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David Phillips
Editor and ChiefDavid Phillips is a long-time contributor to print and electronic publications in the U.S. and abroad, including Racer, Autosport, AutoWeek, Motor Sport and SPEEDtv.com, oversees the daily updating of news stories and assigns, edits and contributes feature material for inRacingNews.com.
Chris Hall
iRacing.com Series WriterChris Hall has been writing since the nineties and moved into motorsports reporting in 2005, covering series such as ALMS, British GT, FIA GT, Le Mans and 2CV racing for Full Throttle magazine, Motorsport.com, The-Paddock.net, GTGateway.com, L' Endurance and, of course, inRacingNews. During 2008 and 2009, he worked with the RSS Performance Porsche Carrera Cup Team (and former British GT(C) champions) as a data engineer for a variety of drivers and models of 997s.
Jameson Spies
Contributing Writer19 years old, Jameson Spies lives in Quartz Hill, California. He grew-up surrounded by racing. His mother raced late models throughout Southern California while his father built and setup the car. Not surprisingly, Jameson began racing go-karts at the age of 13, and is now racing Spec Trucks at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He has a passion about all forms of racing and hopes to make a career out of it.
Jason Lofing
iRacing.com Series WriterJason is 21 years old and was born and raised in Elk Grove. California. A big time NASCAR fan, he hasn’t missed a race on Sunday in years. Lofing is also a huge San Fransisco Giants fan and tries to take in at least a couple games a year. Other than sim racing, his biggest (and far more expensive!) hobby is photography. Although he is rather new to sim racing, Lofing has already accomplished some pretty impressive results, qualifying for the 2011 iRacing Oval Pro Series in Season 1, 2011, winning the inaugural Landon Cassill Qualifying Challenge and finishing runner-up in the second one.
Tim Terry
Contributing WriterTim Terry, aka the voice of Maritime stock car racing, fell in love with sim racing in 2004 after he joined the Sim Racing Network crew as a pit reporter. From October 2004 to SRNtv’s closure in June 2007, he’s covered prestigious races and leagues such as the Online 500, FLM Fall 400, Real Racing Online and the DMP Racing League – each as the lead broadcaster for the company. At the same time the wheels started to turn in another direction as he began announcing stock car racing locally. Terry became the assistant announcer at Scotia Speedworld in May 2007 and took over full duties in May 2009 when long-time voice Mike Kaplan retired from the track. Terry also became the series voice of the Parts For Trucks Pro Stock Tour in ’09 and continues to hold down both posts in 2011. He has also announced races for the Pro All Stars Series, Atlantic Open Wheel and Maritime League of Legends tours and has called races at six different Atlantic Canadian tracks. Terry can be heard online at WebRacingNetwork.com, RLMtv.com and OLRtv.com covering sim races. He also makes occasional appearances on PSRtv.com. In addition to inRacingNews, his articles and columns can be read on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca, MaritimeProStockTour.com and his own website at timterryonline.com.
David Allen
Contributing WriterNorth Carolina born and raised with over 15 years of computer/IT experience, I combine two of my biggest hobbies -- racing and technology -- here at inRacingNews. In my spare time I run a Nascar fan site and cure my own need for speed riding atvs. If it involves technology or racing I'll be there, but combine the two and I'll be looking a front row seat. Stop by and say hello anytime!
Allen Krier
Contributing WriterAllen was born in West Palm Beach, Florida but grew up in Atlanta and attended Georgia College and State University where he received a BS in Information Systems. Currently a resident of Albany, GA, he started sim racing in 2008 while in college when iRacing was first released to the public. Since then, Krier has been a two time iRacing Pro Series driver (2009 and 2010), picking up one Pro Series win at Daytona in ‘09. Besides sim racing, Allen’s other hobbies include RC Car racing as well as “attending and watching any sporting event that I can including going to the local dirt track.
Q and A with Salvador Servia
January 30th, 2012
Speculation has been rife about the Spanish Grand Prix after the government suggested it could reconsider the future of event given the difficult economic situation.
AUTOSPORT spoke to Circuit de Catalunya boss Salvador Servia about the event’s prospects.
Q. There has been speculation about the race’s future following comments from the government about reconsidering costly things like the GP. What is the real situation?
Salvador Servia: The reality is we have a contract until 2016 and we are working towards the 2012 race and our intention, if we can, is to continue until 2020. We have had Formula 1 here for 20 years and the goal is to have it for another 20. As for the rest, no one has said anything. I read news about meetings but officially I haven’t been told anything. If we don’t say anything official it’s because there is nothing going on. That’s the only possible position as of today.
Q. Given the economical situation, is it viable to continue with the current contracts?
SS: That’s conditional. I always say the same: if the circuit is full we have no problems. If the circuit is not full then we need the public moneys to survive and it seems you can’t count of them at the moment. That’s the sad reality. But it conditions things, if we continue with this crisis affecting both the government and the fans who struggle to come to the circuit.
Q. Does the Formula 1 business model have to change so the grands prix are viable for the circuits without the financial support from governments?
SS: The main thing is for the fan to come to the circuit. If the fans come, then there is no problem. But with the crisis, attendance has decreased in all circuits. We don’t believe it will always be like this, but rather that we’ve had a few bad years and we are trying to react and trying to see if at least in 2012 we manage to stop the decrease and start a new era in which we start to recover and then have better hopes for the future.
Q. Does Ferrari’s and Fernando Alonso’s performance affect ticket sales much?
SS: No one care measure that, but I’m sure it does. If in the first four races of the season Ferrari and Alonso had performed as they did in the final four then I’m sure it would have had a positive impact for us. Right now we have all our hopes pinned on what happens in 2012.
Q. Ecclestone has mentioned he’s not interested in alternating Valencia and Barcelona. Is that even an option?
SS: We don’t know anything about this. We read media reports which are not always saying the same. We haven’t heard anything at all. We have to stop those stories. If something happens one day then we’ll say it, but nothing has happened at all. No one has ever told us anything.
Q. You haven’t talked about extending the current deal, have you?
SS: No, because it’s not the moment, that’s clear. We have a contract until 2016 and the moment would be 2015 and I hope things are better by then and we can talk about 2050 [laughs]. We have to think about that when we are successful again in terms of attendance. 2011 was the worst of the last seven or eight years, and this is not a success. So it’s not the moment. It’s the moment to work to turn things around.
Q. What do you think about Ecclestone’s comments that Europe is finished for Formula 1?
SS: He has his business and he has to deal with it as best as he can, and his comments obviously go in that direction. He has a lot of Asian clients and people from all continents who are willing to pay huge sums, so it’s normal that he doesn’t care too much if one European race falls off the calendar.
Q. Last year some promoters expressed concerns about how the 2014 engine sounds could be a turn-off for the fans. Is there really a worry that it could drive them away from the circuits or is it exaggerated?
SS: First of all I think we have to have a little confidence in the people in charge. Formula 1 has changed a lot technically over the course of its history and the interest has not disappeared, so I don’t think they can make a mistake that will drive interest away.
I think races are always interesting as long as the regulations manage to keep the cars close to each other. I don’t think it’s as important as to be alarmed about it. And if it turns out to be a disaster, then they will have to change things again.