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Post by charleselan on May 24, 2021 11:45:20 GMT
It was a very good qualifying session, first the drama of those seeking to stay on the grid and amazing to see Will Power struggling to stay in the race, goodness knows what Penske were doing there. The all lady team was wonderful to behold and hopefully they will build on that.
The final "shot out" for pole was quite compelling with the new breed showing strongly but the "old" master Scott Dixon prevailed with a stunning run just pipping the new stars Colton & Rinus. Also good to see the two old boys Tony and Helio going very well, nothing like experience at Indianapolis.
Should be a good race next weekend.
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Post by Carl on May 24, 2021 16:35:54 GMT
I watched some of qualifying and Leigh Diffey has calmed down from his usual pronounced excitement. He has substantial knowledge of motor racing and when he discards the corporate/network hype and relaxes, can be very pleasant.
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Post by charleselan on May 24, 2021 17:14:09 GMT
You are correct Carl, Diffey was much more like he was in his time as a World Superbike commentator, he was actually quite good back then.
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Post by Carl on May 25, 2021 0:35:46 GMT
It's amazing how many drivers qualified above or in the neighborhood of 231mph, and as John pointed out, a pair of anciens pilotes are near the front. Good job Tony and Helio, longtime and usually friendly rivals.
I have admired Simona de Silvestro since she first appeared at Long Beach, very young and already very fast, about ten years ago. Despite having been warned about fast women, I would answer her siren call should she ever send one.  Here is an interesting comparison of qualifying speeds over the years with an abundance of famous names, difficult to download and retain but informative when it does: |
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Post by René on May 27, 2021 11:40:42 GMT
Indy 500 - Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayThe 105th edition of the Indy 500 this weekend! 33 cars on the grid with nine former winners. A lot of experience which is always important on the brickyard but the new generation no doubt has different plans. And this is a race where grid position is not necessarily essential to a good result, you can win it from the back if you have a perfect setup for the race. Lady and gentlemen, start your engines! 
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Post by Carl on May 27, 2021 15:47:30 GMT
Indy 500 - Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayThe 105th edition of the Indy 500 this weekend! 33 cars on the grid with nine former winners. A lot of experience which is always important on the brickyard but the new generation no doubt has different plans. And this is a race where grid position is not necessarily essential to a good result, you can win it from the back if you have a perfect setup for the race. Lady and gentlemen, start your engines!
Is it coincidence, or have you rotated the Borg-Warner Trophy to another celebrated René?
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Post by chrisb on May 27, 2021 19:18:55 GMT
nice one Carl/ Rene,
this I sense is going to be very special, there is a genuine number of potential winners and although I am not sure I can access it, I will be following what happens with interest, it would be good to see Jack do well but who I think will win is just too open
suddenly realising that it is exactly 25 years ago since I was there, watching Jacques win - sheesh , that seems such a long long time ago, in a galaxy....no...
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Post by René on May 28, 2021 10:47:16 GMT
Indy 500 - Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayThe 105th edition of the Indy 500 this weekend! 33 cars on the grid with nine former winners. A lot of experience which is always important on the brickyard but the new generation no doubt has different plans. And this is a race where grid position is not necessarily essential to a good result, you can win it from the back if you have a perfect setup for the race. Lady and gentlemen, start your engines!
Is it coincidence, or have you rotated the Borg-Warner Trophy to another celebrated René?
Fantastic Carl!  My influence is far-reaching but this really is a coincidence. But how wonderful. It took René Thomas 6 hours and 3 minutes to complete the 500 miles in his Delage... in 1914! And what a success for the French.
The 1914 Indy 500 winner with René Thomas at the wheel.
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Post by charleselan on May 28, 2021 13:17:21 GMT
Last night while looking through YouTube I came across a great film of the 1971 Pocono 500. It was the first event from the newly constructed tri-oval and much was being made of this new venue.
The field featured a huge diversity of cars, so many differing in looks and it had a tremendous list of top line Indy car drivers. Quite a few yellows which closed the field up on each occasion, probably meaning that a dominant win for Mark Donohue in the Penske McLaren M16 was somewhat mitigated as he barely beat Joe Leonard over the last lap.
One question for Carl. what happened to the Pocono circuit as i haven't heard of it in recent times or have my ears been blocked?
Here is the film and it is good viewing.
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Post by Carl on May 28, 2021 17:17:27 GMT
Last night while looking through YouTube I came across a great film of the 1971 Pocono 500. It was the first event from the newly constructed tri-oval and much was being made of this new venue. The field featured a huge diversity of cars, so many differing in looks and it had a tremendous list of top line Indy car drivers. Quite a few yellows which closed the field up on each occasion, probably meaning that a dominant win for Mark Donohue in the Penske McLaren M16 was somewhat mitigated as he barely beat Joe Leonard over the last lap. One question for Carl. what happened to the Pocono circuit as i haven't heard of it in recent times or have my ears been blocked? Here is the film and it is good viewing. John, The consensus is that the speeds became too fast for safety at the problematic triangular oval abandoned by Indycar after 2019.
More recently, pole speeds have been nearly 50 mph faster than Mark Donohue's 172 mph in the debut event and the danger of higher speeds is compounded by the track no longer being smooth after many winters and lacking adequate runoff and modern barriers. Another problem is less width following the start/finish straight, along which drivers were encouraged to race 3-5 wide and not all of them (hello Takuma) have the discipline to contain themselves when the track narrows.
