Formula ONE in Valencia

Formula ONE in Valencia

On the 21st, 22nd, and the 23rd of August the 2009 edition of formula One was played out on the streets of Valencia for the second year. The weather could not have been more cooperative over all three days. There was still the shadow of Felipe Massa among the missing, and it’s clear that all the other drivers hold him in the highest regard. Fernando Alonso got to race after all as the stewards fined the team rather than banning them from appearing for their lapse in sending Alonso out onto the track with a wheel that was not properly secured in the last race. That definitely helped ticket sales, and as much as we all hoped for an Alonso win, the best he could do was sixth place.

Lewis Hamilton, a name we haven’t heard too often this year took pole position but was pipped at the post by Rubens Barrichello from Brasil. It was a stunning victory and in a sense it paid homage to Massa, who is also from Brasil. For Hamilton, he must be feeling cheated as it was a mechanical fault that held him back from what would have been only his second win of the season.

Remarkably, Jenson Button began the season so strong but finished this race back in seventh place, behind Fernando Alonso. Button leads the board with 72 points and the closest person to him only has 54, which seems to have him placed comfortably towards the championship, but it’s a long way to the end of the season.

This is only the second race season in Valencia and everybody seems to be getting comfortable with the hosting of the event, but there was a very subdued atmosphere this year. Mainly it was felt in ticket sales that started off being worryingly lacklustre. Organisers were forced to cut out one whole seating section that they feared they would not be able to sell. Last year the maximum seating capacity was 112,000, but this year that was cut back to 75,000, a shortfall of 37,000.

On the Friday practise session, paid attendance was down by only 283, On Saturday’s qualifying round ,paid admissions were down by almost 18,000, a staggering loss. It was simply the qualifying round, but on Sunday a total of 81,231 paid admissions were recorded as being sitting and standing, and that compared with 115,123 in 2008. In total, there were 52,137 fewer paid admissions and that must have organisers worried.

We can only hope that this is the effect of the economic crisis, and that the same thing is being seen all over the world. If it’s a Valencia effect the city may get another chance, but if it proves to be uneconomical to race here we may see another disaster like America’s Cup. That would not be a good thing! Let’s also hope that next year there will actually be a Formula One race season.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

One Born every Second

A Class Act

I don’t want to be too hard on the victims of this story because they are already paying a very heavy price for their trusting nature. But, it seems to be true, that a sucker is born every second.

I drive a Jaguar, as well as my trusty Volvo, so when an advertisement appeared asking for drivers to sign on to drive high value clients over the Formula One races in Valencia, my interest was raised.

The advert suggested that the company had several VIP clients who wanted personal drivers using top of the line cars, and the payment to the drivers would be so significant to warrant even hiring luxury cars.

I was going to go along to register for this work as my Jaguar has done lots of VIP work and is in very good condition. The company was located in the industrial park of Riba Roja with no expense spared as to appointments made to their offices. They looked like a very upmarket operation.

I spoke with another driver who explained that all drivers were asked to bring their cars on a certain date for inspection by the chief executive officer. We would be required to leave them overnight while the inspections were done and assignments were made and contracts were drawn up.

What was so important about me leaving my car with keys overnight while I was made to make my own way home and back again? Something was not quite right about that. As we say, it just didn’t compute!

For seventy drivers it was perfectly alright and they left their rented cars and personally owned vehicles in the warehouse overnight, agreeing to return in the morning to get their assignments. When they arrived the next morning what they found was that all the cars had disappeared, except their number plates, and the elaborate offices had been dismantled. Everything and everybody had gone. Presumably the cars had been placed in containers and dispatched to the port for shipment abroad. Only three people with some small connections were picked up by the Guardia Civil, but the big fish were long gone.

As a scam this is a new one. We have long heard about the theft of luxury cars that are then shipped to north Africa, but this one is original in that instead of having to go out and steal the vehicles, one by one, they have simply had the owners bring them in.

The moral of the story is, of course, trust no one. Don’t allow yourself to be persuaded by what appears to be stability, and most of all, if it seems to be too good to be true, that is usually the case.

Can I fault the victims? Only because they trusted their property to others whom they really did not know. Could I have been a victim? I very nearly was. When greed starts to get in the way of common sense any of us could be taken in.

Meanwhile, I really am sorry for the losses of some very good people.

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

Formula One Cockup!

Girls and Fast cars

The thing is that I don’t believe in coincidence. For the Valencia edition of the Formula One 2009 contest things are not shaping up well at all. Two things went horribly wrong: Fernando Alonso’s team got themselves banned from the race because they allowed him to leave the pit with a improperly fitted wheel which came off endangering Alonso and other racers. Felipe Massa suffered the oddest occurrence when a spring from another driver’s car fell off and struck Massa in the head entering through his helmet. He blacked out and crashed the Ferrari and has gone home to recuperate for the rest of the season.

Michael Schumacher, the acknowledged King of Formula One who is retired offered Ferrari to come back to substitute for Massa, and that set off a round of wild excitement. Ticket sales for the Valencia circuit were moving along very slowly thereby giving organisers cause for serious worry. One whole section of viewing stands has not been erected, as predictions for attendance were so bad.

