SeaBee

...but they did not do it properly on race-day. This is the one he should have had! Love the skulls!

Those pups look like beauts Tuna! Lovely...

250ml for a 2:30 run - and a race at that?! Goodness... Koei should be renamed Kameel. Otherwise I just drink like a sponge.

Duvet not even pulled straight and nice and tight around them?! Really roughing it!

Loved the Dirty Double last year, was myfirst attempt at any running. Went for the jol and... had a jol! Was so much fun to do some of the Welvanpas singles in reverse as well. The Mitchell's guys knew us from a distance towards the end...

Just a couple more laps... Darn. Maybe Hamster was just doing enough, but we'll never know. Ricciardo definitely just did enough! And more errors from Vettel in one race than his entire career thusfar.

At last took some more pics... Brandi actually gives attention - most likely a bird on the wall... And then doing what he does best - rest! Whilst Kahlua is contemplating this all...

Never liked Jorge, but love his smooth style... and immense respect for even riding under the circumstances. I'd have been in bed! Getting fourth was an amazing result for a guy still busy getting over bronchitis.

Excitement of the race was given by Kimi in the first couple of corners - those Williams boys never knew what hit (fortunately not literally) them. And then... Max Verstappen! Of all people, the youngster overtakes... He gave more excitement in one race than his old man did in all of his career! Well, that one pit-lane moment may be a notable exception where Jos actually "provided" entertainment!

Quite interesting to see the Ferrari's again seemingly good on longer runs and the Mercs lightning quick on quali sims. Not getting my hopes up for a close dice, but it's good to see a) Merc at least having to look over their shoulder and b) a marked improvement in Ferrari form. Pure pace, no. But if they can put pressure on... who knows?! We all heard how flustered it got when they were actually under pressure for once!

Watched the Spur Summer series coverage (from PVR a week or so ago) and totally amped to do the winter series. Paul Cluver, Tygerberg Nature Reserve, Paarl Mountain and Kogelberg (Kleinmond) . The last one will be skipped, since I'm on a bike at that time somewhere between Willowmore and Jeffreys...

Ja, refer to my earlier post - let's not turn this into another F1 "every overtake that goes slightly wrong must be penalised some way" formula.

Ja, if another driver (let alone a team mate!) did that to you in the 70's and 80's, you'd have walked over to his garage and mouer him with your helmet. Brilliant to see some competition, absolutely stunning drive from Vettel. Smooth and clever. What was interesting is how Ferrari seemed kinder to the tyres, yet seems to have solved their quali problems of the last couple of years - where you actually need to hammer the tyres. Yes, I know Sat was wet, but they looked like they had one-lap pace all weekend long. Still, I do doubt that Ferrari has the out and out pace to beat the Mercs in a straight fight. Was very emotional to hear the German followed by the Italian anthems again. But hey, what a day for Italy if you look at the MotoGP results as well! (Seperate thread for that, just had to throw it in...)

He never got the memo that told him he's too old for this... What a ride! Loved the entire race, overtakes everywhere. But... there was a moment I just shook my head - when the commentator said they might have a look on video at Marquez passing Bautista, which dislodged his caliper (or pipe to the caliper, whatever)... I just thought "You have GOT to be kidding me - this is not F1 where every pass gets re-analysed and penelased if it goes wrong ever so slightly...

Heck no, please don't introduce Dorna to the FIA, the FIA will surely find a way to screw that up as well. Just one more rule.... we promise! It'll help everybody, equalise the playing field and be greatly beneficial to new entries and non-works teams... they said.

And, looking at combined results... 0.9 seconds between 1st and... hold your breath!... 14th! That's less than the gap Merc has over anybody else.

