Just my thoughts...

QUOTES ABOUT SACHIN TENDULKAR

2010-03-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Read on few of the quotes about Sachin...

I m sure everyone would enjoy each & every word of it…..

Ø "Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it." - Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

Ø "Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job." - Yaseer Hameed in pakistani newspaper.

Ø "To Sachin, the man we all want to be" - Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

Ø "Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives." - BBC on Sachin

Ø "Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" - Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch in 2003 WC

Ø Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal. - Brian Charles Lara

Ø "We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin."- Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

Ø "The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."- M. L. Jaisimha

Ø "The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual," - Glen McGrath

Ø "I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play," - Anjali Tendulkar

Ø "Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."- Tendulkar's daughter,Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.

Ø Question: Who do you think as most important celebrity? Shah Rukh Khan: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!- Shah Rukh Khan in an interview.

Ø "India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain.. Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte"-Navjot Singh Sidhu on TV

Ø He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.- Waqar Younis'

Ø I Will See God When I Die But Till Then I Will See Sachin'- A banner in Sharjah

Ø Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and I know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin.

Ø His reflex time is the best I have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries. - Allan Donald

Ø On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations.The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!- Peter Rebouck - Aussie journalist

Ø "Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination. "- NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Sachin was accused of ball tempering

Ø There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.- Andy Flower

Ø "I have seen god, he bats at no.4 for India !!!" - Mathew Hayden.

Ø When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy. It seems while Father Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of our Sachin.

And today when majority of the above legends are retired, our GOD is still active and breaching all kind of benchmarks.

Jai ho and a salute for this great man................

We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had a Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.*

Sachin Tendulkar

2010-03-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give a different title to this blog, but just couldn't think something that has not been used for our Legend. Wikipedia has official given these titles -Little Master, Master Blaster, The Master, The Little Champion.

This year, Sachin has been pushing the records way beyond the limits. There is no stone unturned when it comes to the charts for this gentleman. The most used cliche in Sports - 'Incredible', and this still cannot suffice the description of Sachin when he starts his inning.

He is in the top run scorer for the current IPL season. Just when the 'smarter race' gave the judgement on his aging factor w.r.t T20 format, he delivers a masterpiece to seal off those lips. His dominance in all formats of the game is nothing new. His double ton in ODI recently was an amazing achievement. And the best part is, this is not the end. He is thirsty for more!

I believe its got to do more with his attitude towards the game, attitude towards life! How often have we heard of Sachin making news for Match-fixing, being anti-social, etc. There is absolutely no parallel to draw in any sport. Surviving for decades, and ruling the charts is way beyond what can be classified as 'extraordinary'

May we see the best of Sachin in the coming time!

Get Set for Australian GP 2010

2010-03-25T00:19:00.001-07:00

Less than a day to go for the second race of this season and I just cannot control the excitement.

The championship table after the first race is what F1 was all about.

- Ferrari

- Mclaren

- Mercedes

Heavy artillery should stay at the top, or else the fan following is not interested :(. I guess this has much to do with the last season. How Brawn and Red Bull made Ferrari/Mclaren bite the dust. Well atleast for now, F1 management has 'customized' the standings ;) .

Nevertheless, Ferrari/McLaren/Mercedes/Reb Bull, all are very confident about the Australian GP and need to prove their worth. The track is a mix of fast and slow corner, but not much harsh on the cars compared to some of the European circuits (I may be wrong here). So much depends on the qualifying. Also, with no refueling during the race, qualifying the the order of the day!

After one race, I kind of miss the refueling thing. Now, strategies are not much of a talk since all you have gotta do is change tyres! Or is it too early to judge that. Well, with varying fuel loads, there were possibilities of two stops or three stops, whos running what compound tyres with what fuel load, and stuff. This is what kept the pit wall guessing! But now, that is a thing of the past :( . Lets hope we have some excitement to keep up for the pit stops :)

Fernando looking very strong and confident during the last race and we all know what he is capable of doing. A great fighter and this time he has all that he wanted - a Ferrari to drive! But, Lewis Hamilton also looking strong and their grandpa - Schumacher', who finished very well considering his comeback after 3 years and the infamous neck injury.

