Gary Paffett - where did it all go wrong?

One moment you're DTM champion and in line for a top Formula 1 seat, and next you're scrabbling around for a ride in a year-old DTM car. So, Gary Paffett, where did it all go wrong?

Paffett is without doubt a huge talent. His extensive background in karting and his innate technical ability served him well as he progressed through the ranks to end up in DTM. After a breakthrough first year in the extremely competitive series in a year-old car, he landed a coveted factory Mercedes seat and proceeded to take second in the championship in his first year with the team and the title in his second. Along the way he took nine victories, a remarkable feat in such a competitive series. Eschewing another year in DTM, he took a test role at McLaren's F1 team, with the hopes that he's get the race seat in 2007. He didn't get that seat, and, with the factory Mercedes DTM team complete, can only hope for a place with one of the customer teams in year-old machinery.

The main cause of Paffett's misery is a young man named Lewis Hamilton. The latest Great White Hope in British motor racing (even though he's black) has swooped in after taking the GP2 title, and taken the second McLaren race seat alongside Fernando Alonso. In any normal circumstances, Paffett's massive talent, youth and media-friendly manner would have guaranteed him a place in F1. Problem is, Hamilton is younger, faster and more interesting to the media. McLaren really had no choice, and by the time it became clear to Paffett that he was in trouble, all the other F1 seats had been taken.

He is undoubtedly faster than a lot of current F1 drivers, and younger and better looking than some of those. If I was Toyota (who I panned a couple of weeks ago for their pathetic F1 program) I'd hunt down Gary with an iron-clad promise of a multi-year race contract starting with 2008, along with a 2007 test role and a 2007 SuperGT seat to keep his racing chops sharp. After all, come '08 they MUST SURELY get rid of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, both of whom have outstayed their welcome in the sport. Imagine your second cousins who you've maybe only met once before, who have asked to crash for a few nights in your spare bedroom whilst on a round-the-world trip but are still there 4 weeks later... that's Ralf and Jarno.

Set against that kind of mundane talent, Paffett looks every bit the F1 superstar, so it's almost painful to see him pin his hopes on a company like Mercedes, who clearly have their interests elsewhere.

Tribal Council

As we approach the end of the racing season, it's time for me to reflect on what I'm going to do differently next year.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, followers of racing who live in the US no longer need to rely on Speed Channel for TV coverage of racing. With the right software, and the right source, it's possible to watch British Touring Cars, DTM, British Superbike, Le Mans Series, FIA GT, GP Masters, V8 Supercars, Irish Road Racing, Japanese Super GT and more.

This creates a problem that I've discovered as I've attempted to keep track of racing series throughout the year: too much to watch.

So time to "refocus" (good corporate-speak there) my racing viewing.

As mentioned yesterday, DTM leaves the list, for the numerous reasons mentioned. Also voted off the island is FIA GT. I love a good endurance race, but apart from some cool cars, the series is devoid of other attractions. I'd watch 30-60 minute cutdowns, but I can't sit through the 3 hours of a typical FIA GT race. I might watch the first race of the season to see what new cars might have shown up, but that's about it.

Formula 1 will once again not be part of my viewing since it's just downright boring. Less boring, but also of little importance, are the two American open-wheel series, Champcar and the IRL. I'll tune back in to them once they become one.

On the two-wheel side of things, despite some good scraps, the AMA support classes will not make it onto my list in 2007. This won't change until the AMA finally bans factory teams from the stock classes. Supersport and Superstock should be reserved for the privateer, whilst Superbike and Formula Xtreme should allow factory efforts.

I've decided to add the 250cc MotoGP support class to the list. As MotoGP itself moves to smaller engines, 250s will become even more important as the main feeder series. It also features very close racing, another good reason to watch it.

Also making it onto my list is the V8 Supercar development series. I watched the Bathurst races and was rather entertained. I'll check out the first couple of rounds in 2007 to see if that continues.

The ALMS will get my viewing time again, as long as it's on Speed Channel (the network coverage is unwatchable). The ALMS' European counterpart will also stay on the list, mainly due to its true endurance pedigree and significant crossover with Le Mans itself.

I tried to watch some Speed World Challenge races this year but found them dull. Despite some great cars, it smacks of being a little half-assed, and more of a series for rich amateurs and factory teams who want to beat up on them. It will stay off the list.

DTM - not so exciting

I won't be watching the DTM next year.

I've really tried hard - I've watched many DTM races over the past 4 years. I love the hugely trick cars, and the superstar driver line-up. But something about the series consistently leaves me cold. I've tried to figure out what it is, and can only come up with wildly speculative and frankly bizarre reasons...

