Motorsports Thread

[Cerdic]

The technology has killed a lot of the excitement.

You have always had dominant teams, but in the old days races were still unpredictable because cars broke down a lot. And they broke because they were pushing the boundaries of technology in search of speed. Now we have tightly worded regulations designed to limit the cars to a 'sensible' speed!

 

[icowden]

Not only that but we have the daft situation where the drivers have to micromanage the car, forget racing and make tyres last, lift off to preserve fuel etc. It would be great if they could just race.

I'm looking forward to the complete revamp for next year. It could prove interesting. I'm also interested to see where F1 goes from here. With engine manufacturers rapidly losing interest in combustion engines, I do wonder whether F1 will at some point essentially become Formula E.

I tried to get into Formula E but I can't get on board with the "vote for your favourite driver to get a speed boost" or the "drive over the special square for a bonus". It just feels more like Formula Mario Kart. Just waiting for the next rule change where weapons are allowed....

 

[figbat]

I agree about Formula E - this appears to have been set up from the start as entertainment rather than sport, although it has undoubtedly driven progress in EVs, batteries, motors and such (remember the early days when they had to change car half way through the race in order to finish!).

I am looking forward to the Extreme E series and hope it delivers on its promise.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I too am a Formula E detractor I just can't get into it, I think it's the circuits, as said it's positioned as an entertainment rather than sport, although I think they should re-vamp the cars into stockcars & maybe just run an oval with contact racing as they seem to enjoy bashing & clashing with each other.

With regards to where F1 goes, they have to grasp the metal & go different, they need to go down the alternative fuel route, be that hydrogen or something else, I don't think electric is the answer & F1 has to be relevant to the motor industry, there was talk of a 2 stroke diesel hybrid engine, nut not heard anything for a while.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

This is very sad news about Sabine Schmitz, who has died from cancer aged just 51.

I remember seeing her on Top Gear, driving a Transit van around Nurburgring ring flat out.

Sabine Schmitz: Former racing driver and Top Gear presenter dies aged 51 - BBC Sport

"Former Top Gear presenter Sabine Schmitz - famous for being the only woman to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours - has died aged 51.​

​

Schmitz said last year that she had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017.​

Schmitz had become synonymous with the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the 14-mile circuit in Germany that is renowned as the toughest in the world.​

​

She won the 24-hour touring car race at the track twice, in 1996 and 1997, driving a BMW M3.​

​

She became known as the "Queen of the Nurburgring" and estimated she had driven around the track more than 20,000 times.​

​

Schmitz later gained acclaim for an appearance on Top Gear in 2004 in which she drove a van around the track, and subsequently became a presenter on the show alongside Chris Evans in 2016."​

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Oh shoot! sorry for the profanity but that comes as a shock.

 

[raleighnut]

Not only that but we have the daft situation where the drivers have to micromanage the car, forget racing and make tyres last, lift off to preserve fuel etc. It would be great if they could just race.

I'm looking forward to the complete revamp for next year. It could prove interesting. I'm also interested to see where F1 goes from here. With engine manufacturers rapidly losing interest in combustion engines, I do wonder whether F1 will at some point essentially become Formula E.

I tried to get into Formula E but I can't get on board with the "vote for your favourite driver to get a speed boost" or the "drive over the special square for a bonus". It just feels more like Formula Mario Kart. Just waiting for the next rule change where weapons are allowed....

Drivers have always 'micro managed' the cars, the best example being Jim Clark, a couple of examples

When racing the new Lotus for the 1st time his team mate Graham Hill over revved his car an broke a tooth off the timing gear, Clark won

At one race Clark was coasting around one long corner with the clutch pressed down when asled why he said "Well the oil pressure was dropping dangerously low" (this led to the team modifying the oil pick up in the sump to stop this) again Clark won the race.

View: https://youtu.be/801G75BkIsU

 

[raleighnut]

This is very sad news about Sabine Schmitz, who has died from cancer aged just 51.

I remember seeing her on Top Gear, driving a Transit van around Nurburgring ring flat out.

Sabine Schmitz: Former racing driver and Top Gear presenter dies aged 51 - BBC Sport

"Former Top Gear presenter Sabine Schmitz - famous for being the only woman to win the Nurburgring 24 Hours - has died aged 51.​

​

Schmitz said last year that she had been diagnosed with cancer in 2017.​

Schmitz had become synonymous with the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the 14-mile circuit in Germany that is renowned as the toughest in the world.​

​

She won the 24-hour touring car race at the track twice, in 1996 and 1997, driving a BMW M3.​

​

She became known as the "Queen of the Nurburgring" and estimated she had driven around the track more than 20,000 times.​

​

Schmitz later gained acclaim for an appearance on Top Gear in 2004 in which she drove a van around the track, and subsequently became a presenter on the show alongside Chris Evans in 2016."​

Gawd that's terrible news.

 

[icowden]

Drivers have always 'micro managed' the cars, the best example being Jim Clark, a couple of examples

Maybe I phrased that wrong. I meant to move away from having tires specifically designed to wear out, thus forcing drivers to tippytoe. etc.

 

[gbb]

Agree with the negative sentiments re Formula E, I tried it several times, it just doesnt work for me...and while I realise that's just my experience, it makes you wonder if car racing's popularity will be significantly reduced as electric cars become the norm for racing.
Alternatively, with Formula 1 and E, it may be the presentation. It's all soooooo slick now, the pundits, the graphics, the music and theatre of the presentation....I find it all a bit much nowadays, it's just not helping IMHO.

 

[raleighnut]

Agree with the negative sentiments re Formula E, I tried it several times, it just doesnt work for me...and while I realise that's just my experience, it makes you wonder if car racing's popularity will be significantly reduced as electric cars become the norm for racing.
Alternatively, with Formula 1 and E, it may be the presentation. It's all soooooo slick now, the pundits, the graphics, the music and theatre of the presentation....I find it all a bit much nowadays, it's just not helping IMHO.

Yup, bike racing is going the same way too

 

[Beebo]

Alternatively, with Formula 1 and E, it may be the presentation. It's all soooooo slick now, the pundits, the graphics, the music and theatre of the presentation....I find it all a bit much nowadays, it's just not helping IMHO.

They are aiming it at a new younger audience.
Computer graphics, data and stats are all the rage.

 

[gbb]

They are aiming it at a new younger audience.
Computer graphics, data and stats are all the rage.

Deep down, I know it. But it's all so hollow, glitzy, fleeting...like so much thats anything to do with the internet. Shallow springs to mind.

 

[Reynard]

I dunno, I really rather enjoy Formula E...

But then I know a bunch of folks involved in the series from my time on the engineering and media side of the sport. Although, having said that, I don't tend to watch the build-up / aftermath, just the race.

I've still got to wait till May for the touring cars.

 

[matticus]

Deep down, I know it. But it's all so hollow, glitzy, fleeting...like so much thats anything to do with the internet. Shallow springs to mind.

What would Hemingway think about it, I wonder?

<shuffles off to the library mountaineering section ... >