|
|
Post by charleselan on May 21, 2018 21:48:53 GMT
Not through lack of interest Carl, I have been keeping abreast of matters thanks to the writings of yourself and René. Over the past few days I have been preoccupied with the bikes, not only the MotoGP event at Le Mans, but the North West 200 as well which I came across by surprise on my UK satellite TV thanks to the BBC Northern Ireland.
Soon there will be the first practice week of the Isle Of Man TT races which is another great motor sporting event for me, and with superb highlights every evening thanks to UK ITV4.
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on May 22, 2018 0:49:29 GMT
Not through lack of interest Carl, I have been keeping abreast of matters thanks to the writings of yourself and René. Over the past few days I have been preoccupied with the bikes, not only the MotoGP event at Le Mans, but the North West 200 as well which I came across by surprise on my UK satellite TV thanks to the BBC Northern Ireland. Soon there will be the first practice week of the Isle Of Man TT races which is another great motor sporting event for me, and with superb highlights every evening thanks to UK ITV4. John Charles,
I know that all top forms of motor racing fall within your purview and your detailed comments about Bobby Unser's Eagle with which he won the 1968 race showed great knowledge. You're more than welcome to join us near Clark Gable's favorite seat at Turn 1. He never had to pay and our plan is not to pay either... 
I always look forward to the Isle of Man TT, shown in one hour programs each day over a week and very well presented. By now I know the fast riders and even many of the turns. With good luck it will be shown again this year.
Cheers, Carl |
|
|
|
Post by chrisb on May 22, 2018 4:38:41 GMT
in one respect i have a tinge of regret that I won't be able to watch the motor racing feast over the next week, but on the other hand as I will be riding in Germany with those brilliant roads, the B500 amongst them - although hope i don't get stuck behind a RR1000 again, too slow!! I am sure i'll manage
i wil try and catch up with all that is happening, including a rather nervy football match on Saturday, the WSB at Donington, the Indy500 - which is probably, in my limited experience probably the most glamorous event I have ever been to - they really do it in style and with the much imroved cars - really hoping for a great race, will hopefuly before they start charging catch up with that on youtub
aah the TT, no McPint but an awesome fortnight of fun and speed, be safe people, would be great if all we heard about was the racing and not the accidents
|
|
|
|
Post by robmarsh on May 22, 2018 6:01:05 GMT
Carl I have been following the Indy 500 pretty closely including watching the qualifying on Sat and Sun albeit through recordings as the actual time they were shown live was a bit late. I haven't commented until now as I either hadn't seen what you guys were discussing or I had nothing to add. Those rear wings are awfully skinny though.
I shall be watching the 500 live on Sunday, an event I haven't missed since first shown live here 20 years ago. I will have to record the WSB and the Charlotte 600 for enjoyment later in the week. I need to sleep sometime.
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on May 22, 2018 16:35:34 GMT
Carl I have been following the Indy 500 pretty closely including watching the qualifying on Sat and Sun albeit through recordings as the actual time they were shown live was a bit late. I haven't commented until now as I either hadn't seen what you guys were discussing or I had nothing to add. Those rear wings are awfully skinny though. I shall be watching the 500 live on Sunday, an event I haven't missed since first shown live here 20 years ago. I will have to record the WSB and the Charlotte 600 for enjoyment later in the week. I need to sleep sometime. Rob,
Good to hear! I know what you mean about needing to sleep.  Before I had a DVR (and when the quality of Grand Prix races was higher) I would set my alarm and start the coffee often before 4 am to watch.
Those wings are scary abbreviated, as you say, even thinner for qualifying than for the race. The cars are not as interesting as when many teams designed and built their own chassis, but with the new aero package the racing this year has been great.
Enjoy the race, Carl
|
|
|
|
Post by charleselan on May 22, 2018 17:16:09 GMT
This really does appear to be a very busy time in the motor sporting calendar with so much going on for both four and two wheeled interest. Sometimes at periods like this it is hard to keep up, but hopefully all will fall into place. The British round of the WSBK at Donington Park is being shown live on the Free to View channel Quest this weekend which should be superb, a rare occurrence that it isn't behind the paywall of Eurosport. Hopefully the brilliant BSB team will be presenting and commentating rather than the turgid and insipid presentation that normally accompanies Eurosports WSBK activity. The Indy 500 is being transmitted in the UK by BT Sport, however I can normally access that on the internet quite well so will be tuning into that. We also have the Monaco GP for F1 cars, or whatever they call them these days  . |
|
|
|
Post by René on May 22, 2018 19:17:17 GMT
Really looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500 but I am not sure yet if I can see them live...  It's my wife's birthday on monday and she wants to invite some family on sunday... the darling...  |
|
|
|
Post by Carl on May 22, 2018 19:57:20 GMT
Really looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500 but I am not sure yet if I can see them live... It's my wife's birthday on monday and she wants to invite some family on sunday... the darling... As both God and Administrator, family interference should be easier to part than the Red Sea. However, I understand that birthday privileges are important considerations.
So, you discretely disappear into a nice hotel with extensive cable television and Wide Fidelity Internet and claim you were detained by agnostics jealous of your divinity.