I don't care who wins. Not that I'm not cheering for any particular driver - being British I had to root for Jamie Green this year and Gary Paffett last year - but it's just that when they win I don't feel like much has been achieved. This is strange, given the hugely talented drivers in DTM. Perhaps I feel like it doesn't actually matter who wins because this is all some corporate plaything for Audi and Mercedes, who would allow the game to progress regardless of who was watching. The presence of spectators or fans is irrelevent.

Which brings me to another point: many comparisons could be drawn between DTM and Australia's V8 Supercar series. Both feature very expensive, highly modified saloon cars, racing to effectively spec rules with significant factory backing behind every team. But you get the impression that in Australia, the fans are hugely loyal to their brand of choice. If a Holden fan was to bad-mouth Ford in a bar, a fist-fight would seem a logical, expected outcome. Can you imagine two Germans, one an Audi fan, one a Mercedes fan, scrapping over the honour of their chosen marque? I don't see it. Once again, it doesn't seem like it really matters who wins.

Perhaps the generally austere, clinical approach that Germans are known for having simply extends into their domestic racing series. Everything is very efficient, no-one does anything particularly crazy, and a win is seen as a fulfillment of a requirement rather than a good old-fashioned bettering of one's opponents. Even if there is a robust move on-track that results in two cars taking each other out, you'd never expect a dust-up. You'd expect a calm press release saying that driver X was running a careful race and was involved in an incident and that the team is disappointed but looking forward to the next round. In Australia, things are very different. You only need to remember Eastern Creek 2003: Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife came together resulting in Skaife's retirement. When Ingall came round on the next lap, Skaife ran onto the track waving his fists. Ingall in return swerved towards him at high speed. Now THAT'S racing passion! I only know of one such incident in DTM, and it resulted in the perpetrator, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, being fired the next day. Way to spoil the fun, Audi.

Now this might be the craziest reason of all, but I find the telecasts of DTM to always appear "washed out". The MotorsTV coverage has poor colour and poor resolution, and the Speed Channel versions aren't much better. Add to this that it seems DTM races are run in cloudy or rainy conditions more frequently than other series, and the whole thing comes across as a bit "grey". A significant component of racing is the visual excitement, and bright colours only help serve this. Think about how much more dramatic MotoGP bikes look in the flesh than on TV - the dayglo colours really enhance the drama, colours which don't translate well through TV. Humans have evolved to respond to bright colours, so a racing series that features predominantly silver cars racing in cloudy conditions and broadcast with poor colour capture is going to suffer in the excitement department.

I'm of the opinion that a championship that is decided anytime before the last round has been dominated. This year DTM fell into this category (along with World Superbike, the WRC and the Le Mans Series). It was obvious before the penultmate round that Bernd Schneider would be champion, so I didn't watch the final two races. The way the points system is structured in DTM makes it very difficult to come back from a poor result and effectively decreases the pool of championship contenders. F1 is guilty of the same crime. It seems like the system used in FIM motorcycle championships is a nice balance: 25 for a win, 20 for second, 16 for third, 12 for fourth down to 1 for fifteenth.

So it's goodbye DTM, hello to.... well, I'll go over my winners and losers in the competition for my racing TV time tomorrow.

Touring car update

It's a while since I've mentioned any of the touring car series, so time for a quick update...

British Touring Cars: Against all odds, SEAT's Jason Plato remains in contention going into the final round, thanks in part to a bizarre crash from championship leader Matt Neal at Brands Hatch. He snuck up the inside of Vauxhall's Tom Chilton two laps from the end of the third race, and found his car launched into the air after a wheel-on-wheel piece of contact. This unceremoniously dumped him into the gravel trap.

It seems like Neal's Team Halfords have it all their own way this year, so I'm hoping Jason Plato can pull it out of the bag. I like Jason, mainly because he's never afraid to speak his mind, regardless of how un-P.C. his comments might be.

World Touring Cars: A while back I wrote about how great this series is, and it has continued to be really, really close. As if to prove my point, the top two drivers in the championship (Andy Priaulx and James Thompson) both scored nothing at the last round in Turkey, giving Gabriele Tarquini and Rickard Rydell a chance to get back into the title fight. With four races left to go, the top 14 drivers are all mathematically capable of taking the championship. Realistically, it's the top 9 that could do it, with a spread of 14 points and 40 points on the table from Valencia and Macau.

German DTM: Although Audi's Tom Kristensen was very much in contention most of the year, a dismal run at Barcelona has given leader Bernd Schneider an 18 point lead with only 20 points remaining. Odds are that Bernd will take it at the next round at the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans. Now, I'm not afraid to admit to being wrong, so I'll refer you to this post. I didn't include Schneider in my list of 5 favourites to win, yet he's once again on form, which always spells misery for his DTM rivals.

