The Motorsport Thread 2015

Not the most exciting Sebring 12 Hours thats for sure, but I'm glad there was a lot less full course yellow this time (more than 6 hours of last years race was run under yellow!), but a good win for Bourdais, Fittipaldi and Barbosa.

I feel sorry for the drivers who race at Krohn, that car is a rocket ship that could easily win races but Tracy Krohn is both slow and accident prone (spun 3 times yesterday, but the pitlane accident wasn't his fault).

I have to chime in on this one. I've been watching sports car racing in the States since the old Can Am days and I've never seen a race won by a lap with a car that had a broken front sway bar. (Daytona prototype class). Thanks  to IMSA and Nascar for royally screwing up American road racing.

Edited by SteveG - March 22 2015 at 14:59

^In any other racing series, a broken sway bar would only help you in the rain. I think these cars might just be trucks in racing stripes.

Edited by SteveG - March 23 2015 at 10:18

Maybe because we recently got back from a vacation in Europe and I haven't been able to watch any racing aside from the horrible opening round to the F1 season, but I haven't really enjoyed racing this year.  Not yet, anyway. 

I need to give it another chance.  I watched the first race and, aside from the crazy last lap, found it to be underwhelming and there were some aspects of it that I didn't like (changing cars, live DJ, etc.), but I've been at least reading about it a little.

sleeper wrote: Well I wont argue against DP's being on the agricultarul side of racing, but a cars balance swings wildely over the course of the Sebring 12 hours, probably more than any other race thanks to the mix of surfaces with concrete and asphault and because it was super hot during the day but the race finishes at night when it's a lot cooler. Several other teams did mention that as the grip level went up the cars got very pointy with a super grippy front end and a lot of oversteer, so a broken front anti roll bar would have helped counter that. I will be glad to see them replaced with LMP's though.

I'm not going to challenge your expertise (JJ said you were the site expert ) but slick conditions would seem to swing the the other way once the night time settled in and the ambient dropped.

I very loosly follow MotoGP, but much more of a car man myself.

221mph at Losail! Thats nuts as it's such a micky mouse circuite with nothing but short streights, I'd almost be worried to see what it could do at Mugello.

@SteveG I think we can agree that the DP's are the only race cars going where something like this might happen, technologically they were 20 years out of date when first introduced 10 years ago and very much deserved the "greenhouse on wheels" moniker. And your right, all things being equal if the available grip level goes up you'd expect a car to develop understeer since the rear tyres are larger than the fronts and offer a proportionally greater increase in grip than the fronts would (does not apply to LMP1's though, they all run the exact same size of tyre front and rear but of different construction specs). However, things like tyre pressures, compounds and suspension and aero set ups will have a big effect on the way the cars balance changes as well.

If I had to guess I'd say it was down to one of two things (or maybe both) the Continental tyres they all run which definitely aren't a match for anything Dunlop or Michelin could produce, or the DP's themselves but since teams running Coyote, Riley and Dallara chassis all said the same thing I'd be inclined to say it was the tyres.

Also, Indycar starts up this weekend again, St Petes.

Pagenaud is my favorite for the title this year since he's in a fourth Penske now, Simona de Silvestro is back and driving for Andretti, at least for a few races but no Justin Wilson this year unfortunately, just couldn't get a deal closed.

I think Munoz is good enough but not F1's radar, and would have to bring a lot of sponsorship anyway, same goes for Sage Karam.

I'm definitely looking for some great drives out of Simon Pagenaud this year. I think he's found a home at Penske, where fast fearless drivers with brains are appreciated and do well.

Edited by SteveG - March 27 2015 at 16:07

I'm hoping for a good F1 race this weekend, or for at least a semi-full grid.  Baby steps, I guess.  At least NASCAR and Indy should be entertaining with Martinsville and St. Petersburg hosting generally good racing.  Logano on the pole for Sunday, too.