All in all, one action packed weekend this is gonna be.. :)

Bahrain GP 2010

2010-03-25T00:18:00.001-07:00

After a long wait, we finally had the first race of this season. With all the news and stuff, drivers' shuffle, Schumacher's return to the F1 track, two F1 champs lining up in an All-British-driver line up, etc... F1 news had everything!

To be honest, its the drivers' line up that is most exciting to me. I bet this would be the only season with maximum world champions banging wheels with each other. And the best part is, all of them have competitive cars! What is not appealing is Fernando in red and Schumacher is silver - will take some time to digest that :). I came across this hilarious pic on the web. Our grandpa chasing the pack, and I believe its Button running ahead :D. And another one, where Schumi is controlling the show. I bet this is what is gonna happen down the season, both Alonso and Hamilton would be peanuts in front of Schumi :D

I feel very sad for Vettel. Being on pole position, it would just take a disaster to not finish on the podium. Rumor has it the Red Bull's fuel efficiency would have caused his slide down the charts. Only time will confirm this. Another driver with luck against him is Sutil. This gentleman has a knack of enticing accidents in the most unfortunate circumstances ever. With Force India's upgrades, he was sure to score points had it not been Kubica's heroic in the first lap :(.

Let hope for more excitement in the next race!

coming soon...

2010-03-25T00:11:00.001-07:00

Its been quite a while since my last post.... Nothing to blame for that ;)

More action coming up... Stay Tuned :)

McLaren's new aeor kit promises to deliver

2009-07-21T02:18:00.001-07:00

It seems the dark tunnel for McLaren has come to an end. After the German GP, it seems that actually the ray of hope has materialized.

Going into turn1 did show the amount of hard work the team has put into, but it lasted only for a few seconds... Cannot blame anyone for motorsport accidents. Its sheer luck. But this must have given the team enough confidence for the next race. With the new package, they claim to have improved 0.7 seconds per lap and this was proved by McLaren's dominance through the German GP's practise sessions and qualifying.

Its not only McLaren that have upreved their confidence for Hungarian GP. Chasing their improvement tags are Ferrari and Force India. We will have to wait and watch luck favours which one of these???

Rally Poland shuffles the championship table

2009-07-21T02:14:00.000-07:00

Rally Poland - what a change it proved to be. The championship leaders changing orders and some last minute disaster from Latvala. One just couldn't ask more from a rally.

To start with, Loeb missing the tree stump in the pacenotes and damaging his Citronen's suspension. But that did not stop him from finishing in the points scoring zone. This gave Hirvonen and early advantage to take the championship lead from Day 1.

The 'unpredictable' factor is one of the best parts of motor sports. A lot depends on the driver, car, team strategies... but above all - 'luck' is one thing that matters the most. Invariably the Ford Focus team has seen disastrous results which can be classified as 'hard luck'. When and how does one over come their own fortune??? I guess the key is to hang on and not give up. It may sound simple but trust me, its the most difficult thing in motorsports - especially the things are against you!

Think of Ford Focus and the first thing that comes to my mind is how Fragile Latvala is! He has invariably proved his driving skills with outperforming the best in class, but his durability factor has always been questioned. Latvala has also confessed at times being over-confident and driving following his instincts rather than following the pacenotes - which we know what result it fetches. Experts say this to be a maturity factor which would smoothen his driving style over a period of time. Glad to know Latvala has been given a lifeline!

Brutal Acropolis Rally serves its reputation - Hirvonen scores and Loeb bites the dust

2009-06-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

Practically all the drivers had a two word description for the Acropolis Rally 2009 - 'Hot and Rough'... And it proved to be devastating for quite a few top drivers.

I guess this is the first time the defending world champion has made a mistake. His first crash this season definitely sent a shock wave across the Citroen camp. Seconds before the crash he was correcting the peace notes, may be this caused a slight distraction and then rest is history. This has resulted in two consecutive rallies where Loeb has failed to win. I am sure he is gonna fire all cylinders in the next Rally - Rally Poland. This is also thrown up the championship wide open with 5 more rallies to go in '09.

