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LEO PARENTE: Shakedown is back in the studio today, recapping
F1, IndyCar, Global RallyCross, and previewing the
Le Mans 24, getting ready for this weekend's Drive 25-hour
live stream viewing party showy thing.
And, of course, at the end of this show, I have a question
for you asking about F1 versus all the other racing to
confirm or deny my appreciation that F1 is the
pinnacle of the racing sport.
You know, Shakedown in the studio is not as dynamic as
being at the races or in a race car.
But in the studio or in the field, getting good Shakedowns
done, sometimes for me, is kind of tough.
The Detroit shows freak me out more than you know.
But when that happens, I have a little trick that gets me
back online.
(SINGING) When you see the camera,
don't you get too scared.
Just grab your camera buddy and say these magic words.
[BLEEP]
you, camera!
You can suck my [BLEEP]!
[ENGINE REVVING]
LEO PARENTE: I promise we'll talk Montreal F1, but let's
start with IndyCar.
They ran at the Texas 1.5-mile 24-degree banked oval, a track
just like Vegas where Dan Wheldon passed.
But this year with the new car, a ton of driver input.
IndyCar listening to drivers?
How about that?
And the drivers dialed in a down force package that put
the car back in the hands of the drivers and made tire
degradation a strategy factor too.
It wasn't the Indy 500 aero package, but a hybrid of it.
So the slingshot passes we saw at Indy were not there.
But the racing was.
Pack racing was gone, but the side-by-side still existed.
Driving and tuning the car setup made lead changes and
the ultimate outcome pretty exciting.
Graham Rahal continued the new IndyCar tradition of crashing
a wall in the final laps.
And Justin Wilson, the second guy in this picture, took the
win after Ganassi and Penske, those juggernauts, they missed
the mark as well, like everyone else except Wilson.
I've got to start changing my tune on this Dallara car.
Ugly or not, it's making for beautiful racing.
I talked with Wilson a bit at Detroit,
shouted up at him, actually.
He's pretty damn tall.
He explained to me how the front and rear of the car is
starting to work together.
Now, CEO Randy Bernard came out of a great Indy 500 with
the bad PR of an owner overthrow uprising, which, by
Detroit, seemed to have been more bluster versus reality.
A "car cost out of control" controversy, bitter words
about the handling of the engine parity plan, which
translates to Chevy's now pissed because the updated
Honda now looks good, and the Texas race promoter Eddie
Gossage calling the IndyCar drivers *** because they
didn't like that the track fence poles were still on the
inside of the track, and it was the pole that Dan
Wheldon's helmet hit.
And now, a "will it happen or not" problem slash controversy
with the August China race, the Streets of Qingdao.
But Randy's a good pro.
He's a planner.
He knows marketing.
He's organized.
And he's going to bring in a veteran racing consigliere
like Derrick Walker, who gave me one of these when we met at
Detroit to go with his other racing operators--
Beaux Barfield, the race director, Will Phillips, VP of
technology, and all the others.
Randy and his team have got IndyCar working better than it
ever has in a long time.
And that Detroit GP?
While I love and respect Roger Penske like we all do, it was
his mess, not the IndyCar series'.
For what it's worth, I shook Randy's hand and volunteered
my support, if just for moving on from Danica.
But I guess my best support for Randy is this advice.
Randy, if the owners ever get on your nerves, just remember.
(SINGING) When you see the owners,
don't you get too scared.
Just grab your owner buddy, and say these magic words.
[BLEEP]
you, owners!
You can suck my [BLEEP]!
How about Global RallyCross that also ran at Texas?
Jumps and drifting, shortcuts and fender banging.
All this a prelim to the ESPN X Games coming--
whenever.
Marcus Gronholm and his Ford Fiesta won the
aptly titled for me--
Hoon Kaboom Texas Race--
beating back Tanner Foust and the other drivers in their
Subaru, Hyundai, Dodge Dart and--
Saab?
And I guess these are real racer athletes.
Travis Pastrana separated his shoulder.
Watch the video link in the description below, and hold
your thoughts about this type of racing.
I got a question for you at the end of this show.
Time to go to Montreal, Canada, and talk F1.
OK, it's real simple.
The F1 show is awesome.
The F1 package is complete.
It's got sport, glamour, personality, technology,
stories, back stories, drama, and characters.
And I say that not because of now when we have seven winners
in seven races.
It's how the results are happening, and behind the
winners, the excitement of new talent--
Grosjean and Perez in Montreal, Maldonado in another
race, Lotus, Salber, and Williams nipping at the heels
of the giants.
And Ferrari's reemerging.
Hamilton proved his mettle and that Montreal is a McLaren
track despite Button's lost-in-the-field performance.
And Alonso, who got close, defended the
Ferrari one-stop strategy.
But doesn't it have the Ferrari that manages tires
like the Lotus?
And then there's Vettel, with their double-modified RB8.
They put on a show, too.
They had to plug the Monaco holes in the rear floor.
