[deetjohn]

The context.

This happened in 2006, after the last race of the F1 season.

Bijoy Kumar Y., the founder/editor of BS Motoring came up with an article named INSTANT CARMA in the 2006 October issue of BSM. Bijoy is not a fan of Michael and it clearly reflected in his article.

It was not going easy for me during that time. Back in September, I was shattered by the news of Michael's retirement after the awesome Italian GP at Monza. The racing was amazing and the podium celebration was very emotional. Then, Michael dropped the bomb at the press conference with Peter Windsor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4Oc7lKjLVU

I was sad and I felt there was going to be a big void in my life. For years, I have been following Michael and also been fighting with my folks to not take me for a wedding or a visit to the relatives so that I can catch the race weekend live on TV. And my folks could never comprehend it and struggled to explain my absence to others.

I can imagine how the conversations went about.

Dad: Our son isn't here as he is held up with something.
That Uncle: Weekend tuition right?
Dad: Hmmm... no. He wants to catch that F1 race live.
That Uncle: Oh! Your son goes for racing?
Dad: Err No.... He just watch them on TV.
That Uncle: a-ha! Okay.
An awkward moment of silence and both of them stare at each other.
Dad: The food was awesome today. Mathai, where did you say the caterer is from?

Then, on some Sunday evenings, when we were at home together, there were fights for the TV. The European races directly clashed with the Malayalam film at 4 PM on Sundays. But I tortured my family with the growl of those mighty V10s on many race days. Now, to think of it, I can really imagine how much they would have hated F1 because of me. But honestly, back then, the young rebel in me just couldn't care less. And the fight continued on for many seasons.

And there I was, not able to sleep on the wee hours after the last race of the 2006 season. I was wilting at night on my bed after a phenomenal Brazilian GP. I badly wanted Michael to be on podium and it was not to be. I was at rage and INSTANT CARMA flashed before me. I decided to write an email to Bijoy then and there.

[deetjohn]

And so, the chain of mails started.

Mon, Oct 23, 2006 at 2:07 AM

Dear Bijoy,

I am writing this mail just after watching the Brazilian grand prix. I am a fan of BS Motoring & especially your columns. Its like the GT40[I like it too] among the super car clan. You write really great almost always, but the INSTANT CARMA on the October issue really pissed me off!

You sure have the right to believe what you want to. but I cant for a chance in hell agree with you when you say that a loose pants blabber mouth Canadian can match Michael if he were to drive the Prancing Horse. I spare Mika bcos he had the talent to match & Narain; bcos let's face it; coming from a country like India and to be where he is right now itself is tremendous.

I can really see that you want to stand out from the crowd by not supporting FERRARI. Almost all Tom, Dick & Harry who claims to know a thing or two about F1 supports the scarlet team. I do too and there is a reason for that. I learned to drive in my Dad's FIAT1100. I absolutely loved the intoxicating roar from the stupidly low muffler whenever I floored her in 3rd. Almost everyone who has driven a Padmini will know that.

So when I came to know that FIAT owned FERRARI, I had a family feel towards the Maranello team. But should admit that, when I started following F1 during my engineering days, I was not a big Schumi fan; even though I wanted the SCUDERIA MARLBORO FERRARI to come away with 1-2s on all Sundays. It was during the 2003 season that I couldn't help but be awed by Michael's tremendous talent, sheer pace, ruthless competency & clinical perfection showed on the F2003GA.

It was cemented last year when he drove the wheels of the F2005 which was definitely not a match for the Mclarens & Renaults of the world. No one could have driven that car faster or better. Come on! After getting used to such impressive machinery for so many years & losing face with none of your faults or competency really puts anybody down. But Michael was never critical of his team & showed a monumental motivation to get back where he belonged.

And I saw that classic Michael magic as Steve Slater puts it even today at Interlagos. Keeping your cool & let the car do all the talking after having so many misfortunes is just amazing for any racer.

I feel bad that we lost both the titles, I feel bad for not having seen Michael on the podium or the press conference for one last time. But guess what, I feel sorry for you for having written the worst columns, ever!

