Making Waves

Lausanne, Switzerland - 21st of June – Let’s begin at the beginning….This will be a few thoughts from 40,000 feet over Greenland heading West after the weekend of the Grand Prix of Finland that some of you may have missed….It seems like a world away but yes, it’s hard to believe that it was just 15 degrees in Helsinki last Sunday…. it really was a nice change right? WRONG!....Most of us were ready to break out the Christmas carols during the morning drivers meeting before it started to warm up a little on Sunday AM…Wow, what a race…Haven’t seen so much fighting since a scene in “Braveheart”…Or was this just the warm-up for what followed after the race when all the penalties were handed out and all the protesting began….A word of advice for UIM’s Gordon S. next time when all the chaos comes flying at you in such a fashion as it did Sunday night, use the line that is very fashionable in America’s “Old South”... “Don’t try to butter my butt and call me a biscut… quit lying and just tell the truth please”!...The annual visit of David “Dr. Prop” DeWald was more than interesting….He unveiled his new ideas of what you can expect to see soon   on the circuit with the “new evolution” wheels of the future that have been such a hit in offshore racing …How’s 15 kph faster speeds on the straightaways sound?...Now from the medical front….. Ziggy went on an unexpected diet on Friday night glued to the bathroom bowl and getting little sleep as he was sick from food poisoning…. Gert L. didn’t get much boat time in on Saturday as he was lookin and feeling ill for most of the weekend…He gave it a valiant effort on Sunday despite his wishing he was somewhere else, like in bed…. Massimo is lookin better and walking better and should be ready for the ski season shortly…. Lavinia, had one of the hardest jobs all weekend, keeping from laughing as she watched most of the Idea Marketing people taking off their clothes and trying on their new uniforms right in front of her as they were making sure they got their right size jackets, shirts, pants and shoes for the remainder of the season on Friday morning….She got a chance to see more skin than Hugh Hefner in one week… God bless you baby, you’re a women for all seasons….In the press tent Philippe was going crazy putting out fires but still kept a smile on his face, hey, how about the electricity disappearing early in the evening on Sunday….that was fun ha? Thank God they got it turned back on….. Nicolo had his sons with him for the weekend and they are starting to make the series promoter look short….These guys are ready to start playing basketball or volleyball in a big way….Local promoter Pertti L. kept his word…he promised more women than men at Saturday night’s party and he was right…..nice goin Pattu you are a God and we loved the “Finnish eye candy” you delivered all weekend…. Guido, Guido, Guido will you ever win a race in Finland? Laith who flew longer than anyone to get to Helsinki got little to talk about when it was over…It was just one of those times man….Get that boat fixed…Go Trojans!....The move of the weekend came from Andy Elliott when at the airport Monday morning he arrived late after his alarm clock didn’t go off because of a weak battery and slept past his flight… and now was stuck facing a 740 Euro fee to get back to London…When I first ran into him he was feelin bad! But, doing what he does best at every race weekend, he danced a little, begged a lot… and finally with his 4th attempt at talking with the same women at the British Airways counter telling her his life story at the same time….Well, she couldn’t stand it anymore, she got tired of him in her face and finally gave in and got him an unbelievable price of 143 Euro’s to get back home. He was needless to say excited with the result as was she of his disappearance from her counter! … Bob T. was planning on getting on the telly to call Tim Seebold and get his “secrets” of fine tuning the boat for Cagliari…expect a better result from him then…. Massimo R. as always, great coffee man…. Fabrizio B. great hospitality and expect to see the “airplane” arriving in Cagliari…. Pierre L. another great start to the event…. Christian J. welcome to F1…. Duarte B. to run that boat well around that rough water was a thrill to watch man….Julius L. great start for a “water ski” driver…”Max” not bad from the teenager able to crash and step out on dry land at the same time, you got a future kid!.... Franco L. more points but where is the wig?.... Philippe D. from podium to “Podunk” in 1 hour… Sami S. great start, gave the fans something to hope for even if it was only for 29 laps….By the way, I dare you to open the throttle on that Kawasaki 1200 that you had….340 k’s an hour…..that is the fastest thing on 2 wheels in the paddock and even slightly faster than Ziggy’s scotter….The hard luck story of the weekend has to go to Michael W. qualifying 6th andddddddd sitting for the rest of the weekend with a broken boat…. Scott G. great run, but, the streak continues!!!!.... Thani AQ where did that start come from?....insane brother……lucky brother…. Fabio C. the only thing that wasn’t missing all weekend was his smile at the airport on Monday…. David S. we missed you man, hope you had a great holiday with the family…Ciao to all and see you by the seaside….. SM