-anonymous
|
|
|
|
Post by René on May 22, 2018 22:05:00 GMT
Really looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500 but I am not sure yet if I can see them live... It's my wife's birthday on monday and she wants to invite some family on sunday... the darling... As both God and Administrator, family interference should be easier to part than the Red Sea. However, I understand that birthday privileges are important considerations.
So, you discretely disappear into a nice hotel with extensive cable television and Wide Fidelity Internet and claim you were detained by agnostics jealous of your divinity.
-anonymous
I need to give that idea some serious thought....  |
|
|
|
Post by Carl on May 25, 2018 21:47:12 GMT
Danica Patrick has done very well in her final race before retirement, qualifying near the front for Ed Carpenter Racing.
After climbing the ladder in Formula cars, she first drove at Indianapolis in 2005. Many fans recall her calm correction of dramatic oversteer above 200 mph during her qualifying run. She started fourth, remarkable for a rookie. Eventually she made the same mistake as Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcus Ambrose: going into NASCAR, a deadend for many road racers. The result for all three careers was stagnation.
One noteworthy aspect of her car is a cool ignoring of two once powerful superstitions: a green car and the number 13. A.J. Foyt was very nervous when Team Lotus first appeared at Indy with a British Racing Green car. After all, Indy 500 winner Gaston Chevrolet had been killed in 1920 on a wooden high-banked speedway in Beverly Hills and his car was green.  Superstitions abounded over the years when deaths were common. Safety has become the new prevalent norm. A.J. still won't allow any green on his cars, but probably knows he's being silly. The new aero package dramatically takes away downforce and demands more from drivers, a return of control welcomed by the more talented. It should be a good race. |
|
|
|
Post by robmarsh on May 26, 2018 7:18:32 GMT
I have huge respect for the drivers, 500 miles at 220mph plus with a skittish car and 32 other cars around you and you still have to strategise and communicate with your team at the same time. Massive courage.
|
|
|
|
Post by robmarsh on May 28, 2018 7:20:41 GMT
The Indy 500 was a bit of a let down though I did enjoy it more than Monaco. The aero packages resulted in the cars being strung out so we didn't get the slipstreaming battles of the past. Overtaking only happened on restarts after somebody hit the wall and there was a yellow. The next three laps would be awesome until it settled down again or somebody lost control due to a lack of aero and hit the wall.
My driver of the day was Alexander Rossi for some overtakes worthy of Mansell.
So one race had too much aero and one race had too little. Bottom line aero is ruining the sport.
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on May 28, 2018 21:19:00 GMT
The Indy 500 was a bit of a let down though I did enjoy it more than Monaco. The aero packages resulted in the cars being strung out so we didn't get the slipstreaming battles of the past. Overtaking only happened on restarts after somebody hit the wall and there was a yellow. The next three laps would be awesome until it settled down again or somebody lost control due to a lack of aero and hit the wall. My driver of the day was Alexander Rossi for some overtakes worthy of Mansell. So one race had too much aero and one race had too little. Bottom line aero is ruining the sport. Well said, Rob. I totally agree. The new aero package needs refinement before the next big oval event. The extreme temperature (93F) added to the reduction of downforce and the cars were a handful.
Will Power stayed with the leaders but waited until the last restart to show an overwhelming speed that won the race by a wide margin. He needed several years to be comfortable on ovals, but he's there now and his final laps were awesome!
Alexander Rossi was outstanding, passing five cars on one restart on the outside of Turns 1 and 2, and passing on the outside at Indy is not easy. When fighting for the lead late in the 1991 race, Michael Andretti and Rick Mears exchanged daring outside passes in Turn 1 and the crowd went wild.
I was also impressed by Ed Carpenter and Tony Kanaan, extremely fast all day, Scott Dixon's steady pace and the late Justin Wilson's brother Stefan Wilson, racing to honor his brother and in with a chance at the end.
Curiously, Tony Kanaan's team owner had visible battle scars from an encounter with killer bees on his Texas ranch, a return engagement between the bees and the always combative Anthony Joseph Foyt, Junior. 
Cheers, Carl
|
|
|
|
Post by robmarsh on May 29, 2018 13:43:47 GMT
Hi Carl
I got goose bumps when I heard the story of Stefan Wilson and saw him take the lead. It was a pity he had to pit 2 laps from the end though. It seemed a strange tactic to me.
What are the wings made of in Indycar? They don't seem to explode into thousands of fragments like their F1 counterparts. In fact I saw a rear wing up against the barrier and it bent upwards for about the third. An F1 wing in the same situation would have broken.
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on May 29, 2018 16:18:14 GMT
Hi Rob,
Apparently the team were rolling the dice and hoping for a yellow flag finish and enough fuel to go the distance. There are also bragging rights to have led even a few laps at Indianapolis.
Your observation about the wings staying in one piece is spot on. I don't know what differences in construction exist, but the rules-makers may either be smarter than their F1 counterparts or resistant to the expense of carbon-fiber... or both. It would be interesting to learn the actual differences and how they came about.
Cheers, Carl
|
|
Before I had a DVR (and when the quality of Grand Prix races was higher) I would set my alarm and start the coffee often before 4 am to watch.
.
Superstitions abounded over the years when deaths were common.