US Grand Prix should be on the Indy oval...

[PhatBwoi]

I reckon the US Grand Prix should be held on the same oval as the CART racers. Wouldn''t be sweet to see an F1 oval race instead of a poxy infield section with 2 first gear bends?? Ad "Too Slow My Friend!!"

[Don]

Oval racing. zzzzzzzz As someone said.

[McNab]

So it's zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz is it ? If you haven't seen one you're due for a surprise ! Do yourself a favour and go to Rockingham on 22nd September.

[Don]

I'm afraid so. I have seen Oval racing and its just not for me. I'm sure others can and do enjoy it. As for Rockingham: a FINE venue - but give me the infield circuit....

[PhatBwoi]

It's just that the infield circuit at Indy is pretty pathetic, and all the drivers hate it too, I mean shifting down to first for the two bends towards the end?? Plus with most Indycar oval races you get a genuine, long battle for the lead. I reckon it should be tried, at least as an experiment. There used to be oval GPs at Brooklands and Monza before the war... Ad "Too Slow My Friend!!"

[McNab]

Well Don, chacun a son gout (wow!!) and if you don't like what you have seen I respect that. I think I have been badly turned off by the lack of passing in F1, and all too often you see one car and then nothing, and another car and then nothing, and so on. If the cameras would spend more time on the midfield battles it wouldn't be so bad, but even the midfielders can seldom overtake. What really puzzles me is this: why can CART cars can run close behind eachother without aerodynamic disaster at speeds well in excess of the normal F1 max ? Solve that problem and you transform F1 for drivers and spectators alike.

[pyjamas]

I have never been to a CART or IRL race and I cannot comment from that point of view. CART oval racing is shown on TV in Australia and I feel it is the most interesting form of open wheel motor racing in the world if you listen to the comentators closely. I would like to see F1 cars race on the oval at Indy. It would be very interesting to see the outcome because we have been told by experts that it is a totally different 'ball game'to F1 in terms of set up and strategy. Ben Azzopardi Australia.

[Neil Menzies]

quote:What really puzzles me is this: why can CART cars can run close behind eachother without aerodynamic disaster at speeds well in excess of the normal F1 max ?

a) CART cars don't have to turn corners, so they don't require high downforce, so they don't generate such dirty air behind them. b) The following car doesn't need to turn corners, so it doesn't have the same problems with travelling in what dirty air is generated by the car in front. Neil

[Don]

quote:I think I have been badly turned off by the lack of passing in F1

Yup. F1 races can be and (IMHO) generally are a bit dull. Great at the beginning..exciting at the end and the part in the middle is why men go to sleep on Sunday afternoons. Whereas: The GT/Tuscans and the Touring cars provide a fine spectacle. Interestingly I liked the Rockingham venue (not the Oval, of course) because of the excellent view over the whole circuit. Which meant I could SEE all the passing going on.....

[ATG]

(following on from Niel ... I think you'll find Indy cars are signifcantly heavier than F1, so, again, their dependence on aerodynamics is further reduced.)

[campbell]

Actual Indy CART cars do generate a lot of down force but not with there wing, it is all done by the design of the floor and rear defuser, they only use the wing to balance the car and the rear wing is designed to distort the air flow so it makes it harder for the car following to stay close An F1 car would be to slow on a oval track due to the large anount of drage created by the wings but it would be good to see a change and bring the racing a little closer Edited by campbell on Tuesday 4th September 15:45

[McNab]

Still don't get it - must be thick..... Approx weights are F1 1200 lbs, CART 1550 lbs, with 1500 bhp/ton and 1300 bhp/ton respectively. CART have 12 circuit races and 9 ovals this season, so they certainly turn corners, and seem able to overtake during street races. Am entirely open-minded about these two series, but still think something could be done to liven up F1. Returning to the start of this thread, it would be great to see F1 using the Indy oval (just once perhaps), but Messrs Ecclestone and Mosley would never allow it.

[ATG]

One way of livening up F1 would be to reduce the area of wing the cars can run. Turbulence would be reduced, as would its effect, so cars could start slip streaming each other. The cars would have to corner more slowly so there might be more opportunities for overtaking in the approach to corners. Thinking back to when Mansell raced, he certainly used to spend a lot of time slipping then jumping out at the end of straights. Usual dilema. Bit crap limiting the teams' ingenuity, but the FIA already imposes loads of design restrictions. Take this approach too far and you end up with the Schumacher brothers peddling fairy cycles... Edited by ATG on Wednesday 5th September 01:25