BTW, from what I understand RBR is not threatening to quit because of the Renault engine performance, but because of the current rules. Most notably how rules were hanged and things banned when they had the upper hand and the technology advantage. Now, not only does Merc have a significant advantage (and well deserved, good on them), but from a RBR perspective nothing is being done to alter the advantage as it was in the past. Also, the current set of "cost-saving" rules does not allow anybody to play catch-up. I have a tendency to agree with them on the last part of this. This is the forefront of technology, allow the guys to develop and improve!

Part of why Sainz's performance provided me with such a giggle. In a sister car with a... wait for it... Renault engine! Potjie was entertaining - and delicious, thanks Iwan! And tonight's warm-up will be even better. Glad to have been of assistance to all rumbly tummies this time of a Monday.

I think it's more a stab at Verstappen... One of the highlights for me was Sainz quite easily ahead of Ricciardo in the "senior team" car! Until his make-and-eat-your-own toebie pitstop. Speaking of pitstops, I suspect Kimi is no longer on speaking/grunting terms with his left rear wheel gunner... Unless that was some damage caused by the T1 incident. Because same wheel on both stops...?! Bit funny... Well, or that wheel itself was a bit of a screwball that they could not remove it properly. I did not re-look the episode, but it seemed to me as if he was dropped without them being able to remove the wheel? In all honesty, though... I recorded it and put it on in the background the afternoon whilst making potjie.

Went to test my pack yesterday - still have to get used to running with it! Immediately put me in a "this is a trek, run slow" frame of mind! Worked like a charm, don't like the mouth-piece all that much and will most likely replace it with a Camelbak bite valve. But the pack itself... rockin'! Only thing I did not get sorted was the space for the 500ml bottles on the sides. I stood still in the house and tried to insert that bottle (with the pack on my back), no freakin way did that work. Maybe I must still fiddle to get that adjusted. However, I hurt myself a couple of weeks ago and only went to see somebody this morning. Got severely reprimanded and is off running for some time now. (Perfect timing, just before Oceans... ) Anyways some post-tibial something-or-the-other muscle is totally buggered. Fortunately not a repetitive motion thing, I injured it on one run - I know exactly when and how.

I don't think Classic Energy still exists. CarboFuel is kick-azz for a lot of uses - and it's not too pricey. I really don't care about protein on a ride (afterwards is another story) unless it is a really long ride. Otherwise have a lekker braai the evening before or egg for breakfast... I vote for the braai! Squier, what's the caffeine content on the High-5 stuff? Because Cadence caffeine capsules are downright awesome! Makes a caffein gel look like a kiddies treat. Just don't take too much - I ended up puking my lungs out after one event a while ago whilst still trying to get the measure right...

Now he must go and co-author the book "How to make friends and influence people"... I suspect his car may break halfway around lap 3 (max) of every session - having a seat does not mean it must be the same equipment. Sue for a race seat, my azz... what support does he think he'll get from the team with that approach? Messy - I hope it can be sorted out.

Oh, I forgot to add Lotus to the "in-the-mix" group, now also with Merc engines...

The old Barcelona used to really test the suspension and cornering as well, both high- and low speed, plus aero. That is why it used to be such a popular testing track and in days gone by you'd often see cars (teams) qualify together on the grid. That mickey-mouse section at the end of the current lay-out may have stuffed that up a bit, but it used to be that a car that can go well on Barcelona, it's a good car. The Maldonado Williams win of a couple of years ago totally disproves this entire post, though... Would love to see relative performance once the gloves are off, because I'm pretty sure various teams were sand-bagging at different times over the two tests. But if I were to put money, it'd be safe to go for a Merc 1-2, unless they take each other out! Williams, Ferrari and RBR to do battle behind them. Macca's... I'm pretty darned sure they WEREN'T sand-bagging! If they get a top 10 this w/e, I think they'll do celebratory doughnuts! Then again, I think they still completed more laps than RBR did last year at pre-season testing! Hard to read exactly where STR, Sauber and FI lines up, esp with FI's late delivery. Maybe Sauber can sneak a couple of early points?

No wonder his GF left him...