Ford couldn't ask for more with a perfect finish and Hirvonen taking the maximum points. After Latvala went off on stage 6, and the two Citroens breathing on Hirvonen's neck, no one could have predicted Ford's results for that weekend. And to add to that, the team principle says - "stage 6 will be one I will remember for quite a while". But, luck was finally to favour Ford team, with all the front runners pulling out and Latvala covering up his 3 min drop to return with a podium finish.

Overall, Acropolis Rally served its reputation of being the most brutal rally on the calendar with some of the top drivers crashing out with all possible hits and flips.

What happened to Defending Champions???

2009-06-22T07:54:00.000-07:00

It is always difficult for an individual or a team to carry the 'Defending Champion(s)' responsibility!

And when it comes to a Cricket-Crazy nation like India, the expectations were sky-high from Dhoni's team. Before the start of the T20 World Cup, the Indian were one of the favourites to retain the title. But somewhere things didn't go quite well for the title contenders. Then comes the damage control mode - the 'blame game'.

A very interesting analysis I came across on one of the sports channels about India's exit from T20 WC.

- 'IPL did not give players enough rest before such an important tournament'

This has turned out to be one of the most common sink to let some frustration. The team coach, the media, ... all could very easily target the IPL. May be IPL was responsible, may be not! But one thing is for sure, IPL did not have similar effect on the foreign players - especially the South African.

- 'IPL showcased Indian players' vulnerability'

Up to some extent, I agree with this justification. Anil Kumble was very bold to say that their team targeted Suresh Raina with short-pitched deliveries during IPL in a post match analysis. I guess every team was trying to nail down the weaknesses exposed during IPL. And finally West Indies and England did succeed. What was interesting is that Indian batsmen did succumb to 'bouncers' in both the games. Or I guess it was expecting too much from the batsmen to adapt themselves to these short pitched deliveries.

At the end of the day, it was not luck/faith but performance that let the team down. And the least we should do is 'blame'.

Latvala ruins Sebastian's dream run

2009-06-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

Finally Ford has a reason to smile - a perfect finish in Rally d'Italia Sardegna 09!

What a come back from Latvala. From experiencing the worst accident of his life in Rally Portugal and walking out unhurt to winning Rally Sardegna. Nothing defines a perfect moment. The team management also deserves credit for this. There were all possible talks of him being replaced and questions being raised on his skills, but Malcolm Wilson's trust factor could not be defied. Team orders could have changed the results and favoured Mikko Hirvonen in his pursuit for WRC title, but I guess Latvala deserved this win more than anyone.

Citroen and Ford tried to outperform each other in terms of strategies. Both of their top drivers tried to loose position for the final day, but I guess the only orders that were fruitful were when Latvala was asked to push at the end of day 2. The results were more pleasing, since both the drivers who tired to use tactics to avoid road sweeping on the final day, faced an even more difficult, unforeseen circumstance - hanging dust. All this played in favour of the rally leader.

It all depends on how Latvala takes it from here. Weather he goes back to his 'over-confident' and 'slightly' negligent style or do we see a more mature driver who is going to give Sebastian and Citroen a cut-throat competition for the championship.

What is IPL???

2009-05-16T04:19:00.001-07:00

Have you even been asked this question? If so what was the answer... I sometimes wonder what answer I will have to this question.

Lets check it out. So, if someone was to ask me - What is IPL? My answer(s) would be:

Its a political endeavour where money is made to flow from all possible corners.
There are loads of sponsors to hog up the limelight. This makes the commentator go - 'this is a DLF maximum', 'citi moment of success'....
Every 20-25 seconds there is a contest announcement that can be participated via IPL's website or via sending an SMS.
Every day is also a beauty pageant nomination and the grand finale shall be on the Finals.
Vodafone is cashing on its services/feature with the help of Zoozoos... This is my favourite part.
Every now and then the camera is focused on the bollywood team owner who thinks the stadium is a theatre where he/she can perform their not-so-cool acting skills (I am glad SRK returned back home, it was impossible to tolerate him).
The commercials are so important that they hog up action replay.
20-20 match format is stretched way beyond with the likes of Strategic Timeouts.
It is extremely difficult to figure what I am view is a match telecast or a commercial, since cricketers have maximum advertisement sponsors and appear in most commercials and bollywood stars snatch the limelight during the match. May be a caption would help - "MATCH TELECAST" or "COMMERCIAL" :)

And in the middle of all this, players find time to PLAY CRICKET!

