no better than Nico Rosberg in 2006. So this evens out Kimi's and Lewis' seasons. Kimi did win all of his races on speed, came back from a a hopeless position, and won two more races than any other driver in the championship.

And we almost saw him celebrating Schumi's style. Almost.

Kimi is racing now as I expected him to do all year long. I predicted he would be world champion (just like 90% of F-1 fans, I guess), but he took some time to warm up at Ferrari, I suppose. The war is still not over, but it is quite a long shot, considering McLaren's great reliability. Unless Alonso and Hamilton drive each other off the road...What a finish. Massa wins Brazil, with Kimi second and world champion! Don't laugh.

I can honestly understand why Alonso is throwing so many tantrums. He has no choice, really. After all, Alonso was the only man in this millennium to comprehensively often outdrive Michael Schumacher. So he was considered the top banana. Suddenly a rookie comes and outdrives him? So does that mean that Lewis is better than MS as well? His only choice was to say he was not treated properly by McLaren, even if it might not be the truth...To save his and Schumi's face.

I was just thinking, though. Kimi Raikkonen is driving swell at Ferrari, but drove for McLaren last year, which had pitiful performance. Alonso comes in, McLaren becomes the best car. When Alonso was driving for Renault, it was world champion two years running. Alonso leaves Renault, the team goes down the dumps. Hamilton drove 1 million miles for McLaren last year, and it made no difference on performances come Sundays.

You see what I am getting at. Yes, maybe Alonso does make quite a difference in car performance, he might have a car development edge over both Hamilton and Raikkonen. Which leads me to think that if Alonso does leave McLaren (99% done at this point, against my predictions), don't expect the team to be as competitive next year as this season. Don't expect a performance drop like Marco Andretti's sophomore year in the IRL, but 2008 will not be a stellar year for Lewis.

The 90's were the heyday for touring car racing. As many as 11 works teams took part in the BTCC at one point, at the same time, but unfortunately, that was short lived. By the turn of the millennium there was no sight of Renault, Volvo, Alfa-Romeo, BMW and others that graced the fields, and at one point the lack of top teams was such that even Malaysia's Proton's entry generated much interest. There were also some big name drivers around, and the championship was very much an international affair.

In that sense, Fabrizio Giovannardi's win, in a works Vauxhall brings back some memories to those who followed the series in the 90's, and may be the beginning of a revival for the series.

I actually thought that when Audi pulled all of its cars in the Barcelona DTM round, an excuse was being brewed to pull out from the series altogether. Which would mean, of course, the Death of the DTM Part II. Now that the Ingolstadt team has won the crown, with Matthias Ekstrom, I find it very difficult to justify pulling the plug on the program. So, in all likelihood, the DTM will be around next year again, although I tend to think Mika Hakkinen will think twice about coming back.

All is well that ends well.

This is quite amazing considering that British teams won every world drivers championship from 1980 to 1999!

This speaks volumes for the current make up of Formula 1, where once British teams were hegemonic. Renault's situation is not that peculiar. Is Toyota a Japanese or German team? Is Honda Japanese, or British? How about BMW - is it German or Swiss (Sauber)? Are both Red Bull teams Austrian, or British (RBR) and Italian (STR)? Is Spyker Dutch or Indian?

One fact remains. While for many years the field was predominantly British, the only two teams one can for sure call British, at this point, are McLaren and Williams. A third one, Prodrive, is meeting plenty of difficult to become part of the F-1 `fraternity`.

This is where a lot of the politics in this case hinges.

NASCAR is changing. Now this is becoming obvious. For next year, there will be four full-time non-American drivers in the field: Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Dario Franchitti and now Patrick Carpentier. While Montoya was a novelty and former world champion Villeneuve a warning, Dario Franchitti and Patrick Carpentier indicate a trend.

Add to that occasional drives by several Mexicans and Australian Marcus Ambrose, the field is becoming increasingly international.

Not only that, although many thought, or wished, international drivers would have a tough time getting into the game, the fact is they have not, so far. Montoya has won a race already, plus Villeneuve outqualified many big shots at Talladega, of all places.

How fans will react to an increasingly international field is open to discussion. In the early 80's Indy Car was as much an American category as NASCAR, save for a few foreigners driving in Indy. Nowadays, both IRL and Champcars drivers are mostly international. It is arguable that this has been one of the reasons why open wheel racing has fared badly in relation to NASCAR. On the other hand, NASCAR is a much stronger brand than IRL and Champcar together, then some, and I have a feeling they eventually restrict the number of non-USA drivers allowed in the category.

