Is anyone going to the USGP? We'll be there in stand J, section 28. Look for the guy in the black and red Minardi jacket. That's me.

For those of you who are on the fence about F-1 (or think it sucks) and you can easily make it to Indy you should check it out. They have cheap general admission tickets for Friday and Saturday. If you want to get the full effect, go down to turn 13 across from the pits. There is a place you can stand that is literally about 5 feet from the racing line. No joke. They come off of turn 13 (Indy turn 1) and get close to the wall as they hit the front stretch. The cars are full throttle at that point, doing close to 200 mph and accelerating and are super close. You can feel the wind, smell the fuel and the sound of those engines at full song from a few feet away is breathtaking! We actually got hit by carbon fiber bits there last year when Barrichello hit the wall during practice. I've got a little piece of his car. Is it the safest place to stand? No. Is it the coolest? YES!

Best wishes and Forza Minardi!

f86sabre

 

yo dude, ill be there in stand J also! not sure what section though ill let u know. i cant wait.

 

One of these days I'll get around to going. Damn FIA, they should have picked Laguna Seca. So much closer.

 

A Minardi fan huh? I didn't realize they had any fans. I'd like to make it to an F1 GP at some point in time, maybe somewhere more exotic than Indy, though. I've been there a few times for 500 qualifying ("time trials" is I guess what they call it). It's hard to imagine cars driving inside the oval, and backwards on the oval itself.

Hmmm, I wonder how much it would cost to go to the Monaco GP.

In any case, have fun at the US GP. You're right, TV doesn't do justice to the experience of being there. I've seen one car on the track at a time, I can only imagine what a whole field of cars is like!

 

Yes Minardi has fans! You got to appreciate any team that competes in F1. Think of it this way, last year when F-1 had the 107% rule, Minardi almost always qualified both cars. There were a few exceptions for races where Alex Yoong (spelling?) had some problems and did not qualify. Yet, even then, Minardi was almost always there. This means that the team was performing 93% as well (or better) than the top qualifying team. They were doing this on something like 20-30% of the budget of the big teams. They deserve some fans for that.

Also, I've been able to get autographs from Minardi drivers, or Paul Stoddard on one occasion, at each and very one of the USGP. Not too bad for a sport that has crappy fan access. I actually got a bunch of autographs last year. Speaking of which, anyone doing the pitwalk on Thursday?

Best wishes,
f86sabre

 

I think Yoong went to CART this year and lasted a few races, which he DNF'ed in all of IIRC. Kind of reminiscent of his F1 year last year.

Good to see Wilson (??) moving up from Minardi to Jag to replace Pizzonia. Now he just needs to keep his ride at Jag. Wasn't he the one that had that horrible crash a few weeks back in practice, though?

 

Iodine23,
I think you're thinking of Ralf Firman. He wrecked the Jordan pretty bad a few races ago. I really hope Wilson does well also. He seems ok.

Best wishes,
f86sabre