PS. I do know the reason why the GT40 was built 'd I absolutely envy your job!

Regards,
Deepak Thomas John

Tue, Oct 24, 2006 at 12:33 AM

Hey,

I saw the late charge by Shumacher and really wanted him to be in the podium. I consider myself lucky to watch him win at Suzuka, 2002.

Trust me!

Again, pls do not take columns that seriously. They are about opinions and every body has got some, right?

Bijoy

Tue, Oct 24, 2006 at 09:17 AM

Hi Bijoy,

its okai...I went a little overboard I guess....got really emotional after race.... the fact that I will miss him from now on made it pour out...

PS. its Schumacher

Regards,
Deepak Thomas John

Thu, Oct 26, 2006 at 02:26 AM

Schumacher it is. My mistake and a cardinal one at that - tks for pointing out.

And yes, do you want to write a 1200 word story on why Schumacher should continue in Formula One - for our anniversary issue. Fill it with passion, love and tears and it will be a worthwhile read. Send it to me! Your deadline is 25th November.

Bijoy

Thu, Oct 26, 2006 at 09:31 AM

Hi Bijoy,

Wow ! Now dats some opportunity. I'm on it.

Thanks,
Deepak Thomas John

Fri, Nov 24, 2006 at 11:56 PM

Dear Bijoy,

Dats ma flying lap. Decide whether its on pole or not.

Deepak Thomas John

Sat, Dec 02, 2006 at 02:08 AM

Hi Bijoy,

Did you like my article?

Regards,
Deepak Thomas John

Sat, Dec 02, 2006 at 12:51 PM

Hi DTJ,

It was amazingly well written. We intend to use it as an anniversary specail story with a nice lay out. I am sure you will look forward to the 8th aniversary issue now (Jan 07).

tks and regards,
Bijoy

Mon, Dec 04, 2006 at 10:04 AM

Oh God WOW! This really is one of happiest news I have ever received. Can't wait to get hold of the Jan issue and show all ma dear ones. :-)

Thanks a ton.

Regards,
Deepak Thomas John

[deetjohn]

And this is what I came up with.

Writing the article was very hard. Especially, that limit of 1200 words. The initial draft was really big and I had to cut down many stories, paragraphs, sentences and then some words to contain everything inside 1200.

Hope you guys like what came out!

Setting: Interlagos, São Paulo October 22nd 2006.

Last day at work. A so-called Michael Schumacher is blazing through the Interlagos start finish straight along side the guy who will be his replacement next year. There is gap of 5 fingers between the left front Bridgestone & the pit wall entrance, when the Ferrari screams past it. It could all go horribly wrong if there is even the faintest of contacts. But the F248 is screaming ever closer to the holy grail of 20,000revs. Wheel to wheel for a couple of 1/10ths. People in the grand stand can see only the McLaren but with a red silhouette. But Schumi isn’t someone who will blink first. The Ferrari inches forward when Kimi stamps the brakes. Michael is up to 4th and then goes on to register the fastest lap of the race.

But sitting on my bed in the wee hours of that Monday, I wished if only he had 10 more laps to do. But deep inside I know it’s a really bad day for my desires to come true. What would have happened if the Ferrari didn’t have that fuel pump problem in Qualifying 3 or for heavens sake, the puncture in the race? Maybe the master would have lapped every one else except for his all yellow teammate & I could have relished that one last press conference with Peter Windsor. But it wasn’t meant to be. Or else why would the fittest, the fastest & the smartest driver on the grid give up work when he got that undiminished fire and passion for success that will even put Sebastian Vettal to shame. I am pretty sure that there are at least four-fifths of the 53 million viewers who feel the same.

Then why did he choose the chequered-flag so early? Those who feel that Michael cant be fast enough now that he is old, just need to take a look at the fastest lap in brazil [a 1m12.162s which is a whopping .715s over Felipe’s best or the stunning time of 1m10.313s in qualifying1]. And all of it in a sport where the teams struggle to squeeze out that 1/10th of a second each lap by god knows what not. It’s just staggering.

Combine that with those renowned in & out laps, which the Ferrari No.1 does with marvelous panache to pip the opposition during the pit-intervals and then you will start to get the faintest idea of what all we will start missing from next year.

