East Austin is flat. However the city sits on a fault line iirc, so the western part of the city is very hilly. It really would make for a great iconic track nestled within the hills.

downside: F1 teams may now have to earthquake-proof their cars.

EDIT: Texas Hill Country: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wi ... s_Hill_Country_187N-3.JPG

Last edited by RiseAgainstMe!, Thu, 27 May 2010 03:10.

The best summer is always the World Cup summer!
this thread is far too devoid of American chatter luckily, football is my sport. (jammed that one through the translator for y'all :razz
I will of course be rooting for USA come World Cup time, but also for Ivory Coast, and Argentina, as my travel coach for 9 years was an Argentine.

my sworn arch-enemies are Italy, Spain, and the ever-diabolical France. France even more so than usual after the incident against my beloved Ireland and Mexico of course.
I also want to watch North Korea get the tar kicked out of them in that group.

I wouldn't count Ivory Coast out too quickly. Drogba is one intimidating human being, he willed a civil war out of existence for chrissake!(exaggeration, yes.) and they have a few very good players. I think they will play out of their skin on African soil. Portugal and Brazil will be tough, but miracle do happen. (Spain-USA Confederation Cup anybody?)

if you've brushed up on your off-topic... you'd know that he drank a bit too much vodka and got a handjob from a 25 year old married lady tonight, so cut him some slack, mmkay?

EDIT: actually, that thread seems to have been removed now.

It had better be a hilly area, preferably mountainous. otherwise, they've doomed F1 in the US once again by hiring Tilke. I certainly don't want to go to a cookie-cutter track to watch F1.

Texas itself is actually a fairly good choice, it's a big state with a big population...a population that loves big engines and absurdly fast cars almost as much as they like their BBQ, guns, and pickup trucks. which is a lot. It's in the middle of the country, in fact it's the only bit in the middle that has some character behind it. (Kansas? South Dakota? I don't think so.)

however, I don't neccesarily think it was the perfect choice. There are far more road racing-happy areas of the country, and areas that have more character, as well as areas with a more concentrated population.

or maybe Vettel is more talented than Webber, and it really is a fluke that Webber is doing better than him in the last two races. I guess we'll see next weekend.

we use mostly local chassis too. That's what I had guessed was true elsewhere. Vees here run on a choice of slicks/rains.

are the 1200s competitive with the 1600s then? because I don't really see how they could be equal... or is there a recognized winner for both engine sizes? here the 1.6 litre engine was only used in a category named Formula Super Vee as far as I know, a class that ended up sprouting wings before dying out in the 80s.

I'm now finding pictures of local chassis from everywhere...South Africa, Australia, Britain. I might be in heaven right now

Last edited by RiseAgainstMe!, Sat, 22 May 2010 09:13.

looking at other pics, you're right Benji. but then what are those two intakes for?

interesting that the car in that shot has an Fduct system by the looks of things

probably my favorite racing class ever. Formula ford is close though. and F500, cuz they are wicked little things. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8WrIJ-STI

interesting though, Aussie Vees have grooved tyres, and most of the chassis' are different than the ones I watch in USA (I actually don't recognize any of them, but it's hard to tell with the blurry Youtube vid.). Also, they run with the 1600 cc, not the 1200 cc.

I love looking at the differences between the chassis, and how they conform to the same rules differently. now I'm gonna have to look up pics of Aussie and Euro Vees

Last edited by RiseAgainstMe!, Fri, 21 May 2010 19:40.

Quote from Boris Lozac :

ALL teams seamed to realise it was the final lap, and that rule 40.13 was beeing active, so they instructed their drivers not to race till the finish.

exactly wrong. Stop making up 'facts' to support your position. All the teams gunned it for the finish line, including Alonso (which is why he slid wide, letting Schumacher through.) It's just that it's tough (almost impossible) to pass between the safety car line and the Start/Finish line without a mistake like Alonso made.

I know what Ferrari says, but they are full of shit imo. Alonso was clearly going for it.

was thinking of going, but that's a bad weekend for me. wish it was in Toronto, not Montreal. I'd probably be able to make it then.