We shall see.

In Formula 1 it is no different. Every once in a while people still contact Stirling Moss, who has not raced in the category since 1962. Other champions, and even non champions, in fact even drivers who had very poor performances in Formula 1, are also sought for comment here and there. It is also true that being an excellent Formula 1 driver does not make one a qualified commentator, or a manager. Witness Niki Lauda's poor performance at Jaguar, and Prost's at his homonymous team.

Enter Jackie Stewart. The Scot has retired from the sport in 1973, and for many years he was a successful comentator for American TV. Later on he got involved in team management, in fact ran his own team in Formula 1 from 1997 to 1999, which basically was the only modern age team, built from scratch, to win a race within three years of founding. Then he sold the team to Ford, for a good buck, too!

The other charcater in the story is Max Mosley, an unsuccessful race driver, mildly successful team owner, who found his true calling as motorsport politician, head of the FIA. The solicitor, who normally is quite careful with his choice of words, called Jackie Stewart a "certified halfwit", during a meeting with British reporters.

Mosley was obviously upset that Stewart, whose opinions are much valued, and who does have quite some weight in British motorsport politics, had been critical of the FIA recent handling of the McLaren Spy Saga. So he called him a halfwit, so what? Who does not call somebody a name every once in a while???

The real problem stems with the word "certified", hinting something more serious, diagnosed. It so happens that Sir Jackie Stewart, in spite of all his acoomplishments, has dyslexia.

Dyslexics are often, incorrectly, called "halfwits". In fact, although the condition can be debilitating to some, most dyslexics are anything but halfwits, case in point, Sir Stewart. The issue is more serious because dyslexics are often subject to all types of prejudice from society, which often views them as halfwits.

This one time Mosley did shoot himself in the foot. BIG TIME.

One last thought. I wish I had one hundreth of Sir Jackie's success, charisma, notoriety, popularity and money. For with my "fullwits", I have been unable to achieve even a minute part of what this man has done.

I do hope Mosley publicly apologizes, this one time, although I don't expect he will.

In a sense, the McLaren idea seemed sensible for David Richards, but given all McLaren woes this year, it is not at all surprising that the Woking team decided against pursuing this deal. Richards had insisted many times that a deal "with somebody" had been done, as recently as the Belgian Grand Prix, but apparently this did not involve McLaren.

Although I would not categorize McLaren's current situation as a witchhunt, lest Max Mosley be compelled to call me a certified halfwit, McLaren has been in the center of controversy all year long. The spy saga is only a part of it, albeit a major one. The internal strife caused by driver egos, the Hungarian race affair, and Hamilton's recent unusual behavior behind a safety car have placed McLaren in the negative spotlight, "under probation". The last thing they need is to get involved in customer car fights.

The McLaren/Mercedes deal sounded sensible because Mercedes does not provide engines to a second team at this time, a condition shared by other German manufacturer, BMW. In fact, all other engine manufacturers, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota and Honda, do provide engines to at least one team, so the question remain, who will be Prodrive's partner?

In fact, Richards' team has been linked to McLaren and Mercedes from the onset. However, so far as it is known, McLaren claims it will not be involved in a partnership with Prodrive, but McLaren and Mercedes Benz are, until second notice, two separate companies. So maybe Mercedes will provide powertrain to Prodrive.

Richards had hinted all year that he had been talking to two other companies. This is quite usual - even drivers who no one wants normally say they had five or six employment offers...While Prodrive does have the technical capability to build a chassis, I would say that it is mighty late already to start from scratch, given we are in October.

There might not be 12th Formula 1 team, after all.

Honda continued supporting Nakajima, even when it stopped providing engines to Lotus. Satoru was not what one would call a very fast Formula 1 driver, although he did show some pace in the lower formulae, but he got the Honda factory to loyally back him up.

So now, the last name is the same, the factory, another. Toyota has been supporting Satoru's son, who seems a bit faster than dad. It seems clear to me, therefore, that Alex Wurz "retirement" has a lot to do with keeping Toyota appeased, than anything else. The team has announced that it is too early to confirm the Japanese driver for next year, but I think there is spin to this. Kazuki should be a Williams race driver next year.

Sure Kazuki has shown some speed in GP2, but honestly, in a season in which Karun Chandhok and Vitaly Petrov won races, it must not have been very difficult to be on the pace.

