Motor Racing and Formula One

Jenny Mclane asked:


Americans have been known for their many passions which includes speed. This apparent need for speed has led to the creation of motor races which have been attracting Americans year after year. While the sport may not seem as physical as other sports such as baseball, football, and basket ball, a huge number of Americans are supporting sports based on the speed of automobiles. And when one speaks of car race, the first thing that comes to mind is the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

The said championship series has captured the imagination of millions of Americans who are known for their attraction to speed contests. The United States is also undoubtedly the biggest market for automobiles in the world which is a reason for the love of automobiles shown by Americans. As popular as the Nextel Cup Series may be, there are still a large number of people who are still in the dark what this sport is about.

Basically, the Nextel Cup is a series of races where the best race car driver, as judged by the number of points received during the duration of the entire series of races is crowned as the champion. The motorsport can be traced back to the days when races are between “strictly stock” cars or cars which have not been modified in any way. During those early days, one can bring a car to the tracks and race it.

Today though, the race cars used in the Nextel Cup Series are tailor made for racing. Although teams can tinker with their cars to make it better than the competition’s, NASCAR imposes rules to keep the cars equal. This year, four car brands have their vehicles racing at the series. These are Ford, Dodge, Toyota, and Chevrolet. The latter has been dominating the current series by winning nine of the last ten races.

While a NASCAR Nextel Cup race car can be modified for racing, they must have three stock parts from manufacturers. These three parts are the roof, the trunk lid, and the hood of the cars. Aside from these three parts, the chassis, the drive train, suspension, steering, and other systems can be modified to make the car so as to be suited to the demands of high speed operations. In fact, aftermarket parts such as the Pacesetter exhaust parts can be used by these race cars. While these systems can be tinkered with, NASCAR set some rules that each team must meet including the weight of the race car.

Currently, the weight set by NASCAR for race cars is 3,400 pounds. Another rule is that the distance between the front and rear wheels should also be uniform on all race cars which would compete in the Nextel Cup Series. The wheelbase of all race cars should be 100 inches. The fuel capacity of these race cars are also controlled by NASCAR. For most tracks, the mandated fuel capacity is 17.5 gallons. All race cars entering the contest should have the same fuel type which is 110 octane unleaded fuel as ruled by the sport’s sanctioning body. The cars’ top speed also has a limit which is set at 235 miles per hour.

For a car to be permitted to race at the Nextel Cup Series, its engine should conform to the rules set by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or NASCAR. For instance, electronic features are not permitted and instead, mechanical parts are used. This keeps the costs from ballooning for the benefit of teams competing in the races. Engines allowed to be used on race cars competing in the Nextel Cup Series should have eight cylinders with combustion chambers measuring 358 cubic inches. To keep the cars equal power output is set at a maximum of approximately 750 horsepower.

An interesting fact about these race cars is their headlights. Since these cars are raced only during the day, they do not need to have a pair of headlights. The actual headlights that we see in front of these cars are in fact decals which look realistic enough to fool the unknowing person. Another interesting fact about these race cars is that they have to meet a number of templates that NASCAR is using to make sure that the shape of the cars is almost uniform. The tires used on these cars have no tread on them which is the reason why the Jimmy Stewart 400 was postponed due to the rain that poured during the event. The absence of treads on the tires of these cars makes them impossible to race in wet tracks. The tire compound used on these cars’ tire is harder than those used by other motorsport vehicles given the fact that these race cars significantly weigh more.



Jocelyn

Thomas Pretty asked:


For those who were hoping that the F1 season would be open for all teams and drivers are likely to be disappointed. Sponsors, F1 bosses and merchandise producers are all trying to claim that this year will see the most open season for almost a decade in terms of team performances.

The early rounds of testing however are proving otherwise. So far of all the F1 practice sessions the two teams that have come through strongest are Ferrari and McLaren; good news for the sponsors and merchandise producers linked to those teams, but what of the rest of the pack?

Schumacher; the greatest statistical driver F1 has ever seen has been recorded as saying this week that he sees the upcoming season as a two horse race. Merchandise companies and sponsors will be trying to play down the former champion’s claims as the risk of F1 becoming a procession rather than the pinnacle of racing will dent profits severely.

