blame spa, they can't afford a race every year so want to share, if the only alternative is no spa at all i'll accept a french GP every 2 years. it also has the advantage of making the german GP more secure with fans traveling from either belgium or france
valencia are trying to do the same deal with someone, since barcelona is also struggling a bit i won't be surprised if they end up sharing the spanish GP
valencia are trying to do the same deal with someone, since barcelona is also struggling a bit i won't be surprised if they end up sharing the spanish GP
i'd hope that over a few years the oval content goes back up once the post wheldon hysteria fades away, it's the oval / road mix that makes indy car so unique
probably correct, radio lemans and daily sportscar have been aware for a while of at least one probably 2 more japanese factory efforts that may be entering on top of the toyota and the nissan engine / future LMP1 privateer program but they won't say who but given there's only 2 of the big 4 left it's not hard to work out
sometimes i wonder about TV companies and their press announcements, sky announce this now yet it was known before christmass, i know they need to generate interest but don't announce it like it's a new deal, just do a statement giving full details.
nice to see motors tv are showing the gp3 highlights for non sky customers, at the moment i'm really impressed with how motors tv are upping their game this year, the NASCAR coverage was a big surprise and they have seem to have grasped that there's demand for endurance racing to be covered properly. i guess they're riding on the back of the increased interest in sat coverage of motorsport that skyF1 has generated.
i just hope that eurosport manage to stop messing their motorsport coverage round by cutting to snooker etc in the early rounds at the expense of live motorsport events
nice to see motors tv are showing the gp3 highlights for non sky customers, at the moment i'm really impressed with how motors tv are upping their game this year, the NASCAR coverage was a big surprise and they have seem to have grasped that there's demand for endurance racing to be covered properly. i guess they're riding on the back of the increased interest in sat coverage of motorsport that skyF1 has generated.
i just hope that eurosport manage to stop messing their motorsport coverage round by cutting to snooker etc in the early rounds at the expense of live motorsport events
i can't remember the source but outside of maybe 6 drivers in indy car, all the rest rely on what money they can bring to the table to help get a drive, sponsorship is far more important than it is in NASCAR, you only have to look at the driver earnings for last year, dario's earnings wouldn't place him in the top 50 in the NASCAR table, that lack of prize money's reflected in the teams as well hence driver sponsorship being so important.
mush as a hate to say it i think dario may struggle this year relative to previous years, there's less ovals which have been his strong point whilst drivers like power will benefit from the greater emphasis on road courses. given a bit of luck someone like wilson who, unlike barrichello, knows the courses may be able to make an impression as everyone gets to grips with the new car, especially early in the season before the big teams resources start to take effect.
mush as a hate to say it i think dario may struggle this year relative to previous years, there's less ovals which have been his strong point whilst drivers like power will benefit from the greater emphasis on road courses. given a bit of luck someone like wilson who, unlike barrichello, knows the courses may be able to make an impression as everyone gets to grips with the new car, especially early in the season before the big teams resources start to take effect.
