Formula Cool

As a result of meeting some of the pit crews through our F1 Regatta yesterday afternoon, a few of us from the rowing club were given access to the pits on 'Le Circuit Jacques Villeneuve' by some of the nice guys from Team Jaguar. Unreal technology going into those things. The front fins can hold up to six men at a time - they look fragile and are built to self-destruct, but boy can they withstand the pressure. The engines are only used for 600-700km before being replaced, but the teams have to devote a lot of their time to keeping them in mint condition each race weekend as they're only allowed to use the one engine for the entire three days - a real challenge given they're pushed to 18000 rpm and 215 mph.

Word on the street is that Eddie Irvine had an ego the size of a Goodyear blimp, but most of the other drivers are down to earth. I also had a chance to talk to some of the Ferrari crew people who speak only Italian; when I asked if we could get any closer to the cars (M. Schumacher and R. Barachello's) they said "if it were up to us we'd let you, but the other guys won't let you get anywhere near them." Those Italians - always jokin' around. Ferrari also has their own wall panelling for the inside of their garage at each race, something none of the other teams appeared to have. Money seems to be only a minor consideration for those guys, which explains why they're always winning. Go Jaguar.

In other news, I added a new web cam to the side bar. 'West Van Beach Cam' will make you want to spend all your summers in Vancouver. Why do I do this to myself?