It's the flu that reduces congestion!

In times of media-fueled health scares I tend to follow as many of the ridiculous instructions that TV news people can offer me. So with the recent swine flu outbreak I have avoided all pork products, stopped watching GolTV, disposed of all of the Doritos in the house, refused to venture outside my front door and even resisted the temptation to post on the Adrian Fernandez fan club message boards.

Tony Teixeira, the A1 GP supremo, has taken matters slightly further by canceling the finale of the series in Mexico City. This was scheduled for Sunday May 24th, a day (and weekend) that, for many of our listeners, is one of the best of the year. The logistical farce that was the 2008/09 A1GP Series almost triumphed over itself by consistently producing some of the best road racing seen anywhere on the planet. We have not only lost the chance of an exiting season finale in Mexico but all race fans have been denied a crucial chance to fully test our love of the sport and the limits of our endurance.

That whole weekend will be as much a test of stamina for the fan as it is for the 200 plus teams taking part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours starting on Saturday, May 23rd. Thank goodness there is no live radio coverage of that event this year, otherwise I would be in danger of overdosing on 5 Hour Energy and M&M's.

Here on the East Coast, Sunday will kick off with a frantic 6am search for live online coverage of the Porsche SuperCup and GP2 from Monaco before turning on Speed TV for the Grand Prix itself. I can enjoy breakfast with the best announcing crew in all of televised racing, topped and tailed by their refreshingly brief pre and post race coverage.

Richard Philippe wearing possibly 'The Greatest Spectacles in Racing', yesterday (Photo: www.flagworld.com)

The bridge to the Indy 500 pre-race would have been nicely spanned by the A1 GP sprint from Mexico, swine flu has put an end to that option. So part two of the day's festivities will have to comprise of me shouting at ABC's abysmal 'contractual obligation' build up to the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing'. I wonder who Jack Arute can 'kill' during the race? Jackie Stewart or Gordon Johncock possibly or maybe he could give Chris Amon a Grand Prix win or an F1 title?

The 'Late Great Formula 1 Champion' Stirling Moss on the set of 'Al Jolson's Grand Prix Adventures' in 1955 (Photo: www.nextcar.com)

So once Dixon, Franchitti, or both, drink the milk it's on to Charlotte to watch the '43 Greatest Drivers in the World' (I do love the willful ignorance of that expression) do battle. Sprint Cup racing is rapidly losing it's appeal for all but the diehard fan. The Coca Cola 600 is the racing equivalent, right now, of 'Revenge of the Sith' or 'The Matrix Revolutions', it will be viewed by many simply to complete the full day's experience in the full knowledge that it has lost much of its luster and will inevitably end in disappointment, regret, anger and moment of realization that those last four hours can never be retrieved.

For our European stalwarts, this is a day that stretches well into Monday morning and anyone of them who makes it to Victory Lane in Charlotte deserves credit and my sympathies. I can only presume that fans in the Southern Hemisphere simply call in sick on Monday or quit their jobs on an annual basis.

So with all of that to consider we must thank A1GP for having the sense to give the true race fan a break in the action on May 24th. Even if it is only for the half an hour it takes to heat up another frozen pizza.