Lewis Hamilton 09

2009-05-16T04:18:00.001-07:00

For Lewis Hamilton this season so far has not been the way any defending champion would imagine.

Not the best car around, controversies, penalties/suspensions and close to being disqualified. What a start to 2009. It looks like McLaren has a tendency of enticing controversies :).

Hamilton showcased the worst set of his driving skills in the Chinese GP. He is suppose to be the wet condition master. But spinning on the same corner thrice is worst that what Felipe Massa did in British GP 08 :) . This was a shocker! Vettle proved his worth on wet tyres, but Hamilton had an excuse - 'I was pushing a little too much'.

This must be the first time in Hamilton's career that he hasn't got a good car. Since the start of his karting days, he has been nurtured by his McLaren relationship. And now he goes all out in media complaining about how difficult it is for him to drive his McLaren. I guess these are the circumstances that will prove his test of patience. He has to lead the team here and set an example. The best comparison here can be Fernando Alonso. After his exit for the McLaren camp in 07, he did not have the best car for 08. But still he won races and showed the world what a double champion is made of

IPL introduces ‘time outs’ - $$$

2009-04-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

Compulsory 'time-outs' are to be introduced into the Indian Premier League, which starts on 18th April in South Africa, in an attempt to squeeze in more television advertising.

The breaks – each lasting seven-and-a-half minutes – will have to be taken after 10 overs. The IPL are planning to market the added time as an innovative by calling it a tactical 'time out'.

During the ‘time out’, the stadium crowd will be entertained by a live band while television audiences will watch three separate two-and-a-half minute segments, two of which will be sold commercially for an estimated $1 million each. The third will show the teams taking drinks and discussing 'tactics'.

“It is a move that is driven completely and totally by commercial objectives,” a senior production official told Cricinfo. “It is designed purely to make even more money by selling airtime. Nobody could argue that this adds any cricketing value to the tournament or that it can be in the viewers' interest, either in the stadium or watching at home.”

In total there are 118 two-and-half minute television advertising slots for sale.

And if this was not enough, IPL renegotiated its $1.8 billion ten-year broadcast-rights deal with Sony-owned Multi Screen Media (MSM) and World Sports Group (WSG) last month.

Did someone say we are in a 'Recession'!!!

Acclimatising to IPL - 2

2009-04-01T23:20:00.001-07:00

This should be the last thing on any Players' mind - adjusting to weather/wicket conditions in South Africa. Most of the players have had a taste of the soil there, but how will it impact players who have not?

This would be an interesting area of skill and even more interesting it would be to watch how this skill set is monopolized/exploited. How the teams would be formed based on the SA pitches would definitely have been sorted out by now. On the other side some say 20-20 is not about Class/Style/Elegance. Its about entertainment! How well a player (batsmen/bowler) performs depends more on his luck rather than his skill set for a particular wicket.

The Indian spectators' concern has been given a preferrence. The schedule has been adjusted to IST, and that should help. Its like the only thing you wanna watch after work would/should be IPL - which is not going to be any different from the first season.

Enjoy!

IPL off to South Africa!

2009-04-01T23:19:00.001-07:00

This announcement has caused mixed feelings! There is joy of having the second season of IPL but on the other side it is the political turmoil that has caused the change in venue.

To be honest, I do not understand how complicated things would have been for the IPL governing body to decide on this change, but I do understand one thing - who is at loss! Its not about comparing players' security to the country's General Elections. Its definitely not about which political party is for or against IPL being organised in India. Of course this piece of news has enough matter for the Politicians to debate upon :) . And not to mention, all the eight team owners are satisfied with this decision! This makes me wonder if at all anyone is on the other side of the coin...

Cricket in India cannot be compared to any other soil. The amount of Passion this country has for Cricket cannot be and will never be replaced by any other nation. I still have a clear picture of the Stadiums during the first season. Not an inch of space left vacant. That is Cricket in India! IPL in South Africa will definitely entice the local crowd because of the International Players involved and the game format, and I hope that adds to the flavour!

At the end of the day, it is the players who should be comfortable. If they can focus on the game, nothing better!

