Stepney and the Magic Powder!

[Chameleon]

Have a read of this and then tell me that I have not slipped through a wormhole in the universe and am now in another world:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=32287

I thought the story was already way beyond the realms of spy fiction but a mysterious white powder in the pocket...?  Save me, John - tell me that this kind of thing happens every day in Italy!   

[f1box]

i'd just read the (little more extensive) article on the beeb

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6281530.stm

Don't yoou just know the whole thing is going to run and run ..................


David

[Chameleon]

You know, if even half of what Stepney has been saying is true, I don't think it's wise for Ferrari to be making so much fuss about everything.  Just about the only thing I believe in the case so far is that Ron Dennis knew nothing of the documents until the Ferrari raid on Coughlan's home.  And I only believe that because I want to believe it...

[f1box]

I'm not necessarily a fan of conspiracy theories - though I tend to view a lot of 'the official line' on such matters, with a healthy degree of cynicism or scepticism - but something really doesn't fit in this whole episode.

Stepney may well have been disenchanted with Ferrari - but he could have walked into almost any team without the need to dangle a carrot such as paper copies of Ferrari documents.

.... and why were they being photocopied? scanned and encrypted, surely would be todays chosen methodology?

The truth will never be fully known - just various versions of it!

David

[cosworth151]

Have a read of this and then tell me that I have not slipped through a wormhole in the universe and am now in another world:

Not to worry, Cammy. F1 has just dropped into an old episode of "Rumpole of the Bailey."

[Chameleon]

You're right that we'll never know the full story, David - it's like reading a cheap novel and finding someone's ripped out the last ten pages and you'll never know what happens!  Nothing makes sense, even those few facts we know to be true.  If only Coughlan had dumped the documents straight away - they were never going to be much use to him anyway apart from interesting bedtime reading.

And Cozzie, you reckon Rumpole of the Bailey?  I think it's more like an episode from Dr Who! 

[raindancer]

I guess we have all been over it time and again in various posts. We are just rehashing that stuff.
The conclusions were drawn by all of us that "there is more to it than that meets the eye"
Incidentally India thrashed England in cricket after a great escape at Lords.

[Chameleon]

.oO(Cricket?  Do people still watch cricket...?)

Seriously, Raindancer, congrats - I'm sure the better team won! 

But the Stepney/Coughlan/Ferrari/McLaren saga is like an ongoing serial with fresh instalments released almost every day.  It's hugely entertaining to follow, almost a spy novel read in stages, and we just can't help wanting to know how it will all turn out.  The only problem is that, while we have our fun watching the thing unfold, enormous amounts of damage are being done to the image of F1.  It's hard to keep our perspective and realise that, really, it's about racing in the end.

[raindancer]

Guess close to a Billion and half people across the world watch cricket. Judging by the crowds at Lords and Trent Bridge , it must be quite a draw these days. Michael Vaughan played one of the best innings in a long time.
Reg this saga, this is bound to happen and there were a few more scandals in F1 over the years. The media wasn't so all pervasive say 10 years back compared to what it is now and it thrives on controversy.
I agree that there is more to it than what we know or what we will ever know.

[cosworth151]

Oddly enough, after Time Worthless took over our local cable, we couldn't get F1, but we COULD get cricket. AZN carried Cricket World and Cricket Classics on Saturday. I was just starting to get into it when they took it off.

[Chameleon]

That argues massively for your stamina and perseverance, Cozzie.  We English were always rather proud of the fact that cricket was the one game in the world that no American would ever understand.  We will have to try harder, obviously. 

[f1box]

Holds hands up to being a cricket watcher (listener) and ex player of the game.

I'll admit to coming to the game late (I never played until I was 25), and have played both the indoor and outdoor versions of th egame, even rose to the dizzy heights of becoming capatain of the Old Moroccans Cricket Club!

I love listening to Test Match Special on the radio - especially if getting on with someother task.

For many years I used to be a matchday steward for Coventry City Football Club - one of the perks was that we used to be drafted in for the Tests and One Day Internationals at Edgbaston! Absolute glory, effectively being paid to watch!
(another perk was that we got drafted in to steward FA cup semi-finals at Aston Villa and for the Internationals held there during the European Championships).

When I was playing cricket regularly, on a Sunday, there was a ritual of setting the video recorder for the Grand Prix and then avoiding finding out the result prior to getting home and watching the tape 'as live'. The only time I consciously broke this rule was in May 1994, when we purposely found out of the true ramifications of Ayrton's accident, during the tea interval. Myself and a number of other players found the second half of our game particularly inconsequential that day.

Now that I don't play the game anymore, though, I do miss my twice yearly visits to Accident and Emergency!

David

[johnbull]

What Max has done today really is not cricket.

J B take off his barber's coat and walks off in disgust.

I used to play cricket at school, but that was in the middle ages, so can we now get back to boring old Max.

Incidentally Bernie had made a statement immediately after last Thursday's FIA meeting, saying he was glad it was all over because it wasn't doing the sport much good. I wonder how he feels about Max resurecting it all now?

[Chameleon]

I think clever old Mad Max is calling their bluff.  His letter effectively says, "Okay, you're accusing McLaren of this, this and this, now let's go to court and see what proof you have."  And, if it turns out it was all baseless speculation, then he'll stick them with a disrepute charge in turn.

[johnbull]

That's what he should do, but will he?