Aussie V8 Supercars: The legendary Bathurst 1000 is just around the corner...

It's Friday, so tell me what's happening

Okay, I will, and a lot is going this weekend:

The WRC is in Japan, so another chance for Marcus Gronholm to take back two more points from Seb Loeb. At this rate he only needs about 20 more rallies and he'll be champion....

World Superbike is in Assen, scene of Troy Bayliss' season-defining crash in 2002 that allowed Colin Edwards to fight for the title at the last race in Imola. Bayliss is back, and I'm sure he'll be very quick.

The AMA Superbike paddock heads to Road Atlanta. Surely another Suzuki-fest is on the cards but the question as usual is "which Suzuki will win?"

Canadians get a chance to see the ALMS this weekend at Mosport. This should be the last time we have to suffer small grids in the ALMS this season, since the final two rounds, the Petit Le Mans and the Laguna Seca 4 Hours, will be chock-full of new arrivals.

The World Touring Car Championship returns to Europe, Brno to be exact, after it's trip to the Western Hemisphere. As I discussed here, this series is extremely exciting, so I can't wait to see how the weight-handicapping lottery will affect the results.

I missed out on discussion of the last two rounds of the DTM from Norisring and Nurburgring, and therefore didn't get to mention how Bruno Spengler won his first two races for Mercedes. We'll see if he can continue the streak amongst the sand dunes of Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

Down in Australia, the V8 Supercars have their first of two enduro races, at Sandown Raceway. Check out my mid-season roast for more info.

The fourth of the touring car series in action this weekend is the British, who head north to Knockhill in Scotland. This one's always exciting - something about Knockhill makes for tight racing.

The FIA GT series has their second French race in two weeks, moving from Paul Ricard to Dijon. Lamborghini returns, along with the debut of a Pagani Zonda.

Finally, here in the States, the US Rally Championship is in Tennessee, for a tarmac event (not too many of those in the US). Entry list thus far is a bit thin, with 25 cars, so heopefully they'll snag a bunch of last-minute arrivals.

That's it. Luckily it's a three-day weekend, so plenty of time to keep track of all the weekend's goings-on.

Weekend Review Part 1

Sometimes real life gets in the way of the more important pastime of following motorsport, but I'm happy to say I have had a chance to watch the MotoGP race, the WRC event from Corsica, the opening round of the DTM and the 2 of the 3 BTCC races. The British Superbike races and Le Mans Endurance Series event will be covered later, hopefully tomorrow.

The 2nd round of the MotoGP season in Qatar was a cracker, and gives a better idea of how the season will shape up. After landing a surprise pole position in only his second race, Casey Stoner leapt out in front for the first 1/3 of the race, whilst a dogfight between Hayden, Capirossi, Rossi and Gibernau raged behind. Soon however, Casey's inexperience showed through as his tyres went off. He gradually slipped back down the field to end in a very creditable fifth. Up front Rossi and Hayden scrapped over the lead, with Hayden showing the first real indication that he can run with the Doctor. Hayden must be satisfied with his performance, especially as he was able to one-up his precocious young team-mate Pedrosa, who made Nicky look a bit silly at Jerez. Valentino, for his part, didn't attribute his less-than-dominant performance to the ongoing chatter problems and was actually very pleased with how his bike performed.

Capirossi ended up 3rd to retain leadership of the championship, ahead of Nicky. Gibernau was a solid 4th on the Ducati, whilst further down the field the young guns I talked about on Saturday, Pedrosa and Melandri, were arguing over 6th.

So it was a mixed day for both the elder statesman of the sport and those brash kids who will take MotoGP into the next decade.

In Corsica, Sebastien Loeb once again showed why he is the greatest tarmac rally driver of all time, as well as being one of the overall all-time greats. Unlike 2005, where he was completely dominant and therefore didn't have a chance to show his true mettle, this time he had to work for the win, and drive with his head. Marcus Gronholm was never far behind, but at the same time never close enough to pressure Seb. He was very gracious about it, though, complimenting Loeb's terrific performance, whilst at the same time saying he hopes to not have to be the gracious loser when the WRC hits the gravel in the next 3 rounds. Further down the field, the battle between Hirvonen and Sordo was especially exciting, both drivers showing their remarkable talent, by balancing outright speed against the need for points. It paid off for both - Sordo moves to 3rd in the title race and Hirvonen gets back into the top 8 after some poor early results.

