Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Fri Dec 14, 2018 11:41 am

*shrug*

It's almost a NASCAR circuit as it is, why not.

Shyster
Posts: 13099
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Nullius in verba

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby Shyster » Fri Dec 14, 2018 4:18 pm

I can't say exactly why, but I've never cared all that much for Monza. If it were up to me, the Italian GP would be at Imola, which IMO is a much better track even after all of the changes.

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:13 pm

Well, there is the small matter that Imola is not actually in Italy. But that's never stopped the FIA.

Watching footage of pre-chicane Monza - or, heavens, when the banking was part of the track you determined what part of the lap you were on based on what side of orange cones you were on - is pretty wild. Once they installed the chickens, it hasn't been the same. At least Ascari is a bit of a thing; the other two are just STOP.

Shyster
Posts: 13099
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Nullius in verba

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby Shyster » Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:41 pm

:?: I know a number of the races at Imola were called the "San Marino Grand Prix," but I thought that was just because they didn't want to have two Italian Grands Prix, just like a lot of second races in other countries were called the "European Grand Prix." I though the track was actually in Italy, however.

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:15 pm

I lost my marble, you are right. Imola and its autodromo are in Italy, but they created a 'San Marino GP' basically to give Italy two Grands Prix. Like the 'Luxembourg GP' at the new Nürburgring.

I have no idea what I was thinking.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Sun Dec 16, 2018 10:54 pm

Appreciate the thought, but I'd drive it there if I came. Gotta go old school and run what ya brung.
Come out and play, man.

https://timetrials.scca.com/

I will be out there competing at Heartland Motorsports Park on June 22/23. I will be competing in S4, and depending on your level of prep you will be in the same class as me if you're still thrashing that MINI S. It's time trial, not wheel to wheel. Multiple cars on track at the same time though. No safety equipment for the car needed, just bring a helmet and common sense.

I'm also doing the dates at Carolina Motorsports Park, GingerMan, and the track at the National Corvette Museum. But I figure this is right in your back yard. Ironically I will not be running the PittRace date as I have to be in Minnesota for school that weekend, go figure.

Weekend SCCA memberships are cheap if you're not current.

Shyster
Posts: 13099
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Nullius in verba

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby Shyster » Mon Dec 17, 2018 1:02 am

Watched the Formula E season opener on YouTube. I hated the track, which looked like it had been built in the middle of a construction site. Nothing but high barriers all around. The rain didn't help, either. (Who knew rain would be a problem in Saudi Arabia?) But once the race started, the action was pretty decent, and there were even on-track passes for the lead. I like the way the new cars look, and the bigger batteries mean they got rid of the silly mid-race car swaps. I think I'll make the effort to follow the series this year. I know the series is all about street races, but I'd really like to see those cars on a proper track.

Stoffel Vandoorne is still trash.

CBear3
Posts: 7666
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:02 pm
Location: KC, MO

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby CBear3 » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:35 am


Come out and play, man.

https://timetrials.scca.com/

I will be out there competing at Heartland Motorsports Park on June 22/23. I will be competing in S4, and depending on your level of prep you will be in the same class as me if you're still thrashing that MINI S. It's time trial, not wheel to wheel. Multiple cars on track at the same time though. No safety equipment for the car needed, just bring a helmet and common sense.

I'm also doing the dates at Carolina Motorsports Park, GingerMan, and the track at the National Corvette Museum. But I figure this is right in your back yard. Ironically I will not be running the PittRace date as I have to be in Minnesota for school that weekend, go figure.

Weekend SCCA memberships are cheap if you're not current.
Marking my calendar. Right now the Coop is blockaded in the garage while I diagnose an oil leak, but June at HPT sounds like a good Bday present to myself.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:45 am

Yeah, I know the guy that runs that series. It's the first year for the National TT Tour, they did some primer events last season but this is their first full calendar. It's a pretty great event, they put a ton of emphasis on just having fun and not making it some big cut throat competition. I'm thinking about doing two years of these before switching to full wheel to wheel like I planned for next year.

One of my best friends lives in KCMO and is getting his '91 Corvette Z07 ready for it. Depending what it does he'll be classed in either S4 with us or S3. To say I'm really looking forward to this is a huge understatement.

CBear3
Posts: 7666
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:02 pm
Location: KC, MO

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby CBear3 » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:50 am

Awesome.
I did some research last summer about SCCA's TT program, but didn't have my act together well enough.
Sounds like a great way to get some competitive track time without mortgaging the house.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:53 am

Yeah. In the E46 I probably won't be challenging for the top step of the podium, but you get a ton of seat time which is really what I need at this stage.

I have never driven at any of the tracks I have on the calendar either; total adventure.

CBear3
Posts: 7666
Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:02 pm
Location: KC, MO

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby CBear3 » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:54 am

I may end up in the Tuner class, camber plates and all. I've got a set I haven't installed, but the horror stories on tire wear convinced me to pick up a pair.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:58 am

I wish it was a points thing and not a straight bump to the next class. I have already installed fixed point FCABs and I'm not taking them off. They don't really do much other than last longer (they don't change the geometry/mounting point), but technically they would bump me into Tuner. I think they really meant bushings that are in suspension components that move, hence the ban on spherical bushings, but I'm not going to bother writing a letter for clarity. If they notice and penalize me so be it, the rest of the car is fully compliant.

Shyster
Posts: 13099
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:08 pm
Location: Nullius in verba

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby Shyster » Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:09 am

This video is excellent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ea4XVLqXhM

Bah, it won't play embedded.

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:51 am

This video is excellent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ea4XVLqXhM

Bah, it won't play embedded.

:scared:

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Tue Dec 18, 2018 1:18 pm

That was outstanding, btw.

