This Week in Motorsport
A thousand pardons, dear readers, but I intend to make a liar of myself this week, publishing a pair of "This Week in Motorsport" reports to make up for last week's lack of a solo "This Week in Motorsport." (I know that at some point I titled a post "Last Week in Motorsport," but the demarcation is fuzzier this go-round.)

Formula Fun!
Formula One World Championship
Round 19
Grand Prix of the United States
Sunday, 18 November 2012

I had only the most rudimentary awareness of Formula One when last was held a United States Grand Prix, in 2007, at the misbegotten "roval" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; so, I have no idea of how big a deal F1 used to be, at least amongst the motorsports set. That said, I was blown away by the massive attention that was paid to the inaugural race at the brand-new, bespoke-for-F1 Circuit of the Americas (C.O.T.A.) outside of Austin, Texas. There has been a new F1 grand prix/circuit on the calendar every year that I've been an F1 fan: Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit in '09, Korea's eponymous International Circuit in '10, India's Buddh International Circuit in '11, & C.O.T.A. this year. Yet never before was there such a ballyhoo before the race weekend. Admittedly, I am an American & watch F1 on an American broadcaster (& Speed expanded its coverage of the whole weekend, carrying live on T.V. all three free practice sessions, not just Friday afternoon's Free Practice 2), which could skew my perspective, but I base this assessment also on the internet, websites from abroad moreso than websites based in America/targeted at the American audience. I see for this two reasons: one, there is a previous history of the U.S. Grand Prix to celebrate & recall, from twenty glorious years at Watkins Glen in upstate New York to the nomadic '80s at street circuits in Long Beach, Las Vegas, Dallas, Detroit, & Phoenix to the better part of a decade at Indianapolis. By contrast, Abu Dhabi's petroleum-fueled wealth has only been poured into encouraging Western tourism in the last decade, Korea is a new member of the rich-countries club, & India is still a developing nation. In that same vein, the second reason, that the United States is still, by a factor of 2:1, the largest economy in the world, the richest country in the known universe, the most lucrative market F1 has yet to exploit. In any event, the hype was fulfilled, the grandstands were full to bursting, Austin's hospitality was fêted, the circuit was praised, & the grand prix, as both a race & a public relations exercise, was a smashing success.

The race was, as mentioned, a smashing success. Reigning double World Champion Sebastian Vettel ('10 & '11) of Red Bull (Renault) dueled all race with '08 World Champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren (Mercedes), leaving the rest of the field over thirty seconds behind. Vettel lead most of the way, but was passed by Hamilton along the main straight (damn the D.R.S. gimmickry!) & did not have the speed to retake the position. Double World Champion Fernando Alonso ('05 & '06) of Ferrari finished third, after being promoted to the clean side of the track on the starting grid due to some skulduggery by Ferrari. To paraphrase James T. Kirk, "I've never trusted Italians, & I never will." Hamilton won, Vettel finished second, & Alonso finished third. Alonso is thirteen point behind Vettel going into the final round of the world championship, Brazil, with a win worth twenty-five points. Vettel has more wins on the season than Alosno, so Vettel wins the Drivers' Championship should they tie on points (possible only if Alonso finishes third [fifteen points] & Vettel finishes ninth [two points]).

As part of the return-to-America pageantry, Pirelli issued special hats for the podium ceremony. Normally, the top three finishers stand on the podium wearing black Pirelli baseball caps, denoting their finishing place—1st, 2nd, or 3rd—& promoting Pirelli's P-Zero tires. For Texas, Pirelli did something a bit more whimsical:



Beyond Thunderdome
International V8 Supercars Championship
Rounds 24-26
Yas V8 400
Saturday & Sunday, 3-4 November 2012

Reigning champion Jamie Whincup of Team Vodafone/Triple Eight Engineering (Holden) dominated the weekend shared with F1, pursued in all three races by second-place finisher Will Davison of Trading Post/Ford Performance Racing. Abu Dhabi has been on the V8 calendar for several years now, but heretofore it had been the season-opening round, in the spring (the Australian fall). This year was the first time the Aussies had shared the weekend with the F1 circus, & to work around F1's schedule the Supercars undertook a trio of sprint races, instead of the usual duo of longer races. odd all around, but the Holden-Ford duel is always an amusing show (to be joined by Nissan next year). I will be glad to see the Supercars back on rough & tumble Australian tracks, instead of F1's polished jewel in the desert. (Abu Dhabi is more about the spectacle than the racing, but with the V8 Supercars all the spectacle is in the racing.)

One-Make Wonderland
Porsche Supercup
Rounds 1 & 2
Grand Prix of Bahrain
Sunday, 22 April 2012

Round 4
Grand Prix de Monaco
Sunday, 27 May 2012

Round 5
Grand Prix of Europe
Sunday, 24 June 2012

Round 6
Grand Prix of Great Britain
Sunday, 8 July 2012

Round 7
Grosser Preis von Deutschland
Sunday, 22 July 2012

The Porsche Supercup is exclusively a support series for Formula One, pitting some of the best drivers from various national Carrera Cups against F1's European (& Middle Eastern) circuits. A plethora of Porsches—what's not to love? I had no idea that Speed televised the Supercup in any way, shape, or form 'til my father recorded highlights of the first three race a couple week ago. Way to go recording obsessively anything & everything the D.V.R. labels "racing"! I am glad to see the Supercup, but I have too complaints. One, the races are too short, sprints of never more than sixteen laps (of Monaco, where F1 does seventy-eight laps), & two, the highlights are two short, with three races crammed into half an hour (less, with adverts). I want more Supercup!

The season's been over since September, but as mentioned before this year in motorsport is winding down, & filling in what was missed over a frenetic summer & fall is most welcome as the live pickings grow increasingly thin. There are four more races, & I hope they'll be spread over two more episodes instead of jammed into one. Come on, chaps, be expansive.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Cake, "Never There" from Prolonging the Magic (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I've always wished "Never There" was a little bit longer. I think it could be without overstaying its welcome.