Full Throttle

As part of the media Tusnami following Danica Partick’s Twin Ring Motegi IndyCar win was speculation Patrick might be in line for an F1 test in the future.

That was fueled by a reporter who asked if she had any thoughts of joining the F1 Circus in the future.

Word of the exchange filtered down to Honda’s F1 Chief Executive Nick Fry who said the team hadn’t instigated anything, “but if Danica wanted to be test a driver then we’d be more than happy to talk about it.”

Now word has filtered out current NASCAR wunderkind Kyle “The Desperado” Busch also would like to add to his resume by testing an F1 machine this coming off-season.

Busch said part of a test session would include taking a Cup car to Japan for an exhibition drive. “Just kind of run around there at either Twin Ring (where IndyCar runs) or something like that and show them what the Cup cars are like and try to get in a Formula One car, too.”

Barring any complaints from Mr. Danica at first glance this may be a set-up for a Japanese date for a duel test for both drivers.

It would seem so, but wait, let me grab my bucket of frosty cold ice-water.

They both may very well get their respective tests but it won’t be as Busch envisions it.

Danica’s IndyCar is powered by Honda and any interest on the part of F1 Honda in testing her is based on that fact.

Busch drives a Toyota. Not a problem you say?

But it is, and a major one that indicates Busch suffered a case of oral Montezumas Revenge when a microphone was stuck in his face and didn’t think through what he’s dreaming of.

Twin-Ring Motegi was built and is owned by Honda, need I say more?

With the fierce rivalry between the two Japanese F1 squads there is no way in hell Busch will lap the oval or the road course at Twin-Ring in a F1 Toyota and Nick Fry would sooner give up someone’s first born man-child before he places The Desperado in a F1 Honda machine to lap Motegi.

That’s not to say Busch won’t or can’t get a test, but it will have to be at Toyota owned and operated Fuji Speedway current home of the Japanese round in the F1 world championship.

Of course there is one other option. You could put these two firecrackers together in their respective marquees and turn them loose on the neutral circuit of Suzuka. (Thanks to Tom in the comment section you woke me up to the fact Suzuka merged with Twin-Ring in 2006 so in fact is owned and operated by Honda.

In that light I’d vote for Autopolis for a neutral site of a joint testing session.

Autopolis has a rather strange history but can claim one of F1’s elites as a winner there. Autopolis hosted a round of the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 which was won by Michael Schumacher and Karl Wendlinger in a Mercedes.

A joint test would have the additional benefit of driving F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone, a/k/a The Hobbit, nuts seeing Danica in an F1 machine.

After her fourth place showing in the 2005 Indy 500 Bernie made an assessment about women racing with men that created a major controversy saying, “You know I’ve got one of those wonderful ideas … women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances.”

Ever the nitwit that guy Bernie and is the reason if I had my say any test by these two would take the form of the neutral venue option just on the oft chance Ecclestones head would explode. Metaphorically of course, no one would actually like to see any harm come to The Hobbit. (except a few million F1 fans)

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