In a year's time, let us see how Williams will behave, should Kazuki's performance prove to be disappointing, in relation to Nico Rosberg (that is, if Nico does drive for Williams next year, I still think he will go to Toyota). I wonder if Kazuki will retire from the sport, too...

So Vettel finished fourth, the best STR result to date, while Lewis Hamilton, who was not punished by FIA for his antics, ended up beached after a botched Danica Patrick style entry in the pits.

On the latter subject, it does seem like Alonso got the psychological upper hand this time around. In Japan Alonso seemed quite out of it, making mistakes that could cost him the championship. In China, it was the opposite. Lewis Hamilton's driving was not as tidy during the entire Chinese race, and I believe the pressure is finally catching up to him, like it has not all season. This is where experience might come into play.

Kimi Raikkonen's challenge has been outstanding, although it is a very long shot to expect Kimi to cover a seven point difference to both McLarens, except if Alonso and Hamilton crash out in Brazil. I have seen stranger things in the world of Formula 1 in the last 35 years or so, so I would not be surprised at all if this does happen.

Stay tuned.

In a sense, I reckon Williams was elegant enough to allow Wurz to say he decided to retire, but I do not believe this is a case of retirement. I do believe he was told his services were no longer needed, but to save face, he was allowed to say he wanted to retire.

So Wurz will not even race in Brazil!!! Why so much haste??? Too much haste for somebody who was a test driver for most of the 2000s. if you ask me. Well, so much for spin. I repeat what I said in my previous blog on this same matter, a couple of days ago. Expect to see Kazuki Nakajima in the car. All of next year too...

Surprise! Talladega turned out to favor Toyota a lot, in fact, there was a single Chevrolet in the top ten, no Fords, and five Toyotas in the top 6. In sixth place, no other than Jacques. Mon Dieu!!!!

This is mightly impressive, regardless of what happens in the race, given that Allmendinger once more failed to qualify (driving a Toyota), and IRL star, American Sam Hornish Junior also failed to make the cut!!!

Maybe American drivers should start taking these non-Americans who are coming to NASCAR more seriously. And live with the fact that many new foreigners are likely to join the hitherto All-American category, displacing some non-performing local drivers. A new era definitely dawns for NASCAR.

While Alex has been quite on a different, lower, level than Rosberg in qualifying, the fact is that the drivers are pretty evenly matched in terms of points, plus Wurz has been the only Williams driver to get a podium the whole year. The rEality is that although Nico is very fast, mixing it up with the big boys in qualifying, this has not translated into that many points finishes. Wurz has finished once in third, and once in fourth, while Rosberg's best finish has been sixth.

I, for one, think that Wurz was doomed from the onset, and the reason is Williams' need to get on Toyota's good side, thus hire Kazuki Nakajima as its race driver. Again, Nakajima has been quite spectacular on a few Friday mornings, but so was Wurz when he drove the 3rd McLaren. Fridays mean very little, I suppose.

My point is that it is not a bad thing to have two drivers with differentiated performance in the same team. In fact, one of the most successful team partnerships in F-1 involved Jackie Stewart and Francois Cevert. During the four years they teamed together, Stewart won fifteen races to Cevert's one, plus two championships. By the time Stewart was ready to retire, Cevert was considered groomed to take over the number one seat in spite of such huge performance difference, but fate would kill him at Watkins Glen. Then, Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler took the helm at Tyrrell. While Scheckter drove for the team, he won five races to Depailler's none, and on one occasion Scheckter challenged for the championship, something Depailler never came close to. Yet, when Jody left Tyrrell, Depailler remained in the team for an additional two years. Then there is the Michael Schumacher examples, with Patrese, Brundle, Verstappen, Lehto, Barrichello, Irvine and Massa.

I do believe Williams is being hasty to get rid of Wurz, but then again, I think it has something to do with the need to make room for Nakajima. Plus I would not be surprised to see Nico Rosberg at Toyota in 2008...

The latest set of rumors involve some old stuff and more recent rumors. The old stuff relates to Prodrive. David Richards' team has been slated to become a McLaren customer team pretty much since it was anounced they were awarded the latest Formula 1 franchise. So, there has been nothing new in this, although the official confirmation has never been made. It was supposed to be done during the British GP week, but by then the Spy saga had begun...

A more recent rumor said that if McLaren were disqualified from the world championship, Mercedes-Benz, which already owns 40% of the team, would buy the rest, and McLaren would become Mercedes pure and simple.

