2015 Open Wheel Racing Chat (and More)

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from Long Beach for Formula E:

1. Piquet Jr.

2. Vergne

3. di Grasi

4. Buemi

5. Senna

6. D'Ambrosio

7. da Costa

8. Alguersuari

9. Duval

10. Sarrazin

I saw about the first bit of it & saw the first lap & the craziness that was going on. Although I'm sorry I missed most of the race.

However, good news!

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/04/03/fox-sports-2015-fia-world-endurance-championship/

Unfortunately for those in the United States, we rarely see these machines race on TV apart from the annual airing of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Motorsports fans can rejoice, though, because Fox Sports and the WEC now have a deal to broadcast the entire 2015 season live in the US and Canada.

According to the network, all of the races, including Le Mans, will air on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2; plus they will stream on Fox Sports Go as well. The coverage kicks off with the Six Hours of Silverstone on April 12, and the network will broadcast the entire event live. Going forward, Fox promises at least three hours of live coverage for each competition.

The new deal essentially makes Fox Sports the hub of endurance racing for US audiences because the network also has a deal through 2018 to broadcast the North American-focused United SportsCar Championship.

Last but not least Porsche & Toyota released their Liveries for LeMans

Porsche:

Toyota with a bit of a redesign of the car:

Audi release their livery a few weeks ago

[bosrs1]

I was at Long Beach. Good race. Not the best Formula E has had, Buenos Aires remains their best race to date. But Long Beach had some interesting action in the pack and pits even if Piquet ran away with it. The pit stops were a first for them in that they were more IndyCar/NASCAR style than the typical F1 type pit stops. They didn't pull into any "garage" or "Paddock" area to do the car swap but did them right on pit road. Made it much more visible to the fans what was going on and made for some close calls as guys came out of the blocks with the second cars. Additionally the Turns 1/2 that they added to the traditional LBGP front stretch was quite the adventure for the drivers and even caught out Scott Speed. Every lap it seemed like someone was going to smack the pit exit wall they installed. It was definitely obvious that it's not a typical part of the street circuit. But otherwise the track seemed it's usual large self (being that the narrow parts of the LBGP are the parts they cut out for Formula E. Crowd was good too once the call to return to the stands went out. The front stretch stands were at least 50% full. Should be one of their larger turn outs, though they'll never have official numbers given there were no tickets sold or scanned. But wouldn't be surprised to see them back.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from China:

1.Hamilton

2. Rosberg

3. Vettel

4. Raikkonen

5. Massa

6. Bottas

7. Grosjean

8. Nasr

9. Ricciardo

10. Ericsson

Looks like we can see another teammate war going on. Hamilton & Rosberg

Next up Bahrain & the 6 hours of Silverstone is on the US right now!!!

[marble21]

Looks like we can see another teammate war going on. Hamilton & Rosberg

Hamilton seems to have the upper hand and I just can't see Rosberg changing that.

His complaints from the race don't seem to be valid. What Hamilton 'did' was only an example of clever racing strategy - likened to the way Fangio used to race. Rosberg is also only kidding himself if he thinks he wouldn't do the same if he was in Hamilton's position.

I can see Rosberg trying a few sly tricks (eg 2014 Monaco qualifying) if things stay the way they are

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from a wet & wild New Orleans Grand Prix:

1. Hinchcliffe

2. Castroneves

3. Jakes

4. de Silvestro

5. Montoya

6. Kannan

7. Power

8. Rahal

9. Newgarden

10. Filippi

There will be a party in Hinchtown tonight. Mayor's orders... Certainly a lot of wrecks & cautions especially near the end. It was an interesting race to say the least. Now, next up is Long Beach.

[crashcarson15]

Results from a wet & wild New Orleans Grand Prix:

1. Hinchcliffe

2. Castroneves

3. Jakes

4. de Silvestro

5. Montoya

6. Kannan

7. Power

8. Rahal

9. Newgarden

10. Filippi

There will be a party in Hinchtown tonight. Mayor's orders... Certainly a lot of wrecks & cautions especially near the end. It was an interesting race to say the least. Now, next up is Long Beach.

I mean, I wouldn't call it a race but hey, to each his own.

Absolute joke having a timed race yesterday.

[DelayedPenalty]

I have been unimpressed with the first two IndyCar races this season. The cars look horrible, and the "racing" has been terrible.

[bosrs1]

Results from a wet & wild New Orleans Grand Prix:

1. Hinchcliffe

2. Castroneves

3. Jakes

4. de Silvestro

5. Montoya

6. Kannan

7. Power

8. Rahal

9. Newgarden

10. Filippi

There will be a party in Hinchtown tonight. Mayor's orders... Certainly a lot of wrecks & cautions especially near the end. It was an interesting race to say the least. Now, next up is Long Beach.

I mean, I wouldn't call it a race but hey, to each his own.

Absolute joke having a timed race yesterday.

What was the reason for it being timed? I mean I assumed it was because they had a storm front coming in and knew when it was going to hit. But was that it or was it related to the TV timeslot?

