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Post by Carl on Mar 12, 2018 0:07:06 GMT
Well I have to admit that I have felt jaded and uninspired in the run up to the 2018 motor racing season; what is called F1 has delivered what I thought it would and I have no interest whatsoever in watching it. The "toilet seat" and the vastness of these obscene trucks is not what Grand Prix racing is about, so I will look elsewhere. Although not a fan of spec' chassis formula's especially at the highest of levels I wasn't really showing much enthusiasm for Indycar this year, even though the new aero regs looked like a step in the right direction. So this evening after searching for a decent stream feed on the internet, I watched the race from St Pete' and was very pleasantly surprised. The new aero regs really do appear to have delivered what they set out to achieve with the cars being visibly challenging to drive as they moved about, and the racing was competitive. The cars also looked far better than any recent F1 car which is a major plus point also. Sorry that Robert Wickens was deprived of a deserved victory by a reckless move pulled by Rossi, made even more unsatisfactory as the latter had already screwed up before the full course yellow which allowed him off the hook, and put him in a position to make that over ambitious move, his ambition greatly outweighing his talent. However it was wonderful to see Seb Bourdais get a most deserved victory after an excellent drive and all that he has been through since his horrific accident at Indy last year. I would also like to say that I have been watching the highlights each evening of the 2018 World Rally Championship, and this is a series that looks to be going in the right direction. All made even more exciting by the return of 9 time WC Sebastian Loeb who has put in a mesmerising performance in Mexico this weekend. A great weekend of motor sport that has surprised me, and encouraged me to keep on with these two series along with MotoGP (obviously) and British Superbikes. John Charles, You're very fortunate to have so many series from which to choose. In America we are at the mercy of sports broadcasters who don't understand or value racing, although some are quite good and the ABC broadcast from St. Petersburg was to their normal excellent standard. I wait to see how well ESPN will present Formula One. With David Hobbs and Steve Matchett gone, I am not optimistic. I have no access to MotoGP or Superbikes or WRC unless I seek out and subscribe to the sanctioning bodies' chosen presenter, which I refuse to do. I have enjoyed Australian V8 Supercars since the reign of Marcos Ambrose, but in the past few years the races have been edited and condensed, losing heart and soul and any nuance. Speaking of soulless racing, what in hell ever possessed drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose to waste so many years chasing the NASCAR pied piper? No amount of money could justify it. I agree that Robert Wickens deserved to win after so outstanding a weekend. However, when they were running first and second, Alexander Rossi was often somewhat faster. He has driven magnificently since the later races last season and may surprise with a championship year. Cheers through bitter tears, Carl
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Post by mikael on Mar 12, 2018 1:57:19 GMT
Here are some interesting comparison shots between this years and last years Ferrari. It seem that the overall length is the same but the layout has been changed. Apparently, seen from the driver's position, the front end has been made a bit longer and the rear end a bit shorter, in terms of front/rear wheel axle positions. Yet the nose has become a bit shorter. From: formula1-data.com This photo indicates that the wheelbase has been made even a bit longer yet - but I'm not sure if the scales fit completely.
