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Post by René on Oct 3, 2018 16:34:55 GMT
From the dull and soulless track in Sochi to the daunting sweeps of Suzuka... good to be back at a real race track this weekend! Can Lewis and Mercedes still give this away? Can Seb and Ferrari force a turnaround in fortune? It is looking more and more unlikely this will happen but who knows... miracles do happen sometimes! And Max... he is driving so well lately that I wouldn't be surprised at all if he can challenge for the win. Bring on Japan! PS Mikael, are you going? If so, please keep us posted!
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Post by Carl on Oct 3, 2018 16:58:00 GMT
One of the finest race tracks ever designed, so challenging that just one car by itself at speed is engrossing to watch.
Who will win? Mikael, for sure. Of the drivers, if Ferrari can calm down and organize itself, Vettel. Otherwise, Red Bull may take advantage of the disarray at both leading teams.
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Post by chrisb on Oct 3, 2018 20:55:35 GMT
I have voted for Valteri as I think Lewis is embarrassed by what happened in Russia and will make amends, although there again,
Mikael, if you are going, I hope you have a lovely time my friend and whilst I must confess to a bit of envy as it is a circuit I do want to visit, although my reluctance to fly might prevent that from happening, and a motorbike ride may be a touch too much but we'll see
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2018 4:59:20 GMT
Suzuka is the place of the legends - Senna and Schumacher - he will want to win there. There is time and place to give back to Bottas.
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Post by robmarsh on Oct 4, 2018 6:41:45 GMT
Senna gave a win to Berger at Suzuka in 1991. Berger was less than impressed. Listening to both Hamilton and Bottas last Sunday it would appear that no driver wants to be gifted a win, it goes against their competitive grain.
Jackie Stewart in 1973 commented that Francois Cevert was faster than him at the Nurburgring and could have won if he wasn't playing the team game. At Watkins Glen later that year, Ken Tyrrell approached Jackie to ask him to give the race to Cevert. JYS was less than impressed and at first didn't agree. Tragically events never put it to the test.
I don't think any driver wants a gifted race, it is patronising at best. Just let them race and don't clip the leading guys wings.
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Post by mikael on Oct 4, 2018 7:50:59 GMT
PS Mikael, are you going? If so, please keep us posted! René, Yes, I'll go; I will leave tomorrow afternoon, to arrive in Nagoya early evening. I will then be at the track from early Saturday morning. I had been dreaming about a typhoon-free event; but in today's morning-news they talked about nothing but typhoon No. 25, and how strong it appears to be. Well, if the predicted track (below) is correct, it will just be grazing Suzuka; yet its outer boundary will surely bring heavy rain with it. According to the predicted path, it should pass by Suzuka on Saturday; so it will likely be a very wet qualifying session. It should then be well past Suzuka/Nagoya on Sunday; yet at present, rain is predicted on that day too. Well, it has almost become a tradition (for my F1-mate and I) to go out and buy a disposable raincoat (in plastic bag quality - light and cheap) on the Saturday morning. So this year will just be like so many times before :-) The large "25" refers to "Typhoon No. 25". By the smaller numbers, the first number is the day and the second is the time. So the numbers say: Oct. 4th at 14 o'clock; Oct. 5th at 0 (midnight); Oct. 5 at 12 o'clock, etc.
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Post by mikael on Oct 4, 2018 7:56:59 GMT
Mikael, if you are going, I hope you have a lovely time my friend and whilst I must confess to a bit of envy as it is a circuit I do want to visit, although my reluctance to fly might prevent that from happening, and a motorbike ride may be a touch too much but we'll see Thank you very much, Chris. I am looking much forward to the small trip and to the race. It seems that the weather is going to be bad (as discussed in the previous post) but hopefully not worse than the race can go on without interruptions.
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Post by René on Oct 4, 2018 8:03:07 GMT
Senna gave a win to Berger at Suzuka in 1991. Berger was less than impressed. Listening to both Hamilton and Bottas last Sunday it would appear that no driver wants to be gifted a win, it goes against their competitive grain. Jackie Stewart in 1973 commented that Francois Cevert was faster than him at the Nurburgring and could have won if he wasn't playing the team game. At Watkins Glen later that year, Ken Tyrrell approached Jackie to ask him to give the race to Cevert. JYS was less than impressed and at first didn't agree. Tragically events never put it to the test. I don't think any driver wants a gifted race, it is patronising at best. Just let them race and don't clip the leading guys wings. I had the same thought Rob. From a Senna/historic perspective it would be the perfect place to hand Bottas a victory, but would it make anyone happy? Don't think so.