The chances of the season being a battle between the prancing horse and the silver arrow seems likely, testing has shown they are clearly the fastest cars on the track, the question is with new regulations; will a more exciting season be forthcoming?

Sponsors and merchandise produces will be hoping that the new regulations on the banning of traction control systems will create more exciting racing. Without traction control it is clear that the F1 cars will be even harder to control. Driver mistakes will be more disastrous than ever and if it is wet, expect to see cars flying off the track in abundance.

Smooth driving will be the name of the game for drivers and aggressive driving is likely to be unrewarding, sticking to the racing line will be increasingly important if drivers want to win races. This sounds as if the racing will become duller but with a mistake now likely to cost more than it has in the past, the opportunities for other drivers to capitalise on mistakes will be evident.

Merchandise and sponsorship companies in Britain will be hoping that Lewis Hamilton can build upon the impressive performances he put down in 2007. Worryingly however it seem as if the British F1 team will be undergoing a management shake up in the weeks leading up to the first race.

Ron Dennis, who has been team manager at McLaren since the late eighties is set to leave following increasing pressure from team bosses; although the company line is it is due to his want to spend more time with his family. Dennis, who has been like a father to the young Hamilton, will be a great loss to the British driver. As his most ardent supporter in the team Hamilton will be losing some of his support structure in the upper echelons of management.

Of the other teams, most have seen Renault and BMW as the biggest rivals of the two favourites. Renault have signed former champion Alonso after his clashes with McLaren management throughout the previous season and will undoubtedly raise Renault’s sponsorship and merchandise profits in Spain; as he has arguably trebled the fan base in his home nation in the past few years.

BMW however will have their work cut out if they wish to achieve the podiums they so strongly desire. Kubica, a driver for BMW has stated that the BMW F1 08 is still way behind the pack after radical changes to aerodynamics and engine design. Although winter testing has been troublesome for the team, the supporting sponsors and merchandise companies will be hoping the car will come good by the time of racing in Melbourne.

Hopefully the new season will be able to throw up some surprises; Raikkonen and Hamilton may well be the favourites for the title in their Ferrari and McLaren respectively but there are other drivers who may add to the excitement for the title race.

Alonso, although in a poorer car will undoubtedly bring home results with his unique driving style and Kubica in his BMW will be hoping to build on his good results from last year. For those of us in the F1 fraternity, the wait for the new season is nearly over; as the race gets underway in Melbourne in a couple of weeks, we will see how exciting the 2008 season will be.



Alexandria

Adam Singleton asked:


The Formula One world championship season has ended for the season, leaving many Brits a little disappointed. Everything was looking good for racing prodigy Lewis Hamilton, who at the tender age of 22 looked as though he had the world title in the bag.

However, things weren’t to be; in the final race in Brazil, it all went wrong for Hamilton who suffered from mechanical problems with his car and finished 8th in the race, meaning he was just beaten to being crowned the youngest ever F1 champion.

Hamilton’s team, McLaren, have stated that they may appeal against the stewards’ decision not to penalise Williams and BMW Sauber for alleged fuel irregularities, but despite this meaning that Hamilton would then be crowned champion, he has publicly stated that he does not want to win the title under such circumstances. He has announced that he wants to win the world championship on the racetrack, not in an appeal court, adding that such a situation would be detrimental to the sport of F1.

Even though the F1 season is over for another year, there are still plenty of world class motoring events to keep petrol heads happy; The World Rally Championship, the Karting World Championship and the European Drag racing championship amongst others.

And for those who wonder how motor sport could ever be seen as ‘green’, the FIA Alternatives Energies Cup is a growing competition that pits various green forms of alternative energy powered vehicles against each other, such as solar power and electrically powered automobiles. Hardened motor sport enthusiasts may miss the scream and smell of the petrol engine, but the Alternative Energies cup is helping to further renewable and less damaging forms of vehicular technology whilst at the same time providing some superb racing sport.

And don’t forget the hundreds of local motor races that take place throughout the country at small club circuits every week. These may not carry the prestige of world cup events, but they can be just as entertaining and it’s here that you’ll find some of the most interesting classes of vehicles being pitted against each other; coaches, taxis, ambulances, tractors, minis - even sit-on lawn mowers, if it’s got wheels and an engine, there’s likely to be a club of enthusiasts that races them.

