|
|
[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
1 0 - 0 1 - 2 0 0 5 F1 pilots on drugs: doctor
31dec04
COCAINE use is widespread among Formula One drivers, according to a former Ferrari team doctor.
Dr Benigno Bartoletti has claimed as many as one third of the field of 20 drivers take the drug as a stimulant before Grand Prix races. The 68-year-old doctor told Italy's Quattroruote motoring magazine that cocaine could boost reaction time and a driver's feeling of invincibility for about 90 minutes, but he warned that it could become dangerous if a race went longer.
Random tests by the world governing body of motor sport, the Federation Internationale de l'Automboile (FIA), are understood not to have produced any positive results in F1.
However Czech driver Tomas Enge lost the 2002 Formula 3000 championship after he failed a drugs test. The FIA decided to strip Enge of the 10 points he had won in the Hungarian round after he tested positive to a dope test following the race.
F1 drivers not on drugs: Alesi
January 01, 2005
FORMER Ferrari racer Jean Alesi has dismissed as ludicrous a claim by the team's ex-doctor that cocaine use is rife among Formula One drivers.
Dr Benigno Bartoletti claimed that as many as one third of the field of 20 drivers take the drug as a stimulant before grand prix races.
"Honestly, this makes me laugh," Alesi told website GP2005.com. "When you know that the F1 drivers need all their faculties to control fast cars and push them to the limit, where the least millimetre and a mere thousandth of a second in time can make reactions crucial, one can only laugh at these ludicrous accusations.
"Drivers are healthy people and need to be, and would never play with such dangerous products." Dr Bartoletti told Italy's Quattroruote motoring magazine that cocaine could boost a drivers reaction time and feeling of invincibility for about 90 minutes, but that it could become dangerous if a race went longer.
Alesi, who raced for Ferrari from 1991 until 1995 when the team recruited Michael Schumacher, remembered the doctor, now aged 68. "I know Ben rather well, yes, I worked with him during my first year at Ferrari," Alesi said.
He believed Dr Bartoletti may be simply seeking the spotlight as a former public figure starved of attention. "Yes, I believe that certain people, when they fall down in(to) anonymity, need to launch this kind of bomb to draw attention to themselves and create a forum around them," Alesi said. Random drug tests by F1's controlling body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), have never returned any positive results.
However, Czech driver Tomas Enge missed out on the 2002 Formula 3000 Championship title when he failed a drug test. The drug was reported to be marijuana. Alesi said that, apart from the health issues of taking cocaine, the FIA would have little mercy for any F1 driver taking drugs. "Merciless sanctions would fall upon a driver who tested positive for drugs," he said.
Alesi, a Frenchman of Italian ancestry, drove in 201 GPs but won only the 1995 Canadian race. He was dogged by mechanical failures during his time with Ferrari but was one of the teams most popular drivers because of his spectacular style and passion. He began his career in 1989 with the Tyrrell team and later raced for Benetton, Sauber, Prost and Jordan. He now races in the German touring car championship for Mercedes-Benz.
1 0 - 0 1 - 2 0 0 5 Doctor Bartoletti clarifies his statement
09/01/05
A few days ago, Doctor Benigno Bartoletti made a shocking statement about the possible use of cocaine by F1 drivers. It now appears that his comments were used out of context.
"The person who interviewed me tried to change the meaning of what I've said to create a more sensational story," mentioned Bartoletti in the pages of Colombian paper El Carabobeņo. "I only said that there is a risk of doping in motorsport. Surely it would not be with anabolic substances, that would be of no use at all. If there is doping, it would be with cocaine-type substances."
"These substances give a powerful reaction for a very limited amount of time," added the Italian doctor. "It can last for an hour or two, not more. I have only mentioned a doubt, a supposition without any specific reference. But if we want to remove any doubt, it would only require to do more stringent mandatory antidoping control during the entire championship. Then we should know if these doubts turn out to be purely hypothetical."
Williams driver Mark Webber didn't give much credit to this rumour. "All the drivers that I know would be delighted to do a drug test at any moment. Like most of my colleagues, I would be more than happy to take drug tests more frequently in the future."
FIA's Professor Sid Watkins confirmed a few days ago that random tests do take place in Formula One and none of these tests ever produced a positive result.
|
|
|