great news about dome,
re hydrogen, just think of it as an electicity storage medium, you pump elec into water, save the hydrogen, burn the hydrogen to generate power and water, if you burn it in a power cell you create the power as electricity for motors, if you burn it in an engine you get lots of lovely noise
hopefully we'll see more people backing hydrogen for road use and therefore racing, after the UK gov followed california's lead, it offers a far more practical method of fueling a car (indirectly) from electricity as the refueling time is a couple of mins rather than 6 or 8 hours and it also allows manufacturers the choice of fuel cells/ electric drive or to retain internal combustion engines for types of cars that suit that engine such as sports cars and competition
re hydrogen, just think of it as an electicity storage medium, you pump elec into water, save the hydrogen, burn the hydrogen to generate power and water, if you burn it in a power cell you create the power as electricity for motors, if you burn it in an engine you get lots of lovely noise
hopefully we'll see more people backing hydrogen for road use and therefore racing, after the UK gov followed california's lead, it offers a far more practical method of fueling a car (indirectly) from electricity as the refueling time is a couple of mins rather than 6 or 8 hours and it also allows manufacturers the choice of fuel cells/ electric drive or to retain internal combustion engines for types of cars that suit that engine such as sports cars and competition
no idea but apparently it all went wrong for england, never heard that about a world cup before 
and before you say it yes i know we don't even get there
and before you say it yes i know we don't even get there
as F1 tech says on closer inspection a lot of the car looks to be dummy, guess we need to wait for first test to see whats real
exhaust location sure isn't conservative, not sure if it's legal though
and of course the BBC and national press have reacted in their usual way to an englishman winning a major non F1 race by completely ignoring it 
best i've seen in a long time, i almost wish he'd got away with his "elevator to the stars" routine
mate from work who's not at all interested in anything "heavy / cultural" (his words) got dragged to see this and says it's "f***ing brilliant"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsYrGIQnmxo
just to add that of course it's not showing anywhere outside the major cities etc which is typical, 10 screens at my local multiplex and they manage to fill them with about 8 films, why the hell not put something like this on either in the afternoon during the week when the children are in school or for a late showing when the children should be in bed ? instead they'll end up showing "U" certificate films to about 4 people and then say that "non mainstream" films don't do well at box office, they did the same thing with "moon", nearest showing by anyone was 2 hours away
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsYrGIQnmxo
just to add that of course it's not showing anywhere outside the major cities etc which is typical, 10 screens at my local multiplex and they manage to fill them with about 8 films, why the hell not put something like this on either in the afternoon during the week when the children are in school or for a late showing when the children should be in bed ? instead they'll end up showing "U" certificate films to about 4 people and then say that "non mainstream" films don't do well at box office, they did the same thing with "moon", nearest showing by anyone was 2 hours away
Last edited by tinvek, .
it's going to be interesting to see what happens re engines if more cars appear on the grid, all 3 manufacturers are committed to being able to supply up to 40% of the grid but they weren't expecting the grid to be this large.
now in theory 40% +40%+40% = 120% of the grid size they were expecting = enough to supply the larger grids but if the teams decide that for example the honda and lotus engines are the ones to have then those two will still have to supply 80% of the new grid, i.e. about the same number of cars as they were expecting to get supplied by all 3 manufacturers originally.
more realistically lotus may be struggling to get the engines delivered in time to all the new teams and unfortunately as the 3 manufacturers have different layouts for ancilliaries etc it's not an easy step for another manufacturer to help out even if the organisers place some preasure on them.
now in theory 40% +40%+40% = 120% of the grid size they were expecting = enough to supply the larger grids but if the teams decide that for example the honda and lotus engines are the ones to have then those two will still have to supply 80% of the new grid, i.e. about the same number of cars as they were expecting to get supplied by all 3 manufacturers originally.
more realistically lotus may be struggling to get the engines delivered in time to all the new teams and unfortunately as the 3 manufacturers have different layouts for ancilliaries etc it's not an easy step for another manufacturer to help out even if the organisers place some preasure on them.
non stop audio commentary at
http://www.radiolemans.com/
for those that aren't aware it's their audio that motors TV are using for the UK tv coverage so if you use an online stream and their audio it's the same as 24 hr tv
http://www.radiolemans.com/
for those that aren't aware it's their audio that motors TV are using for the UK tv coverage so if you use an online stream and their audio it's the same as 24 hr tv
i'm hoping that no other team uses such pronounced humps over the susepnsion points, the way the nose appears to just drop in front of them really makes the car look err .......... ugly
it also looks as if ferrari and merc are the other big losers as their systems were at an advanced stage compared to other non lotus teams and all three may have lost up to .5 sec a lap at some circuits
just to contradict myself, redbull may have been saying they wouldn't develope it as they already have a similar system, looking like it was wiliams who pushed for its ban
just to contradict myself, redbull may have been saying they wouldn't develope it as they already have a similar system, looking like it was wiliams who pushed for its ban
in all probablitity what's happened is that although the FIA thought it was legal, someone has pointed out that it contravenes a part of the regs which are quite possibly unrelated to brakes or suspensions or anywhere obvious that the FIA would have checked about, someones already suggested that it may actually, and ironically, be because it involves moving items and has fallen under the rule that banned the mass dampers even though that is not their effect
EDIT: looks like it's because the caliper mounts count as a suspension part and it's not rigid as per regs, i'd place money on it being another team who's managed to prove it's covered by the regs, apparently it's the rigid rule that led red bull to say they wouldn't be copying it so they could be favourites for getting it banned, would have helped if the FIA had noticed this rule as well before giving lotus the go ahead