EDIT: but what I really want is the return of the Belle Isle GP (Detroit GP). that would be so convenient...

this is some serious bull. It was a legal move acoording to their own f'ing rules. It's not like a drive through where the effect of the penalty is debateable. It is very cut and dried as to what the effect of the penalty was. Just admit you made a mistake and fix it goddamnit!

bah. my Buemi mishap is gonna cost me Kubica for the next race, by the slimmest of margins If I had had Liuzzi like I intended, I would now have Kubica Liuzzi for Turkey.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do now, it may be a whole lot of nothing.

on a brighter note, I'm up 2 places into 2nd! and Hyperactive, I'm thinking Chandok is a nice, safe choice for you. go for it!

on any other lap, it would have been a legal move. Unfortunately it had to happen on the last lap, which makes it a little bit ambiguous as to the legality of the move. How are the drivers and teams supposed to know the difference between the safety car coming in as specified in the regulations:

40.13 If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.

...and coming in because the mess on the track is cleaned up, and the race can proceed as normal...for 200 yards or so?

I wouldn't penalize Schumacher for this, as it is an ambiguity in the regulations, and a potentially confusing situation for the teams that is completely FIA's fault. In fact, as the teams were notified that the safety car would be coming in, there is a certainly case that the pass should be allowed to stand, as this is normal procedure for a safety car restart. IMO Schumacher should not be given the penalty, but maybe (?) the pass shouldn't be allowed to stand...unfortunately.

Whatever the outcome, FIA needs to clarify their rules to the teams and fans.

why in the f'in great blue blazes did I change Liuzzi for Buemi? I had the money to stay at Liuzzi... doh!

let this be a lesson. do not do things that involve too much thinking, numbers, and decision making when you are inebriated.

Quote from MAGGOT :

Scions? I remember when they used cool(er) cars. Sorta.

Scions were never cool. at least the xA and xB that is. For some reason I've always loved the shape of the tC, something about it just agrees with my eyes I guess.

And yeah, I think Toyota sponsors that race every year, so it's in whatever new car they are currently pushing. I love watching this race, because it's always unparalleled in it's hilarity. When else can I see Keanu Reeves get passed by Al Unser Jr.?

I have Liuzzi Petrov FI FI Total

too much FI I need to change one to Renault soon

Quote from BenjiMC :

Read what i said again.

It wouldn't be speed activated at all, but activated by changes in air flow from cornering/going straight. Otherwise in the high speed corners the f-duct system would be in effect, and after all downforce is for the high speed corners so that wouldn't be what you want.

I still don't understand your reasoning. under your theory, why are high-speed corners not activating the sytem? they are corners after all...'

corrrect me if Im wrong, but activating the system means stalling the wing, which means less downforce, or do I have the system backwards?

Quote from BenjiMC :

It can't just be a matter of different speeds because the effect would happen in high speed corners too

I think you've got this entire concept all confuddled up.

I would bet that they designed it to work in the high speed corners... they are high speed after all. fast air= stalled wing. slow air=not stalled. They likely designed it to activate at a certain speed, at which there is a tipping point between how much they need downforce vs. how much drag the car has.

if they designed it to activate in the corners, they would stall their wing, causing them to lose aero grip in the corners. I don't think that's what they want.

unless they have the reverse of what McLaren has, and are generating more downforce in the corners, instead of less downforce on the straights. or maybe I'm the one who's confuddled. it is a kinda counter-intuitive concept.

Quote from pearcy_2k7 :

Can't really understand how the Ferrari F-Duct works? It doesn't look controlled by anything...

I'm guessing that at different airspeeds air flows through the opening differently.

also about the mercedes, this is the exact reason why I watch F1. The innovation never stops, even when I'm convinced they cannot possibly improve their cars in any substantial manner.

woah hp999 must have some serious wealth behind him. I believe he's put in a record bid. I guess it's justified though, since it's such a coveted domain. If he was going to beat out the likes of Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, and Sir Richard Branson, he had to go big or go home.

EDIT: I've got you for the collection of stuff I found between my couch cushions. 73 cents, a TV remote, a toy Hot Wheels Corvette, a broken pair of suglasses I sat on, 1 (clean!) sock, and the severed head of a Barbie doll.

Last edited by RiseAgainstMe!, Wed, 5 May 2010 17:20.

I only counted championship events, but that could be wrong.

Benneton was British in '95 when they won, but they held a Italian licence the next year, even though they were still based in Britain iirc. Luckily they didn't win in '96 or I would be confused even further about the answer!