OT: Racing 2012 (Spoiler Alert)

[toonarmy]

Been so busy watching hockey and playing TW13 that I didn't get a chance to watch the F1 race until this afternoon. Wow! What a great show. So much passing. It was good to see the drivers giving each other room and not being stupid on the passes. That was a hell of a fun race to watch. Mercedes looked fantastic. I kept expecting Button to catch up, but he didn't. Hamilton's stalking and passing of Vettel was very cool. F1 has definitely got things right with the rules and regulations this year. The cream will still rise to the top, but we are still seeing incredible racing and some gusto from the mid-level teams. Fun stuff.

[pk500]

Indeed. That was one of the best races I've ever seen without a true battle for the lead. The train of six to eight cars racing for second was insane. The last 20 laps were F1's version of Talladega, but much better because every pass was meaningful.

You're so right about the tire and rules packages in F1. I said out loud to myself after watching the race, "Bernie, don't change a f*cking thing about this package."

The parity among teams is just nuts this year, especially among the midfield runners.

I'm so pleased to see the resurgence of Williams. Mike Coughlan may be a crook, but he designs very tidy, quick race cars. Senna and Candy Maldonado are doing a very good job, but I hope this revival will allow Williams to attract more sponsors in 2013 and allow it to hire drivers instead of taking on two pay drivers. Imagine what a really good driver could do in this car, and next year's could be even better.

[pk500]

FANTASTIC news for American racing fans: The World Rally Championship is back on SPEED, starting this Sunday night. More coverage of WRC and MotoGP on SPEED2.com, too!

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ip-series/

YIPPEE!

[DChaps]

FANTASTIC news for American racing fans: The World Rally Championship is back on SPEED, starting this Sunday night. More coverage of WRC and MotoGP on SPEED2.com, too!

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ ... ip-series/

YIPPEE!

Fantastic news!!

Speaking of racing, I can't believe we have not had any discussion about this weekends F1. Kimi never ceases to amaze me. When the guy is ON, he is sure fun to watch. In modern day F1, has there been any driver to have as many back of the field to the front drives as Kimi has been able to pull off? What an interesting season this is turning out to be.

[pk500]

Four races. Four different winners. Four different constructors on the top step of the podium. No apparent dominant team.

This is going to be a MEGA F1 season! Almost as f*cking AWWWWWWWESOME as F1 2011 on Friday nights.

[Gurantsu]

For any of you with DirecTV, the Speed2 internet channel is now available. Lots of very cool and seldom seen series on it, very cool stuff! I'm loving it!

[pk500]

For any of you with DirecTV, the Speed2 internet channel is now available. Lots of very cool and seldom seen series on it, very cool stuff! I'm loving it!

Also available to TimeWarner Cable customers, too. Agree -- very cool channel. Reminds me of SPEED in its early days, when it wasn't infested with reality and car culture shows.

[GB_Simo]

30 years today, chaps. Worth seeing this one more time, surely?



Imagine what he'd have done with a McLaren-TAG in 1984...

[pk500]

Great vid, Simo. Never gets old.

Here's a video of Jacques Villeneuve driving his father's 312 T4 today at Fiorano on the 30th anniversary of Gilles' death:

[Dave]

30 years today, chaps. Worth seeing this one more time, surely?

Imagine what he'd have done with a McLaren-TAG in 1984...

AND HE'S BACK!

What a great call of a great pass. That last lap is insane.

I was too young to see him race, but really enjoyed reading Gerald Donaldson's biography.

Salut Gilles

[DChaps]

Just saw that the legendary Carroll Shelby died last night at 89 years of age. He can be credited with so many major racing accomplishments, but I am particularly fond of his LeMans winnings in the late 60's:

When Henry Ford II’s quest to buy Ferrari back in 1963 was spitefully squelched by Enzo, the mandate was given to, “Kick Ferrari’s ass.” And not just anywhere– at Le Mans, the world stage of auto racing. The ass-kicking would finally come in the beautiful & brutish form of the iconic Ford GT40–America’s most incredible racecar ever.

Originally developed in England by Ford Advanced Vehicles Ltd under the direction of Aston Martin’s former team manager, John Wyer, the GT40 failed at Le Mans in ’64 & ’65, as Ferrari finished 1-2-3 both years. With failure no longer an option for anyone who wished to remain employed by Ford, Carroll Shelby was tapped to give the GT40 the necessary bite to beat the Italians. Shelby’s success at Le Mans in his own Cobras, and again with the GT40, was not about technology, but by being crafty. He replaced the 289 c.i. GT40 engine with the same powerful, big block 427 c.i. V-8 that powered his Cobras. The lower revving, larger displacement V-8′s were more able to take the stress of long endurance races than the higher-revving, small displacement engines used by Ferrari.

Shelby not only ended Ferrari’s racing dominance, he exacted sweet revenge for Enzo’s snub– and garnered Ford a remarkable four-year winning streak from 1966 – 1969.

RIP... and thanks for the memories!

http://wot.motortrend.com/remembering-c ... 04649.html

http://www.yourplace.co.za/general/carr ... t-le-mans/

[GB_Simo]

Well put, Don. RIP Carroll.

So, what a drive from that Candy Maldonado chap. This isn't going to end at all well, is it?

[pk500]

THE CANDY MAN CAN!

Effing Candy Maldonado!

[toonarmy]

Lotus looked great out there today. Gotta wonder how Grosjean will find a way to cock things up tomorrow. I would love to see an epic battle between Ferdinand and Kimi.

