any race fans?

[runnah]

all drivers can drive. some are just better than others.

I personally love it when drivers switch sports. You can really see the skill shine through when leave their comfort zone and still kick ass.

Moto GP 6 time champion



His fastest lap would have put him in the top 15.

 

[Pallycow]

the monster car got F'ed up. I have some shots of it messed up. lol

 

[matthewo]

Yeah, but Rossi is just insane. He could probably knit a sweater in 5 minutes never picking up a needle

 

[virginie24jb]

French NASCAR fan right here! And Jeff Gordon's my favorite driver. :thumbup:

It's an old post, I know...

Any advice on the settings for a night race?
I'm planning on going back to the US later this year and I'm thinking about including the September race in Richmond, VA to this trip. I apprehend shooting a night race. Dover, DE was fine because it was in the middle of the day... I only have the Canon 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6, so I'm not sure it will be good enough.

 

[KmH]

FWIW

F1 cars rarely exceed 200 mph. At the end of some of the longer straights they go right about 200 mph.

Indy cars hit right about 240 mph at the end of the front and back straights at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), and almost 260 at Fontana.

When driving a well set up Indy Car at IMS these days, the driver doesn't lift the throttle or touch the brake pedal to negotiate the corners. Just turning the car into the corner and the added 'side bite' of the tires creates sufficient aerodynamic drag and rolling rsistance to slow the car just enough to get through the corner without loosing traction and spinning the car.
If an Indy Car is not that well set up, it doesn't get to 240 mph at the ends of the straights. In fact, at IMS and Fontana the car's wings are adjusted to a positive angle of attack to reduce the total downforce the aero package produces, so the straightaway speeds can be higher.

F1 cars can corner faster in the middle speed corners they spend most of their cornering time in, and at about 1300 lbs are a few hundred pounds lighter than an Indy Car (about 1550 lbs). (NASCAR minimum weight is by comparison a tank like - 3400 lbs).
F1 cars have a flat bottom and in addition to the front and rear wings are allowed to have a diffuser at the back of the car that generates downforce. Diffuser (automotive) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Indy Cars are 'ground effect' cars and in addition to the front and rear wings the bottom (undertray) of the car is shaped into two undulating tunnels that creates a negative pressure (ground effect) under the car that 'sucks' the car down onto the road.
The total downforce the aero aids generate maxes out at about 4000 lbs for the F1 cars, and 5000 lbs for Indy cars. (NASCAR car bodies plus their front splitter and rear spoiler generate about 2000 lbs of downforce.)

F1 cars cost a lot more (about 4x more) than an Indy Car does.
To field 2 competitive Indy Cars costs about $24 M a seasin. To field two competitive F1 cars costs about 200 million a season.
A big part of the difference in 2 car team costs is because F1 races all over the world.
An F1 team designs and builds their own cars (more employees, more payroll dollars). Since 2012, Indy Car teams all buy their cars from the same source - Dallara - Dallara DW12 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Both types of car generate quite a bit more downforce than the car weighs. If someone were to build a road that was elevated and had the road surface on the underside of the structure, either type of car could be driven upside down on that elevated roadway. The downfprce (upforce when the car is upsidedown) woudl 'suck' the car to the upsidedown road surface

Many of F1's star drivers have driven in Indy Car, but didn't do all that good. Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell being the 2 exceptions, both having won the Indy Car championship.
Nigal Mansell is the only driver to ever hold both the F1 and Indy Car Championships in the same year (1993).

Nigel Mansell was able to come and drive in a very competitive Indy Car team (Newnam-Haas) because of the car freed up when Michael Andretti went to F1 for 1993.
Michael Andretti made the mistake in thinking he could continue to live in the US and commute back and forth while driving in F1 for a team headquartered in England (McLaren).

Danika Patrick is a professional racing car driver.
No other woman car racing driver, and most male racing drivers, has come close to equaling Danika's accomplishments so far on a race track.
There is no doubt, she is very marketable and she and her mother are very savvy at maintaining that marketability.