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Post by René on Oct 4, 2018 8:07:39 GMT
PS Mikael, are you going? If so, please keep us posted! René, Yes, I'll go; I will leave tomorrow afternoon, to arrive in Nagoya early evening. I will then be at the track from early Saturday morning. Wonderful Mikael. The rain is not very comfortable but race cars in the rain look spectacular. And I guess it is part of Suzuka, the same goes for Spa; 50% chance of rain! I wish you a great weekend. Stay safe and enjoy!
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Post by chrisb on Oct 4, 2018 8:53:51 GMT
have a great time Mikael, stay safe and hopefully reasonably dry, I had one of those disposal raincoats at Hungary in 07, which I didn't use until a race meeting in the UK where 'it leaked!' -hope the Japanese version is more protective
looking forward to the photos
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2018 9:58:25 GMT
Ferrari fans... "F1 championship. This time too we are going to win it next year."
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Post by René on Oct 4, 2018 15:06:21 GMT
Ouch! No no no no no! I still believe... FORZA FERRARI!!!
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Post by René on Oct 4, 2018 15:48:45 GMT
"I want to have a venue for motor racing. Automobiles cannot be improved if they are not put through their paces on the racing circuit."
This prescient statement by company founder and president Soichiro Honda, made around the end of 1959 during a meeting to propose the construction of a welfare facility for the Suzuka Factory, led to the birth of Japan's first full-scale road racing circuit. Soichiro Honda ordered the formation of a project team, which was quickly formed by Takeo Fujisawa, the company's senior managing director. Honda Motor began an independent effort to build a full-scale, European-style, fully paved course, which was to be the first of its kind in Japan. Because Japan had no existing course to use as a model for the Honda project, the team's initial task was to collect information on the famed racing circuits of Europe. Based on data from several key facilities, the project team concluded that land area of 660,000 to 990,000 square meters was needed to accommodate a circuit of 6 km in distance per lap. Soichiro Honda (second from right) discussing a design model for the Suzuka Circuit with members of the project team with on the left Dutch designer John "Hans" Hugenholtz (who also designed Zandvoort).
A view of the construction site, near the grandstands (photo courtesy of Sadao Shinozaki)When the construction was nearly complete, Soichiro flew over Suzuka Circuit by airplane and said, "They are doing a good job of creating a course that is close to what the drawing envisions." The efforts of the construction staff were duly rewarded by such a comment. A ceremony commemorating the completion of the Suzuka Circuit was held on September 20, 1962. In November, two months after the completion ceremony, Suzuka Circuit hosted its first race: the first Japan National Road Racing Championships. Spectators watching the senior 50 cc race of the first Japan National Road Racing Championship
In May of the following year, the Suzuka Circuit hosted the first Japan Grand Prix Auto Race. It was the very first such race for automobile manufacturers as well as drivers. Equipped with column-mounted gear shifters and conventional tires with white sidewalls, the machines were far behind their foreign counterparts in technology. There were also a few heated disruptions among the drivers. First Japan Grand Prix Auto Race (photo courtesy of Sadao Shiozaki)However, the completion of Suzuka Circuit and the two major races held on the course represented a significant contribution to improvements in high-speed durability, which with the construction of a series of expressways - namely the first, the Meishin Expressway, which opened partially in 1963 between Ritto and Amagasaki - became a requirement for motorcycles and cars alike. Moreover, the technical levels of not only automobile manufacturers but parts suppliers, as well, were dramatically enhanced because of the Suzuka Circuit and its earliest racing events. The start of Japan's (edit) 1992 Fuji TV Formula-1 Grand Prix raceSince its completion in 1962, Suzuka Circuit has walked a rather difficult path, much as the forerunner in any other field would have to take. Certainly it has become an important landmark, and today most Japanese readily acknowledge Suzuka as the place where the Suzuka Circuit is located. In the racing world, Suzuka Circuit has built a solid foundation as a "Suzuka for the world," receiving high remarks among motor sports enthusiasts across the globe. Nowadays, young Japanese racers who grew up training at Suzuka are competing in the world racing circuits without hesitation expressing themselves in English in their winners' interviews. How could anyone have expected such a thing 30 or more years ago? Extract from: Honda Worldwide/Honda history/heritage
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Post by Carl on Oct 4, 2018 16:23:58 GMT
Rene,
What an outstanding historical review! That appears to be a Subaru 360 leading the first auto event, possibly after jumping the start and causing one of the heated disruptions. Cheers, Carl
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Post by mikael on Oct 4, 2018 23:50:43 GMT
A very interesting read, René - thank you.
I have a souvenir seat cushion where some of the early design proposals (Aug. 1960 - Jan. 1962) are printed. I found a similar set of drawings online (included below). The initial proposal, of Aug. 1960 (top fig.), with none less than three overbridges, is spectacular - but maybe it was overly complicated and too expensive.
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