BuzzJack Music Forum _ Sports and Fitness _ Other Motorsport Series Thread 2019
Posted by: Voltage501 1st January 2019, 04:37 PM
A 2019 thread where you discuss other motorsport series outside of Formula 1 and Formula E for example, IndyCar, NASCAR, V8, BTCC, WRC, WTCC, DTM.
Posted by: Severin 15th January 2019, 07:46 PM
This years Indycar series schedule - 12 Street/Road circuits and 5 Ovals
Will be interesting to see the cars at Austin, Texas and there are classic circuits like Laguna Seca, Elkhart Lake, Long Beach and of course the Indy 500
1 March 10 St. Petersburg, Florida 2 March 24 Circuit of the America, Austin, Texas 3 April 7 Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama 4 April 14 Long Beach Long Beach, California 5 May 11 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Speedway, Indiana 6 May 26 103rd Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Oval) 7 June 1 Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan 8 June 2 Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan 9 June 8 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas (Oval) 10 June 23 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 11 July 14 Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario 12 July 20 Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa (Oval) 13 July 28 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 14 August 18 Pocono Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania (Oval) 15 August 24 Gateway Motorsports Park Madison, Illinois (Oval) 16 September 1 Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon 17 September 22 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California
Full time drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises -Matheus Leist - Tony Kanaan Andretti Autosport -Zach Veach - Alexander Rossi - Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Herta Autosport -Marco Andretti - Chip Ganassi Racing -Scott Dixon - Felix Rosenqvist Dale Coyne Racing -Santino Ferrucci - Sébastien Bourdais Ed Carpenter Racing -Spencer Pigot Harding Steinbrenner Racing - Patricio O'Ward - Colton Herta Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - Graham Rahal - Takuma Sato - Jordan King Schmidt Peterson Motorsports -James Hinchcliffe - Marcus Ericsson Team Penske -Josef Newgarden - Will Power - Simon Pagenaud
If the season is half as good as last year it'll be well worth tuning in to
Posted by: Mack. 15th January 2019, 09:24 PM
If IndyCar could host another race overseas where would you want it to be?
Posted by: Severin 16th January 2019, 05:45 PM
For the sake of the question I'll avoid current F1 tracks and imagining distance is not a problem I'd love to see Imola hold a race. Brands Hatch too were it made safe enough
But realistically Watkins Glen is a stunning track and fits all the necessary criteria
Posted by: Mack. 28th January 2019, 05:46 PM
Former Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has added another motorsport trophy to his cabinet with victory in the Rolex 24 in Daytona.
Posted by: Mack. 1st March 2019, 04:28 PM
For UK viewers who watch IndyCar, it will now be on Sky Sports F1 after BT Sport lost the rights to it.
Posted by: Severin 1st March 2019, 05:28 PM
QUOTE(Mack. @ Mar 1 2019, 04:28 PM)
For UK viewers who watch IndyCar, it will now be on Sky Sports F1 after BT Sport lost the rights to it.
Genuinely pleased about this. I was concerned that I wouldn't get to watch any live racing this year, as I wouldn't get Sky just for F1 due to a point of principle on pay per view and a lack of exciting racing these days.
But Indycar and F1 means I will stump up
Posted by: Severin 10th March 2019, 10:25 AM
https://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-year-you-start-watching-indycar-1833020536/amp 4.30 on Sky F1 sees the opening round
Trust me it’ll be worth watching
Posted by: Severin 24th March 2019, 11:00 AM
With Indycars now racing at the Circuit of the Americas, for the first time in years we’ve had an almost genuine comparison of the difference between F1 and Indy. As expected the Indycars are around 10 seconds a lap slower as they simply cannot take the corners as fast without the power steering that F1 has. The much cooler temperatures probably had a minor effect too.
It was also interesting to hear Marcus Ericsson talk about how his car was the most difficult machine he’d had to handle in years. And turn 19 saw a lot of drivers struggling to keep the car on track. Should be an interesting race
Posted by: Mack. 5th April 2019, 11:29 AM
BBC set to show the opening round of the World Touring Car Championship
I'm going to watch this to give it a chance. If nothing else the chance to watch open wheeled single seaters at Brands is always welcome.
I'm not convinced it is the right way forward to encourage women into the higher levels of the sport but if it brings exciting racing (the likes of which F1 seems incapable of bringing these days) then it'll be worth it
Posted by: Severin 5th May 2019, 01:10 PM
The opening race of the W Series was entertaining enough. Surprisingly brief though but it's May so I'll take as the first in the famous 'Month Of May'
Posted by: Severin 11th May 2019, 10:08 PM
Utterly brilliant race in Indycar tonight. Pagenaud's hunting down of Dixon reminded me of Schumacher on Alesi at the'95 Euro GP. Great stuff
Posted by: Mack. 15th May 2019, 02:44 PM
Great to hear that qualifying will be shown for viewers in the UK on the W Series YouTube channel following qualifying being geo-blocked in the first round.
Posted by: Mack. 15th May 2019, 10:58 PM
Alonso's crash in the Indy 500 Practice Session
Posted by: Severin 16th May 2019, 12:05 AM
They say there are two types of drivers at Indianapolis, those who have hit the wall and those who will hit the wall.
