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Post by charleselan on Sept 8, 2020 11:13:59 GMT
You illustrate two real tragedies in the comment above Carl.
The first obviously being Emerson's crazy decision to join his brothers Copersucar team and the wilderness that ensued from that choice. He probably would have been World Champion in 1976 had he stayed at McLaren, even though James Hunt might have had a bit more fire in his belly at that time, but who knows.
Do you recall the time when Emerson came out of retirement and drove the IMSA March at the Miami GP, I think it was owned by a guy called Romero? That kicked off his amazing return into Indy cars, the rest is history.
The second tragedy is Senna. If only he had decided to kick F1 into the dust and go to CART,. he may have still been with us (a multiple CART champion) and CART itself may have become massive and not split up due to the greed of certain individuals.
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Post by Carl on Sept 8, 2020 16:36:13 GMT
Do you recall the time when Emerson came out of retirement and drove the IMSA March at the Miami GP, I think it was owned by a guy called Romero? That kicked off his amazing return into Indy cars, the rest is history. Yes, and with mixed feelings at the time about the event, an example of money talking out of turn, and its promoter, Cuban refugee and wheeler-dealer Rafael (Ralph) Sanchez, whose car he drove. The track was okay for GTO/GTU sedans but far too tight for IMSA Prototypes and I thought the drive was a step down for a world champion.
However, his zeal for racing restored, later that year he settled into CART with Pat Patrick's competitive team for five seasons, winning the Indy 500 and series championship in 1989 and joining Penske the following year, so all's well that ends well!
A course pre-certified by Mickey Mouse
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Post by Carl on Sept 8, 2020 18:24:27 GMT
You illustrate two real tragedies in the comment above Carl. The first obviously being Emerson's crazy decision to join his brothers Copersucar team and the wilderness that ensued from that choice. He probably would have been World Champion in 1976 had he stayed at McLaren, even though James Hunt might have had a bit more fire in his belly at that time, but who knows. Do you recall the time when Emerson came out of retirement and drove the IMSA March at the Miami GP, I think it was owned by a guy called Romero? That kicked off his amazing return into Indy cars, the rest is history. The second tragedy is Senna. If only he had decided to kick F1 into the dust and go to CART,. he may have still been with us (a multiple CART champion) and CART itself may have become massive and not split up due to the greed of certain individuals. Absolutely correct, John Charles. I was haunted as I wrote my comment by both whims of fate, one perplexing, the other tragic. When younger, I would occasionally daydream about how easily tragedy could have been avoided, for instance, if Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren or Jochen Rindt had somehow sensed greater danger and come in one lap before. The confidence that comes with success, or reliance on good luck, or hope that a problem becomes more apparent, can tempt fate too far when fate wants to be cruel. |
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Post by charleselan on Sept 9, 2020 15:04:14 GMT
Do you recall the time when Emerson came out of retirement and drove the IMSA March at the Miami GP, I think it was owned by a guy called Romero? That kicked off his amazing return into Indy cars, the rest is history. Yes, and with mixed feelings at the time about the event, an example of money talking out of turn, and its promoter, Cuban refugee and wheeler-dealer Rafael (Ralph) Sanchez, whose car he drove. The track was okay for GTO/GTU sedans but far too tight for IMSA Prototypes and I thought the drive was a step down for a world champion.
However, his zeal for racing restored, later that year he settled into CART with Pat Patrick's competitive team for five seasons, winning the Indy 500 and series championship in 1989 and joining Penske the following year, so all's well that ends well!