We all know that a massive part of the attraction of motor sports is the element of danger and the chance of a spectacular crash; and this is one area where local banger racing circuits can almost guarantee entertainment, as many local race days will end with a real crowd pleaser - the demolition derby. This is a ‘last man stands’ affair - enter all ye who dare, rev up your engines and then bump, crash, scrape and collide until only one car can still move. The perfect end to a day at the races.



Ivan

Alex Bradburry asked:


Car racing, a form of motor racing involving cars built to combine aspects of racing and touring cars. Although there are many conflicting definitions of sports cars, it is usually conceded that in normal production form they do not resemble Grand Prix (Formula I) racing machines. Whereas the latter is a single.seat design carrying spartan cockpit furnishings and utterly functional equipment throughout, the sports car is usually a two- seater, sometimes a four, characterized by its nimble abilities (if not speed and power) together with general suitability for high- speed touring on ordinary roads. Unlike a Grand Prix car, it is usually series-produced,handmade. Some manufacturers of Grand Prix machines, such as Ferrari and Lotus, also make sports cars. Other makes include MG, Jaguar, Aston Martin, AustinI Healey, Triumph, Porsche, Lancia, Morgan, and Chevrolet Corvette. Although not usually designed exclusively for racing, sports cars are nevertheless able racing machines and are often entered in competitions with their own kind, Most of the world’s sports-car racing is conducted for amateur drivers by local and regional organizations. Some of the world’s tccsctcam cot taesng, tsptciaiy in suc’n important as Mans, where the reputations of manufacturers are very much at stake, has brought about some prototype sports cars that are, in reality, little different in their power and speed potentials from Formula I machines. A world sports-car championship was awarded from 1953 to 1961. It was replaced in 1962 by a manufacturer’s championship, for which grand touring and prototype cars also compete, awarded annually to the make of car that achieves the best record in a specified series of races.



Derick

Amelia Stenson asked:


South African motor racing was given a long overdue shot in the arm last month when the world class Kyalami Race track hosted the A1GP for the first time. Long discarded as a preferred international venue for the really big league of motor racing, Formula One, Kyalami proved to both its detractors and supporters that it is indeed ready to host the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and the rest of the F1 racing daredevils.

Kyalami rises to the deafening sound of A1 racing

Right up until 1985, when South Africa’s entrenched apartheid policies raised the ire of the racing fraternity, Kyalami was the venue of the elite South African Grand Prix, but since then the deafening noise on the track has been silenced.

The 4,26km Midrand track did not belie its name (meaning “My Home” in Zulu) when teams from all over the globe took part in the A1GP. Even Brazil’s favourite racing son, Felipe Massa, was on hand at the anti-clockwise track to give his A1 compatriot a couple of tips before the race.

Although South Africa had to acquiesce to the flair and sheer velocity of Team Netherlands on the day, it was a heavenly and historic moment for auto racing in South Africa.

Formula Vee National Champs at the Phakisa Freeway soon

The incumbent king of the national Formula Vee championship, Dennis Johns, is back on home turf in an attempt to defend his title and there is an entire harem of consummate drivers out there to test the young man’s nerves and skill.

Formula Vee is the baby brother of motor sport, with the class based on the precocious and enduring 1963 VW Beetle. Although the likes of Barrichello and Button may well scoff at the lowly and inexpensive formula, it has proved to have tremendous stamina in the popularity stakes of both drivers and its ever-growing fan base.

The national championship takes place at the Phakisa Freeway on March 14, a track that has often been likened to the hugely acclaimed Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada. The Free State track is rated as one of the safest circuits on the GP tour and MotoGP, organisers of the World Grand Prix circuit, believe it is a superb venue and one of the best in the world – yet another accolade for the resurgent South African auto-racing sector.

Apart from the signature race, fans are in for a dynamic mix of single seater, sports, GT and saloon racing including



Historic saloon cars

Historic sports and GT cars

Formula GTi & 250cc Super Karts

Club championship events for Formula Libre single-seaters & Marque cars



Linda

Fazal Zubair asked:


Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, motor racing or car racing) is a motorsport involving racing cars. It is one of the world’s most watched television sports.