 

[manicmike]

all drivers can drive. some are just better than others.

I personally love it when drivers switch sports. You can really see the skill shine through when leave their comfort zone and still kick ass.

Moto GP 6 time champion



His fastest lap would have put him in the top 15.

Rossi is fast on anything.

 

[astroNikon]

I watch Formula1 and MotoGP mostly.

Back in the day when cars were tested on the road I had to test some of the road ferraris that we did parts for. That was neat. And I also went to Maranello Italy to visit and stay for a week. I recall being awoken by F1 engines at 7am on a Saturday. I stayed at a house between the factory and the test track. Ooh those were the days.

I'm still a F1 Ferrari fan.

I do watch some nascar and the short track stuff from time to time. But prefer road course type races with GT and Prototype racing.

I would be neat to see Danica in F1, but she would probably have to pay to get in, and learn how to turn right.


Go Rossi !!

 

[runnah]

I would be neat to see Danica in F1, but she would probably have to pay to get in, and learn how to turn right. Go Rossi !!

With the current state of F1, anyone with a large bank account can find a seat. Most of the field brings in tons or private money through sponsorship and private funds. Terrible for the sport as you have driver who are terrible, like Pastor Maldanado who is a liability behind the wheel but gets a seat because he has major backing from the Venezuelan government. Shame really as talented drivers are passed over because they lack the cash.

This year should be interesting as regulations have changed dramatically from last year. Lighter weight, lower fuel capacities, turbo charged engines with massive electrical hybrid systems and to mention that all the cars have cock noses. Except for lotus that has a vagina nose and Ferrari that looks like a dust buster.

The thing that worries me is that after the first day of testing, cars were running 10 seconds a lap slower than last year which is insane. Granted they may not have been going at full speed but 10 seconds is a massive difference. Also another troubling issue is fuel. Horner of red bull has already said that strategies for thus year will include intentional slowing of cars to conserve fuel. This is bad because like the past few seasons with tires, drivers aren't able to push for overtakes and fight it out.

Don't even get me started on the double points for the last race!!!

Who knows tho, as long as Vettel doesn't run away with the championship I will be happy.

 

[pjaye]

Huge nascar fan. But I refuse to consider Danica a race car driver.

 

[runnah]

Huge nascar fan. But I refuse to consider Danica a race car driver.

You are letting down your gender.

Hand in your lady card...which I assume is pink.

 

[virginie24jb]

I refuse to consider Danica a race car driver.

Why?

 

[John_Olexa]

Danika Patrick is a professional racing car driver.
No other woman car racing driver, and most male racing drivers, has come close to equaling Danika's accomplishments so far on a race track.

How did you come to that conclusion with just 1 professional win?

 

[runnah]

Danika Patrick is a professional racing car driver.
No other woman car racing driver, and most male racing drivers, has come close to equaling Danika's accomplishments so far on a race track.

How did you come to that conclusion with just 1 professional win?

Many drivers never get on the podium, even fewer actually win. Danika isn't anything special, being a woman certainly has gotten her places further than her skill level would have. Either way its good as it show what women are capable of and hopefully it encourages young women to give it ago.

Side note, one of the best female drivers, Michelle Mouton. Drove arguably one of the greatest and difficult rally cars ever.

 

[pjaye]

I refuse to consider Danica a race car driver.

Why?

Have you seen her race? She didn't know what drifting was, she uses her looks to expect better treatment, and she whines better than she drives.

 

[pjaye]

Huge nascar fan. But I refuse to consider Danica a race car driver.

You are letting down your gender.

Hand in your lady card...which I assume is pink.

It is pink, and I'm perfectly happy to turn it in. I was all for cheering for her until she opened her mouth and whined. Sorry, not going to work. Learn from your mistakes, take responsiblity for your screw ups and stop expecting people to give you a break because you have boobs.