2006 Year in Racing

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JohnBM01

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Let's look back at some of the moments of 2006. We've seen good and amazingly sad. We've seen an American motorcycle rider upset Valentino Rossi for the MotoGP Championship. However, we've also lost one of the finest race car drivers anywhere in the world- Peter Brock. We haven't seen too much of Danica-mania, but we did see Marco Andretti pick up a win in the IRL. We seen Jimmie Johnson win it all in NASCAR (and I'm proud for him). People who thought Pontiac were on top of the Daytona Prototype ranks saw Lexus win the overall crown in Rolex Sportscar Series competition. We've also seen Audi be virutually undefeated including the first diesel-powered car to win Le Mans outright including the first win in ALMS competition by a diesel. The two Sebastiens (Bourdais and Loeb) also put together impressive showings. A.J. Allmendinger made one huge threat to Sebastien's dominance. We also saw the first IROC road race in a long while. They even tacked on lights and raced at night. It's been an interesting year. And if you care to recap on 2006 and look forward to 2007, this is your thread. So let's look back on the year that was.
 
I think last year's ALMS season was better at least for the GT1 class. I didn't really like the restrictions they put on the Corvettes. It seemed that the cars performed differently on each track and the penalties were not constant. When they lessened the restrictions in (was it?) Laguna Seca, they still could not manage to receive 1st place.

At least they were able to get it at Le Mans. I managed to watch all 24 hours of it for the first time. I was happy for the Audis, yet still kind of sad for the Pescarolos. There was also a nice victory for Panoz.

The WRC started good for me, since Gronholm got off on the right foot. But even with his 7 wins, he was not able to win the championship, probably because of car problems in some of the rallies. And Solberg did not manage 1 win during the season. However, I do respect Loeb's talent and consistency. The 2007 season starts in 6 weeks, which is awesome.

I also enjoyed the F1 season, especially since Alonso won. There were a couple of great races (Turkey, Hungary...) And I can always enjoy Monaco no matter what happens.

In the Porsche Supercup Challenge, Richard Westbrook was able to win the championship early. He was consistent and finished on the podium in every race.
 
I've got a few things to say about the 2006 season, but I'll start with Road Dogg's comments on the Corvette vs. Aston Martin.

Who would have thought that a class consisting of only two teams would be so exciting. From the Sebring fireworks, to the close finish at Lime Rock Park, I always looked forward to the competition between the two teams. I wish there would have been a couple [competitive] Saleens thrown into the mix, but overall, GT1 had a good season despite the low car count.
 
One major race stands out for me. The 2006 Super Cheap Auto 1000, the race all day was close with only 0.5s between 1st (Craig Lowndes) and 2nd (Rick Kelly) and both of those drivers go into the final seperated by 7 points. Hopefully these two can have a clean fight for the title and no mechanical gremilns get in the way
 
1) Audi winning Le Mans. This is really more of a "I'm supporting this because I like the series." That being said, it isn't necessarily the biggest thing to happen, but Le Mans is IMO the greatest race on the planet. (PLEASE don't try and debate that with me... note the IMO.)

2) Introduction of the FIA GT3 Championship... ADAC GT Masters becoming first series to fully adopt FIA GT3 Regulations (Australia is the second to confirm use, regulations to be implemented in full later - not sure what year.)

Just a note, the new FIA GT Championship rules seem like the idiots at the FIA are up to their old tricks again trying to save teams money and reduce speeds in the stupidest way possible. Waaay to go FIA, way to go. I will still follow the series because I love GT racing but it will be begrudgingly.

m.piedgros
 
There was something I forgot to mention in terms of 2006 in racing. American Skyline fans had a chance to see Igor Sushko's Nissan Skyline GT-R racing in Speed GT. Reactions to this car's entry into the Speed GT ranks ranged from excitement and heavy interest all the way to overrated "fanboy" garbage. Being a "citizen of the world" of this machine, I actually gave it a chance. It was going to be an underdog regardless of what Speed GT fans had to say about this Japanese rocket competing in America and Canada for the length of the 2006 season. I still thought it was some incentive for the tuner crowd to get excited about seeing the Skyline taking on the Cadillacs, Vipers, and Porsches.

Another aspect of 2006 is that we saw the return of Sarah Fisher. She had some IRL rust going up against Danica Patrick. But it was good to see her in action as well. Speaking of ladies in racing, how about Liz Halliday? L. Halliday shown her prowess in the prototype ranks. She's shown just as much spunk in prototypes like the last queen of ALMS prototype racing- Milka Duno of Venezuela. I just want to say that it's been great seeing more ladies compete. Most ladies are even as great as some of the male racers.

For 2007, Danica Patrick will step up to Andretti-Green Racing. Surely she has some expectations to live up to... more so than when she was the top-flight driver for Rahal-Letterman. People know me as being prosperous. So I do want to provide my wishes to the beautiful young lady born out of Beloit, Wisconsin, USA.

Continue the look back whenever you're ready.
 
What about Katherine Legge John?

* Earned three victories in first Atlantic season, winning at Long Beach, Edmonton and San Jose. (Two other podium finishes: second at Road America and third at Portland)
* Placed third overall in the Toyota Atlantic Championship as a rookie
* Became the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America with her victory in Long Beach
* Named RACER magazine's Most Promising Road Racer in voting by fans around the world
* Win in Long Beach named Southern California's Top 2005 Racing Moment of the Year in voting by the public.
* Won 2005 Atlantic Championship Series BBS Rising Star Award
* Tested a Minardi Formula One car, an A1 Grand Prix car for Team Great Britain and the Rocketsports and PKV Racing Champ Car in the months following the completion of the Atlantic season
* Finished 3rd in 2004 North American Formula Renault short Can-Am Cup, and 10th in the championship despite running only the partial season schedule
* Competed in select races in the British Formula 3 Championship in 2003
* Won the pole position at Oulton Park in 2002 British Formula Renault Championship with a time to beat Kimi Raikkonen's lap record
* First female to receive prestigious British Racing Drivers Club "Rising Star" accolade (2002)
* Captured the 2002 British Women Racing Drivers Club Susan JP Jamieson award for fastest lap speed, earning the title Fastest Female Racer in the UK
* Became first woman to win a pole position in British Formula Ford Zetec series (2000)
 
Became the first woman to lead laps in a Champ Car event, took 'em a hundred years but Katherine made it! As far as all those stats go, well not much ado there about '06, the year in question might I add, however she had a competitive year. Some rookie mistakes (stalls, spins, wall taps like in Toronto), some bad luck but was pretty close to the rookie of the year at the end of it all. I suppose Lady Katherine is deserving of an honorable mention.

m.piedgros
 

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