I was glad that I didn't post a driver-by-driver preview of the DTM, because I would have looked a bit stupid. Many of the predictions I was making turned out to be totally wrong. I was expecting Susie Stoddard to be slower than Vanina Ickx (she wasn't); I felt Bernd Schneider was over the hill (he's not - he won); I expected Timo Scheider and his team-mate Frank Stippler to be dark horses (they weren't - they ended up mid-pack); and I predicted Green and Ekstrom would both be fast (they both retired after stupid incidents). However, I was spot-on when I said Kristensen, Frentzen and Hakinnen were all title contenders this year. Their 2nd, 3rd and 4th places respectively indicate both good form and good car speed, and if Green and Ekstrom can get back in it, this could be one of the closest racing championships in 2006.

DTM Preview

It’s a new season for DTM, the premier German touring car series, and there are some notable changes. Since there’s very few different makes of car (two this year, with the withdrawal of Opel) it’s easy to get confused as to who’s who. So here’s a list of drivers with their number, team and sponsor:

Bernd Schneider, #2, AMG Mercedes, Vodafone
Jamie Green, #3, AMG Mercedes, Salzgitter
Mike Hakkinen, #8, AMG Mercedes, AMG
Bruno Spengler, #9, AMG Mercedes, Daimler-Bank
Jean Alesi, #10, Persson Mercedes, Stern
Alexandros Margaritas, #11, Persson Mercedes, Truck Store
Mathias Lauda, #21, Persson Mercedes, currently sponsor-less
Stefan Mucke, #17, Mucke Mercedes, TV-Spielfilm
Daniel La Rosa, #18, Mucke Mercedes, TrekStor
Susie Stoddard, #22, Mucke Mercedes, Auto Scout 24
Martin Tomczyk, #4, Team Abt Sportsline Audi, Red Bull
Matthias Ekstrom, #5, Team Abt Sportsline Audi, Red Bull
Heinz-Harald Frentzen, #6, Team Abt Sportsline, Veltins
Tom Kristensen, #7, Team Abt Sportsline, Siemens
Christian Abt, #12, Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Playboy
Pierre Kaffer, #14, Audi Sport Team Phoenix, Castrol
Frank Stippler, #15, Team Rosberg Audi, Audi S-Line
Timo Scheider, #16, Team Rosberg Audi, Audi S-Line
Olivier Tielemans, #19, Futurecom TME, Henk
Vanina Ickx, #20, Futurecom TME, Audi Zubehor

That’s it, 20 drivers, of which I’d say five are in with a shout at the championship: Hakkinen, Green, Ekstrom, Frentzen and Kristensen. Hakinen now knows the tracks and has already won once. Green can step out of Gary Paffett's shadow now that Paffett has moved to F1. He's got the talent to follow in Paffett's footsteps. Frentzen finally gets a decent car to show why he may actually have been the quickest guy from the old Sauber Group C team that featured a certain Mr. Schumacher. Kristensen is also a winner, he just needs to be a bit more aggressive. And finally, Ekstrom is surely the favourite. I mean, he can run in the top 6 of a WRC event just for fun!

With Opel leaving, there's some notable team changes. Team Phoenix have switched to Audi and run 2005 cars. They pick up Abt and Kaffer. Kaffer is Audi using Porsche's approach to factory drivers: young, fast and crashing someone else's car while they learn.

Joest have also left to run the new R10 in the sportscar world. Their loss is partially made up for by Rosberg moving from Merc to Audi with S-Line sponsorship. They'll run 2005 cars with the fast young Stippler and Timo Scheider, who can finally show his speed after years in Opels.

A new Audi team, Futurecom TME, arrives, run by Colin Kolles of Midland F1 fame. His best hope for success is the very fast Vanina Ickx, daughter of the legendary Jacky. Their major handicap is 2-year old cars.

Over in Mercedes, AMG again run 4 cars and pick up Spengler. Alesi moves to Persson after typically inconsistent seasons with AMG, where he joins Niki Lauda's son Matthias. Don't expect much from either driver. Rounding out the Merc challenge, Stefan Mucke's father's team will run Stefan, and newcomers Susie Stoddard and Daniel La Rosa - another team that will run near the back.

One other item of note is the drivers missing this year: The aforementioned Gary Paffett, Manuel Reuter, Allan McNish (returns to sportscars), Marcel Fassler (goes to the Swiss Spirit Le Mans team) and Laurent Aiello (retired).

It looks like being Audi's year - their flagship team, Abt, is the match of AMG Mercedes, and their second level teams are definitely stronger than Mercedes' customer teams. It would be nice to see a 3rd manufacturer involved, but the Aussies have shown that an expensive 2-make touring car championship is feasible if the racing is exciting.