This is the Stattmann Baby!!  Time to Scatt a little bit.

Thanks to Red Bull, I had a chance to visit with former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen while the Freaks were in Barcelona for the start of the Dakar Rally in New Years Day.

At the core of the conversation was the tsumani story.  The pictures filled international television news casts while we were in Europe.

Without going into the issues of man’s responsibility to man, we really connected on how Vatanen’s world championship rally career expanded his view of the world itself.

Rallying can put you at the center of humanity, the good and the bad.

Circuit racing tends to put you at the center of make believe whether it’s expense account hotel suites or expensed hospitality suites.  It can be a rather myopic view of the world condition.

Now I’ve enjoyed suites of all kinds, especially those paid for by someone else.  But, thanks to decades of rally experiences, I also understand what’s happening on the other side of the rope.

And when motorsports can add context to my life, I feel like I’ve had a pretty good day.

Happy New Year!

Peace!!!