Greetings from St. Pete...where two time and defending winner Helio Castroneves set the fast time yesterday in practice...followed by Brazilian chum Tony Kanaan. The fastest of the transition drivers was Newman Haas Racing's Justin Wilson, who was 4th fastest.
Other notes--the ALMS is requiring its gasoline powered, spark ignition cars to run on a mixture of 10% ethanol at minimum. Every car sold in America since 1987 is capable of running on 10 % ethanol.
RANT Max Mosley is bringing attention to the FIA (World Automobile Racing Rulesmakers)--the kind they don't want. If you go to the British "News Of The World" website, you will read a lurid account of FIA President Mosely's visit with five prostitutes in Chelsea. Mosely's father Oswald was a most notorious Nazi sympathizer during World War Two. One one level, the libertarian in me says that Max's private romps should be kept private. One might think that Max would at least check for cameras before the festivities began. On another level, the Nazi stuff is absolutely abhorrent. I knew and know a lot of men who fought the exact kind of crap in World War Two that Mosely thought was cute--it calls into question his judgement to operate an organization in the best interests of world wide auto racing. If he were looking for a beating, I suspect that more than a few relatives of Nazi victims would be willing, able and motivated to give Mosely in reality what he sought in fantasy. Mosely's suing the News Of The World, and will be subject of an FIA hearing. What will happen to Mosely will more likely be decided by El Supremo, a/k/a Bernie Ecclestone. Because if Bernie starts to get more flak from his high rolling friends and sponsors on this issue...Mosely will be out the door so fast your head will swim, thanks to a palace coup which will be engineered in true Machiavellian style (with no fingerprints) by El Supremo. /RANT
