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Post by mikael on Oct 29, 2017 13:44:28 GMT
Carl,
your thread on American Formula Libre made me think of the Danish Formula Libre of the 70's (which I have spent many hours watching). It was much more modest than the American version. It was run on dirt tracks (ovals), of a length of approx. 1000m. Many of these track were in fact just the ovals normally used for horse racing.
A curious fact is the following. The Formula Vee class, which was popular in the 60's, had become obsolete due to the appearance and popularity of Formula Ford. But the Formula Vee's - upgraded with 1600cc engines - turned out to be very competitive in the dirt-track Formula Libre class. So in this way all those old Formula Vee cars that were present in the country got a new lease of life.
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Post by René on Oct 29, 2017 13:56:01 GMT
Thank you Carl. Amazing - and amazingly beautiful - machinery! as well as spectacular racing. From a technical point of view, the mounting of the wing on the Chaparral, on those long, slender struts, demonstrates in a spectacular way that the induced drag really is very low - otherwise those struts would have bent backwards, as if they had been made of rubber. (I find this so fascinating: that a wing profile gives you a very large lift (on an airplane) or a very large downforce (on a racing car) at the modest cost of just a little induced drag. It (the wing) is probably the most amazing technical discovery ever. (Sorry for over-using the word "amazing" and "spectacular" -- but I cannot think of more appropriate words in the present context.) Well, maybe second to the wheel.  But you're right, the principle is so simple but at the same time so strong. Positive and negative lift (downforce) is a force of nature that has had enormous influence on modern life, most obvious flying. The effect it has on racing is always a strong subject for debate. The early experiments in Can-Am and F1 were fascinating and intriguing, but in modern times the scientifc approach to aerodynamics have become too dominant. You can't turn back the clock (and shouldn't even try) but this is one subject in racing that needs addressing with more strict (call it spec) rules. |
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Post by Carl on Oct 29, 2017 18:28:28 GMT
Such a shame Roger Penske gave up race driving as he was very good, as was of course Jim Hall and his partner Hap Sharp. I have seen quite a few films of that period on my YouTube "surfings" and find it quite amusing to see Hap wearing slacks and often a check shirt when driving. Really sad though that he entered into serious depression in later life and took his own life.
I wonder if that was Penske's last competitive race drive.
John Charles, My understanding is that Penske's decision to stop racing was compelled by his other great passion, business. He wanted a loan to fund his purchase of a Chevrolet dealership and the insurance was declined because of risk concerns. Roger Penske had two passions and had to choose between them. He remains extremely smart and perceptive in every aspect of his business and racing empires. I had never known about Hap Sharp's sad end, apparently after a diagnosis of terminal cancer. There but for fortune... He won the 1965 Times Grand Prix at Riverside, the only time I saw Jim Clark, who finished a remarkable 2nd in Colin Chapman's beast of a sports racer. |
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Post by Carl on Oct 29, 2017 18:39:30 GMT
... Danish Formula Libre of the 70's (which I have spent many hours watching). It was much more modest than the American version. It was run on dirt tracks (ovals), of a length of approx. 1000m. Many of these track were in fact just the ovals normally used for horse racing. Mikael, That's fascinating because American oval track racing also began on existing horse tracks. When Henry Ford wanted to demonstrate his stripped down speed chassis, it was on a horse track. This explains why American oval races are by tradition counterclockwise and also the existence of racing terms like pole position and paddock, both derived from horse racing. Attachment Deleted |
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