I used to believe all that stuff about all the wings and aerodynamics
making such a difference... until I was at a Can Am race at Riverside
about 20 years ago and this crazy Italian ( I believe his name was Bruno
Giocomelli? sp? ) who was up in front through the whole thing crashed
about 2/3 through the race, came back on the course with a bunch of
metal pulled off and the rest held on with duct tape, passed everyone in
the dirt on the corners ( I had a good spot on the infield where all the
action was), got back in front, got tangeled up more that two more
times before the end, each time putting him at the back of the pack,
each time winding up at the front. Near the end, there wasn't a stitch
of body metal left on that car,just an engine on a frame and the guy
still passed everyone again and won.
It all boiled down to the driver in the end.
Haven't seen a race that good since.
-----------Robert
LarryT wrote:
Hi Mitch & Jeff (and others),
Yep, I remember well those *great* race reports by Ireland and Walker in
R&T - and I still have my collection going back to 65 or so. When Senna
died I believe they over-reacted and started making lots of changes so they
looked like they were doing *something*, While the increased height of the
cockpit sides was an effort to prevent future accidents like the one killed
Senna when the front a-arm and wheel hit him in the head - but IMHO, that
was an unusual kind of incident that's unlikely to happen again. And if
it's something common how about something that *really* protects the driver?
It was a terrible weekend with another driver killed also and I fear people
get used to playing computer racing games and begin to think the real thing
can be bloodless - ain't gonna happen - no matter what they do the cars will
go faster and the danger will go up. And it will always be dangerous. The
dangers are going to be present - drivers with enormous ego's fight to win -
and when that happens in *any* sport you create danger - whether it's
bicycling or soccer. Each year they mandate changes to reduce speed
(especially cornering speed) but each year the lap times go down although
perhaps it could be argued they'd have gone even faster without the changes.
As I mentioned, remove the bodywork & wings behind the driver and cornering
speed *will* go down dramatically - one cynic said they'd never do that
because it would reduce advertising space.
Also, the problem of difficult passing was mentioned and the comment about
1.5-2 sec seperating the 1st 10 positions - *that* is *exactly* why it's so
tough to pass - all (most) of the cars are so very nearly equal dictating
the pitstop become the only way to pass! I think the *electronic aids* and
downforce created by all the wings, winglets, barge boards, etc is what help
make the cars equal and causes the drivers ability to be masked by the
electronic aids. For instance - just assume launch control for the start is
legal (can't remember if it is or not as it seems to have changed) then one
driver who is an *ace* at hitting the green light *perfectly*, slips the
clutch *perfectly*, spins the wheels the *perfect* amount (Lauda said 5' was
the perfect amount) and controls the accelerator *perfectly* so he makes a
great start 99% of the time - then there's a guy next to him on the 2nd row
who just cannot get the hang of the start - like Michael Andretti when he
was with McLaren - without electronic controls the *perfect* driver would
shoot ahead leaving the other guy behind - but with electronic launch
control they *both* will have perfect starts! Not much competition there -
except between the programmers as someone mentioned - which makes all the
electronic aids something that makes all drivers equal (to a great extent)
and reduces the competition to pitstop tests. You'll note the pitstops are
competitive because it's a competition between 2 groups of *people* not
computer programs.
The thing they did that truly helped to keep drivers healthy was to mandate
the HANS device. But when it comes to the cars I believe the rules should
be locked in for 4 or 5 years at a time - and *that's* what will generate
competition as the designers create cars that have a real advantage over the
others. Then the cars will reflect the different abilities of their
designers and drivers which will make some cars faster than others - and
we'll see competition and passing once again. The fewer rules the better.
That's where true innovation will surface and bring advances in technology
to the sport once again.
While I enjoy watching CART racing on road course, they lack any really
great courses - well, Laguna Seca qualifies as a great circuit - but most of
the road courses look like airport tracks - dead level with no elevation
changes - and that was one thing F1 had going for it - the glitz of romantic
circuits - with only Monaco left as Spa gets modified into mediocrity and
the other great circuits get safety engineered to death. I still wish the
old Nurburgring circuit had not been removed from the season - but the 14
miles of track made it impossible to get help to a driver at all locations.
While I would never want to see a driver hurt, the driver must realize they
have to slow down when conditions dictate - where as it is now, the driver
is going to go as fast as possible without regard to safety IMHO and look to
track devices such as used tires, gravel pits, etc to prevent an injury.
And for the F1 driver, anything less makes him a loser. But if you & I,
for example, were on a mountain road with a 3000' drop on one side we'd
slow to a speed that made it clear we wouldn't fly (literally) off into
empty space where a racing driver in todays ultra competitive formula would
drive at 10/10ths regardless if there was a run-off or a 3000' drop!
When all cars are equal the competition may be very tight but there won't be
much passing - like we have in F1 now! If that's what you want to see you
can watch a one-design competition like the Carrera Cup, Super V, etc - but
for me, to enjoy F1, I need to see some action (and smokin' tires!!). And
while I used to love the design of the cars of the 60s, those days are
past - the cars are ugly at the moment IMHO - and like Mitch, I also love
the era of sleek F1 cars - I have a video of the 'Clark & Stewart Years"
showing a lot of highlights for the mid sixties. Those were absolutely
"pure" motor racing cars.
I don't recall seeing any tapes or DVDs of the CanAm series except for some
highlights of the Porsche 917/30 during the final 2 years - but there are
some shots of the big block McLaren's! Incredible cars - the road rumbled
when they were around! Sadly, those days are gone - except for the
occasional historic races.
I've taken up entirely too much of your time already -- sorry.
Larry T (67 MGB, 74 911, 78 240D, 91 300D)
www.youroil.net for Oil Analysis and Weber Parts
Test Results http://members.rennlist.com/oil
Weber Carb Info http://members.rennlist.com/webercarbs
Porsche Road Test http://members.rennlist.com/roadtest/
.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mitch Haley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: [MBZ] FIAT vs Ferrari vs Schumacher
LarryT wrote:
Hello All,
Ever since I was 13 or 14 I've been crazy for F1 - I read the all the
books
and magazines about the sport,
I was a fan via the pages of Road&Track. Every month, there would
be multipage write-ups of each race, usually written by Innes Ireland
or Rob Walker. In the early 1990s, they dropped this excellent coverage
and I dropped my subscription. Also, like you, I quit caring after
Senna's death, and the lawsuits, criminal charges, etc. Fully
automating the initial drag race to turn one made it a contest of
programmers, not drivers, and the difficulty of passing made the
races much less interesting to watch than IRL, CART, or NASCAR.
I wish I had a DVD collection of the old CAN-AM series from
the days of Dennis Hume, and F1 races from the days before
wings. I still have this matchbox car, got it new when I
was four years old (but mine looks like crap in comparison):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120010331227
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