Hopefully that's his one mistake over the next fortnight
Posted by: Serhat Mack 19th May 2019, 12:30 AM
Fernando Alonso is in danger of failing to make the grid for the Indianapolis 500 after setting the 31st fastest time on the first day of qualifying.
The two-time Formula 1 world champion faces a shootout on Sunday with five other drivers for the final three places on the 33-car grid.
Posted by: Severin 19th May 2019, 09:53 AM
It’s not looking overly promising either with Hinchcliffe and new Red Bull programme driver Patricio O’Ward in the running as well. I’d expect those two to make it leaving only one spot free. Hope they find some extra pace overnight
Posted by: Serhat Mack 19th May 2019, 03:50 PM
Posted by: Serhat Mack 19th May 2019, 04:14 PM
Dutch driver Beitske Visser dominated the second race of the new W Series as Britons Jamie Chadwick and Alice Powell finished second and third respectively.
Visser led from start to finish in Zolder, Belgium, with Chadwick and Powell locked in a battle for second place until the last lap.
Chadwick stays top of the leaderboard after two rounds of the six-race championship.
The third round takes place at Misano, Italy, on 8 June.
Posted by: Severin 19th May 2019, 09:47 PM
Fernando Alonso has failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
If you want to understand why McLaren and Alonso didn’t make the 500 this report will explain all. And it sheds insight on why their F1 operation is so awful too
I'd like to know what the viewing figures have been for last weekends Duel in Detroit to see how much of that audience tuned in again. I wouldn't expect much from saturday night's race but Sunday's should be a good indicator. Both races were very different and so far this season there have been 6 different winners from 8 races which just goes to show why the field is so competitive. In a year when F1 is struggling to keep the interest viewing figures could really benefit.
Plus we had Marco Andretti's bold early move to slicks on a wet, bumpy rubbered-in concrete track, with no power steering, which gave us this incredible in car footage.
Posted by: Mack. 6th June 2019, 12:18 AM
Sorry couldn't find any UK viewing figures for Detroit, Severin.
Posted by: Mack. 12th June 2019, 01:53 PM
Apparently AJ Foyt has claimed that Tony Kanaan will be back for 2020 in a full-time capacity in IndyCar.
Posted by: Severin 15th June 2019, 12:42 AM
Sadly I suspect another year of plodding around near the back, causing the occasional accident. Kanaan was really rather good 10 years ago but it feels like he's putting off the inevitable because, Foyt will indulge him, to the detriment of his legacy.
Posted by: Mack. 24th June 2019, 02:33 PM
This may amuse you all:
Posted by: Severin 1st August 2019, 10:07 PM
Indycar has just announced it will switch to hybrid cars in 2022 and they will be on a similar level to F1 cars in terms of horsepower. As long as the racing stays as close and unpredictable then this is great news
QUOTE
IndyCar will race 900-horsepower hybrid cars starting in 2022
IndyCar, the top open-wheel racing series in the United States, just announced that its racecars will use hybrid powertrains starting in 2022. The new cars will be powered by a combination of combustion engines developed by Honda and Chevrolet (the two manufacturers that currently compete in the series) and a single-sourced “multi-phase motor, inverter and electric storage device that will create energy recovery from the car’s braking system.”
The result will be IndyCars that can create north of 900 horsepower, putting them close to the current power output of Formula One’s racecars. Current IndyCars generate between 550 and 700 horsepower, depending on their configuration, which changes based on what track is being run.
IT’S NOT THE FIRST SERIES TO RACE HYBRIDS, AND IT WON’T BE THE LAST As automakers develop electric and hybrid cars in the face of the growing climate crisis, a number of motorsports have already adopted hybrid powertrains, like Formula One or the World Endurance Championship’s top Le Mans prototype class. Since EV racing series Formula E launched in 2014, a bevy of all-electric series has launched as well, including one featuring all Jaguar I-Paces, one based around Smart ForTwos, and one for electric motorcycles.
IndyCar didn’t release much more detail about how the hybrid powertrain will work, but it sounds similar to the kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) that Formula One introduced in 2009. By spinning the electric motor backward, the car will be able to turn the kinetic energy of braking into potential energy that’s stored in something like a flywheel or a small battery. That energy can then be redeployed to the electric motor to help power the car forward in combination with the combustion engine.
IndyCar has spent the last few years remaking itself in an effort to rebuild its fan base, and the move to hybrid cars will now become a crucial part of that shift. The series quickly did away with the overly complicated aerodynamic kits it introduced in 2015. Instead, it relaunched a much simpler, sleeker car in 2017 that harkens back to the designs that made the series popular a few decades ago. The series will also add a reinforced windscreen to its cars in 2020 to better protect drivers from head injuries.
McLaren Racing will return to IndyCar competition 40 years after they last entered the series full-time.
McLaren, who won the Indy 500 in 1974 and 1976, will be in a "strategic partnership with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (Arrow SPM) and Chevrolet".
The team will be called Arrow McLaren Racing SP and field two Chevrolet-powered cars in the 2020 championship.
