Alonso: Nine out of Ten ain't Bad

I'm sorry but I think that this deserved a post all in of itself. I have just read an articale at F1Racing.net that states Fernando Alonso has sufficiently climed his way up the all time most efficient drivers ever. You can read the article yourself here, but basically he has scored enough points per start to be listed in the top 5 drivers of all time. This is among such great names as Micheal Schumacher (say what you will, he is the man of our time), Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, and Alan Prost. I believe this deserves some recognition and will forever change my opinion of the man. Here are the stats:

Average Points Scored Per Start
1. Michael Schumacher - 5.45 points per start
2. Juan Manuel Fangio - 5.44
3. Alberto Ascari - 4.34
4. Fernando Alonso - 4.06
5. Alain Prost - 4.01

Oh and I've had a crazy week, I'll get the points up as soon as I can along with next weeks post. And I'm disapointed that no one posted any comments about the sweet spreadsheet website that I've hosted with everyone's point's up to date (minus the last race). I was hoping you all would be a little more excited as I was very proud. This should be more of a discussion forum. It is all of our blogs, not just mine and Luke's (even though Luke puts in the most work on it)

Round 6: The Telefonica Spanish Grand Prix

Coming off a string of victories at the last two races Michael Schumacher and Ferrari appear to be back in contention for the title. McLaren on the other hand have been unable to compete for a win yet this season. The Spanish Grand Prix will prove to be an interesting one as Fernando Alonso has succeeded in grabbing pole for the first time at his home grand prix, leading a Renault 1-2. In 14 out of the 15 running of the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona, it has been won from the front row. The exception being a win by Michael Schumacher from 3rd place in the wet. The Renault dominance might be somewhat artificial however as Micheal hinted at in the post qualifying press conference that he may have several laps of fuel on hand. However it unfolds it's bound to create edge of the seat excitement in front of a sell out crowd, there to watch their man Fernando Alonso.
Another interesting stat is that if Michael wins tomorrow it will be the 5th track that he will have 7 wins at, tying his own record for most wins at a track and increasing his record for how many tracks this is at.

Picks Points Posted Online

More info to come. Just figured out how to activate my RIT personal homepage though, and I got the spreadsheet of the picks that I have and all the points posted online. Click the GP name to see each of the individual GP's points. Check your points over, let me know if anything is wrong. Not everything is summed automatically either so there may be a mistake or two, so feel free to double check my math. Anyway, here it is in all it's wondrous glory:

Presenting Your 2006 Season Picks

Round 5: The European Grand Prix

The original Nurburgring, the Nordschleife, ran for an awe-inspiring 22.5 kilometres (14 miles). It was so long and so complicated that drivers simply could not remember a racing line. The Nurburgring was, in fact, two circuits: the Nordschleife and the Sudschleife. In total they had an amazing 172 corners.

It was safety which sealed the demise of the legendary track. Following Niki Lauda's terrifying accident there in 1976 in which he suffered horrendous burns, the Nurburgring's license to hold Formula One events was withdrawn.

The track underwent huge redevelopment to create a new circuit and in the spring of 1984 a race was held featuring 20 identical Mercedes 190Es and a grid composed of some of the best-ever Formula One drivers. Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, James Hunt, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, John Surtees and Denny Hulme were just a few of the names to take part. Senna, then a relative youngster, won from Lauda and Reutemann.

The European Grand Prix was held at the new track later that year, and again in 1985, but it disappeared again after commercial difficulties. With the ascendancy of Michael Schumacher, from nearby Kerpen, the track was once again back in Formula One in 1995. Posing as the Luxembourg Grand Prix for 1997 and 1998, it has, since then, taken the name of the European Grand Prix.

The track may not be as challenging as the old circuit, but it is still possible to take a trip down memory lane - literally. For just a few euros one can take a car onto the old track and soak up what was one of the most feared and yet respected circuits in the history of motorsport.

The Nurburgring is located in the Eifel region of Germany, 60km north-west of Koblenz and 90km south-west of Koln. Road connections are good to the major international airports of Koln/Bonn and Dusseldorf Rhein Ruhr which is some 120 km away.