Points scoring system for 2010 F1

The 2010 F1 season will see the most radical change in the points scoring system in 60 years. For the first time ever the drivers will be able to score points right down to 10th place, meaning that 38% of the starting grid next season will score at least one point. But what exactly does this mean?

The first thing to establish is how the points as distributed. Under the previous scoring system, the winner received 10pts, second 8 points, third 6 points, fourth place got 5 and so on as far as 8th position. While this rewarded consistency, it had it’s critics right from when it was introduced back in 2003. Many felt that it began to devalue the race win, Whereas previously it was a 4-point gap between 1st and 2nd compared to 2pts, which also meant that drivers had built up a sizable lead at the beginning of the championship, like Fernando Alonso did back in 05 and of course Jensen Button last season, and were able to sustain a championship challenge without needing to challenge for race wins but gain a steady amount of points consistently in the second half of the season. This prompted Bernie Ecclestone to try, but thankfully fail, to implement a ‘medals’ system whereby the driver with the most wins won the title regardless of how many points he had.

But under the current system this could all change. Instead of receiving 10 points for a victory, the winner will now receive 25 points, with 20 points for second, 15 points for third, etc:

Here's how the new scoring structure works:


1st place25pts

2nd place 20pts

3rd place 15pts

4th place 10pts

5th place 8pts

6th place 6pts

7th place 5pts

8th place 3pts

9th place 2pts

10th place 1pt

787 Finally flies.

On December the15th 2009 Boeing's new lightweight carbon and titanium Dreamliner lifted off the runway for the first time into cloudy skies after more than two years of delays. It was witnessed by several thousand Boeing employees as well as industry VIP's, Enthusiasts and of course reporters from around the world.

The 787 Dreamliner production has been delayed five times in the past three years due to a shortage of bolts, faulty design and a two-month strike at its factory.The most recent delay was the most serious, as Boeing needed to reinforce the side of the plane where the wing meets the fuselage, and the first flight has been postponed six times which has stretched the patience of many of its customers, The advantage it has is that it will save airlines million of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs.

Airlines from around the world have ordered a total of 840 of the aircraft which is worth about $US140 billion, since 2004, when work began on the plane.

The four-hour test flight of the Dreamliner, painted in Boeing house colors, began at Paine Field adjacent to its factory in Everett 30 miles north of Seattle. This is only the start of an extensive flight test program that will take around 9 months to complete and will involve six 787s running around the clock, which Boeing executives have said will be like running a small airline.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long range, mid size, wide body and twin engine jet airliner . It will have three versions, The 787-3 short range version will have a capacity of 330 passengers, 787-8 baseline version will carry 210-250 passengers and the 787-9 stretched version will carry up to 290 passengers. All three versions of 787 family will carry passengers non-stop on routes between 6500 km and 16000 km . Boeing 787 is using two types of engine, The General Electric GENX engine and the Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine . The length of the plane is 56 m with a wingspan of 59 m and its height is 17.4 m.

Adrenaline junkies, This is for you.

The adventure capital of New Zealand (Queenstown) has launched a new hair-raising activity with Ziptrek Ecotours which combines adrenaline and nature. The company has been planning its Queenstown launch on iconic reserve land on Bob’s Peak for over four years and is now set to open later this week.

Like many of the adventures in Queenstown, it involves wearing a hard hat as well as a harness but in this case it is to go on a series of flying foxes which is more than four hundred meters long, The ride goes shooting down a mountain side and the ride can even go upside down. Ziptrek have planted roughly 600 trees to make the project work.

A spokesman from Ziptrek Ecotours' says "It's just about having fun in the outdoors and this is just an extension of a lot of childish ideas about flying foxes and treehouses,"
.
Ziptrek brought the idea over from Whistler, Canada, where it has been running successfully for seven years.

"We are now the number one activity operator in the Whistler market taking out tens of thousands of people every year and the response we received there was one of the reasons why we looked at Queenstown as a great place to come," says David Udow from Ziptrek, Whistler.

Ticket prices for Rugby World Cup released.

Organizers of the 2011 World Cup have released the ticket prices that they hoped would counter the rising costs of hosting an event this size.

Tickets go on sale in April next year and prices will start at (NZ)$15 for children and (NZ)$30 for adults for most of the pool matches, The final to be held at Eden Park in Auckland to cost between (NZ)$390 to (NZ)$1250.

The International Rugby Board (IRB) retain all commercially generated income as well as taking $150 million as a hosting fee, Therefore New Zealand must rely largely on ticket sales to cover the cost of hosting the tournament and although the ticket revenue has been projected at $280 million, The organizers are expecting to lose $30 million, This is due to so many games being played around the country instead of just a few select stadiums in the main cities.

With these low ticket prices for pool matches, Most of the stadiums will be full, Rugby has a huge following here in New Zealand and is extremely multi-cultural, The atmosphere at all games will be electrifying.

A list of Venues can be seen by clicking this link.