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Post by charleselan on Mar 12, 2018 11:51:19 GMT
Well I have to admit that I have felt jaded and uninspired in the run up to the 2018 motor racing season; what is called F1 has delivered what I thought it would and I have no interest whatsoever in watching it. The "toilet seat" and the vastness of these obscene trucks is not what Grand Prix racing is about, so I will look elsewhere. Although not a fan of spec' chassis formula's especially at the highest of levels I wasn't really showing much enthusiasm for Indycar this year, even though the new aero regs looked like a step in the right direction. So this evening after searching for a decent stream feed on the internet, I watched the race from St Pete' and was very pleasantly surprised. The new aero regs really do appear to have delivered what they set out to achieve with the cars being visibly challenging to drive as they moved about, and the racing was competitive. The cars also looked far better than any recent F1 car which is a major plus point also. Sorry that Robert Wickens was deprived of a deserved victory by a reckless move pulled by Rossi, made even more unsatisfactory as the latter had already screwed up before the full course yellow which allowed him off the hook, and put him in a position to make that over ambitious move, his ambition greatly outweighing his talent. However it was wonderful to see Seb Bourdais get a most deserved victory after an excellent drive and all that he has been through since his horrific accident at Indy last year. I would also like to say that I have been watching the highlights each evening of the 2018 World Rally Championship, and this is a series that looks to be going in the right direction. All made even more exciting by the return of 9 time WC Sebastian Loeb who has put in a mesmerising performance in Mexico this weekend. A great weekend of motor sport that has surprised me, and encouraged me to keep on with these two series along with MotoGP (obviously) and British Superbikes. John Charles, You're very fortunate to have so many series from which to choose. In America we are at the mercy of sports broadcasters who don't understand or value racing, although some are quite good and the ABC broadcast from St. Petersburg was to their normal excellent standard. I wait to see how well ESPN will present Formula One. With David Hobbs and Steve Matchett gone, I am not optimistic. I have no access to MotoGP or Superbikes or WRC unless I seek out and subscribe to the sanctioning bodies' chosen presenter, which I refuse to do. I have enjoyed Australian V8 Supercars since the reign of Marcos Ambrose, but in the past few years the races have been edited and condensed, losing heart and soul and any nuance. Speaking of soulless racing, what in hell ever possessed drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose to waste so many years chasing the NASCAR pied piper? No amount of money could justify it. I agree that Robert Wickens deserved to win after so outstanding a weekend. However, when they were running first and second, Alexander Rossi was often somewhat faster. He has driven magnificently since the later races last season and may surprise with a championship year. Cheers through bitter tears, Carl Carl, Let me first of all say that I understand your dissatisfaction with regard to what is currently available to you in the USA with respect of "Live" motor sport TV, as it does not appear to be good. However let me make it quite clear that what is available in the UK and most of Europe is very limited with respect of "Live" motor sport that isn't hidden behind a "Pay Wall". In the UK there are only two items that are shown live on Free To View terrestrial TV and that is the limited quantity of Grand Prix races and the British Touring Car Championship. The former will cease to exist from the end of 2018 as it will then become the exclusive right of the odious S*Y. I will never pay one cent to any of these organisations no matter what they transmit as I despise their very existence, and for the untold damage they have wreaked on most sports that have aligned themselves to this format, and all for short term gain but long term destruction. I am able to watch most motor sport events live on my computers as I am somewhat internet savvy; I say that not out of arrogance but I have made it my quest in life to seek these things out. On many occasion I have read the view from some that no one has the right to expect to view their sport for free and that paying the exorbitant cost of these Pay To View channels is acceptable. These fools have little understanding of real life, all sport is there and successful, or not, because of the fans that follow it. It is the die hard fan who go in all weather conditions to race meetings and follow the sport, that it exists for, without them these Pima Donnas in F1 would not exist. On a more positive note, I too used to watch the Australian Super Touring Car races back in the 1990's and the racing was magnificent as were the cars and drivers. Marcus Ambrose was a super star back then and as you say why the blazes did he waste his time doing NASCAR, a series that has degenerated into total rubbish, as has incidentally the BTCC which has many common denominators to Nascar today. Spec series are the bane of modern motor sport and the ethos behind them is seriously flawed in my opinion, motor sport needs to foster design talent and ingenuity just as much as it does driver talent, and spec series do not consider that. John Charles
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2018 13:38:47 GMT
Adrian Newey's take, aero-man's point of view, from a major German magazine:
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Post by robmarsh on Mar 12, 2018 14:34:14 GMT
Some wonderful posts from all of you. I enjoyed reading them. I haven't been on line since Friday due to a rather tense cricket test and some good rugby plus bedding in a new computer. "Steve Johnson" and Adrian Newey make a lot of sense, far more than the FIA and Liberty.
The cars are now horrendous and very ugly compared to Indycar, which I think I will really enjoy this year. Not to show off but my pay TV package, you have to have it in this part of the world, includes live F1, Moto GP, WSBK, NASCAR, Indycar and Australian Supercars, with live Le Mans 24 hr and WEC and WRC highlights.