I am sure 2007 will be another “boring” F1 calendar year like the run of the mill 2002/2004 season. The 2 major rule changes that have been initiated by the FIA point in this course. The whole grid will be shod with Bridgestone, thanks to the single tyre rule & the engine freeze means that whoever was the most powerful at Interlagos will be the team to beat all throughout next season as well. To put it in simple terms, others are going to see a lot of Ferrari back wing. Kimi has already stated that it would not be Alonso that he will have to fight for the title next year, but his team mate Mr. Felipe. Now just imagine if Michael were to be driving next year, every F1 fan would have had the privilege to relive the legendary Prost Senna team battle. Philip Morris almost pulled it through, proposing a dream team with the 2 F1 superstars, but hard luck that it didn’t see the light of the day.

But there is a lot about Michael which he hides from the media to great effect with that much celebrated German efficiency. When Schumi jumped ship from Benetton in 1996, Ferrari were light years away from the technologically and organizationally superior team that we know of today. More than a driver, Schumacher became the fulcrum around which the Prancing-Horse evolved. His monumental motivation & sheer talent provided the reason for the Factory team to push to the limits & work like crazy for wining race after race on Sundays.

Michael was a great team-player. He has never been critical of the team after they let him down with the inadequate F2005 & more recently in Japan & Brazil. That first engine failure in 6 years cost him the valedictory eighth world championship & the chance to bow out in style. When Michael retired on the lead with 16 laps to go at Suzuka this year, everyone at Ferrari stood dejected, barely able to undertake the colossal misfortune. Schumacher walked back to the garage, receiving every hug with grace and a smile and thanking for a decade of generous service that produced bounty on a scale never seen in Formula1. Race director Jean Todt, understood the gesture. "That's the measure of the man. We were supposed to be comforting him. Instead he was comforting us".

Of the 91 wins; that adorned Schumi’s helmet in the last race at Brazil, some of them have come from near impossible strategies that, only Michael could have pulled off. Hungary 1998; which most experts agree as Schumi’s best win is the finest example. Michael started the race in P3 behind Mika & Coulthard in their faster McLarens. Ross Brawn knew any chance of a win will only come from a daring 3 stop strategy and told his star driver that all he had to do to win was build a 25 second lead in just 19 laps before his final pit stop.. Michael’s reply to which was a very sarcastic “thank you very much”. But of course he did build up a lead- all 29seconds of it & came comfortably in the race lead after the final stop. Mission accomplished. It was a plan Brawn knew he could ask only of Michael.

The ultimate incentive for any team is the assurance that they have a driver who can do something so special, so extraordinary that they can win even in the most difficult of conditions. I still remember France 2004, where Ferrari Race Strategist Luca Baldesserri came up with the idea of switching Schumacher from his originally planned 3 stops to an extraordinary 4, which no one has even heard of at Magny-Cours; to jump Alonso. Michael ran rings around the opposition by putting-in an astonishing sequence of fast laps at qualifying pace in the final two stints of the race to deliver the win.

I think Schumi’s loss will be colossal for F1. There is strong proof going for it. Bernie is already losing money over the 2007 telecast rights & predictably though, Alonso's remarkable second world title became a side issue to the loss of F1's biggest star. The hullabaloo that surrounded Michael’s last race indeed became bigger than even the championship and the racing world revolved around the Ferrari team as ever before.

Michael’s decision for retirement is as strong as the carbon fiber monocoque, but deep inside my heart, I simply hope that his appetite for racing & speed will not be catered just by playing the super quick dad while picking up Gina-Maria and Mick from school in the days to come & the king will return one day.

[deetjohn]

Meister Stroke

The scan copy of the article from the magazine.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4


I cannot look back without complimenting BSM and the big heart of Bijoy who gave me this great chance after I sent one harsh email to him. Bijoy could have very well pushed that email into the trash bin. But he didn't and promptly replied which led to all this.

Thank You Bijoy and Thank You BSM!

[Rehaan]

Awesome story there deetjohn, and a well-played by Bijoy.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

And so, the chain of mails started.

