Bernie's Wet Dream

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

‘Artificial rain better than adjustable wings’

1 March 2011

Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone does not expect the adjustable rear wing, new for 2011 and brought in with the hope of improving overtaking opportunities, to be successful on the track – instead suggesting that sprinkler systems to wet circuits would make for more interesting Grands Prix.


When asked by the official F1 website if World Champion Sebastian Vettel’s doubts over the new rear wings are valid, Englishman Ecclestone replied:

“He’s probably right. It is very difficult to control it by the stewards because the window of usage is very small. The chances for protests are inevitably there.

“To me this system looks pretty dangerous. What if the wings are not up again before the corner and the driver is lacking downforce? That could easily lead to incidents. We have to observe it carefully.”

The 80-year-old, who adds that his medals system – which would see the driver who wins most races crowned Champion – should still be used, then went on to describe methods for artificial rain in order to spice up races.


“There are race tracks that you can make artificially wet and it would be easy to have such systems at a number of tracks,” he said.

“Why not let it ‘rain’ in the middle of a race? For 20 minutes or the last ten laps? Maybe with a two-minute warning ahead of it. Suspense would be guaranteed and it would be the same for all.”


_{Courtesy of:   gpupdate.net}

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

'Ecclestone's fake rain idea ridiculous' - Verstappen
3 March 2011

Jos Verstappen has spoken out over the idea put forward by Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone, who believes that artificial rain should become a regular feature in Grands Prix by using advanced sprinkler systems.

The 80-year-old Englishman’s proposal has been met with mixed views by the sport’s fans and insiders alike across the internet, with Verstappen – who retired from F1 at the end of 2003 with a reputation as a strong wet weather racer – responding to the idea in a column for Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Jos Verstappen

“His proposal is to create artificial ‘rain’ for a certain period using sprinklers along the track, but I find it completely ridiculous,” Verstappen wrote.

“You have to let nature take its course and you don’t want to be influencing it. In my opinion it’s simple: if it rains, it rains, and when it’s dry, it’s dry.

“Personally I could always cope well in the rain, but I always hoped for dry weather. No driver is ever hoping for rain. Everyone just wants to race as hard as possible and as fast as possible, so I’m expecting little support to come of this idea.”


_{Courtesy of:   gpupdate.net}

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

^{Fake rain idea brilliant, says US GP boss or..}

Bernie's 'wet dream' shared by US GP promoter
9 March 2011

Tavo Hellmund, promoter for next year’s returning United States Grand Prix, has described the idea of artificial rain in Formula 1 races as ‘brilliant’, with the proposal to use an automated sprinkler system having been put forward by F1 Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone.

Bernie Ecclestone

With Ecclestone’s thoughts having been doubted by most in the sport, Hellmund outlined the reasons why it should be submitted to governing body the FIA when speaking with the Austin Statesman newspaper, claiming that ticket sales could be helped as the innovation would be functional on bright days for the crowd.

“Racing on a wet track would be spectacular and add a compelling element for fans,” he said. “True talent always shines in the wet and teams with smaller budgets should rejoice because rain is racing’s ultimate equaliser.”

_{Courtesy of:   gpupdate.net}

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

Australia as important as Monaco, says Ecclestone
16 March 2011

Bernie Ecclestone has stressed the importance of the Australian Grand Prix but insists that no contracts should be broken, with Victoria taxpayers continuing to state their frustration over losses the event makes and the Melbourne city Mayor having said earlier in the year that it could soon be leaving the Formula 1 calendar.

The government-funded race has continued to make losses in recent years, with Lord Mayor Robert Doyle having already suggested that its contract with Formula One Management (FOM) should be terminated early, instead of running until 2015.


“Australia is as important to us as Monaco,” Ecclestone, CEO of the F1 Group, commented from London in a teleconference on Wednesday. “It’s part of the World Championship and has been for an awfully long time - we'd hate to think that we're going to lose Australia.

“In the case of Melbourne, if the product is too expensive for them then we understand that, and when the contract comes to an end there's no need to renew it - we wouldn't force somebody to buy something that they don't want or think is too expensive.

“We get massive worldwide television coverage; if that's not important well, okay, don't buy the product.”

_{Courtesy of:  gpupdate.net}

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

Ecclestone not giving up on artificial rain
22 March 2011

Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has reiterated his plans to implement artificial rain in the near future, with the intended sprinkler systems aimed at creating an even better spectacle. After admitting that he thought the idea may have been 'a little crazy' at first, the F1 supremo is now more confident over its success after receiving a substantial amount of backing for his unique proposal.


"I thought maybe at the beginning it was a little crazy (the idea of artificial rain) but it's surprising how much support that idea is getting now," Ecclestone explained on BBC Radio 5 live. "Providing we do it so nobody would know when it was going to happen, like when it rains, I think it would make for a lot of entertainment.

"Whether or not it would make it more exciting, I don't know. Until you have done these things it's impossible to say but I thought last year was a super season."

_{Courtesy of:  gpupdate.net}

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

Ecclestone: The FIA is a joke
24 March 2011

Formula 1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has hit out at FIA President Jean Todt ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, criticising the Frenchman over his leadership style since taking power at the motorsport governing body in October 2009.

With F1 set to undergo major changes in the near future, Ecclestone is becoming increasingly concerned about the sport and how it is being governed.

[
Ecclestone and Todt in 2005, when the Frenchman was serving as Ferrari boss

"Jean Todt is a poor man’s Max," Eccclestone told The Daily Express. "He has been travelling around the world doing what Max (Mosley, former FIA President) didn’t do too much – kissing the babies and shaking the hands. It is probably good for the FIA but we don’t need it in Formula 1."

Ecclestone went on to criticise the planned introduction of environmentally friendly turbo engines in 2013, labelling the FIA as ‘a joke’.

"It has just cost an awful lot of money and I don’t know what it has proven," he added. "I don’t think anyone knows or cares what it is or what it does. I get upset with these things. We should write the rules with the teams. The competitors have got to race and have got a big investment. We have got a big investment.

"We should write the rules, give them to the FIA and they should make sure they are followed. It should be like the police – the police don’t write the rules and say you’ve got to do 30 miles an hour. The FIA is a joke."

_{Courtesy of:  gpupdate.net}

[sen8taur]

UK Best Bet Betting and Poker Forum

Ecclestone: I’ll quit if Murdoch comes in
25 April 2011

Bernie Ecclestone has hinted that he will depart Formula 1 if a takeover bid for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation proves successful. At present, Ecclestone serves as commercial rights holder for the sport as head of CVC Capital Partners.

First reported by Murdoch-owned Sky News last week, his group is in the initial stages of discussions for a potential takeover of the sport, potentially meaning that the United Kingdom’s television coverage could switch from free-to-air to pay-per-view.

However, Ecclestone has suggested that he would not work alongside the News Corp CEO, who is also 80 years of age.

“I'm old enough to get a pension, so I don't have to get a job,” Ecclestone told The Sunday Times. “I'd have to be sure the people are people I would like to work with and whether they would want to work with me.”

The current Concorde Agreement – which binds F1’s teams with the commercial rights holder and governing body the FIA – will expire at the end of next year.

_{Courtesy of:    gpupdate.net}