Mikael this years Ferrari has a longer wheelbase than last year. "Increasing the wheelbase from 3550mm to 3678mm allows the team to better manage airflow across the car's surfaces, and especially at the rear of the car, without forcing the need for high-drag wings." The wheelbase is now some 1.1 metres longer than in the 80s.
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Post by Carl on Mar 12, 2018 15:49:02 GMT
John Charles,
No television programming in America is free (ignoring the cost to the psyche of idiotic commercial advertisements) except those few channels broadcast by signal to roof or set-top antennae. In a more perfect world we would get what we pay for but the economy is never designed even for fairness, let alone perfection. The consumer is basically treated like a fool and it's no wonder that intelligence is insulted.
I have a lobotomy scheduled this afternoon to better conform.
Carl
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Post by chrisb on Mar 13, 2018 5:56:23 GMT
because so much of 4 wheel racing has become less interesting, F1 with it superbuses [Chapman must be rolling and squirming] I barely watch it these days and will cease to view at the end of this year, BTCC has become 'bumper cars' we lost Indycars on terrestrial TV and the motorbikes - except for ITV highlights are also lost to terrestrial -
what annoys me is by law I have to pay the bigoted broadcasting corporation a monthly fee for their misogynystic leanings and their loathing of motor racing and now i have to share the six nations with ITV and it's adverts - cheers beeb
I pay Eurosport £3 a month to watch BSB, WSB, WSC and various others, really ok with that- I also pay Dorma 200euros a year to watch MotoGP, what is simply the best coverage of motor racing there is, long may it last, I get treated like an adult, i am not privvy to the moronic lads brigade type mentality that the BBC introduced so the presenters could play like Clarkson, and I get fantastic coverage - to me that is me investing in a sport that is worth it,
pay S*y and his destruction of any decency? not one penny, pay Liberty? not a penny will pass from my bank account, I get a bit of Nascar on freesport [thank you] and do feel that until all the fans have left these money grabbing people will there be no change- our opinions - Adrian's opinions are of little matter, it will only change when the money stops coming in
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2018 8:51:12 GMT
So, they all agree that the NASCAR or NFL model (what an idiotic remark, Mr Maffei, if I may) is “socialism” – they all must have been reading that scientist of Johnny Crean - because it would change the basic tenet of GP racing. They disagree on the rest, obviously. Lauda and Marchionne say that revenues are diminishing, that they have hundreds of employees to keep at work and that they cannot agree to make simplistic engines – they are called Pus for a reason, after all, whaddya know? Besides, they claim engine technology does get applied on their road cars, in due course, which is true to a certain extent.
Newey says – he’s been saying that forever, really - it’s an engine formula, those with the best engine win, and that there are too many employees. He says such, I venture, because he doesn’t have an engine the equal of the other two and because they are not a manufacturer. He obviously advocates that chassis (read, aero) should make the difference, so no way to reduce aero influence on the car performance. Despite being the area that less, if none at all, gets translated to road cars. Where do you put all those winglets? Not even an airplane needs them.
The only one to talk sense is Johansson, and as he’s got no say – instead the penguin has – one knows to expect nothing good, eventually.
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Post by Carl on Mar 13, 2018 17:11:56 GMT
Lucio, Antarctic Sergio resents your insinuation and has angrily waddled away!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2018 11:46:22 GMT
From today's Gazzetta dello Sport:
And if Sergio Marchionne's plan was to bring Ferrari to Indy? It is only a suggestion, but something behind the scenes is moving, after the statements made in Geneva by the Ferrari boss. At that time, speaking about the hypothesis of one day racing the Indianapolis 500, his answer was: "Why not? We have the tradition to do it and we are thinking about it". At that moment everyone thought of the Alfa Romeo brand, back in F1 this year as a sponsor of Sauber, but who knows that the project is about Ferrari itself and its future in racing.