And the holes in the front-spindle brake-reel
configuration, as it was ruled and designed, wasn't just
cooling, but energizing the air, pulling it, I think, past
the front wings to make more downforce, making the assembly
an illegal, movable aerodynamic device.
But still, he fought for the lead.
And like I said earlier, I like Grosjean and Perez.
They showed up as winners, too.
A ton of cars have the speed, but it's maintaining pace over
the tire stint or the race distance that
is the 2012 F1 challenge.
Overall let me say, I hate DRS.
Those passes at Montreal were too easy.
No need for it anymore with the cars,
drivers, and the tires.
And I'm actually liking the Pirelli tire thing as the
teams figure out the balance--
tire temp management, getting the front and rears to work
together, staying within the right
temperature performance range.
These Italian tires are like every Italian girlfriend I've
ever known.
You treat them right, and they deliver.
Push too hard, and it's all over.
They never forgive, and you can't go back.
So I'm watching the US FOX TV Montreal broadcast.
I got the official F1 timing and scoring going on,
and it's all good.
And I'm thinking, wow.
I wonder if the Sky Sports and BBC TV immersions, with their
fancier tricks and deeper programming, make this F1
thing feel even more top of the mountain of racing?
Hold that F1 thought as we finish today with the Le Mans
24 preview.
Because A, it's this weekend.
B, the whole Drive crew is prepping for our live stream
orgasmatastic viewing party and live chat spew fest.
And C, if anything is going to compete with F1 for global
pinnacle status, it's Le Mans World Endurance
Championship Racing.
ANNOUNCER: Each year, they gather to endure the most
punishing trial in motorsports, to test the will
of man, to brave the elements, to challenge the laws of
physics, to answer one question--
Can they stay awake for the entire race?
MIKE SPINELLI: Don't look at me.
I just wrote the copy.
I'm just the guy in the back.
LEO PARENTE: I think it's great.
Go ahead.
Do it.
MIKE SPINELLI: I--
LEO PARENTE: Do it.
Go on!
ANNOUNCER: This year, join Drive for the 25 hours of the
24 hours of Le Mans.
MIKE SPINELLI: I thought it was a Shakedown.
What do you want?
I thought-- wait a minute.
LEO PARENTE: I'll be over at the information desk.
MIKE SPINELLI: Aw, help me out.
LEO PARENTE: They had the Le Mans test last weekend, and
it's clear.
Any sandbagging aside, if you check out the practice time
sheets in the links below to see the battles that we're
going to enjoy together this weekend.
In P1, Audi versus Toyota.
325 was the fastest Audi E-tron time.
Simraceway's Allan McNish got it, and he's going for what?
Four Le Mans?
Toyota's two seconds back.
Now painted blue because that's the official Toyota
hybrid color.
Just look at any Prius badge.
The gas P1s are 10 seconds back of the hybrids, but with
bigger fuel tanks versus diesel and hybrids.
So that means less pit stops for them.
Here comes the math.
75 liters, 16.5 gallons for gas cars.
73 liters, 16 gallons for the Toyota gas hybrid.
65 liters, 14.3 gallons for the Audi ultra diesel.
And 71 liters, 15.6 gallons for the Audi
E-tron diesel hybrid.
I want to see how the Dome performs, and this Pescarolo,
in particular.
In P2, they're in the 340s range, and there are a ton of
cars fighting the Nissan versus HPD Honda battle.
The DeltaWing, by the way, hit the target times in that P2
range, as it was mandated.
And Delta says there's more speed if they were unleashed.
GTs are just in the sub 4 and four-oh-point-something range.
And it's US Corvette versus the Euro Ferrari teams versus
Porsche, including the US Lizards.
And the factory Aston Martins are lurking.
We'll have all the info, insights, and race breakdowns
during the Le Mans 24 show this weekend, allowing me to
bail on a Friday Shakedown because I need to study up.
So instead, you take the time to also study up as I will be.
Or watch an earlier Shakedown.
It's not like they get rotten with age.
I mean, they just start and stay the same fermented
almost-gone-bad ripeness-- ha, ha, ha.
And click the links below to get your Andy Blackmore
designed 2012 Le Mans 24 Spotter's Guide, this year
sponsored by Simraceway.
Time for the question of the show.
We spoke F1, IndyCar, Global RallyCross and Le Mans.
And I'm saying F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport.
They put all the pieces together-- the quality of
drivers, the cars, the venues, the show, the broadcasting.
I say it's number one for all that.
But what about Le Mans?
Or the extreme stylings of something like Global
RallyCross and X Games?
Are they deserving of being a pinnacle?
Le Mans 24 has more manufacturers.
Global RallyCross is maybe more in touch with today's
viewers and fans.
What do you think?
And think about it this way.
If you want a non-racing fan to think of racing, what image
do you want them to conjure up?
F1?
Le Mans?
Kenny Block?
Indy?
NASCAR?
Stew on it.
And if I've made the question too tough for
you, don't freak out.
Just remember this.
(SINGING) When you hear the Leo, don't you get too scared.
Just grab your Leo buddy and say these magic words.
[BLEEP]
you, Leo!
You can suck my--
[MUSIC PLAYING]