Sidepodcast

Ari Receives Support From Clubs

It looks as though Vatanen's campaign for head of the FIA has received a bit of a boost as several clubs from various countries have pledged their support. Apparently, 14 clubs have declared their views and they are urging others to do the same.

Their letter to other clubs urging them to join the Vatanen fan club reads:

"The unique background of Ari Vatanen includes his years in the European Parliament, to which he was elected from two countries (Finland and France). During his dramatic and successful, humanly touching career in rallying he became a world champion.

"As a spokesman for the federation in the present day world, where media attention and diplomacy with various stake holders is becoming more and more vital, Ari comes across as an ideal candidate for all who want to create a future in the spirit of fair collaboration."

It doesn't mention the future of Sidepodcast, but I think they can read between the lines.

Where Are We Still Coming From?

Back in March, before the season got going and our Fantasy Racers league was in its infancy, we were curious about who was signing up. In fact, we took the user by country stats, knocked up a quick graph and commented on the results.

At the time, the competition was dominated by the USA, followed closely by the UK, with Canada in third place. The components of the United Kingdom and Australia made up the rest of the notable figures. Keeping that in mind, does this look about right?

We promised to return to the statistics at the end of the season, and we do try and keep to our word in a timely fashion. The above graph is the updated version, with everyone who had signed up by the end of the season. Surprisingly, it looks exactly the same as the previous one. USA, UK and Canada are still leading the way in terms of Fantasy players, and once again, we have to give a call out to Bernie.

How can you not want a race in the US? How can you not want to fight for the Canadian Grand Prix? The numbers don't lie.

There are a few more notable countries than there were oh so many months ago, with Mexico getting a real boost. What happened there? Also, as I noted last time, where do the people who put 'none' actually live? Is the F1 coverage any good there or do they have to spend their time scouring Justin TV?

Joking aside, it seems preposterous that we can whip up a simple graph and take stock like this, whilst the powers that be either can't use spreadsheets, or won't pay attention to the results.

Where Are We All Coming From?

Since the Sidepodcast league was set up over on Fantasy Racers, we’ve had a record number of teams enter. Although, having said that, any number would be a record for us, this being the inaugural competition and all. Still, 92 teams is nothing to be sniffed at and we owe Dan a considerable quantity of beer tokens for getting this particular ball rolling.

We may have mentioned, we love messing around with graphs and this new league contains lots of potential for stats and pie charts, but there is one metric that is most fascinating.

Presenting, Sidepodcast Fantasy Racers by Country:

I thought that F1 wasn't popular in the US? Bernie, are you listening? To be fair, though, the UK also has an England/Scotland split as well, but where are the Welsh?

My favourite demographic are those people that don't live anywhere. How do you guys get F1 coverage out there?

The graph clearly shows us that a few countries have the majority entrants, but I was surprised at the diversity of locations – so many places with just one team. This competition (and it is a proper competition, because we've committed to providing a prize of some sort) is the perfect opportunity for you and your friends to represent your place of residence. Grab your friends and pledge allegiance the Fantasy F1 way!

We're so close to 100, that it would be wrong to not push it over the century mark. Information about joining can be found over on the original post, and the comments might help if you're stuck. If you have any questions please comment below. Your country needs you.