- Carl
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Post by René on May 28, 2021 19:39:30 GMT
Last night while looking through YouTube I came across a great film of the 1971 Pocono 500. It was the first event from the newly constructed tri-oval and much was being made of this new venue. The field featured a huge diversity of cars, so many differing in looks and it had a tremendous list of top line Indy car drivers. Quite a few yellows which closed the field up on each occasion, probably meaning that a dominant win for Mark Donohue in the Penske McLaren M16 was somewhat mitigated as he barely beat Joe Leonard over the last lap. One question for Carl. what happened to the Pocono circuit as i haven't heard of it in recent times or have my ears been blocked? Here is the film and it is good viewing. John, The consensus is that the speeds became too fast for safety at the problematic triangular oval abandoned by Indycar after 2019.
More recently, pole speeds have been nearly 50 mph faster than Mark Donohue's 172 mph in the debut event and the danger of higher speeds is compounded by the track no longer being smooth after many winters and lacking adequate runoff and modern barriers. Another problem is less width following the start/finish straight, along which drivers were encouraged to race 3-5 wide and not all of them (hello Takuma) have the discipline to contain themselves when the track narrows.
- Carl
HELLO TAKUMA!!!   |
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Post by René on May 30, 2021 15:47:32 GMT
Enjoy the race guys! |
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Post by Carl on May 31, 2021 5:50:41 GMT
A very good race needlessly overblown by the hyperbole of the announcers. I could not believe the constant excitement of everyone at NBC, twelve all told, including color commentators, pit reporters and analysts. Why do so many motorsports announcers tend maniacal? Partly because network boards of directors are convinced that people watching are imbeciles. That means all of us...  Another reason is that the network, its sponsors, and all participating race sponsors are more important than the racing and must be constantly promoted. Attendance was officially announced at 130,000, about half capacity, but most grandstands were too crowded for safety, wishful thinking now dominant in most of the country. Damn the variants, full speed ahead.  The final stint was exciting even with the sound muted! Congratulations to Castroneves for a well deserved fourth Indy 500 win after being demoted and then retired by Roger Penske. I don't know if the excitable Helio climbed the nearest safety fence as in the past, a silliness extolled during the broadcast as "iconic and legendary". These day it's the checkered flag and then"click". Leigh Diffey will cheer at all kinds of events
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Post by robmarsh on May 31, 2021 7:47:15 GMT
I normally pick my favourite for victory at Indy during the race. The four exceptions being when Mansell, Villeneuve J, Montoya and Alonso were racing. This year I really didn't mind who won until about 30 laps from the end and Helio was in with a chance. Then I really wanted him to win, because of the way he drove the race and for the way Roger Penske had treated him. The youngsters drove well but Indy is a long race. HC did climb the fence and the scenes immediately after the race which saw him getting mugged and congratulated by all and sundry including Mario Andretti, I found very heart warming. It was refreshing to see such unbridled joy after a victory and after racing for 500 miles at 200mph plus with the attendant stress from such concentration. He still had the energy to run half the pit straight waving and cheering and speaking to anyone you approached him. Makes F1 look very sterile. The previous four time winners, Mears, Foyt and Unser were present at the race. What a pity Roger Penske, who normally plans everything to the finest detail, didn't have the presence of mind to have them present on the podium when HC was given the trophy. Easily arranged beforehand and just as easy to do nothing if someone else had won.
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Post by charleselan on May 31, 2021 10:50:37 GMT
I do not believe that I have ever sat through a full Indy 500 until yesterday but that was an excellent race with so much to keep everyone interested. Sorry but could not stomach the full on ceremony at the beginning that as way too much for me and if truth be told demeaned the event, but such is our different cultures.
As Carl points out in his comment I was astonished to see the huge crowd especially around the outside grandstands, one would have thought that the global pandemic had come to an end. It was also noted that the vast majority if not all had dispensed with masks and social distancing was a thing of the distant past. Seriously not a good sight!
What a wonderful and well served victory for Helio Castroneves, discarded by Penske as too old and without a regular Indycar ride he proved beyond doubt that if the passion still burns then a good 46 year old is the ideal man to win a race such as Indy. A four time winner as well which contains a small and elite group of men. Helio's "parade" after he crossed the finish line was amazing to see, and the love for the guy was something special, he even got a kiss ob the head from Mario which was something akin to a blessing from the Pope.
The young guys certainly made the early running and Alex Palou remained in contention to the end, being out foxed by the veteran during the last two laps. Simon Pagenaud came storming into contention in the closing stages but probably gave himself too much work to do from a lowly grid slot, great drive though. Amazing to see many of the early pace setters like Colton Herta tumble down the order.
One final thing, how you chaps in the USA can tolerate all those ad breaks is beyond me especially as you pay a subscription to watch, they should pay you with the amount of ad's you are subjected to. I despise S*Y but at least they stream the entire feed from MSNBC but without the ad's which is how it should be. Just a question do the US's broadcasts of American Football and Baseball get interrupted with constant ad's?
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Another reason is that the network, its sponsors, and all participating race sponsors are more important than the racing and must be constantly promoted.
