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Friday in Misano

Friday in Misano

23. May 2008Misano - To begin with, today the weather met the criteria for the Mediterranean. Only occasionally some clouds obliterated the sun, and now and then there were some raindrops. On Saturday it should be much the same as today, and only on Sunday morning it might be a bit rainy, if the weather forecast is correct. All in all it was a very quiet day, a day of rest rather than activity. Nevertheless there was always some action. While some teams changed their engines, others welded a bumper and everybody had some maintenance works on the agenda. Some people even went to the beach, but there was such a fresh breeze that nobody stayed for long.
And there is also something to tell of the “official front”. The idea brought forward by Lutz Bernau and Pascal Robineau to allocate points up to the 15th place in future (see news dated February 11, 2008), was rejected by the World Sport Council of the FIA. To add more excitement to the races and the championship and to keep some pilots and vehicles from becoming too predominant right from the beginning, handicap regulations were brought up. The pilots placed first in a race should have to start with a smaller air restrictor in the next round. But this would probably have caused greater technical problems than the initiators imagined. Eventually they agreed upon an additional nonofficial ranking. This means that every newcomer as well as last year’s pilots, beginning with 11th place in the overall standing, will get points, thus offering an enticement for those drivers who otherwise would hardly have any chances to get a podium place. But presumably only the results of the championship races will be counted in the ranking.