Motor Racing Nirvana

[Loki]

Maldonado is fucking rotten.

 

It still annoys me that a racer like Kobayashi isn't in F1 this season but guys like Grosjean and Maldonado are. Even Perez I'm still not certain about.

 

On the flipside, Di Resta looks to me like a force for the future, if he can get a seat at one of the Big 4. Really impressed by him this season. Chilton, not so much.

[LariatTom]

It's a bit unfair comparing one amazing Indycar clip to one mildly embarrassing GP2 clip. I've seen crashes in Indycar that would make your cock fall off and I've seen overtakes in GP2 that would re-attach it.

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree in principle with all the criticisms of GP2 that have been mentioned, but the gulf in skill isn't quite what the gulf between those clips would suggest.

 

I don't think we should be comparing GP2 and Indy Lights (not even going as far as Indycar) based off those two clips. Indycar has had some utterly ridiculous moments too (need we look any further than the race that cost Dan Wheldon his life?) and GP2 has had some brilliant bits of driving. Grosjean taking three cars in the space of a corner and a half at Barcelona stands as one of the best things to ever happen at that track (which isn't really saying too much to be honest).

 

GP2 is being won by the driver with a combination of wallet and experience. Valsecchi won the series last year having been there for what felt like eternity. Pantano won it in his third or fourth year of racing there, Coletti (current series leader) is in his third full season of racing there...it's experience that pays off. That's why you never see a guy go into the series looking to win in his first year. You've got guys like Mitch Evans who buck that trend and can put in some brilliant drives in their debut season, but provided he gets a top drive next year, he should be virtually unstoppable. Felipe Nasr is another top talent who took his first year to learn the tracks, get used to the car and is now a very reliable and consistent finisher. If he starts winning races, he'll be in the title hunt too.

 

The gulf in skill between GP2 and Indy Lights might not be too big, but the gulf in brains, skill and talent between F1 and GP2 (which let's face it, if you're trying to get into F1, that's your best shot alongside WSR) is just too big at times. Look at Max Chilton this weekend. Very little top level running, midfield most of his GP2 career and causes a massive accident at Monaco. How he escaped with just a drive through penalty is beyond me...

[windoesnot]

Maldonado is fucking rotten.

 

It still annoys me that a racer like Kobayashi isn't in F1 this season but guys like Grosjean and Maldonado are. Even Perez I'm still not certain about.

 

On the flipside, Di Resta looks to me like a force for the future, if he can get a seat at one of the Big 4. Really impressed by him this season. Chilton, not so much.

 

Pastor is quick, no doubt about it but he has no race craft, same with Grosjean. They both show flashes of speed but put them in a tight race and they can be no-where.

 

Perez seems to be trying too hard at the moment to assert himself into the McLaren team by being forceful on the track and maybe letting the pressure get to him. If he calms down a little he could do very well. I wouldn't rate him anywhere near as erratic as the other two.

 

Kamui was one of my favourite drivers over the past few seasons, an absolutely demon overtaker although was a bit inconsistent, in some races he could be completely anonymous . His drive in Japan last year for 3rd place was brilliant. Again sadly its more down to money him not having a drive in F1 this season than his actual talent.

 

Di Resta is the only one of this lot who didn't come in via GP2 (DTM before F1) and whilst I wouldn't rate him worthy of a top 4 team just yet, he has put in some great drives, often un-noticed too. He just plugs away and gets on with it.

 

And its blatantly obvious why Chilton is in F1. A chequebook daddy as we used to call them in karting.

[LariatTom]

Perez seems to be trying too hard at the moment to assert himself into the McLaren team by being forceful on the track and maybe letting the pressure get to him. If he calms down a little he could do very well. I wouldn't rate him anywhere near as erratic as the other two.

 

Kamui was one of my favourite drivers over the past few seasons, an absolutely demon overtaker although was a bit inconsistent, in some races he could be completely anonymous . His drive in Japan last year for 3rd place was brilliant. Again sadly its more down to money him not having a drive in F1 this season than his actual talent.

 

Di Resta is the only one of this lot who didn't come in via GP2 (DTM before F1) and whilst I wouldn't rate him worthy of a top 4 team just yet, he has put in some great drives, often un-noticed too. He just plugs away and gets on with it.

 

And its blatantly obvious why Chilton is in F1. A chequebook daddy as we used to call them in karting.

 

Both Kamui and Perez had the problem last year where they could have some demonic races (Malaysia and Monza for Checo, Suzuka for Kamui), but for very large parts of the season, they completely disappeared off the radar and didn't really match expectation from many. Kamui is doing a very solid job in the WEC this year and has finished on the podium in both races to date.

 

Perez is trying to assert himself and show that he does deserve this place in a top team. He was being very aggressive in Monaco, perhaps overly at times, but he was able to pass other drivers and make moves where others were seemingly content to follow the leader lap after lap. I'll commend him for that, and he's moving on from his poor form in the first few races.