Threats - Marchionne's repeated threats to leave the GPs after 2020, if new rules on engines destined to distort the DNA of F.1 come into force, are a clear message to the American owners of Liberty Media, with whom the negotiations go ahead already for a year. According to Bernie Ecclestone, this is not a bluff. "I know Sergio and I assure you that he is not a guy who talks - the old boss recently told the Guardian - Some people have a new series in mind and I know that Marchionne has had discussions in this direction in the last few weeks. If he decided to get away from F1, it would be difficult for everyone. Ferrari has a great influence and many would follow it ". Indy 500 - The idea of creating an alternative championship is a bugbear for Liberty, considering how close are politically Ferrari and Mercedes, to which McLaren recently also joined. Three big teams on the same side are an important coalition. But perhaps Marchionne also looks elsewhere. And here the IndyCar comes back into play. Last Friday, the Scuderia Corsa team, which runs Ferraris in the Imsa and Endurance championships in North America, announced that it had reached an agreement with Rahal Letterman, to race the next 500 Miles of Indianapolis (May 27th) with Oriol Servia as driver.
Background - This is not news, considering that the head of Scuderia Corsa is Giacomo Mattioli, the largest Ferrari dealer in the world, as well as father of Enzo jr, great-grandson of the Commendatore and nephew of Piero Ferrari. Behind the operation there could be the paternity of Marchionne, interested in preparing the ground for a possible Indy project, which would be an alternative with which to put pressure on Liberty on the bargaining table. There is the precedent of 1986. Ferrari Cart never ran, but served as a political tool.
Alonso's example - On the other hand, also the example of McLaren, who last year in a few months set up his participation in Indianapolis with a papaya car driven by Fernando Alonso, shows that the plan is feasible. At Indy everybody competes with the same chassis, made by Gian Paolo Dallara's factory, of which Marchionne in Geneva said: "I consider him an outstanding, the best Italian engineer". A touch of red would be enough. While for the engine, Ferrari would have no difficulty building it alone, being a traditional 2.2-liter V6 turbo, much simpler and cheaper than the hybrid power units used today in F1.
www.gazzetta.it/Formula-1/14-03-2018/ferrari-indy-opzione-c-se-liberty-non-cambia-250914481305.shtml
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2018 11:55:48 GMT
The main issue with all that above (mostly nonsense, if not pure paranoia), is the same I made last year for McLaren: it wouldn't be a Ferrari. It would be a Dallara painted red. Whatever the engine. If something has to happen, it has to be an alternative championship. Indy being a spec series limits Ferrari options a lot. Le Mans would be more feasible, but it's not what it once was. Or they may use the SUV (horror!) they are planning to do the Dakar, which again it's not what it was, in fact it's run in Patagonia...
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Post by Carl on Mar 14, 2018 22:28:36 GMT
With all due respect for his remarkable genius, Adrian Newey behaves at times like an idiot savant, a genius of aerodynamics indifferent to the effect his obsession has on the ability of drivers to pass.
Newey is quoted above (about cost reduction): "That's socialism. Only worked in theory not in real life."
In Formula One, his genius has worked well only in theory, not in real racing when cars are close.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2018 7:56:24 GMT
I haven’t really got an idea on my own, as I haven’t thought the matter through properly, but what Johansson says makes a lot of sense. 1. Minimize downforce, no more than 30-40% of current values. 2. Increase power, 200-300 HP more, simplify engines, increase straight top speed. 3. Reduce weight drastically – no more than 500-550kg. 4. Free tires technology, open to multiple providers. 5. Make circuits such that going off road means end of the race or just about that. 6. Ban radio communications completely. Use only for safety communications directly from the race direction.
The result would be cars much more difficult to drive, edge-of-their-seat kind of driving. Less speed carried in curve due to the reduction in downforce, partly compensated by the tires open technology, which improves and fosters overtaking skills.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2018 11:58:05 GMT
By the way, thinking at MotoGP, the main reason bikes' races are way more enthralling is exactly the complete lack of downforce in curve (not just that they are on two wheels) and only that accounts of the difference in lap times between an F1 and a MotoGP bike on the same track, as top speeds are the same if not marginally quicker for the bikes, which also have the key advantage of much lower weight. (need to check the relative power/weight ratios)
It is long been known that reducing downforce is one of the main ingredient to increase driving skills influence in the overall sporting equation. They will never, ever agree to reduce aero influence on the car's performance.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2018 12:02:25 GMT
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