Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Well, we have ourselves some fun, new rivalries developing in the Champ Car World Series, don’t we? And just how much pressure is Bourdais feeling these days? The man has to test with Toro pretty soon and suddenly; he isn’t leading the standings anymore. Well, its tied and technically he would win should the season end today. But the perception, if you just read the news is that Doornbos has all the momentum and that he’s taken this series by storm…kind of like Bourdais did a couple of years ago. This will not bode well for his bid at a Formula One ride. He needs to obliterate the competition like he has done in the past if he wants to impress them. Especially this year, with the likes of Doornbos and Jani, guys he’d be competing for jobs with overseas. I suspect it may have had something to do with his recent complaint of Doornbos.

But did Doornbos drive dangerously and run drivers off the road? The overwhelming response is NO. It was wet, it was slippery, everybody was going off, and it was every man for himself. Nothing will come of this, except the fact that a lot of people probably lost respect for Bourdais as a result of his public complaint, the fact that he wouldn’t shake hands with Robert and his obvious unhappiness on the podium. Personally, I don’t get this guy. He makes it difficult to cheer for him. He’s such a joy to watch in the car and then to get a 2nd place finish and then complain over the loud speaker in Tremblant about Doornbos is just low class. The boos were so loud, it was something I had never heard or seen before. And he didn’t care, he just kept going as the boos were getting louder and louder. His relationship with the fans (that day anyway) really didn’t matter to him. He was pissed and was hell-bent on telling everybody about it. I liked the way Doornbos and Stoddart just shrugged him off. They were not going to let his whining ruin the fact that they got their first win of 2007.

With apologies to Michael Vick, the Toronto GP is going to be one heck of a dogfight. I have mentioned this in the past that Toronto always brings out a little extra aggressiveness in the drivers. Is it the heat? The layout of the track? Tough to tell, but for the last several years, this has been arguably the craziest race on the calendar. Now, add the fact that it’s the 3rd in a row. And the newly developed rivalry between Minardi and Newman/Haas/Lanigan. This is going to be one heck of a race!

4 Comments:

At 3:40 PM EDT , Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you mean an attidute of must of winning at all cost just to beat the other team, I don't see that there is a rivalry between NHL and Team Minardi. You media boys are just trying to stir up a hornets nest.
Seems that only a few members of the NHL team recognize that Minardi are just a very good team.
I didn't hear any remarks from Stoddart, on Sunday, at the track or on Windtunnel, that would even suggest a rivalry.
Minardi are too classy for that.
Even Craig Hampster seemed to downplay the rivalry thing during the race.

 
At 5:44 PM EDT , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh man I can't believe I missed this race. Shoot. I was up north darn it.
Im more upset about missing Doornbos 1st win. I think he is great I was so excited to see him come in Second in Cleveland
What a guy Seabass. Your right Eric, he is one heck of a driver and I have to admit I am always saying anyone but Seabass
Im shocked he did this really shocked. I thought at least this one time he could let another driver win I guess he just feels a bit threatened now LOL

 
At 8:29 PM EDT , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not surprised at all. This is typical Sebastien. Does he really care about the fans? Not a bit. Every now and then he MIGHT do a thank you to the fans or go out of his way to sign something but that's it. Of course, not everyone can be a Mario Andretti towards the fans, but there is some kind of second place etiquette he needs to keep in mind.

As for a rivalry, you know it's on. Not only are the media guys getting pumped up for this but so are the teams, and yes, the drivers. Anyone who works at the CC paddock knows it's on. Just because the team owners and managers aren't verbally fighting back and forth doesn't mean a rivalry isn't going on. It simply means no one is stooping down to Sebastien's level.

 
At 9:33 PM EDT , Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a race it was! I can't believe Bourdais's attitude, I mean under those kinds of conditions (where most people went off track at least once) most people would have been happy with 2nd place and not to mention he made himself look like a totally spoiled child in front of millions of viewers! I truly think a new CC rivalry is brewing and can't wait to see how it all plays out in the coming weeks. I'm looking forward to sunday's race and looking forward to being in Edmonton live even more. Hopefully Bourdais will show more class from now on because having one of your top drivers behave this way is not too good for the series although it is pretty amuzing. Thanks for your thoughts Eric!

 

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