[pk500]

Lotus looked great out there today. Gotta wonder how Grosjean will find a way to cock things up tomorrow. I would love to see an epic battle between Ferdinand and Kimi.

As soon as I read the first sentence, I knew you weren't talking about Lotus' effort at Indy.

[Zeppo]

It sure looks like its setting up for a crazy action packed race tomorrow at Barcelona. I can't tell if after the break, the mid pack teams have caught up to the front runners and it'll be anyone's game, race after race, or if today was just weird because of the soft tires. It certainly was odd to see both a McLaren and a Red Bull miss out on Q3 without some sort of accident or weather or red flag or anything. And one Williams in the top three, one spinning out, was that in Q1, or Q2?

It certainly is a scrambled up grid and it should be some crazy action for the first couple of stints. I wonder how long those options will last.

[EZSnappin]

What a great race! One of the best from Barcelona in some time. Very happy for Williams and Maldonado.

[GB_Simo]

YES! THE CANDY MAN CAN! HE REALLY CAN!

[pk500]

THE CANDY MAN DID!

I feel so good for Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head.

[GB_Simo]

Jesus, I hope everyone's alright after this fire in the Williams garage. Happened while BBC were still on air. Scary, scary stuff:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99589

[pk500]

Crazy scene in Barcelona:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 9QLET_u1DA

[Gurantsu]

Man, that was some scary stuff.

[Rodster]

Shock worthy, Casey Stoner announced he will retire from MotoGP and the end of this year.

[Gurantsu]

Just saw the announcement that tickets for the Baltimore Grand Prix will go on sale on the 28th. Awesome! Looks like I won't cancel the hotel room. Both Indycar and the ALMS will be back.

It's very cool that Michael Andretti's group came in to take over. I saw a quote from him that after the first event being such a hit, both with fans and the racing series involved, that it would be a shame to just let that go.

I think that the race has the potential to be a classic road course much like Long Beach, and could become a Labor Day tradition if handled well. I don't know anything about what goes on with promoting something like this, but I would think that you don't really see much profit right off the bat, and you really need to think long-term for it to take hold. If the first race showed anything its that there is interest there. The Baltimore area loves stuff like this, and there are a LOT of people in the area. Heck, I've seen commercials for the Preakness that don't even mention horses, only the stuff going on in the infield. Baltimore loves a party, it's a really cool area with tons of stuff to do, so I hope that the race stays for a long time.

[DChaps]

Unfortunately I do not have ESPN Classic, but for those of you that do, here is the schedule for this week of Classic Indy 500's and Sportscentury shows on Mario, Mears, Foyt, Unser, etc.

2012 ESPN Classic Indy 500 marathon list

Monday May 21st, 2012 - 1979 Indy 500 11 AM EST
Monday May 21st, 2012 - 1996 Indy 500 12 pm EST
Monday May 21st, 2012 - 1997 Indy 500 2 pm EST
Monday May 21st, 2012 - 1999 Indy 500 4 pm EST
Monday May 21st, 2012 - 2006 Indy 500 6 pm EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 1967 Indy 500 1 am EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 1969 Indy 500 2 am EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 1981 Indy 500 3 am EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - Sportscentury: Mario Andretti 9 am EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 1969 Indy 500 10 am EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 2000 Indy 500 11 am EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 2001 Indy 500 1 pm EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 2002 Indy 500 3 pm EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 2009 Indy 500 5 pm EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 2005 Indy 500 7 pm EST
Tuesday May 22nd, 2012 - 2011 Indy 500 10 pm EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 1980 Indy 500 1 am EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 1983 Indy 500 3 am EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - Sportscentury: Rick Mears 10 am EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 1984 Indy 500 11 am EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 1988 Indy 500 1 pm EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 1991 Indy 500 3 pm EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 1986 Indy 500 5 pm EST
Wednesday May 23rd, 2012 - 2010 Indy 500 7 pm EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1987 Indy 500 1 am EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1992 Indy 500 3 am EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1970 Indy 500 9 am EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1971 Indy 500 10 am EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1978 Indy 500 12 pm EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - Sportscentury: Al Unser, Sr. 2 pm EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1987 Indy 500 3 pm EST
Thursday May 24th, 2012 - 1992 Indy 500 5 pm EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - 1997 Indy 500 12 am EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - 1989 Indy 500 2 am EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - 2003 Indy 500 4 am EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - Sportscentury: Rick Mears 9 am EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - Sportscentury: A.J. Foyt 10 am EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - 2008 Indy 500 5 pm EST
Friday May 25th, 2012 - 30 For 30: Tim Richmond: To The Limit presented by Cadillac 10 pm EST
Monday May 28th, 2012 - 1977 Indy 500 - 1 am EST
Monday May 28th, 2012 - Sportscentury: A.J. Foyt 2 am EST
Monday May 28th, 2012 - Sportscentury: A.J. Foyt 10 am EST
Monday May 28th, 2012 - 1977 Indy 500 - 11 am EST
Monday May 28th, 2012 - Sportscentury: A.J. Foyt 12 pm EST
Monday May 28th, 2012 - 1977 Indy 500 - 8 pm EST
Wednesday May 30th, 2012 - 1982 Indy 500 1 am EST
Wednesday May 30th, 2012 - 1982 Indy 500 6:30 pm EST
Thursday May 31st, 2012 - 1967 Indy 500 - 1 am EST
Thursday May 31st, 2012 - 1967 Indy 500 - 6 pm EST