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Thu Dec 20, 2018 11:47 am

As of the completion of the 2018 season, we are 100 races into the V6 turbo-hybrid era.

Mercedes has won 74 of the races. There are a maximum of 43 points available per team per event (assuming 1-2 finishes), or 4,300 total points during this span. Mercedes has collected 3,492 points, or 81% of the maximum. (They've actually collected 1/3 of all points available, even considering the two-car limitation) They have a total of 147 out of a maximum 200 possible podium finishes.

Hamilton has won 51 Grands Prix. The driver with the second most wins in this span? Nico Rosberg (20), who is in fact retired and hasn't added to his total for two entire seasons.

Hamilton has 52 poles. The driver with the second most poles in this span? Nico Rosberg (26), who is in fact retired and, yadda yadda yadda...

It's easy enough to see week in and week out that Mercedes is on a different planet, but when you see the numbers laid bare like this it's pretty depressing.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Thu Dec 20, 2018 11:54 am

I agree.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Mon Dec 24, 2018 10:49 pm

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the paddock,
Not a motor was stirring, not even an impact ;
The stockings were hung by the pit fence with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The drivers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of championships danced in their heads;
And mamma in her checkered flag, and I in my Bell,
Had just settled down for a long winter's spell,

When out on the grid there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
To the back of the trailer I flew like a shift,
Unlocked the rampdoor, and let down the lift.

The moon on the crest of the new-paved front straight,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects so late,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a formula car, screaming by in top gear.

Such a noise caused the chief steward to immediately
arise,
And by the look on his face he had words for this guy,
He shouted aloud in his most gruff voice,
“It’s quiet time now, GET OFF OF THE COURSE”!

Then sound control had been stirred from its slumber,
And yelled to the chief steward, “I’ve never seen such
a DB number!”
The chief of tech said, upon seeing this fellow,
“I’ve never seen that car, and I know it has no
annual”.

The chief steward demanded to know this driver’s
intent,
To which registration replied, “Maybe he’s a late
registrant.”
Suddenly timing and scoring appeared from yonder,
And chimed in “That car on course has no transponder.”


Though I couldn’t see the driver, he went by so quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than Schuey his crew they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, JACKMAN! now, TIRE CHANGER! now, CREWCHIEF and
FUELMAN!
On, ENGINEER! on FABRICATOR! on, MANAGER and TIREMAN!
Beyond the tech shed! to base of the pit wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As valves that before the busted cam fly,
When they meet with a piston, mount to the sky,
So to the base of the timing tower the crewman they
flew,
With a hauler full of “go fast” bits, and St. Nicholas
too.

And then, in a flash, I heard on the grid
The roaring and thunder that each piston did.
As I drew on my pitboard, and was turning about,
into Victory Lane, St. Nicholas had arrived, without
doubt.

He was dressed all in Simpson, from his head to his
boots,
And his suit was all tarnished with oil and soot;
A bundle of speed parts he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a vendor just opening his pack.

His face shield -- how it twinkled! his helmet decals
shone!
His patches were like a mural, his name scripted like
a pro!
His neck restraint was the best design we’d seen yet,
And his gloves and his boots were a perfectly matched
set;

His tools spoke volumes, he used all that they had,
A mouse, a keyboard, a computer, and CAD;
This just confirmed what we already knew,
More than a great driver, he is a great designer too.

The parcels for the stockings that he brought along,
Dripped of technology that helped engines make song;
A look at the sides of his car showed there had been
no rubbing here,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to fear;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to pacing,
And filled all the stockings; with parts for racing,
Then flipping the master power switch, and laying his
finger on the starter,
And into first gear, back down pit road, but no
farther;

He sprang from his car, to his team gave a holler,
And immediately they loaded the car back in the
hauler.
But I heard him exclaim, as they tore out from the
line,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND SHIFT IN TURN 9!"

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:16 pm

Image

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:25 am


Freddy Rumsen
Posts: 35313
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:50 am
Location: "Order is the only possibility of rest." -- Wendell Berry

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby Freddy Rumsen » Wed Jan 02, 2019 7:40 am

The family of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher say they will celebrate "his victories, his records and his jubilation" as he turns 50 on Thursday.

The German suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident in 2013 and has not been seen in public since. The former Ferrari driver is being treated at his home in Switzerland, but little is known about his recovery. 'You can be sure that he is in the very best of hands," his family said. "We are doing everything humanly possible to help him. "Please understand if we are following Michael's wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy."
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/4673 ... ow_twitter

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Wed Jan 02, 2019 2:10 pm

I was never a Schumacher fan, but every time I see news about him it makes me sad.

dodint
Posts: 59162
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:39 pm
Location: Cheer up, bіtch!
Contact:

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby dodint » Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:12 am

Speaking of sad.

Niki Lauda is in the ICU in Vienna, he contracted an influenza virus during his post-transplant period. Back in August he had to have a double lung transplant after life-threatening "severe lung disease".

:(

tifosi77
Posts: 51514
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:07 pm
Location: Batuu

Motorsports (non-NASCAR)

Postby tifosi77 » Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:03 pm

Still amazed that his lungs are even in a condition to fail 40 years on.

In happier news, Giorgio Piola (the technical artist at Autosport who does all those cool 'exploded' renderings of car parts) has launched a Kickstarter to fun a new racing-themed watch he designed.

Image

They're a bit over $300 a piece, which is a bit of an odd price point to me. One, I don't really wear watches anymore, so there's that. But when I did, that's more than twice what I ever paid for my fancy-pants Fossils. And that puts it in a weird spot in the market. It's premium priced, but that then puts it in competition with established names like Tissot and Victorinox; can a technical artist get that kind of money?

That said, if I had a spare three hundo laying around, I'd probably get one.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Defence21, Dickie Dunn, dodint, mikey, RonnieFranchise and 91 guests