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Adam Cooper's Wednesday diary

Dear All,

They said rain was expected this week, and on Wednesday afternoon we got it, big time. If this tropical monsoon was anything to go by, we could be in for a very interesting weekend...

Funnily enough it was nice and sunny in the morning, and the drive to the track was very pleasant, an unplanned diversion through attractive Washington Park making the journey rather more scenic that it should have been. First stop was not the circuit itself, but a building nearby owned by the IMS organisation. It's a little TV studio they use for PR events, and we had two on the schedule, involving BAR and Jaguar.

Jacques Villeneuve was centre stage at the first, sitting in front of a show car. The idea was that his appearance would allow the American press and specifically the TV channels not allowed access to the venue itself to get hold of the great man. Villeneuve's name still means a lot in these parts, and a video including clips of his 1995 500 win reminded everyone of what an achievement that was.

Jacques was on good form, delighted to be able to offload a massive chunk of his media responsibilities in one go, but there was one small hiccup. Everyone wanted to know what he thought of the track and the new facilities, but despite the fact he'd been in town for a couple of days, and we were about 200m from the front gate, he hadn't yet set foot inside yet. So everyone still has questions to ask him...

An hour or so later Jaguar held its function in the room next door. This wasn't just a simple Q&A, but a major announcement, albeit of one of the worst kept secrets of the year. The irony of current CART boss Bobby Rahal sitting in a building owned by the IRL marketing folk was not lost on some onlookers...

After a quick change from his sports jacket and tie into a Jaguar shirt, Rahal certainly looked the part as he lined up next to Neil Ressler and Eddie Irvine. And he sounded right too; at first glance the appointment may seem odd, but anyone listening to Bobby and Neil explaining the reasoning would have been convinced. Eddie too was on good form on his first encounter with the hardcore Mid-West racing media, who were impressed by his considered responses.

Like Jacques I hadn't been inside the track, so when it was over I headed across 16th Street and in through the front gate. A wide smile broke across my face as I did so; it really is a magical place, and even bigger than I remembered it. A lot of work seemed to be still underway, but then you get that at other tracks on a Wednesday, and the first impression was that things have been done well.

First port of call was the media centre, a very impressive building, although a little further away from the pits than what we're used to. In fact some of us are going to get much-needed exercise this week, because the main press room is on the fourth floor. Just one rather slow lift has to cater for hundreds of people, and the stairs are an attractive alternative to a long wait. On the way down, at least.

The mechanics and cars have been in place for two or three days already, and there wasn't much going on, everything having already been checked and re-checked several times. The pit facilities are certainly impressive and there were few complaints, although the abundance of concrete does not look particularly attractive. One team manager was concerned about the unpainted garage floors; usually teams are happy to do the job themselves, completing the surgically clean look that they like to have in their temporary home-from-home. But IMS has apparently insisted on keeping the bare concrete, which is going to look a little oil and rubber stained by the end of the weekend.

This won't be an easy weekend for getting hold of people. At flyaway races we don't have the motorhomes of course, and instead teams have offices in a block at the back of the paddock. These look worryingly impregnable, and it looks as though drivers and team VIPs will be very happy to sit inside, and their inaccessibility won't impress the local media. It was interesting to note that the only paddock payphones were located on the wall outside the Arrows office. And they weren't sponsored by Orange...

At around 4pm everyone was very glad that the offices provided such good protection. The sky was filled with dark clouds and a strong wind began to whip around the giant stadium, sending row after row of seatbacks in the empty stands flipping down, in a sort of noisy Mexican wave. Something bad was about to happen.

At the time I was standing near the pit exit with Alex Wurz and his engineer, who were hoping to get chauffeured round the track. But the rain put their plans on hold. It was as heavy as anything I've seen in traditionally sodden places like Suzuka, Fuji - and even Silverstone! The wind blew it sideways into every nook and cranny; we had to retreat 20 metres back under an overhang to avoid a horizontal deluge. Within minutes the pitlane was a giant puddle, and the odd service vehicle still plodding round the track through up huge clouds of spray. As I said, it could get interesting as the weekend goes on.

One thing which did catch the attention was the vulnerability of the timing stands on the pitwall, and in the light of what happened in Monza a few team folk expressed concern. The wall is very low, and personnel are very exposed to flying debris should anyone go off at Turn 13; there's no sign of the solid perspex fences you see at Magny-Cours and elsewhere.

Consider that at the 500, each team sends just one signaller out into that 'no man's land,' and he can quickly lay himself flat if anyone starts to spin. I suspect that some VIPs who enjoy getting TV exposure but don't have a real job to do may suddenly realise that they want to watch this one from the back of the garage.

Before I left I had a quick look at Turn 12, the one that leads out onto the oval. While we've been talking a lot about the corner that follows, I've got a feeling that 12 is going to be the one that might create a few headlines, and really give the drivers something to think about. Unlike the final corner, this one has the unfamiliar sight of tyres on the outside wall at the top of the banking.

Race fever is slowly but surely taking off. BMW billboards carry a picture of Ralf Schumacher and the enigmatic messages 'fear' and 'desire', while local TV station channel 13 is doing its bit to promote the event, having sent a camera crew to Monza. On the sports programme each night they're presenting a beginner's guide to F1, and they know exactly what tone to strike - Michael Schumacher was described as the best paid athlete in the world, something that was sure to capture the attention.

But the real focal point is the weather forecast that follows the news, and it still looks like we'll get some rain every day. Can't wait for 11am on Friday...

Best regards,

AC



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