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Weekend round up 16 January 2011

Posted on January 16, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

#F1 – Very pleased that Narain Karthikeyan is back on the F1 grid and that Karun Chandhok has, at least, got a test role. These guys can drive and deserve their places.

Sorry to hear about Derek Gardner passing on. He created some good cars and wasn’t afraid to go out on a limb, the Tyrrell six wheeler being a classic example.

Good to hear that thoughts of moving the Italian Grand Prix away from Monza have fallen through, and also good to hear a gracious response from the Rome GP promoter. I too would have supported a second GP in Italy because the fans have such passion, and maybe we only have Ferrari now, but where would grand prix racing be without Maserati and Alfa Romeo in its blood?

#NASCAR – Just a month to go until the Daytona 500. I shan’t be bothering with the clash, but will be looking out for qualifying and the twin 125s on the run into the big race, and also the truck race on the 18th.

Good luck to Todd Bodine running in all three classes.

It doesn’t now look as though I can get there in person, but I’ll be there in spirit.

Filed under: Cars, Drivers, F1, NASCAR, Retro Moments | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

RIP Derek Gardner

Posted on January 11, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

I seem to be writing a few RIPs lately, but maybe it is because of my own age.

DG was a key man at Ferguson working on 4wd systems and got involved in F1 through the work Fergusons did on the various Indy and F1 4wd projects that cropped up in the late 1960s. Through that he had met Ken Tyrrell and, when Ken needed a decent car for Jackie Stewart, he hired DG to produce it in secret, the Tyrrell 001 appearing at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in the late summer of 1970 and, in developed form, as 003 giving JYS a second title in 1971, the basic design remaining competitive through into early ’73.

He later designed boats and microlights amongst other things in a long and distinguished career.

DG left us last week, but the record of his designs, and their success, will live on.

RIP

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A J Foyt vs Eddie Sachs for the 1961 Indy 500

Posted on January 8, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

A great video short from  the 1961 Indy 500 with contemporary comments. Watch it here.

AJ had a great car and looked to have the upper hand in his duel with Eddie Sachs, but fueling problems on what should have been his last stop meant that he would have to come in for a splash and dash. That gave Eddie Sachs about a thirty second lead and his best shot at winning the race he loved so  much, but he didn’t back his pace off and the wear strip became visible on his right front.

To stay out and risk a crash or come in for tyres and bank second place money? He pitted for tyres and took the runner up spot. Three years later he would lose his life on the first lap of the 1964 race and the Clown Prince of Auto Racing was gone.

Read Sid Collins eulogy for Eddie Sachs.

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Snetterton – what a cracking circuit upgrade

Posted on January 6, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

Really impressed with the revisions to Snetterton. I remember the circuit in its original long form and always felt that the shortened version didn’t do it justice, even if it did mean that East Anglia still had a major national circuit, but this upgrade really impresses me and I hope that it does allow the track to bring in some more major events. At nearly 3 miles it presents a decent challenge.

Watch a simulation of the circuit here.

Jonathon Palmer and his team are a really good thing for motorsport in the UK and it’s great to see them keeping up the good work.

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Holiday roundup December 2010 #F1 #NASCAR #Indycar

Posted on December 23, 2010 by thatconsultantbloke

#F1 – Good to hear that Vitaly Petrov has retained his seat at what will be Lotus-Renault and on a 2 year deal. Whether or not there may have been some finacial inducement he deserves to have a long term chance. The lad has the potential as shown the year before in GP2 and from a couple of drives in the second half of 2010, so it is refreshing to see a team making the committment. This is why I was so dissapointed to see Williams let The Hulk go when he is clearly a driver with some class and potential, but there you go.

Talking of Lotus, it will seem odd to have two varieties of Loti in the races next year, but that might be a marketing coup when all is said and done.

Will the team orders issue make any difference? I doubt it, but there are just 80 days to the new season, so we’ll soon know.

#NASCAR – I’m pleased to read that Richard Petty will have a team up and running next season, and will be looking out for the Digger and the Dinger week by week. At the moment I’m looking at options to be over in Florida in February, so might get another trip to the Daytona 500 in. It seems incredible that it will be 15 years since I last saw the race live, but time flies.

Is Junior something of a Jonah? His results have been way below expectations since the switch to Hendrick and the efforts to pair him with Mark Martin this year saw the latter have a much less stellar year than in 2009. Giving Junior another fresh start by, effectively, swapping him with Jeff Gordon may actully be doing the Martin/Gordon garage a favour at the expense of the #48. Jimmy Johnson and Chad Knaus are a mean double act, and their professional approach has seen an unprecedented 5 year championship run. Jeff Gordon is a pretty resiliant bloke and also knows what it takes to win titles, but even he seems to have been ground down by the relentless march of the #48 crew. The switch of the #24 and #88 puts Junior in something of a make or break position, but the #5 and #24 operations may well benefit from sharing an garage more. I hope that Junior does well; we know he can do it as we’ve seen him do it in the past. The question is, will putting him in with the #48 operation pull him up or them down?

We kick off in 60 days. If I’m not there to see it for real, I’ll be following the Daytona 500, and the rest of the series, on the ‘net.

#Indycar – I’ve been re-reading a few on my many books on the Indy 500 and am getting tempted to try and fit in a trip to Indiana on one of my Stateside trips this year. It was a pretty good season this year and hopefully we’ll get another one in 2011. Tony Kanaan will be back for another year, but with a new team and he’s always good value. Sarah Fisher looks to be stepping back into an owner’s role rather than owner/driver, but my hat is off to her for having done so much over the years. Andretti, Ganassi and Penske will be strong again no doubt and there is a good mix of circuits to test different styles and skills. Bring it on.

Filed under: Circuits, Drivers, F1, Indycar, NASCAR | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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