Posted by: Severin 18th August 2019, 07:02 PM
Takuma Sato has just managed to take out a quarter of the field on the first lap at the Pocono 500 with some ridiculously bad decision making
Posted by: Mack. 19th August 2019, 11:18 PM
I would agree with Robert. Surely now is the time to remove Pocono from the IndyCar calendar after three serious crashes one fatal in the last five years.
Posted by: Severin 20th August 2019, 04:42 PM
I don't think it's quite as black and white as that. If you look at the 3 accidents in detail, all of them could have happened at any circuit on the calendar to some degree.
Sage Karam's accident that unfortunately claimed Justin Wilson, wasn't that severe in itself but a piece of carbon fibre struck Wilson on the head and that was what caused the fatality. It is absolutely true that something similar could happen anywhere, and indeed has - Henry Surtees for example, or Felipe Massa's lucky escape. However this is something that the screen shield and Halo device were designed to prevent. Indeed, Hinchcliffe was protected by a similar device in the very same accident on Sunday. Had the same accident happened with today's safety regulations Wilson would no doubt still be with us, but the point is that incident is not specific to Pocono.
Wickens' accident clearly raises a lot more questions and although Michael Andretti received a lot of flak for saying it the same day, he had a point when he commented that Wickens was in Hunter-Reay's 'blind spot', attempting a very unorthodox pass and probably should have backed out. It was after all lap 7 of a 500 mile race and that kind of aggressive driving is not necessary so early on.
Sunday's accident is far more clear cut though. Sato's known for being aggressive but this was way over the top and pretty much every driver in the field has rounded on him as being excessive and to blame. It was both poor driving and bad decision making. Sato could do that anywhere and had Rosenqvist's car not climbed the wall, it wouldn't have been such big news Again we are looking at aggressive driving on lap one.
Importantly though both the last two incidents happened at turn 2 - the one designed as an identical turn to those at Indianapolis. Some have cited the extra wide straights as allowing cars to go 5 abreast being a contributing factor because the room soon disappears at turns 1 & 3, but the drivers should know this and the fact it doesn't happen more frequently suggests they do and I don't think the track itself is the issue in regards to the last 2 crashes.
However, Pocono does need to improve its general safety levels. If an accident is going to happen, which, like any racetrack, it inevitably will the protective measures in place need to be better The SAFER barriers need work, the spotters tower is appalling, the fencing is in dire need of looking at and if the width of the circuit is an issue they could move the infield walls in closer to prevent drivers attempting to go 2-3 abreast in a corner.
With a few minor tweaks its track layout is fine - providing the drivers respect it - but its features need looking at and for that reason I broadly agree Pocono needs to be re-thought. It would be a shame to lose it but Indycar Oval racing is a uniquely strategic and thrilling experience in motorsport and Pocono is currently harming that
This year was the last of the current deal and Richmond is being touted as replacing it already, and maybe Pocono could come back better in the future
Posted by: Mack. 21st August 2019, 12:28 AM
Posted by: Severin 31st August 2019, 05:31 PM
Anthoine Hubert has been killed after a horrifying crash at the Raidillion corner of Spa in the GP2 race.
He had gone of and hit the barrier before bouncing back onto the track where Juan Manuel Correa collided with the wrecked car at full speed
Correa's condition is described as 'stable'
Posted by: 5 Silas Frøkner 31st August 2019, 05:56 PM
I’ve seen a couple of photos of some of the debris and that is a horror shunt. Am not surprised the poor lad has passed away. It looked like a brutal brutal smash
Posted by: Severin 31st August 2019, 05:59 PM
It was reminiscent of Alex Zanardi's leg destroying shunt, except the car was more damaged before rejoining the track and Correa hit him dead centre, rather than took the front off.
It was obvious immediately it was a really bad one.
Posted by: Mack. 31st August 2019, 06:49 PM
RIP Anthoine Hubert. That was an awful crash. The poor lad. He was 22. He had won in Monaco. Just a brutal smash.
Posted by: dobbo 1st September 2019, 03:16 PM
Truly horrendous crash the more I've seen it. A reminder of just how dangerous motor sports can be even in the modern era where this is thankfully incredibly rare. RIP Hubert.
Posted by: Mack. 7th September 2019, 01:02 PM
Horrific crash with Alex Peroni during the Formula 3 race in Monza
Praying for Juan Manuel Correa who is critical but stable after last week's horrendous crash at Spa.
Posted by: Severin 7th September 2019, 03:03 PM
Thankfully it wasn't more serious although he has fractured a vertebrae. The Halo prevented him smashing his head into the tyre barrier itself.
JM Correa yesterday developed complications causing acute respiratory failure - apparently not uncommon in high speed accidents - and has been placed in an induced coma whilst in ICU
Posted by: Severin 24th September 2019, 04:25 PM
For those that may be interested, Sunday's Indycar title decider at the glorious Laguna Seca raceway had more going on than in Singapore as Joseph Newgarden just about claimed his second title
If only we could have more circuits like that in F1
Also JM Correa is now out of a coma but faces serious surgery
Posted by: Mack. 31st December 2019, 11:58 PM
Highlight of the motorsport series this year would be the BTCC finale for me.