A course pre-certified by Mickey Mouse
Many thanks Carl, I knew it was an Hispanic sounding name, |
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Post by charleselan on Sept 9, 2020 15:10:43 GMT
You illustrate two real tragedies in the comment above Carl. The first obviously being Emerson's crazy decision to join his brothers Copersucar team and the wilderness that ensued from that choice. He probably would have been World Champion in 1976 had he stayed at McLaren, even though James Hunt might have had a bit more fire in his belly at that time, but who knows. Do you recall the time when Emerson came out of retirement and drove the IMSA March at the Miami GP, I think it was owned by a guy called Romero? That kicked off his amazing return into Indy cars, the rest is history. The second tragedy is Senna. If only he had decided to kick F1 into the dust and go to CART,. he may have still been with us (a multiple CART champion) and CART itself may have become massive and not split up due to the greed of certain individuals. Absolutely correct, John Charles. I was haunted as I wrote my comment by both whims of fate, one perplexing, the other tragic. When younger, I would occasionally daydream about how easily tragedy could have been avoided, for instance, if Jim Clark, Bruce McLaren or Jochen Rindt had somehow sensed greater danger and come in one lap before. The confidence that comes with success, or reliance on good luck, or hope that a problem becomes more apparent, can tempt fate too far when fate wants to be cruel. The "if only's" of motor sport history Carl and so many of these guys might have been around for a lot longer. If Jim had not felt obliged to Chapman in driving at Hockenheim in that uncompetitive F2 car and driven as originally intended the Alan Mann Ford F3L at Brands Hatch the fateful weekend. If Bruce had stopped for lunch as intended and not done this extra laps. If Jochen had either rejoined Brabham, or completed the establishment of his own team with Bernie and Robin Herd that later became March. I firmly believe that had he rejoined Jack Brabham he would still have been world champion in the excellent Brabham BT33. |
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Post by chrisb on Sept 9, 2020 20:51:27 GMT
I always thought 'if' was the biggest word in any language, and the tragic sadness with these moments haunts us for eternity, Jimmy apparently pointed to the rear of his car on his fateful day, if only he had stopped at the pits then, Bruce as you say, or Jochen had he done his seatbelts up and the post was properly attached, Ronnie had been in the 79, Jochen Mass picked a different line, so many lives, so many tragedies
JC, I would tend to agree Jochen would have been WDC in the Brabham in 1970, an often overlooked discussion, also who would have been in the Lotus in his stead? certainly no one as quick as Jochen,
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Post by René on Sept 11, 2020 14:25:40 GMT
IndyCar was originally scheduled to race Monday, September 7, but has rescheduled to a double event next weekend, September 12-13. The normal starting time is 14.00 (19.00 in England / 20.00 Central European) but stay tuned because of the rescheduling. Mid-Ohio is one of the great natural terrain road courses in America and will present an opportunity for the road racing specialists to shine. About one third of the drivers are more comfortable on ovals, one third prefer road courses, and one third are outstanding on both. Looking very much forward to the Mid Ohio races, really nice track and usually good racing.
A lap with Nigel...
and Michael's lucky moment... |
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Post by charleselan on Sept 12, 2020 17:56:36 GMT
JC, I would tend to agree Jochen would have been WDC in the Brabham in 1970, an often overlooked discussion, also who would have been in the Lotus in his stead? certainly no one as quick as Jochen, At a very similar moment in time to you asking this question Chris, I asked it of myself. Only two drivers who could have filled that spot at the time should Jochen have gone back to join Jack at Brabham. Chris Amon was desperate to get a DFV engined car and threw his lot in with the miscreants at March, but supposing that the Lotus seat had been available then maybe he would have been attracted to Lotus instead. Not sure how Chrissie would have got along with Colin however, but he was one of the very best test and development drivers ever, so could have been interesting. The other scenario would have been Seppi Siffert. Porsche moved heaven and earth to prevent loosing him to Ferrari at the end of 1969 and paid good money to March, the only reasonable seat available, in fact they stole the seat that had originally been promised to a certain very promising young Swede. So with a pot of Porsche gold he would have been a pretty tasty alternative for Chapman, plus he knew Lotus cars well having driven Rob Walker's 49B for two years previously. |
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Post by Carl on Sept 13, 2020 3:23:32 GMT
Today's race at Mid-Ohio was very exciting. Although Will Power somehow avoided error and won easily (he's outstanding unless he goofs), further down the battles were fierce.