F1 09

2009-04-01T23:18:00.001-07:00

F1 09 has started of with loads of surprises!

Its clear after 5 races, the teams who focused on Aero improvements have an edge over teams who spent millions of dollars on KERS. And not to mention, the KERS enabled cars use this option in absolute defence. To start with, there is still lot of work to be done on KERS functioning, so this does not give enough confidence to the teams using it. And so far the use we have seen is to avoid being passed by the car behind! What a mess KERS have turned out to be. There have been a couple of occasions where the McLaren and Ferrari have used this at the start line to gain a few positions, but that has be offset by the lack of aerodynamics/downforce of these cars. Lets hope we seen some development and teams put KERS to better use.

These rule changes have shuffled the constructor's order. Top three team of 08 failed to score points in first couple of races. The current standing are a complete turn around of last year points table, only Force India is glued to the bottom spot :( . But this has added a different flavour to the sport. This has shown that every driver in one of those 20 cars is capable of winning races given a better handling car. This has put an end to McLaren-Ferrari domination of F1. I wonder if this would result in less fan following. Lets not forget that F1 has a different flavour because of the Ferrai fan following crowd. And looking at its performance this year (disastrous pit strategies), this definitely doesn't look good. Not to mention the teams uncertainty for next year's budget cap proposal.

Brawn GP has been more than a life line for Button and Barrichello. Just months before these drivers were without teams! Ross Brawn has showcased his skills can get any team, not only Ferrari, to win races.

Sebastian Loeb is scaling incredible heights!!!

2009-03-19T04:30:00.001-07:00

Sebastian Loeb is a name that is going to be glued at the top of the records' charts... definitely for long time.

What a start he has had to 2009 season. With 100% success rate, he is absolute victorious! A total of 52 career wins is a mammoth figure and who dares challenge it. His sheer experience differentiated his Cyprus Rally 09 victory. Choosing used gravel tyres for tarmac surface clearly set the standards for the rally. Later majority of the drivers in the pack followed, but I guess that was a little too late to catch up with the Champion.

Such legends who are drafting sporting history have extraordinary skills. Sebastian has always been differentiated in this aspect. How often in recent times have we seen Loeb make a mistake? He is ready to compromise his speed/position but not ready to commit a tiny little mistake. This is what sets him apart. This is where loads of his experience counts in!

At the beginning of this season, there were talks on weather Loeb wants to win all the rallies. Well, as of now he is spot on!

Planet X

2009-02-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

Some time last month, I visited this place in Mysore - Planet X. The only purpose of my visit was Karting! And it turned out to be a memorable experience.

This cement surfaced track is one of the best ones. The track is well balanced with low/high speed corners, couple of hairpin-bend turns and a long speed straight line. It reminds me of a classic F1 track. The charges are Rs. 100 for 10 Laps or 10 mins, whichever is quicker. This turns out to be the most economical karting track of my experience.

Driving on this smooth surface had another thrill added... 'Drifting'... It was kind of natural to have the kart drift and enjoy it even more by flooring the accelerator. Though it took me a few corners to get things under control... :)

Velocity - Innovative Film City

2008-11-09T20:27:00.001-08:00

A newspaper advertisement drew my attention for this place. "Karts with individual lap timings, biggest lap circuit in B'lore, ...". All this at Rs. 200 for 4 laps.

But I was surely in for a surprise when I visited this place. The Karts are assembled form scrapyard, forget them have stopwatches. On my run, after 2 laps, my kart ran out of fuel.....! I couldn't believe my luck. The circuit is very wide probably because they also have different type of karts for family (2 seater - Rs. 150 for 4 laps). Overall, not so pleasing Karting experience.

Torq 03

2008-11-09T20:26:00.001-08:00

I learnt about a new place for Karting - Torq03, situated at Outer Ring Road, Marathalli, Bangalore.

Together with a couple of my friends, we decided to try out our racing skills on a rainy Sunday! We reached the circuit at around 7 PM and even though its was drizzling, we decided to give it a shot. Although the site mentions different variety of Karts, we were only offered the 6bhp ones. The charges are Rs. 150 for 6 laps and the best part is they accept cards.

