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Post by Carl on Aug 4, 2023 22:05:19 GMT
Sunday's IMSA prototypes are damn fast and well driven. Don't bother me, I'll be relaxing at Siebkens Resort.
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Post by René on Aug 5, 2023 9:31:47 GMT
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Post by René on Aug 6, 2023 10:35:29 GMT
Pole position for Pipo Derani in the Cadillac V-Series R. ahead of Felipe Nasr's Porsche 963.  |
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Post by Carl on Aug 6, 2023 16:50:26 GMT
Pipo Derani's pole speed approaches the all time record pole at Road America, 1:39.988 set by Dario Franchitti's Reynard/Honda for Team Green in 2000's CART event. Comparison is valid because the track layout is unchanged. The slowest entrant, a Porsche GT3R, is nonetheless five seconds faster than Bruce McLaren's 1967 Can-Am pole speed in the revolutionary M6A
The 1967 Can-Am field approaching Canada Corner (Turn 12) on the pace lap
Bruce McLaren / Denis Hulme
Dan Gurney / George Follmer
Mark Donohue / Chuck Parsons
John Surtees / Peter Revson
Jim Hall / Lothar Motschenbacher |
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Post by mikael on Aug 7, 2023 15:38:24 GMT
Pipo Derani's pole speed approaches the all time record pole at Road America, 1:39.988 set by Dario Franchitti's Reynard/Honda for Team Green in 2000's CART event. Comparison is valid because the track layout is unchanged. The slowest entrant, a Porsche GT3R, is nonetheless five seconds faster than Bruce McLaren's 1967 Can-Am pole speed in the revolutionary M6A.
The last point is very interesting, Carl, in particular since the McLaren MA6 had 525 HP to propel just 615 kg, while the Porsche GT3R has 565 HP for a "healthy" 1250 kg.
In other words, the Porsche has approx. the same power as the McLaren, but for the double weight. So aerodynamics (and tyres) must have come a long way, also for GT cars.
Sources:
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Post by René on Aug 7, 2023 16:09:43 GMT
Yes, I have often wondered at a Grand Prix weekend how fast modern race cars are compared to cars from the 'old days', say the sixties and seventies. Especially seeing F2 cars and how they would match up to Formula One cars of yesteryears. In the late 90s/early 2000s, F1 cars were already super fast as proven by how long the Schumacher/Ferrari records from 2004 stood. But before that, a contemporary F2 car would probably be a serious contender in an F1 race.
Car technology and aerodynamics have come a long way and as Mikael mentioned the tires of course and probably also the tarmac. But being faster doesn't always look faster...
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Post by Carl on Aug 7, 2023 19:08:14 GMT
Yes, I have often wondered at a Grand Prix weekend how fast modern race cars are compared to cars from the 'old days', say the sixties and seventies. Especially seeing F2 cars and how they would match up to Formula One cars of yesteryears. In the late 90s/early 2000s, F1 cars were already super fast as proven by how long the Schumacher/Ferrari records from 2004 stood. But before that, a contemporary F2 car would probably be a serious contender in an F1 race. Car technology and aerodynamics have come a long way and as Mikael mentioned the tires of course and probably also the tarmac. But being faster doesn't always look faster... Mikael and René, I think smart enthusiasts all wonder about comparisons between then and now. So many variables... Einstein's Theory of Relativity was so complex that even other physicists were confused at first. Kurt Vonnegut may have displayed a good understanding of the space-time continuum in his novel, "Slaughterhouse Five". Novelist Salman Rushdie wrote about Vonnegut's unique perspective: Stirling Moss liked to toss a car sideways entering a long turn and steer only with his throttle foot. That high level of control was slow in comparison to today's Grand Prix cars, but must have been extremely difficult and appear wonderfully fast at the time. "When change happens too fast to be easily understood,
those who understand it are seen either as idiots or geniuses
and offered a contract at Red Bull."
-anonymous
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Post by Carl on Aug 7, 2023 20:14:51 GMT
I've always liked Sebastien Bourdais, but wasn't cheering for anyone. I just enjoy seeing Road America in all its splendor. The excellent high altitude panning shots showed the beauty of Wisconsin farmland to great effect. My grandfather was a dairy farmer and I have dairy in my genes.
The producers focused on a concession stand menuboard featuring something new to me, a DOUBLE BRATWURST! Announcers Brian Till and Calvin Fish cruelly praised the bratwursts, breakfast sandwiches and cheese curds... Yes, we know how great the food is at Road America. I'd do the same, but one day, I'll control the entire stock of bratwursts and those two will have to share a single kosher dill pickle.
I still don't care who won, but Roger Penske is smiling.
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Post by René on Aug 7, 2023 22:04:36 GMT
Yep, the Penske Porsche won. First win for the 963 but still not a match for the Hypercars in the WEC. A lap around Road America in a… BMW.  |
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Post by Carl on Aug 10, 2023 19:34:24 GMT
Pipo Derani's pole speed approaches the all time record pole at Road America, 1:39.988 set by Dario Franchitti's Reynard/Honda for Team Green in 2000's CART event. Comparison is valid because the track layout is unchanged. The slowest entrant, a Porsche GT3R, is nonetheless five seconds faster than Bruce McLaren's 1967 Can-Am pole speed in the revolutionary M6A.
The last point is very interesting, Carl, in particular since the McLaren MA6 had 525 HP to propel just 615 kg, while the Porsche GT3R has 565 HP for a "healthy" 1250 kg.
In other words, the Porsche has approx. the same power as the McLaren, but for the double weight. So aerodynamics (and tyres) must have come a long way, also for GT cars.
Sources:
Mikael, Well done! I remember the mid-sixties to the late seventies as a time of great innovation, an impression that may be entirely subjective. Curiously, early stock car racing, never famous for innovation beyond the subversive ingenuity of Smokey Yunick, had several road course events, including 1956-7 at Road America and Willow Springs, a wonderful road course designed by Ken Miles in the high desert near Edwards Air Force Base, where the sound barrier was broken and test pilots became early astronauts ("The Right Stuff").
World War 2 ace and test pilot Chuck Yeager Eventually, the Grand National Series, now the NASCAR Cup Series, settled on Riverside Raceway and Watkins Glen as annual events. Several drivers were outstanding on a road course, especially David Pearson and Bobby Allison. Richard Petty was never entirely comfortable on a road course, sometimes holding his breath and exceeding track limits along Riverside's very fast esses. Fans in the Turn 6 grandstand would watch to see if he could hold on and regain his heading.  I started this post with the goal of learning the 1956-7 stock car pole speed/time at Road America to add to our comparison of radically different cars, but none are available. |
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Post by René on Aug 11, 2023 9:26:24 GMT
Great post Carl. Interesting to read how (relatively) insecure Richard Petty was on road courses. I assume he had the most trouble with the right turns?  |
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Post by Carl on Aug 11, 2023 18:52:11 GMT
Great post Carl. Interesting to read how (relatively) insecure Richard Petty was on road courses. I assume he had the most trouble with the right turns? He followed in his father's footsteps and three-time champion Lee Petty normally turned left
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Post by Carl on Aug 6, 2024 19:08:09 GMT
A great sprint race with all four classes (two prototype / two GT) at the incomparable Road America. The competition was fierce and occasionally overheated as side mirrors were sent flying.
Another 1-2 victory for the Penske Porsches. Some nearby dairy farmers believe a primary reserve driver named Lucifer suggests the team is in league with the devil.
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