Formula One in Valencia
Once more into the Breech
As I begin writing this it is June 23rd, 2011. Certain streets in Valencia City are cordoned off, all the seats are in place, all the equipment has been set up, and most important of all, the cars are here and can be heard roaring like lions in a cage.
Excitement is rising, and from tomorrow there is not one single hotel room anywhere in the immediate area of Valencia City that has not been sold. At one city hotel tonight’s rate for the room is 125 euros. For Friday and Saturday nights that rises to 750 euros. Valencia loves Formula One.
The amusing thing is that when Formula One was first mooted as using Valencia as a circuit there was much resistance from people who live in the city. Then, reportedly City Hall suggested that it could take place in August. Oh well, August, no problem, the city becomes like a ghost town. Everybody leaves town so you can make as much noise as you like, we residents won’t be here. In fact, some of us can rent out our apartments, especially those that overlook the circuit for exorbitant sums of money, and everybody is a winner.
This year, the race takes place in June. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Anyway, Lewis Hamilton is determined to be the winner of this race, but those of us who love Spain would just be delighted if Fernando Alonso could win on home territory. We need something to celebrate to raise our spirits. and to take our minds off the awful financial consequences of so many people who are out of work. It is simply amazing that so many people are still in a position to be able to afford the outlay for tickets. I’m very happy for those people, but it does seem like something of an anomaly.
Some group had been spreading a rumour that all three days had been sold out and that there were absolutely no tickets available, so there was no point in trying to obtain entrance. The truth is that there were plenty of last-minute tickets available, so this could only have been a sabotage attempt.
It is amazing to what extents people will go to attend Formula One in person. They fly in by the planeload, and they drive in from extraordinarily long distances. I met a couple that drove up from Marbella that took them ten non-stop hours. They were late for the qualifying round. However, people came from Madrid by the AVE bullet train at 300 kph to see cars being driven at 300 kph. Interesting!
At this stage it is possible to make predictions on how the race will turn out. My expectation is that Alonso will break down or otherwise drop out of the running; Hamilton will come in second, and the race will probably be won by Vettel whose year this seems to be.
Well the race is over and here is how things turned out: the day could not have been better from the weather standpoint. There was not a cloud in the sky. All the big yachts were in their place and all tickets were sold out.
As I predicted, Vettel was first across the line. This is definitely shaping up to be his year. Alonso, far from suffering from bad luck, very nearly won this one, by coming in a respectable second. The home crowd were delighted, almost to the point of a first prize result. Lewis, who was feeling so confident before the race tried valiantly to make his expectation a reality, but the best he could produce on the day was a fourth behind Mark Webber.
This year, Vettel is the Speed Demon, and once he is placed on Pole position he doesn’t easily give that up. Formula One Racing is a whole lot more interesting when the outcome is unpredictable; unlike those years that Michael Schumacher won every race and every season.
This time around, Michael came in seventeenth. I know he is driving for Mercedes, but what is under the hood?
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
As I begin writing this it is June 23rd, 2011. Certain streets in Valencia City are cordoned off, all the seats are in place, all the equipment has been set up, and most important of all, the cars are here and can be heard roaring like lions in a cage.
Excitement is rising, and from tomorrow there is not one single hotel room anywhere in the immediate area of Valencia City that has not been sold. At one city hotel tonight’s rate for the room is 125 euros. For Friday and Saturday nights that rises to 750 euros. Valencia loves Formula One.
The amusing thing is that when Formula One was first mooted as using Valencia as a circuit there was much resistance from people who live in the city. Then, reportedly City Hall suggested that it could take place in August. Oh well, August, no problem, the city becomes like a ghost town. Everybody leaves town so you can make as much noise as you like, we residents won’t be here. In fact, some of us can rent out our apartments, especially those that overlook the circuit for exorbitant sums of money, and everybody is a winner.
This year, the race takes place in June. Coincidence? You be the judge.
Anyway, Lewis Hamilton is determined to be the winner of this race, but those of us who love Spain would just be delighted if Fernando Alonso could win on home territory. We need something to celebrate to raise our spirits. and to take our minds off the awful financial consequences of so many people who are out of work. It is simply amazing that so many people are still in a position to be able to afford the outlay for tickets. I’m very happy for those people, but it does seem like something of an anomaly.
Some group had been spreading a rumour that all three days had been sold out and that there were absolutely no tickets available, so there was no point in trying to obtain entrance. The truth is that there were plenty of last-minute tickets available, so this could only have been a sabotage attempt.
It is amazing to what extents people will go to attend Formula One in person. They fly in by the planeload, and they drive in from extraordinarily long distances. I met a couple that drove up from Marbella that took them ten non-stop hours. They were late for the qualifying round. However, people came from Madrid by the AVE bullet train at 300 kph to see cars being driven at 300 kph. Interesting!
At this stage it is possible to make predictions on how the race will turn out. My expectation is that Alonso will break down or otherwise drop out of the running; Hamilton will come in second, and the race will probably be won by Vettel whose year this seems to be.
Well the race is over and here is how things turned out: the day could not have been better from the weather standpoint. There was not a cloud in the sky. All the big yachts were in their place and all tickets were sold out.
As I predicted, Vettel was first across the line. This is definitely shaping up to be his year. Alonso, far from suffering from bad luck, very nearly won this one, by coming in a respectable second. The home crowd were delighted, almost to the point of a first prize result. Lewis, who was feeling so confident before the race tried valiantly to make his expectation a reality, but the best he could produce on the day was a fourth behind Mark Webber.
This year, Vettel is the Speed Demon, and once he is placed on Pole position he doesn’t easily give that up. Formula One Racing is a whole lot more interesting when the outcome is unpredictable; unlike those years that Michael Schumacher won every race and every season.
This time around, Michael came in seventeenth. I know he is driving for Mercedes, but what is under the hood?
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
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