Either way it was a pretty piss poor race the whole second half as the track wasn't dry enough for slicks, but was too dry for rain tires. They needed an extra dryer or something for those puddles in the last turn. But at least the cars weren't shedding wings half as bad as St. Pete. Hopefully they continue to work on the new aero kits. Luckily next up is Long Beach. Usually an entertaining race and arguably the best street race on the schedule, if not race outside of Indy. Because IndyCar needs some good press after the washout at NOLA.

As a fan though, it was nice to see the mayor win. And nice to see Simona take 4th in a part time ride. Maybe it'll be enough for her to get some sponsorship to run Long Beach.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from Bahrain:

1. Hamilton

2. Raikkonen

3. Rosberg

4. Bottas

5. Vettel

6. Ricciardo

7. Grosjean

8. Perez

9. Kyvat

10. Massa

Ferrari truly put up a fight against the Silver Arrows today, Kimi kept getting quicker but Rosberg kept coming.

Next up the start of the European leg, with Spain...

News & Notes:

We may finally have an idea of the future of F1

http://www.grandprixtimes.com/news/display/10147

Formula 1 is set to undergo a radical revolution in 2017 with the arrival or more powerful engines and relaxed aero rules in a bid to "spice things up".

The changes come amid calls from Bernie Ecclestone to revert back to the V8 engines and boost their power output to 1000bhp. However the 84-year-old often says things at one end of the scale in order to reach a compromise somewhere in the middle.

It seems his latest comments conform to that rule. Ecclestone met with team bosses in Bahrain to discuss the matter, where it seems a compromise has been found which will see the sport continue with the current hybrid-V6 power units, but they will be tuned to meet the 1000bhp goal by increasing the fuel flow limit.

These will be introduced in 2017 alongside sweeping aero rules which will be aimed at making the cars harder to drive, better looking and more innovative.

Ecclestone's main concern is getting the V6 engine down to an affordable price and believes that's the only problem standing in the way of change.

"The two things that have to happen; whoever supplies these teams have to supply the same engine they currently use upgraded to 1000bhp, then they need to supply it to the teams at a price the teams can afford."

Research into what changes should be made on the chassis side, such as wider cars, less aero restrictions and wider tyres, is currently underway.

I think this could lead to some interesting changes, maybe some new manufactures may get involved with this as well, who knows?

Also there are rumors that Monza will be replaced with Baku (Azerbaijan) which I hope it doesn't. Monza has too rich of a history with F1...

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for Long Beach results:

1. Dixon

2. Castroneves

3. Montoya

4. Pagenaud

5. Kanaan

6. Bourdais

7. Newgarden

8. Andretti

9. Munoz

10. Saavedra

The race for 3rd was amazing, Long Beach is such a phenomenal track. I'm happy that Dixon won the race, the first time he won in Long Beach. Next up is Alabama.

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for the Grand Prix of Alabama:

1. Newgarden

2. Rahal

3. Dixon

4. Power

5. Hunter-Reay

6. Munoz

7. Hinchcliffe

8. Bourdais

9. Pagenaud

10. Andretti

Newgarden finally getting his first win. Congrats to him all around! However, for the likes of Tony Kanaan & Juan Pablo Montoya, they could've had a better day.

Next up, we're heading to Indy for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

[Needschat]

Bumping for the Grand Prix of Alabama:

1. Newgarden

2. Rahal

3. Dixon

4. Power

5. Hunter-Reay

6. Munoz

7. Hinchcliffe

8. Bourdais

9. Pagenaud

10. Andretti

Newgarden finally getting his first win. Congrats to him all around! However, for the likes of Tony Kanaan & Juan Pablo Montoya, they could've had a better day.

Next up, we're heading to Indy for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

It was the best race of the weekend, easily more entertaining than both NASCAR races. The drama of Graham Rahal trying to get back to the lead and watching Josef Newgarden try to hold on was what we older race fans used to see more frequently in the mid-70s.

[2001mark]

I posted this in the realignment thread or something...

Quickly on IndyCar, because I know there's already a thread, it sorely needs a greater sense of structure.

As it is, I couldn't tell you when most races are, usually until it's too late & I've missed them.

I admire that they changed the cars up a few years ago now, except road racing looks so awkward. Maybe it's just an illusion based on design, I dunno.

Also - the Indianapolis 500 needs to re-embrace the series & not big time the circuit so much. The 500 field after all is mainly comprised of IndyCar racers, & its results factor into the circuit. Alas, media have done a truly, & I mean truly, piss poor job promoting IndyCar via the Indy 500. How's anyone supposed to get buzz when the 500 treats itself as the Super Bowl of racing... when casual viewers couldn't name more than 1-2x drivers if their lives depended on it, if that.

No IndyCar participation? Guess what Indianapolis... what'cha got now??

To be fair, in my perfect fantasy world, the Indianapolis 500 would command & demand drivers & teams from each IndyCar, NASCAR, & esp. F1.