History

The beginning of racing

Racing began soon after the construction of the first successful petrol-fueled automobiles before that time people raced in other vehicles such as horse-drawn buggies. The first race ever organized was on April 28, 1887 by , by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometers from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne. It was won by Georges Bouton, in a car he had constructed with Albert, the Comte de Dion, but as he was the only competitor to show up it is rather pointless to call it a race. On July 22 1894, the first real contest was organized by Paris magazine Le Petit Journal, as a reliability test. The Comte de Dion was first to arrive in Rouen on his steam car, but a Panhard et Levassor was judged to be the winner.

In 1895, the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris Rally was held and this was the first real race as all competitors started together. The winner was Émile Levassor in his Panhard-Levassor 1205 cc model. He completed the course in 48 hours and 47 minutes, finishing nearly six hours before the runner-up.

The first regular auto racing venue was Nice, France, run in late March 1897 as a “Speed Week.” To fill out the schedule, most types of racing event were invented here, including the first hill climb (Nice - La Turbie) and a sprint that was, in spirit, the first drag race.

An international competition, between nations rather than individuals, began with the Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing.

The first auto race in the United States took place in Chicago, Illinois. The course went from the South side of the city, North along the lakefront to Evanston, Illinois and back again on November 28, 1895 over an 54.36 mile(87.48 km) course, with Frank Duryea winning in 10 hours and 23 minutes, beating three petrol-fueled and two electric cars.

City to city racing

With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city in Europe or France.

These very successful races ended in 1903 when Marcel Renault was involved in a fatal accident near Angouleme in the Paris-Madrid race. Nine fatalities caused the French government to stop the race in Bordeaux and ban open-road racing.

See complete details with images at

http://classic-auto-racing.blogspot.com/



Kody

Kayla Reid asked:


Man is undoubtedly attracted to both speed and intense rivalry, be it on the ocean, land or in the heavens, judging by how frequently these three elements are taken on by the masters of racing. Each high velocity sport offers both riveting thrills and bone-breaking spills - but which of these full-throttle races reigns supreme?

Extreme power-boating

Extreme power-boating has been around for quite some time, although the regulated F1 version was first inaugurated less than three decades ago. Based on Formula One motor racing, the powerboats are effectively the thoroughbreds of the oceans’ depths.

The boats, tunnel hull catamarans, are specifically designed for extreme speed and exceptional manoeuvrability. The design creates an air cushion under the hull so that when the craft is barrelling along at full speed, a neck-breaking 240kph, only a few inches of the craft actually touches the water, giving one the impression that the boat is literally flying in the air.

As with F1, power-boat racing takes place at 13 different international venues on the standard H2O track; a 350m circuit set out on either a river, lake or a balmy bay, sheltered from the worst of the elements. Again, emulating their race buddies on terra firma, qualifying periods determine the grid and specialised timing apparatus records each performance, with championship points handed out to the quickest.

Although power-boat racing has grown in popularity and regular action includes 360° barrel rolls, with the hapless crew knocked out cold at times, as well as the occasional ‘full ejection’ of the crew from the craft, it hasn’t captured as much attention as its land based counterparts.

Red Bull Air Race World Championships

Then there’s the Red Bull Air Race World Championships, a hair-raising event where accomplished pilots rocket their aircraft at full speed around a demanding obstacle course in the sky. Pilots fly against the clock doing the tightest of turns through a slalom course consisting of 20m high ‘Air Gates’.

Again, the championship is contested at different venues throughout the world, with the lion’s share of the sky tracks set out above a body of water….just in case they miss the mark. Air racing, the new kid on the racing block, has only been contested at its highest level since 2003 and, while it has its fair share of supporters, its still motor racing that commands the most attention!

Nothing beats Formula One motor racing

Perhaps it’s the deafening shriek of the powerful engines, the charisma of the championship drivers or the constant threat of an untimely collision between racing cars, but nothing quite matches the exhilaration of motor racing.

If in any doubt as to the pure pedigree of Formula One, why not take the challenge and drive an F1 car? Dedicated motor racing companies in South Africa can organise a day at the track, either as a corporate event, or simply a real spoiler for that all-important person in your life.



Rafael