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Bill Oursler looks at Old Friends and the Wall of Division
What seems clear even at the early stage of the 2008 sports car season is that in any head-to-head confrontation, the Peugeot diesel is going to be faster than its Audi opposition. Does that mean the Peugeot 908 is going consistently sit atop the victory podium, while the T10 suffers from inferiority complex in second place? Maybe, and then again, perhaps not. After all, speed is one thing, going the distance, particularly without problems, is another......more

Bill Oursler on the Rear Wheel Skid of the FIA
One has to wonder sometimes about the Federation International de L�Automobile. Earlier this year there was the crisis over the sexual habits of its president Max Mosley, now there is another following the decision to take away Lewis Hamilton�s victory at the Belgium Grand Prix. According to the FIA stewards, Hamilton was penalized 25 seconds for improving his position late in the race by short cutting a chicane in a fight for the lead with Ferrari�s Kimi Raikkonen........more

No Borders Here��Bill Oursler looks at the levees
Excuse me if I sound confused. Over the past year the tail, in this case Porsche, may not have been wagging the dog, hereafter known as Volkswagen AG, but to be sure it now controls the hound, having already purchased a controlling 31 per cent interest in the giant auto maker. Moreover, if one is a true believer, the �little guys�....more

An Experience in Retrospect - Paul Newman
PLN is dying.
According to reports, he may not make it until the end of next month before terminal cancer overcomes him. His loss will be mourned by many, for as Paul Newman, the actor, he has been a giant of the movie and theatrical world for better than half a century. An individual of more than enormous talent, his professional accomplishments as an actor are unquestioned. So too are his achievements as a philanthropist.......more

Bill Oursler on CART�S Graduation Day
So now it�s over. After three decades the great experiment in single seat racing has closed down. Champ Car has (is about to) shut its doors. No longer will the inmates run the institution........more

Bill Oursler looks at the FIA beyond The Mosley Affair
Whether or not FIA president Max Mosley�s escapades are viewed as a private matter, or a public scandal, the real issue is what happens when, and if, he is forced from office. Clearly under the tandem team of Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One has become the more than billion dollar giant that drives the world of international motorsport......more

Phil Hill April 20, 1927 - August 28, 2008
For those of us who are growing older by the moment, the recent death of Phil Hill has once again reminded us of our own mortality. Currently, there is a commercial running on American television whose message is that the generation of 1960�s and �70�s Americans who believed they would never grow old, didn�t. Regardless of its ultimate truth, the message of never ending youthfulness and immorality espoused by the commercial itself is one that has been passed down throughout the ages.........more

Bill Oursler On Keeping Up Appearances
You remember, don�t you when your mother tried to fix you up with an ugly � most likely the daughter of a close friend. �Why dear,� she would say. �It isn�t what�s on the outside that counts; what really matters is what�s on the inside.� Sure, mom, and I bet she�s got great hair too. And, ugliness is what many believe is at the heart of the lack of acceptance, perceived or otherwise, for the Rolex Sportscar series� Daytona Prototypes by the ticket buying public and their stay-at-home television watching counterparts......more

Bill Oursler On Getting Gassed
I know I�m an old fart. I know this because I�m at the age when aches and pains prevail, and when I attend more funerals than I do weddings (not that I particularly like either). Still, as an old fart, I�ve been around a long time in the business of motorsport, and I�ve seen it change dramatically over the years.................more

Bill Oursler on Ten Years After
They say that politics makes for strange bedfellows. In truth it is the mutuality of interests that draw people together that normally would never associate with each other. Clearly, the folks at Le Mans and Don Panoz have found a comfort zone that works. And, while they may not be strange bedfellows, they come from vastly differing backgrounds.....more

Bill Oursler on Real Time Class Warfare
There are ironies in life to consider. Clearly one of them came at this year�s Sebring 12-Hour where the Audi team was forced to settle for third place in the overall standings behind two Porsche RS Spyders with another of the Porsche LMP2 category prototypes fourth and LMP2 Acura ARX-01b fifth. Given Porsche�s controlling stake in Volkswagen AG, Audi�s parent company, that means that the first four places belonged to the Porsche family � not a bad half day�s work....more

Bill Oursler: Once Upon A Time In L�Ouest
The Good, The Bad, and perhaps not so Ugly
Clearly, the past Le Mans 24 hours was one of the best in the long history of the event which stretches back to 1923, a time now remembered only by a few. Just as clearly, the race demonstrated the problems of fitting square pegs into round holes; or in this case the problems associated with trying to use the same basic regulations for different motorsport settings.......more