I enjoyed reading the chain of mails just as much as the well written article!

Cheers,
R

[nipcarlover]

Awesome deetjohn!

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The context.

I was sad and I felt there was going to be a big void in my life. For years, I have been following Michael and also been fighting with my folks to not take me for a wedding or a visit to the relatives so that I can catch the race weekend live on TV. And my folks could never comprehend it and struggled to explain my absence to others.

I can imagine how the conversations went about.

Dad: Our son isn't here as he is held up with something.
That Uncle: Weekend tuition right?
Dad: Hmmm... no. He wants to catch that F1 race live.
That Uncle: Oh! Your son goes for racing?
Dad: Err No.... He just watch them on TV.
That Uncle: a-ha! Okay.
An awkward moment of silence and both of them stare at each other.
Dad: The food was awesome today. Mathai, where did you say the caterer is from?

Then, on some Sunday evenings, when we were at home together, there were fights for the TV. The European races directly clashed with the Malayalam film at 4 PM on Sundays. But I tortured my family with the growl of those mighty V10s on many race days. Now, to think of it, I can really imagine how much they would have hated F1 because of me. But honestly, back then, the young rebel in me just couldn't care less. And the fight continued on for many seasons.

I can relate to the first part of your write-up, having done the same on multiple ocassions. .

I am also a Schumacher fan, although I only started watching in 2009. I have however watched some of Schumacher's old races in F1 Classics on ESPNStar and also online.

That must have been one hell of a surprise when you got that email from Bijoy, an amazing opportunity that was!
The article itself is very well written and I agree to all of your points completely!

[vb-saan]

Hey thanks for sharing this Deepak. Excellent article, and even better was the chain of emails which lead to the write-up

[Desmosedici]

Super Stuff. Very well written article. I am also a Schumi Fan and i too used to fight it out with my dad to watch the races. For Schumi's last race, i was sitting at the Sports Bar and was screaming Schumi Schumi throughout, much to the embarassment of my cousins. I miss him in F1.

[Maverick5490]

Thank you very much for sharing this story DTJ! Having personaly met Bijoy couple of times, he is a very humble person and has reacted in exactly the same way.

Brought back memories of F1 with friends gathered around the TV with speakers from Music Sytem connected to it, blaring the screaming engine and as expected parents going haywire with all the mayhem. Schumi's retirement from Ferrari was the turning point for me, never watched a complete race after that. :(

P.S. My Signature has 'Forever Michael Schumacher Fan' since those days.

[Jeash.vk]

Great write up. Though not a Schumi fan, I could relate to the passion and fire that was behind the article (and the emails). One silly question though - Why did it take all these years for you to publish/reveal this?

A "two decade long' Mclaren fan!

[invincible7]

Woaah this is incredible !!

I am surprised you took soo long to share it with us here.

Its well written and I am glad to know you got the oppurtunity to pour your heart out through the words, brought back memories of the Michael era, fantastic.

[anachronix]

Thats a brilliant article dude!

This is really taking my memory back to the good old days

Thanks for sharing!

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by Jeash.vk

Why did it take all these years for you to publish/reveal this?

Originally Posted by invincible7

I am surprised you took soo long to share it with us here.

This post will answer your question: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3098688


@deetjohn - Do post in the above thread linking to this one.

cya
R

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Wow.. What an article..
I almost had tears in my eyes reading through that article.

And what professionalism on Bijoy's part. Hats off.

[doctorque]

@ deetjohn - Could not have left a thread on Michael without a post from my side. Could relate to most of your experiences and had quite a frustrated lot back home. Grand dad used to get really irritated for those 3 hours plus of raceday and then the race itself. I still clearly remember the famous lines, "Whats the fun in watching cars go round and round?"

Those were the Michael vs Mika days. Quite some time before Michael actually dominated the sport. In those days Ferraris were no where near Mclarens pace and Michael had a dry run with Ferrari for four long years without a driver or a constructors title.

All thanks to his come back i got to see him in person and race in front of me as well at the 2011 Indian GP at Buddh International Circuit.

Much much more for later.