Then it was announced that Schumacher WOULD substitute for Massa and ticket sales exploded. From the time of the announcement and his eventual stand-down, some ten thousand tickets were sold. Now, we know that every driver has his own fans, and there are some so well heeled that they can fly around the world following their idols, but now a new question arises, and that is, do fans have any legal right to expect their special drivers to appear?

The ban on Alonso certainly seemed to place a damper on possible attendance in his home country, and when Lewis Hamilton races in England the fans come out by the droves, although this year they have been as disappointed with his performance and that of his car. I know that there are many factors that can affect the appearance of a particular driver, such as accidents, failing to qualify, sickness, etc.

Now, let’s be clear, I’m not pointing the finger of blame of anyone….yet! Michael Schumacher has had to abandon his comeback attempt because he is not medically fit. I understand that, however, he had that neck problem before which must have caused him some concern. Clearly, before being absolutely certain that he would be in the driver’s seat there were a lot of hurdles to clear.

The question now is who made the announcement that he would race? I can accept that it would have been impossible for Schu to have done anything in secret that even suggested that he might be available to substitute, but there should have been very strong cautions from officials that they were a long way from that happening.

Perhaps I’m muddying the waters and there won’t be anybody who will seek to cancel their tickets out of disappointment, but I suspect that there will be some folk who are royally annoyed with the way that things have been handled.

What they will do about it remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the race stewards could help matters greatly by reviewing their punishment of Renault and adjusting their ban order to allow Alonso to race in front of Spanish fans.

Already race organisers are saying that refunds on the basis that Schu will not race will not be honoured because at no time are racing participants guaranteed. They may get away with it this time, but it sure is a great way to alienate the fans. Time will tell!


Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

Where is Everybody?

Is Anybody out There?

August in the city is wonderful! Everyone has gone away leaving, it seems, just me. I can drive into the city of Valencia and at times I find that I am the only car in what is otherwise overcrowded avenues. I can find on-street parking, and in the stores there is a deathly hush.

I made a visit to an office only to find that there was one sole person in attendance. Where was everybody? On vacation!

Spain has changed dramatically over the past ten years. There was a time when all shops closed for the three-hour lunch break and siesta. That is no longer the case as the modern world has caught up with the country. The smaller shops continue this practise but the large chain stores stay open from nine until nine.

It was also the case that during August all businesses except restaurants and bars closed while staff went off on vacation. But international business came to Spain and legal offices that closed during August came back to find that their clients had changed to those offices that stayed open. It’s very difficult when trying to do business with the world. Different time zones make that very hard to cope with, especially when some of your clients are on the West Coast of America and others are in Japan.

While many offices remain open with skeleton staffs, tradition dictates that August is the month of rest and that leads to a wholesale exodus from the city. Business is encouraging staff to split their holiday so that some go in July and the rest in August, but most go in August and the effect is remarkable. The city feels empty, and for those of us who remain here the sense of relief from people everywhere is wonderful.

Valencia plays host to Formula One racing in the third week of August, and that actually brings visitors into the city. Talk has it that city dwellers did not want to be bothered by on-street racing. We have a perfectly good racing circuit on the outskirts of the city and they could not understand why the racing could not be done there. However, City Hall suggested that August could be the month for the races and it was a done deal as most city folk will be away. What’s more, if they play their cards right they could rent out their homes for a very tidy sum.

So, while it is hot in August it is my favourite month as I can I can breath and stretch my arms. Long Live August!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael

It Happens every Year

Here we go Again

There are some things you can set your watch by, and the annual exodus and returns from the city are one of those things. People just can’t wait to get out of their offices and to hit the road on their way to vacation-land. Personally, I cannot fault them for feeling like this. The first day of June, and July, and possibly the day or two before are the days for the mass exodus, and by mass I do mean just that. Millions of people stack themselves into little tin cans with wheels and head on out.

For the Traffic Department this must be their time of year for the greatest headaches. It is when over-crowding becomes very real. There are whole families all in one moving place thereby making the possibility of total disaster so much closer to happening. I have sworn that during these times I will not join in the madness. If I have to drive at all it will only be very short distances.

Coastal towns become besieged by people from the interior of the country, as well, people who live along one part of the coast decide they want to go to another, or that they want to go to their holiday homes with swimming pools inland.

These are supposed to be happy times. However, all to often families suffer disasters while in motion. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are some things that drivers can do to ensure that they will not be part of the unhappy statistics:

- Never drive when you are tired. Be sure that the night before you get a decent rest that will prepare you for the day ahead. Stop every two hours for a rest.
- Never, never, never drink alcohol and then take control of a vehicle. Forget custom, start a new trend and leave alcohol or drugs out of your consideration.
- Everybody has to wear a seatbelt. Remember, a toddler roaming around loose in the car will kill everybody through causing a distraction.
- Be super alert and attentive. Anticipate what might happen and prepare for it.
- Eat light meals along the way so that you are not made drowsy by heavy meals.
- As the driver, your judgement will make or break the holiday. Be a hero to your family and get them there and back safely.

My wish is that during this Summer there will be no fatal crashes. However, if I can’t have that wish, then at least there should be as few as possible.

Good Luck Everybody, and Happy Motoring!

Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael