WTF "Is it a Mustang?"

Stuart, thanks for taking what I wrote in the spirit in which it was meant. I'm all for national pride ("simply because they live in the best country on earth" etc yer wrong obviously....) but there is an element over there that is extremely inward looking. Some elements of the culture don't necessarily help (why is the World Series called the World Series?!?) but I'll be really interested to see how F1 goes down in the states if it stays there.

It's funny, sometimes guys just don't know they're doing it, it's not deliberate. One guy, on here I think, said Ferraris were all well and good but they never race on track against other manufacturers...... I guess he wasn't including the GT Championships throughout Europe and the rest of the world where they do it week in week out.

Parts of North America are some of my favourite places on earth, and many Americans are some of the nicest folks I've met (and I've been to a fair few countries) but you're so big some Americans sometimes forget that the rest of the world is out there ...... and it's far bigger

 

I've made that World Series comment to people before myself. That's funny! Don't get me wrong I've run into some loud mouthed ignorant Europeans in pubs and airports in my time. You see the same mentality anywhere really. What's up with the South Americans getting together and chanting their country's national anthem in line at Disney World on a hot 98 (Fahrenheit) degree day when everyone else waits patiently and quietly? Just gets under my skin for some reason I think because even when you try to engage these people in a civil manner they just don't want any part of their dogma bubble being pricked.

I worked for BMW F1 for a stint and remember the Indianapolis reporters asking Michael Schumacher during the last F1 race in USA what it must be like to FINALLY make it to the hallowed ground of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He didn't even realize they were asking him in so many words what's it like to come to the most famous (in their minds) speedway. He politely answered that he liked the people and looked forward to the track and race etc. They were offended that he didn't pay proper respect. Their thinking these Formula 1 drivers who've got worldwide fans in the hundreds of millions and have raced Spa and Monza and Nurburgring and others I don't even know about have been waiting their whole life to race at Indy. He, the most famous athlete in the world at the time humbly answering questions while being told by reporters that HE was lucky to be at a 2nd tier track on the world stage.

Oh, and uh, by the way, Daytona International Speedway is the Capital of speed. I know so cuz a big sign tells me when I enter the parking lot.

Too funny..

 

I was filling up my 308 and a guy pulled in behind me and asked what year my Corvette was. I told him "the Corvette is a 1980 and at home in the garage, but the Ferrari here is an '83". Stunned silence.

I am also always being told how luck I am to own a Testarossa when in fact its a 348 TS.

Oh well . . .

 

Do you really believe a minimum wage employee really knows the difference?

 

Stuart, love the Schumi story. If you asked any F1 driver whether they'd prefer to win at Indianapolis or Monaco, they'd frankly look at you as if you were mad.


And having spent years in your part of the world (my folks had a place on the west coast of Florida for 12 years or so) got to agree with the Daytona thing, well as far as US tracks certainly.