 

My problem with di Resta is that he complains far too much for my liking, and it never seems to be his fault for some reason. He was quite outspoken about getting knocked out in Q1 because the team didn't make the decision to give him new tyres. Erm...sorry mate, you are the driver and if you want new tyres fitted during Qualifying, you should come into the pit and tell the team you want new boots.

 

Again, the less said about Chilton...the better.

[windoesnot]

My problem with di Resta is that he complains far too much for my liking, and it never seems to be his fault for some reason. He was quite outspoken about getting knocked out in Q1 because the team didn't make the decision to give him new tyres. Erm...sorry mate, you are the driver and if you want new tyres fitted during Qualifying, you should come into the pit and tell the team you want new boots.

 

Rule 1 for being a racing driver, it's never, ever your fault! I was often guilty of this too

 

Not excusing Di Rista for being knocked out in Q1 as I don't know if the team kept him updated with how his position was and if others went quicker on newer inters as that info wouldn't have been available to him otherwise, he only knows his own lap times from the car. If they did then indeed tell him it was totally Pauls fault for not pitting.

 

Glad to hear that Go-by-ashi is doing well for himself in WEC.

[Loki]

he was able to pass other drivers and make moves where others were seemingly content to follow the leader lap after lap.

 

Because they didn't want to crash.

 

Those moves he was making were pointing his car into a non-existent gap and hoping the other driver would move aside rather than risk the collision. Some, like Alonso, did as they know getting some points is better than none. Unfortunately for Perez, Raikonnen is a driver who decided not to move aside and so they collided.

 

It's how I generally overtake people in driving videogames, aim for the apex of the corner and assume that you can bounce off the side of the opponent's car and get round But it's not a safe technique for an actual race.

[BigJag]

WRC are in Greece this weekend. For The Acropolis rally. They call it "The Rally of the Gods". It is one of the last true great rallies left on the calendar. No Loeb this time. So there should be some variety in the leaders. Robert Kubica is driving in the WRC 2 category.

 

That Indy lights clip is amazing.

Edited June 3, 2013 by BigJag

[BigJag]

Bad accident at the TT yesterday. Ten injured. A bike crashed and parts from it flew into the crowd. Some of whom were on an elevated viewing platform.

 

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-22818402

 

Jarri Matti Latvala won an exciting Rally of Gods last week. Lots of cars succumbed to the rough conditions. Former Williams F1 driver Robert Kubica won the WRC 2 category. In what was only his second gravel rally. Impressive feat considering the injuries he sustained a couple of years ago. Sardinia is next.

 

BTCC from Oulton park tomorrow. Starts at 1130 on ITV 4. Jason Plato was fastest today in practice.Matt Neal leads the standings,

 

http://www.btcc.net/html/generalnews.php

Edited June 8, 2013 by BigJag

[Hugh Thesz]

To make people here feel old I will point out that James Hunt sadly died twenty years ago today:

 

 

 

Shuggy

[WWFChilli]

Beyond his great season with Lauda in 1976, I never really rated Hunt as a great. He was a good driver with a stand out personality. But I actually preferred his work as a pundit/commentator then as a driver.

[BigJag]

Murray Walker wanting to smack Hunt after he had yanked the mic from Walker. Is a great little story..

 

Great racing today in the Indycar race from Milwaukee.

 

 

Cool video of Sebastian Loeb practising for this years Pikes Peak challenge.

Edited June 15, 2013 by BigJag

[LariatTom]

Decent enough Indycar race last night, I'm always a fan of short oval racing and the Milwaukee Mile usually delivers an entertaining race. Watching it in parallel with Grand-Am was fairly confusing at times, though it seems that plenty of other people were doing the same based on Twitter interactions.Rather sad to think that Le Mans will be over in a week. Still, that means we've got a week of Le Mans activities. Scrutineering takes place today and tomorrow, on-track action for practice and qualifying takes place midweek and then the green flag drops on Saturday afternoon for the greatest race in the world. If you want a good series of previews for each category, Radio Le Mans and DailySportscar have done another fantastic series of podcasts for each of the categories. Best week in the world to be a racing fan.

[BigJag]

Michelle Moutons Pikes Peak experience

 

Who will be the teams to watch at Le Mans?

Edited June 16, 2013 by BigJag

[LariatTom]

At the front of the field, it's Audi vs Toyota again. Toyota will be looking to come back after a disappointing first two races of the season, and they'll be helped by a larger fuel capacity and some low drag aero kit which might help to make some difference. They'll be slower over a single lap but race pace could be a different thing, especially if they're able to get a few laps extra out of each stint. Worth remembering that Toyota are in their first full season of WEC and didn't even make it to half distance last year in the race so I suspect they'll be wanting to finish this year and perhaps aim for a victory next year. Privateer cars are looking good, though they probably aren't strong enough to challenge for the podium this year. LMP2 is a fantastic field of 22 cars which is ridiculous. Who says LMP2 is dead?? That category is as open as you like, of the 22 entries maybe 15 could feasibly finish on the podium and 10 or so are worthy winners.

 

Ones to watch in each class

 

LMP1 Factory - Audi #1 (Lotterer, F

[BigJag]

Will the Deltawing be back?