The two stories were conjoined, and looks something like this. To solve the driver debacle, McLaren would be bought by Mercedes-Benz. MB would retain Alonso and De La Rosa, and Spanish sponsors Santander. Prodrive would essentially be a McLaren spin off, sharing engines and chassis with MB, retaining driver Hamilton, plus a British driver (Gary Paffett???), and British sponsors. The Prodrive operation would be managed by no others than Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh.

The rumor was widely reported as legitimate news in reputable, general newsites Folha, Estadao and Globo, in Brazil, but curiously enough, Autosport, widely reckoned to be the top authority in motor racing in the world, made no mention whatsoever of the rumor. Not a line. Given that Brazilian press normally picks up rumors from several countries, including wild Italian ones, it sounds as though this is nothing more than hot hair.

A few things sound strange in this report. First of all, no mention is made of poor David Richards. The report just says that Dennis and Whitmarsh would run Prodrive, so where does Richards go? Back to Rally, I gues...The sexy part of this rumor, from a Spanish point of view, is that their champion Alonso would be vindicated, retained by mighty Mercedes Benz, the most traditional and respected car manufacturer of the world, while Dennis/Whitmarsh/Hamilton are disgraced, kicked out and pictured the Mavericks in the situation! To make it even spicier, MB would also retain the other Spaniard, tester de la Rosa, and bring to evidence a Spanish sponsor. Ole! There is more exagerated nationalism in this "reporting" than I could detect in any other weird article I have read lately. Correct this, ever read!!!!

Sure MB is none too happy with the siuation, but the German manufacturer has been very careful, since returning to racing in 1985, to mostly make ties with specialized chassis builders. In other words, MB seems interested in continuing in its area of expertise, which is powertrains, leaving chassis, aerodynamics, suspension, with their partners (initially, Sauber, then McLaren). The only programs it ran alone were the FIA GT program, and of course, DTM. Thus, I do not see MB simply splitting with Dennis/Whitmarsh, and taking over the whole operation and setting the McLaren big honchos aside. The original rumor was a way of bypassing the possible exclusion of McLaren from the 2007 and 2008 championships, which did not happen.

If anything, MB might be reconsidering the damage this scandal might have rubbed off on it. After all, MB has always prided itself on engineering excellence, and the accusations involved theft or misuse of somebody else's engineering ideas, worse yet, from Italians... Not good PR...

Plus MB would be a bit crazy to shove Hamilton aside. Sure, Alonso is a great driver, but Hamilton has outdriven him pretty much all year long, very impressive for a rookie. Plus, Alonso has displayed quite a lot of prima donna behavior, since the end of last year, which does not sink well with the teutonic way of doing things. I would not say Alonso is past his prime, but just imagine Hamilton improving!!!!! It would make more sense for MB to keep Hamilton by its side, not Alonso.

Therefore, I do not lead much credence to this report at all, although by now one must wonder just when does Prodrive intend to make an announcement on its 2008 programme...

This is all the more relevant, because it denotes several trends. First of all, the internationalization of NASCAR, which I have been discussing for about one and a half years. With Franchitti's arrival, the Stock car series is becoming ever more international, as the Scot is joining Colombian Montoya and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve. Additionally, a host of Mexicans take part in the series' event South of the border, plus a few other non-Americans have raced in the series this year, such as Australian Marcus Ambrose and Belgian Marc Goosens. This is not an isolated fact, it is a trend.

American drivers are obviously displaying some dislike with the sudden `onslaught` of foreigners. Sure, just three drivers is not too much, however, it is an immensity for a series that has been 99.9% made up of American drivers throughout its multiple decade history. Expect to see a Brazilian and a Japanese driver in the series soon.

Franchitti's hiring by Ganassi was a strategic coup for Chip. He achieved two things: he strenghtened his NASCAR team, in fact, making it a blueprint for the Team of Tomorrow (International), at the same time that he hired away the man that prevented his team from winning another IRL title. Dario was the most consistent AGR driver last year, and without him around, Scott Dixon would surely have won the title.

The Franchitti departure's significance will be even greater if Sam Hornish Jr. does move to NASCAR. Sam's move has been projected all year long, but it has not been confirmed. This would be disastrous PR for the IRL, as it would mean the last 2-year champions choosing to leave the series. Plus Dan Wheldon, champion in 2005, has been reckoned to be considering a move to NASCAR as well.

Maybe they know something we don't know. Maybe it is all a money thing. Maybe they do want new challenges. Whatever the reason, it might be high time for the two open wheel series to consider joining `forces` again, while there is still time.