That would make it the single most unique racing event on the planet. As it was way back in the day, & as it should be... Daytona & Monaco be damned.

[crashcarson15]

I posted this in the realignment thread or something...

Quickly on IndyCar, because I know there's already a thread, it sorely needs a greater sense of structure.

As it is, I couldn't tell you when most races are, usually until it's too late & I've missed them.

I admire that they changed the cars up a few years ago now, except road racing looks so awkward. Maybe it's just an illusion based on design, I dunno.

Also - the Indianapolis 500 needs to re-embrace the series & not big time the circuit so much. The 500 field after all is mainly comprised of IndyCar racers, & its results factor into the circuit. Alas, media have done a truly, & I mean truly, piss poor job promoting IndyCar via the Indy 500. How's anyone supposed to get buzz when the 500 treats itself as the Super Bowl of racing... when casual viewers couldn't name more than 1-2x drivers if their lives depended on it, if that.

No IndyCar participation? Guess what Indianapolis... what'cha got now??

To be fair, in my perfect fantasy world, the Indianapolis 500 would command & demand drivers & teams from each IndyCar, NASCAR, & esp. F1.

That would make it the single most unique racing event on the planet. As it was way back in the day, & as it should be... Daytona & Monaco be damned.

Interesting stuff…

New aero kits happened this year, so the cars are even more changed up. Pretty interesting stuff right now.

Your biggest issue re: promotion is that the 500 is on ABC while (most) of the rest of the series is on NBCSN. Right as the race finished Sunday, they were cutting promos for qualifying (or whatever NBCSN has from IMS this month). I doubt we see our first 500 ads on ABC until a week or two before the race.

I’ve long thought it would behoove IMS to throw money toward non-IndyCar drivers, specifically NASCAR ones. Not a coincidence the ratings improved last year.

[rvrdgsfn]

Well, we are off to an early start to silly season in F1.

First is Bottas to Ferrari? Kimi to Haas?

http://www.grandprix247.com/2015/04/30/bottas-to-ferrari-silly-season-off-to-an-early-start/

Reports in Italy suggest Valtteri Bottas’s Formula 1 future may well be coloured in red.

Former double world champion Mika Hakkinen, now involved in the management of the Williams driver’s career, said this week that if he was the decision-maker at Ferrari, he is not sure he would retain Kimi Raikkonen.

Media sources now suggest that Bottas may have already penned a preliminary contract with Maranello based Ferrari.

The rumours also indicate that the forthcoming F1 entrant Haas, which is being widely referred to as a Ferrari B-team, could house Raikkonen next year, as the Finn is pushing for the 2016 ‘option’ in his contract to be signed.

Bottas is a talented driver & I could see this happen, although Kimi going to Haas? I would be cool with that, hopefully Alexander Rossi joins in as a teammate.

Next season could start in April....

http://www.grandprix247.com/2015/04/29/april-start-for-2016-formula-1-season-expected/

The Formula 1 season will get off to a late start next year, according to Australian media reports claiming the Melbourne race, which is guaranteed the opening spot on the sport’s annual calendar, will be held on April 3, 2016.

In the past few years, the season-opening Australian grand prix has been held a couple of weeks earlier, in mid-March. AAP news agency said the 2016 change is due to daylight savings.

“The revised 2016 date will see the event follow Easter and take place after daylight savings, the absence of which will see the race start earlier in the day,” race organisers confirmed.

The Albert Park promoters also confirmed that the April start will “condense the season” on the 2016 calendar, which will conclude as per usual in November.

I'm curious to what they mean by condensing, less races (doubtful)? My guess it'll be a tighter schedule, not much time to rest...

[marble21]

I'm curious to what they mean by condensing, less races (doubtful)? My guess it'll be a tighter schedule, not much time to rest...

The way I see "condensing" is definitely tighter schedule. I can't see there being less races as I expect a return of the German GP in 2016 is very likely. Plus as well there are multiple gaps of multiple weeks in this season before you even consider the traditional summer break. It must be something they are looking to address.

[2001mark]

Daylight savings? lols

Arbitrary numbers... they couldn't just race an hour earlier for the sake of, I dunno, the well being of the single most global sporting organizational calendar?

Amazing.

[marble21]

Daylight savings? lols

Arbitrary numbers... they couldn't just race an hour earlier for the sake of, I dunno, the well being of the single most global sporting organizational calendar?

Amazing.

Well, they usually race quite late in the day in Australia (compared to the European calendar), so that the race is on at a more suitable time for viewers elsewhere in the world (mainly Europe).

By having the race a few weeks later and therefore after daylight savings comes in, they can start the race an hour earlier in Australia. This means that there is no change for Europe and the Australians get a more suitable race time.

[DolphinManatee]

I don't know how anybody here missed these:

Honda Superspeedway Aero Kit:

Chevy Superspeedway Aero Kit:

[rvrdgsfn]

I don't know how anybody here missed these:

Honda Superspeedway Aero Kit:

Chevy Superspeedway Aero Kit:

I'm impressed, very impressed