Motorsports Thread

[Jody]

If you're right, this might end up in the same way as the whole James Hunt thing at Brands in 1976...

Conveniently omitted from "Rush"

A few years before my time.

What was the saga? Ive watched Rush but didn't know anything was missing.

 

[Reynard]

A few years before my time.

What was the saga? Ive watched Rush but didn't know anything was missing.

Well, I was only 1 in 1976...

But the short version is, there was a pile-up on the first lap, at, I think, Paddock Hill Bend, where James got taken out. He got the car back to the pits for the restart, but via an unauthorized route, so he got thrown out. Apparently the reason given was that the car wasn't actually on the circuit when the red flag was thrown.

The crowd were furious, and staged a sit-in on parts of the circuit, throwing beer cans and bottles all over the place and shouting "We want Hunt, we want Hunt..." This lasted a fair while, by which time, McLaren had managed to fix his car and get it back out onto the grid. Fearing a riot, he was allowed to race despite a protest from several teams, and actually won.

Only to be thown out AGAIN later...

And the race win given to Lauda instead. If Hunt had kept the win, it would have changed the whole outlook of the 1976 season.

 

[Alex321]

Well, I was only 1 in 1976...

But the short version is, there was a pile-up on the first lap, at, I think, Paddock Hill Bend, where James got taken out. He got the car back to the pits for the restart, but via an unauthorized route, so he got thrown out. Apparently the reason given was that the car wasn't actually on the circuit when the red flag was thrown.

The crowd were furious, and staged a sit-in on parts of the circuit, throwing beer cans and bottles all over the place and shouting "We want Hunt, we want Hunt..." This lasted a fair while, by which time, McLaren had managed to fix his car and get it back out onto the grid. Fearing a riot, he was allowed to race despite a protest from several teams, and actually won.

Only to be thown out AGAIN later...

And the race win given to Lauda instead. If Hunt had kept the win, it would have changed the whole outlook of the 1976 season.

I'd forgotten all about that incident. I was in my mid teens at the time.

The one I really remember involving Hunt was the time at Silverstone in the wet, in the days when they were using catch fences where they would use gravel nowadays. There was one bend where it was so wet the cars were aquaplaning, the first one went into the catch fencing, the second into the rear of that one, and then 2-3 more into the rear of those. One of the cars involved being Hunt.

As nobody got injured, it was rather amusing.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9mXWqLjGd8

 

[icowden]

Looks like Merc have problems again with bouncing. Ferrari liking Monaco a lot...

 

[Jody]

Well, I was only 1 in 1976...

Only a few years apart.

Thanks for the insight. I can just imagine a British crowd sitting on the track and getting p*ssed/angry.

Looks like Merc have problems again with bouncing. Ferrari liking Monaco a lot...

I wouldn't have thought the speeds were high enough to suffer porpoising at Monaco.

 

[Reynard]

Only a few years apart.

Thanks for the insight. I can just imagine a British crowd sitting on the track and getting p*ssed/angry.

YVW

I wouldn't have thought the speeds were high enough to suffer porpoising at Monaco.

It's not so much about the actual top speed, more about the fact that at Monaco, you're constantly braking and accelerating, and so the velocity of the airflow through the venturi under the car is constantly yo-yoing up and down. And since downforce generated is related to velocity squared, that's your problem right there...

 

[icowden]

YVW



It's not so much about the actual top speed, more about the fact that at Monaco, you're constantly braking and accelerating, and so the velocity of the airflow through the venturi under the car is constantly yo-yoing up and down. And since downforce generated is related to velocity squared, that's your problem right there...

Lots of teams complaining that the ride is really rough.

 

[Reynard]

Lots of teams complaining that the ride is really rough.

Well, it will be... You cannae change the laws of physics.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Looking at the forecast just now, I'm going for (3)

50% chance of showers on a dry track could lead to an interesting race.

Slick gamblers into the barriers. Inters left out too long and getting cooked.

We can but hope.

I really hope so otherwise it's the usually snoozefest of a Monaco

 

[Reynard]

I really hope so otherwise it's the usually snoozefest of a Monaco

Well, there's always the BTCC meeting from Thruxton...

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Well, there's always the BTCC meeting from Thruxton...

Hope they don't screw up my recording like they did at Brands by swapping channels halfway through Barstools!!

 

[Reynard]

Hope they don't screw up my recording like they did at Brands by swapping channels halfway through Barstools!!

It was well-advertised ahead of time.

Mentioned several times at the first meeting of the season at Donington...

 

[Illaveago]

I can remember 2 good wet races at Monaco . One was where Senna was chasing and closing in on Alain Prost in his Toleman Hart. The other was when Keke Rosberg led from start to finish in his Williams Cosworth against a field of turbo charged cars.

 

[Reynard]

I can remember 2 good wet races at Monaco . One was where Senna was chasing and closing in on Alain Prost in his Toleman Hart. The other was when Keke Rosberg led from start to finish in his Williams Cosworth against a field of turbo charged cars.

If they hadn't flagged the '84 race early, one more lap and Senna's engine would've gone pop. I have that particular snippet from a friend who, at one time, was on good terms with Brian Hart.

This was also the race that should've been Mansell's first F1 win, but he put the wheels on a white line and *SPLOT*

 

[derrick]

Well that was worse than watching an e race.