10.2.3 No adjustment may be made to the suspension system while the car is in motion.
EDIT: looks like it's because the caliper mounts count as a suspension part and it's not rigid as per regs, i'd place money on it being another team who's managed to prove it's covered by the regs, apparently it's the rigid rule that led red bull to say they wouldn't be copying it so they could be favourites for getting it banned, would have helped if the FIA had noticed this rule as well before giving lotus the go ahead
10.2.3 No adjustment may be made to the suspension system while the car is in motion.
Last edited by tinvek, .
the other thing is how people are saying it's great to see the name senna in a williams powered by renault again- as nick daman pointed out, that didn't end so well last time
being positive, it looks like they're regrouping for a new assault in 2013 and of course it may well be that the peugeots end up in the hands of a certain private team that already ran a 908, if so don't be surprised to see some personal follow them, either as a direct move or on loan for 1 year.
anyone know if the late timing of their decision means that the ACO won't reallocate the car numbers? wouldn't surprise me to find out it's too late to give audi the number 1 car
anyone know if the late timing of their decision means that the ACO won't reallocate the car numbers? wouldn't surprise me to find out it's too late to give audi the number 1 car
if you're not that keen on graphics i've still got a 31 year old TRS-80 that has a drag simulator where you input horsepower, weight, gearing etc and then it gives you a list of your speed and distance traveled every .5 of a sec
at least now we'll be able to draw some meaningful conclusions about B. Senna, he's got all the testing and a full season so by mid season he should be the fastest williams driver given the usual perception of his team mate.
what worries me is where is the direction going to come from in testing, senna is still comparively inexperienced (and not just in F1) and maldonado has only a year in F1 to draw upon (though more lower class experience). i'm just hoping the changes in team personnel williams have made changes things because on the basis of the last few years i'm not sure they have the ability to develope the car without good driver feedback.
what worries me is where is the direction going to come from in testing, senna is still comparively inexperienced (and not just in F1) and maldonado has only a year in F1 to draw upon (though more lower class experience). i'm just hoping the changes in team personnel williams have made changes things because on the basis of the last few years i'm not sure they have the ability to develope the car without good driver feedback.
why do so many people have to find faults with anything thats not "theirs" ? if it's not this sim is better than that sim, it's my xbox is better than your PS3.
whilst it may be to some extent understandable with consoles due to the expenditure, with sims that all run on the same platform, if anyone considers only using one and that all others are rubbish, they are seriously reducing their possible enjoyment of sim racing, they all have their place, from the accurate cars and tracks and online structure of iracing, through the variety of rfactor, the tyres and physics of netcar to the pure simplicity of LFS, they all do a job, all satisfy and frustrate and all help push the development of sim racing in general.
by all means do a comparison of the plus and minus points of rfactor and LFS but be objective
whilst it may be to some extent understandable with consoles due to the expenditure, with sims that all run on the same platform, if anyone considers only using one and that all others are rubbish, they are seriously reducing their possible enjoyment of sim racing, they all have their place, from the accurate cars and tracks and online structure of iracing, through the variety of rfactor, the tyres and physics of netcar to the pure simplicity of LFS, they all do a job, all satisfy and frustrate and all help push the development of sim racing in general.
by all means do a comparison of the plus and minus points of rfactor and LFS but be objective
good to hear that pippa mann's finally been given the all clear to drive again, don't know if she will or should get an indy drive but always nice to hear of someone recovering from injury
i will be amazed if kubica ever manages a successful F1 comeback without a major change in the regulations, you only had to watch button last year in the race where he repeatedly tried to reset his KERS to realise that without full mobility in his hand kubica will always be at a large disadvantage whilst there are so many driver adjustable variables on the wheel.
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG