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weekend round up – 19th June 2011 #NASCAR, #DTM, #Indycar

Posted on June 20, 2011 by truckertoggle

#NASCAR – So Hamlin remembers how to win in the #11 car and takes Michigan. Another bad day for the#48 and a three spot drop in the standings. JGR in the wars though, as they await news of NASCAR’s reaction to the unapproved oil pans found on all of their cars at the start of the weekend.

#DTM – Martin Tomczyk again for Audi at Lausitz and he takes over the points lead. Good strategy helped him, as it did Timo Scheider for second spot, on a day when others just got it wrong. Ralphie quick in the mid race period and the fastest one out there, but unable to translate that into a good result. Poor Susie never made it off the grid.

#Indycar – Dario wins on the Milwaukee Mile and WP comes in 4th from well down the grip, so they share the points lead as they head out of town. Good to see the series back at the Wisconsin track.

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weekend roundup – 12 June 2011

Posted on June 13, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

#lemans – Good action at The Sarthe with Audi holding off Peugeot by not very much after what was almost a 24 hour grand prix. Nice to know that Mac and Rocky are OK after two massive shunts. Pleanty of hard luck stories as always, but a classic race with the result uncertain right up until the flag dropped.

In my opinion Anthony Davidson wasn’t blocking the lead Audi late in the race. He was leaving the door wide open at the chicanes and gave the Audi every chance to get by, he just didn’t back off and let him through. All pretty fair in my book.

#indycar – our favourite Will Power finally got an oval win in the second of the twin races in Texas, so that’s a monkey off his back. Even if he was favoured by the lottery for grid positions, it’s his name on the record book and he can maybe win a few more now that first one is behind him. WP is now 21 points clear at the top of the table having extended his lead by 5 after the Texas Twins. As to the method of drawing the grid for the second race by lots, it may be good for the spectacle, but it is no way to operate a professional race at this sort of level.

#f1 – The Canadian GP gave usa fantastic race with Jensen Button coming from last to first despite six trips to the pit lane. Another gritty drive from Webbo saw him salvage third after a hard day at the office and Schumi doing well coming in fourth right up Webbo’s exhaust pipes.

We also got another edition of Lewis in the Wars. He just seems to be in a place where he just can’t do right at the moment. but he can turn that round.

#nascar – meanwhile over in the Poconos on that unique flat tri-oval the return to shifting gears brought transmission problems to some. Jeff Gordon beat off the Ugly Brothers to tie third on the all time winner’s list with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip on 84 visits to Victory Lane. A good run for JPM saw him lead a fair bit before losing third gear and fading to seventh. Not a good day for championship front runner Edwards with a dud engine dropping him right down the order.

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Good to know Mr 500 is still going strong at 88

Posted on June 6, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

There’s a link below to a NASCAR item on Andy Granatelli, legend of the Indy 500, STP Oil Treatment, Studebaker, Paxton Products, Grancor and more. The man is a fantastic character and it’s great to hear that he is still with us and as irrepressible as ever.

Stories about him are legion (and he maybe wrote most of them), but as a salesman, promoter, innovator and all round showman the world of  motor sport would have been a lot less fun without him.

The feeling of excitement when I first saw the pictures of his 1967 STP Paxton Turbocar is with me still. It was an awesome device, and, like the innovations from Midland, Texas in Can-Am, you somehow knew that a ban would come. It did, but not before further efforts to castrate the beast had yielded the 1968 Lotus 56 STP Turbocars that also almost pulled off the win. A great shame that both of these cars never made winner’s circle, and somewhat ironic that the 1969 STP Lotus entries were pulled so that Mario Andretti had to start in his back up car, and won!

The Italian connection of Andretti and Granatelli had some rotten luck at Indy, and their one win between them is that 1969 race in the second string car. Never mind, they tried. Boy did they try. Happy memories.

Read the article here.

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

indy 500 round up 2011

Posted on May 29, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

So Dan Wheldon picks up a second Indy win after JR slaps the wall at the final corner. Not really the result I would have expected, but differing strategies contrived an unusual looking results table.

After all the fun of pole and carburation days,with quick people bumped, old rivals teaming up to get one of the latter into the race (imagine that it F1), the race unfolded with what looked like a fairy tale finish for Panther, but, running on fumes, the car got away from JR within sight of the flag and Dan picked up his own fairy tale result for Bryan Herta’s team. Quite reminiscent of Jack Brabham at Monaco back in 1970 is many ways with a last corner call on where to take a back marker.

The magic of Indy, still strong 100 years on.

Good also to see Tony pick up a good fourth; the guy deserves to still be full time in the series. As for the championship trail, all of the top guys finished poorly, so back to regular action soon at Fort Worth where, probably, normal service will resume.

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weekend round up – 16 May 2011 #NASCAR #DTM #Indy #NHRA

Posted on May 17, 2011 by thatconsultantbloke

#NASCAR – Who else but Mark Martin could stay out on old tyres and hold off for around 35 laps of the Monster Mile all bar one of those who had stopped for two or four new ones? That was skill and experience at its best and a joy to watch. Another good run for the Digger to third and also a good top 5 for Brian Vickers as his comeback rolls on.

#DTM – Mike Rockenfeller wins Zandvoort for Audi as Bruno Spengler misses the pit call. I miss the GP from the Dutch Dunes. Not one of the great tracks maybe, but it was part of the F1 calendar that I grew up with.

#Indy – rain stopped play in Indiana as the 500 run up begins in earnest. Who will make up the field come Memorial Day? All the tension, excitement, relief and heartbreak coming up.

#NHRA – I don’t normally comment on events from the quarter mile, but whenever I am in the US I do like to watch the drama unfold. Drag racing has a format that fits well with TV and I am always impressed by the action. Watching the crews tear down and rebuild an engine after a run is pretty amazing as is the spectacle of the cars running after darkness falls. OK, in the top classes the race is over in less time that separates first and last on an F1 grid, but getting one of those beasts off the line and down the track takes some skill, and the terminal speeds leave F1 standing. Respect!

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