Got up early here to watch the qualifying. Schumacher is on the pole and there was some nice flying laps again by newcomers like Webber, lets hope he can stay on the track this time as he looks like a very exciting prospect. We also have Ralf on the starting line alongside his brother. Should be an exciting start to the race.

Imola GRAND PRIX

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01 M.SCHUMACHER FERRARI 1'22"327 03 R.BARRICHELLO FERRARI 1'22"557 (+ 0'00"230) 05 M.WEBBER JAGUAR 1'23"015 (+ 0'00"688) 07 J.VILLENEUVE BAR HONDA 1'23"160 (+ 0'00"833) 09 J.BUTTON BAR HONDA 1'23"381 (+ 0'01"054) 11 N.HEIDFELD SAUBER PETRONAS 1'23"700 (+ 0'01"373) 13 C.DA MATTA TOYOTA 1'23"838 (+ 0'01"511) 15 A.PIZZONIA JAGUAR 1'24"147 (+ 0'01"820) 17 G.FISICHELLA JORDAN FORD 1'24"317 (+ 0'01"990) 19 R.FIRMAN JORDAN FORD 1'26"357 (+ 0'04"030)

02 R.SCHUMACHER WILLIAMS BMW 1'22"341 (+ 0'00"014) 04 JP.MONTOYA WILLIAMS BMW 1'22"789 (+ 0'00"462) 06 K.RAIKKONEN McLAREN MERCEDES 1'23"148 (+ 0'00"821) 08 F.ALONSO RENAULT 1'23"169 (+ 0'00"842) 10 O.PANIS TOYOTA 1'23"460 (+ 0'01"133) 12 D.COULTHARD McLAREN MERCEDES 1'23"818 (+ 0'01"491) 14 HH.FRENTZEN SAUBER PETRONAS 1'23"932 (+ 0'01"605) 16 J.TRULLI RENAULT 1'24"190 (+ 0'01"863) 18 J.WILSON MINARDI COSWORTH 1'25"826 (+ 0'03"499) 20 J.VERSTAPPEN MINARDI COSWORTH 2'01"007 (+ 0'38"680)

not sure though if he is on a heavy one stop fuel load, but he did post the fastest speed and with raikkonen looking reasonably fast you would have to think DC just had a bad lap.

Michael Schumacher only finished 0.014 ahead of his brother, the runners at the front are very close and I think we may be on for one of the most exciting races so far depending on pit strategy.

Mark Webber posted an incredible qualifying again, finishing ahead of both McLarens in 5th place. The Renaults were somewhat dissappointing this week but the Toyota seemed to have a better qualifying than most so far.

Imola is a very tiresome track for drivers with bend after bend after bend, there is only two real good places for overtaking manouvers and gathering of speed, drivers really need to be fit for this one, and I think some of the rookies may not handle the pace this weekend. But some experienced drivers like Schumi and Coulthard have already had problems during practices.

My bets so far on the Gran Prix have been awful, but what the hell I'll keep trying.....

O.Panis to finish race  @ 1.85 (Betandwin) (3pts)
M Webber to finish  @ 1.85 (Betandwin) (3pts)
Pizzonia to finish  @ 2.00 (Betandwin) (2pts)

Schumacher
Raikkonen
Montoya
All to finish race treble @ 2.07 (Betandwin)(2pts)

Safety Car will not be out @ 1.70 (Betandwin)(3pts)
12 or 13 cars to finish @ 2.90 (Betandwin)(1pt)

K.Raikkonen to win @ 10.00 (Betandwin) (1pt)
Mark Webber to win @ 67.00 (William Hill)
(2pt total stake) E.W. 1/5 odds place 1,2,3

Will post head to head later as most bookies still working out their odds anf match ups!

 

 

Ratings for todays race.

(driver/rating/odd limit (percentage)/avg. odds)
1. Schumacher M = 360 = 3.70 (27%) / 1.66
2. Barrichello = 350 = 3.70 (27%) / 5.55
3. Montoya = 248 = 11.11 (9%) / 8.32
4. Räikkönen = 240 = 12.50 (8%) / 9.88
5. Coulthard = 226 = 14.28 (7%) / 14.45
6. Schumacher R = 214 = 14.28 (7%) / 6.85
7. Trulli = 168 = 25.00 (4%) / 97.90
8. Button = 162 = 25.00 (4%) / 77.60
9. Heidfeld = 150 = 66.00 (1.5%) / 117.15
10. Alonso = 146 = 66.00 (1.5%) / 51.90
11. Frentzen = 134 = 125.00 (0.8%) / 130.16
12. Villeneuve = 134 = 125.00 (0.8%) / 63.05
13. Fisichella = 132 = 166.66 (0.6%) / 120.42
14. Panis = 126 = 166.66 (0.6%) / 129.28
15. Verstappen = 124 = 333.33 (0.3%) / 668.00
16. Webber = 118 = 500.00 (0.2%) / 51.28
17. Da Matta = 116 = 500.00 (0.2%) / 206.94
18. Firman = 116 = 500.00 (0.2%) / 441.88
19. Pizzonia = 116 = 500.00 (0.2%) / 262.67
20. Wilson = 108 = 1000.00 (0.1%) / 890.60

My pick is Barrichello to win at odds of 5.55.
Trulli and Button both have IMO too high odds but still Barrichello looks strong enough to win.

Cheers
Hannu

Trulli to bt Panis @ 1.83
Trulli to bt Heidfeld @ 1.83
Alonso to bt Webber @ 1.83
Heidfeld to bt Frentzen @ 1.83
Heidfeld to bt Da Matta @ 1.65
Panis to bt Da Matta @ 1.62
Fisichella to bt Firman @ 1.48

one of the most poignant moments in sport , one of those days that just put everything in life into perspective. Schumacher is a true winner today, he knew that the Ferrari and Imola faithful have waited another year for this and to win the race and appear on the podium for the fans the day after your mother tragically dies is a true test of a person's strength.

Commiserations to two great sportsmen Michael and Ralf on the passing of your mother, and hope the pain in your hearts heals quickly.

It was a very sad Schumi that got out of his car at the end of this race, very visibly saddened. It was quite tough to watch the end without bringing a tear to the eye.

a small profit this week which is a minor miracle and I fell asleep last night watching telly and forgot my head to head picks.

17 points played
18.79 returned.

Trulli to bt Panis @ 1.83 LOST
Trulli to bt Heidfeld @ 1.83 LOST
Alonso to bt Webber @ 1.83 WON
Heidfeld to bt Frentzen @ 1.83 WON
Heidfeld to bt Da Matta @ 1.65 WON
Panis to bt Da Matta @ 1.62 WON
Fisichella to bt Firman @ 1.48 WON

5-2 + 1.411