The Motorsport Thread

Jamezinho

Jamezinho

Golden Boot Winner
10 June 2003
Ipswich, England
Ipswich Town F.C.
A thread for discussion of any form of motorsport outside Formula 1.

Feel free to chat about the series you follow, be it touring cars, sports car and endurance racing, single-seaters, stock cars....whatever!
 
I wonder, if any mod would be so kind to move the posts of the other thread that had nothing directly to do with F1 into this new one? Would help us a lot in getting this thread alive.
 
today is final practice before Sundays Indianapolis 500 race. I did not really fancy oval racing, but after seeing some of the races last year (and doing some in rFactor) I can't wait for Indy...200+ laps at 370-400 km/h millimeters away from the wall...epic
10382245_10152107612450848_7479999203320656638_o.jpg
 
rFactor 2 will be getting that circuit and those cars this weekend.

Back to reality......I just cannot enjoy oval racing. When Indy Car hits the road courses on the other hand, it looks like a pretty exciting series. I must admit it's a series I've never followed in any depth.
 
Jamezinho said:
Back to reality......I just cannot enjoy oval racing. When Indy Car hits the road courses on the other hand, it looks like a pretty exciting series. I must admit it's a series I've never followed in any depth.
Click to expand...

Same here. What was this Bubba J / Jeff Dunham joke going like: "Look they makin' a left tuuuurn, and now they makin' another left tuuuuurn. Going to commercials now, be sure to come back or you'll miss the frickin' left tuuuuuuurn". :LOL:
 
:LOL:

Anyway, finally caught up on the extended highlights from the last ADAC GT race at Zandvoort. Really rough conditions there but what a fantastic track. Makes me sad that it was dropped from the DTM calendar.

ADAC GT at the Lausitzring this weekend as well as WTCC at the Salzburgring plus I've got some Euro V8s (formerly Superstars series) sitting on my DVR. Oh and F1......

Just need some time to watch it all!
 
GT Masters isn't disappointing anyone, always good races at the Eurospeedway. :TU:

F1 to come in about an hour, maybe I can even see some WTCC on Eurosport today. Where did you find the Euro V8s? I'm looking for some highlights of this series for some time now on the internet, but haven't found anything.

Edit: Wait, Euro V8? What I meant is the V8 Star series, Euro V8 is an unknown series to me. I think there was a quite badly rated video game of that name, but I haven't ever seen footage of such a series in real life.
 
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Superstar Series finished last year and has been rebranded Euro V8 series. Same teams and cars mostly. I don't really follow the series but like the V8 touring cars. It's shown on Motors TV although I don't think it's live.

They show Aussie V8 Supercars too, which is a great series.
 
Indanapolis 500 was crazy yesterday. For almost 3/4 of a 200 laps race there was no incident at all (a bit strange for IndyCar oval race) and than mayhem started. Last 50 laps were mostly done under yellow flags, but between them race was action packed.

YouTube - 2014 Indy 500 Race Highlights
 
Agree with Jamezinho, those were two different series. The one I mean is a series that definitely is defunct since 2004, although some of their cars can occasionally be seen on special events, for example the VLN or in Goodwood.

That Monaco pileup is hilarious though: "You shouldn't laugh, but you can't help it!" :D On another note: Didn't know that GP2 cars have an independent reverse gear.
 
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F1 and its feeder series' (GP2, GP3...) all have reverse gear as it is mandated by rules, but it is largely protected by software blockages so that drivers can't accidentally put in reverse.

I have seen a video a while ago where one of engineers from F1 (I think it was from Ferrari, but I might be wrong) was explaining about gears and how to apply them. To make sure drivers don't go in neutral on downshifts neutral can only be selected by separate button on steering wheel (usually marked by N) and even than only if driver is in 1st or 2nd gear. Reverse is a bit trickier. It stresses the gearbox too much as it was not designed to go in reverse so they have to use some sort of combination to engage it. They first need to shift in neutral and than in video I have seen, they had to press and hold neutral button and double click on downshift lever to apply reverse. And even than ECU won't always allow it so they need to try few times.
 
Ok, thanks for the explanation, just never saw a F1 car or something from its feeder series going into reverse.
 
well now I see what you meant when you said you didn't watch Monaco GP :D In F1 there was lots of reversing in practice, qualifying and even in the race, mostly in T1 (St. Devote), in Mirabeau (corner before this hairpin from GP2 clip above) and Portier (corner before tunnel)
 
?

I watched the GP, but only the race and at least in Germany there was no footage of cars in reverse.
 
than I have mistaken you for someone else...sorry about that.

But there were some guys reversing, at least it was seen on SkyF1...one of Caterhams was reversing when he did mistake in corner before tunnel, Kimi and Magnussen were reversing in hairpin after their mishap
 
Finally caught up on the ADAC GT round at Zandvoort (race 2). The weather was atrocious but despite that the quality of racing was so good. Surprised the drivers could see with that amount of spray. One guy in an Audi R8 even managed to finish with no wipers at all.

Now I need to check when Motors TV will show the Lausitzring rounds. It's not shown live but normally a week or two later.
 
Also, WTCC from Salzburgring was great to watch as usual. That track is excellent. It has a kind of old school feel - simple layout, flat-out for the most part, very challenging for the drivers.

I like the new regulations this year. Cars are more powerful with better brakes and wider track. The cars look great with the flared arches. Just a shame Citroën are so dominant. They got the regulations they wanted in order to join WTCC and had last year to build and test their car.....and boy does it show. The other teams had minimal winter testing time and are well off Citroën's pace. Chevy and Honda drivers are having to drive the nuts off their cars to compete. Kind of farcical that the FIA allowed this to happen.
 
Last night I was watching 1st of 2 races that are in this weekends IndyCar Dual in Detroit (2nd race is tonight, 8:30pm GMT). In 70 lap race there were 4 safety car periods (which is kinda expected as that is a street course, and drivers aren't really used to wait for the opportunity but rather they try to make one). Racing was good as usual, but last 15 laps were just brilliant. After almost everyone stopped for fuel and tires before or during last SC they were all in a shape to go flat out to the flag. And Will Power and Graham Rahal fought it to the last meter for a win, while behind them there was all sorts of fights for positions with cars all over the track.

In today race Sato will start from pole (and I hope he will be able to at least secure podium finish).


Also I have accidentally stumbled across DTM race stream on youtube today just moments before it started. And that was one fantastic race with drivers fighting their way through the field after being caught at the back because of strategy issues. Last few laps there were 5 cars fighting for 3rd with usual door to door and bumper to bumper nudging. Fantastic race.
 
Could be the kind of thing that kick-starts Chinese interest in motorsport?

http://www.touringcartimes.com/2014...become-first-ever-chinese-to-win-an-fia-race/

I feel they need a 'hero' figure to follow in order for motorsport to really go mainstream in China.

Anyway, a couple of good WTCC races in Moscow today. The double sprint race format is very watchable. No pit-stops, no fuel-saving nor tyre strategy, just 100% flat-out racing to the line.

Next up: Spa. Can't wait.
 
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I don't know why, but I think those Asian countries are interested in motorsport as well, but somehow they can't manage to bring out fast drivers. Many of the pros from Far East struggled during their time in higher classes/formulas, but when you're looking at tribunes during races there, the fans are always there and celebrating the day. The only exclusion of this local rule seems to be in China and India, where no real interest in motorsport is visible (at least to me). And I think this won't change rapidly, you need years and years to motivate more than a billion people for a new sport.
 
If only 1% of the Chinese population takes an intetest in motor racing then that's still a considerable market to exploit. The DTM is trying it's luck in China again this year so it will be interesting to see if the locals turn up to watch.
 
On a similar note, I was watching extended highlights of the ADAC GT rounds at the Lausitzring and noticed that the crowd was pitifully small. I realise it's a huge tri-oval and they only open the main grandstand to spectators, but even so the attendance was tiny.

@ s-nipe.....is this a problem with the venue, ADAC GT or both? I know GT racing doesn't draw huge crowds but the attendance was abysmal for what is one of Germany's main racing series.
 
First of all it's a major problem of the Masters, they can't -don't know why- get bigger numbers of spectators watch the race live. Same happened at RB Ring this weekend, the main stand was empty, only the tribune at Turn 1 was filled. It's sad to say, but I think the main problem of the series is that they themselves don't know, how to place it: Is it a national GT series with international drivers and locations inside the ADAC motorsport campaign? Or is it an international series with many German race tracks? I can't even say, if they're one of Germany's main motorsport series, because even people here that are interested in motorsport don't know the series at all, most people here only know F1, then DTM as touring car championship and the VLN/24h race at the ring. As long as they can't provide an answer for that, they'll always have trouble gaining more spectators.

Regarding the venue I sadly can't give any reliable statements. Too less series are visiting the Lausitzring each year (or are on TV when racing there). The track itself is great, but I think they were too motivated with all those tribunes, don't know, if they were ever filled after the Indy Cars raced there (that one race where Zanardi lost his legs). Only the Masters and some smaller series are racing there, the DTM withdraw from there and so there is no real comparison possible between different series. In general I'd say that it's a problem of the series, not of the location.
 
Well that's a shame because it's a good series. The GT3 spec cars have been a big success (also they look and sound great) and ADAC GT has atrracted some good drivers like Rene Rast. I see it as Germany's GT series much like we have our British GT Championship over here, but perhaps it's a little disconnected from the home audience because of number of rounds held in neighbouring countries. It's a bit like the DTM I guess; a national series that is becoming increasingly international.

The Blancpain GT Series is gaining strength and popularity so it's a shame to see ADAC GT struggling a little. The two series are essentially the same - perhaps that's part of the problem.

So the DTM is dropping Lausitzring from next year? Any rumoured replacement venues? Is there any reason why the DTM doesn't visit the Sachsenring? It looks like such a fun track on TV.

I'm still gutted they dropped Brands Hatch. Some of the drivers didn't like running the short Indy circuit but crowds were always very strong for the three years I went.
 
Sorry, it seems that I remembered wrongly, the DTM in fact IS racing on the Lausitzring, only had in mind, that they withdrEw once, when they were racing on a course involving the banked turns there, which had catastrophic impact on the tires back then. Right now they're racing there and won't changed it (at least not that I know of). Watched some of the highlights from the last race there and there was a quite a nice crowd. Anyhow, this only proves my former statement, that it's not because of the track, but of the series that the Masters has so few spectators.

@Sachsenring: DTM doesn't race there, because of "financial conflicts" as it's called officially. Guess the Sachsenring, which struggled quite badly in the fast in terms of finances, wasn't able or willing to pay enough for the DTM to come and visit the track. Additionally there are some strict rules regarding how loud the track is allowed to be and many series' are too loud and as there are only a number of exceptions per year, the course obviously isn't able to hold more races.
 
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