Each of us paid for 12 laps and decided to finish it in two different sessions. This was the first time I tried karting on 'WET' track and it was one hell of an experience. During the first 6 laps, god knows what happened to my driving. I spun for on almost every lap! This was like Felipe Massa at Silverstone in 2008... With great difficulty I somehow managed to finish my first session and then we evaluated the circuit, which we should have done before the first session.

After a short break, we were back on the slippery tack, but this time I managed only 2 spins during entire 6 laps and also tried some overtaking... And since we were the only ones karting, we tried lapping anti clockwise. No wonder Lewis Hamilton is appreciated for his skill on Wet tracks!

This was definitely one of my best karting experiences!

Grips

2008-11-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

This was my first Karting experience at Bangalore. Located on Bangalore - Mysore Highway, Grips is one of the best places for Karting enthusiasts. There are different Karts available - 6bhp, 8bhp and 10bhp. And the rates vary for 6 laps - Rs. 100 for the 6bhp kart, Rs. 150 for 8bhp and Rs. 200 for 10bhp kart.

I first tried 6 laps with the 6bhp kart to get the feel of the circuit, and then tasted the 10bhp kart. The later experience was simply amazing... I had my heart in my mouth... wonder what it is like in F1 with 700bhp.... The circuit design is pretty good. It has couple of U turns and some very high speed turns.

Its a fun way to spend your evening!

Formula for $uccess

2008-11-05T09:03:00.001-08:00

One of my friends shared with me a documentary - Formula for Success. There are 8 episodes of around 20 minutes each showcasing the F1 technology and the way it evolves as a Business.

"Only during two hours on a weekend, F1 is a race, otherwise its pure Business". Its just amazing how the complete F1 model functions and what all goes into making it absolutely perfect. This documentary show lots of other businesses that have taken F1 as a learning model and have gained desired results.

Its a must watch!

Glamour in MotorSport

2008-11-05T09:01:00.001-08:00

With Lewis Hamilton becoming the youngest F1 champion there is lot of content on the web that says he would become the richest sportsman in Europe.

Becoming the riches sportsman after winning a single championship! And we have Valentino Rossi, 5 time MotoGP champion, Sebastien Loeb, 5 time WRC champion, and quite a few others. I guess this is to do with the Glamour F1 has and the kind of money that flows in it. These are absolutely different MotorSports with different skill sets and there cannot be any comparison of F1 with MotoGp and WRC.

No wonder Valentino Rossi has tested for Ferrari and Sebastien Loeb will be testing for Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton rulz!!!

2008-11-05T00:42:00.001-08:00

Finally the champ has been crowned!

Although its his second year in F1, but its looks like a long wait. And wining the championship in the most thrilling manner in sporting history will definitely be a lifetime memory.

I had my heart in my mouth when Sebastian Vettle passed Lewis Hamilton 3 laps before finish in Brazillian Grad Prix. But McLaren and Hamilton kept cool and handled the pressure really well, since they knew Glock was on dry tyres and was slowing down. Remember what happened to Sebastien Bourdais at SPA? He slipped from 3rd to 7th during the last lap because his team chose to stay on dry tyres. But the media choose to put this in a different story - "Lewis Hamilton thanked his family and friends, everyone at McLaren camp and above all the Almight God, but one man he didn't thank was Timo Glock." and if this was not enough "Lewis Hamilton wins a controversial championship - Thanks to Glock". With all the artillery (media, hostile F1 drivers, race stewards, racist people) against Lewis, he has pulled out an incredible championship - and this makes him a strong contender for the coming years.

In 2007, he scored 109 points from 17 races and finished second. This year, the champion scores 98 points from 18 races! Is that his luck or other drivers' mistakes or both :). Well, if at all Luck had to favour some driver, it had to be Lewis Hamilton. Last year was absolutely disastrous, both for McLaren and the drivers (Alonso/Hamilton). This pair could have done wonders like Senna/Prost in 1988, when McLaren won 15 of 16 races. But I guess the right thing happened for Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, who had been struggling with his Luck before he came to Ferrai camp. I really feel for Massa. Not sure if he would get this close in coming seasons, since he is considered No. 2 driver for Ferrai, unless Kimi decides to continue the same way as he did this year :).