Rinus Veekay astonished once again with an outside pass as stunning as his first lap pass of Ryan Hunter-Reay at Road America. Approaching the end of the back straight in company with Colton Herta at 190 mph, he allowed Herta to worry about a backmarker and smoothly passed both. Paul Tracy and Townsend Bell almost ran out of superlatives!
Watching this event, I decided that maybe A.J. Foyt should retire and fold his team. One of the great natural drivers, Foyt's strategic acumen remains hidden. I doubt the old bastard was there, but his team's fortunes would not have improved as his two drivers were last and next to last throughout. Canadian Dalton Kellett has never done well in junior series and almost certainly pays for his ride. The other driver, Charlie Kimball, is a jerk prone to reckless blocking. A.J. should retire and continue his quest for fatness.
Race 2 Sunday! Be there!!
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Post by René on Sept 13, 2020 11:56:55 GMT
It was a good race Carl, really enjoyed that. Yeah, Veekay's pass on Herta was brilliant. That guy Kellet is a driving chicane, really not on the level you would expect. But Rinus made good use of him! Whooa!  Your discription of Will Power is spot on. Not the typical Penske driver I feel. But the win was good and deserved and Josef Newgarden gained a lot of points on Scott Dixon who was not really in the mix this time. Great track, like Mugello with sweeping corners and beatiful surroundings. Bring on race 2! |
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Post by Carl on Sept 14, 2020 3:32:25 GMT
The second day's race at Mid-Ohio was clumsy and ragged, a clear contrast to the first. Daily and weekly events are hard on everyone. Contractual obligations are satisfied at warp speed and someone's counting the money.
Are they doing this for the fans?
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Post by charleselan on Sept 14, 2020 11:59:10 GMT
I actually managed to watch the race qualifying and last 35 laps live on YouTube last evening. The qualifying was with full US commentary and in tricky conditions was shall we say interesting. It was said that the conditions were like driving on black ice and with so many drivers crashing off the track immediately after leaving the past time and time again, it was a horror show. The Mid Ohio circuit is a beautiful track, if a little rustic by some modern F1 standards, but in essence that is what makes it so glorious. F1 gin palaces are obscene and this is what racing should be like; pure and real. Can one imagine two American GP's every year, one at Mid Ohio and the other Elkart Lake. Lewis Hamilton was raving about Mugello, so there is hope. I missed the early laps of race Two but found a live stream on YouTube by what I think was an Eastern European transmission, actually the commentary was better than anything S*YF1 and NBC can muster, even if i couldn't understand a word of what they were saying  . Colton Herta looked supreme and did not put a foot wrong even though under intense but not within striking distance from Alexander Rossi, who looked more himself this weekend. Scott Dixon made a very rare mistake however his recovery in so few laps was that of a master racer. |
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Post by René on Sept 14, 2020 14:18:57 GMT
The second day's race at Mid-Ohio was clumsy and ragged, a clear contrast to the first. Daily and weekly events are hard on everyone. Contractual obligations are satisfied at warp speed and someone's counting the money. Are they doing this for the fans? Agreed Carl. The first race was much better and two races in one weekend is just too much. Even for race fans like us.
But nice to see Colton Herta win again. I see him winning a championship in the near future.
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Post by René on Oct 1, 2020 15:07:05 GMT
The so-called Harvest Grand Prix at the Indianapolis road course this weekend. Another double header but there’s no F1 or MotoGP so I think I can handle that…  The title could be decided at Indy and in theory there are still 6 or 7 drivers that could win it. But with three races to go, realistically I think it’s between Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. A 6th title for Dixon or a 3rd title for Newgarden. Not the most exciting track but still, the racing could be good so looking forward to this! |
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Post by chrisb on Oct 1, 2020 18:19:44 GMT
enjoy guys, wish I could watch it but ce la vie,
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