Indy in the South

Very good run by Rubens today in the Indy race. Finished a solid 8th and looked like he was finally starting to come to grips with the car. I think they finally cut him loose and told him not to save gas during the last stint.

Not overly fond of cars racing on a track designed for motorcycles, but it is a beautiful venue, just no place to pass with the exception of T5.

Anyone go? How were the crowds? I just don't see Indy succeeding at that venue due to not enough fan base there...thoughts?

MB

 

I actually enjoyed watching that race - However, I feel sorry for Lotus with their current engine situation.

As far as passing was concerned there was plenty (at least from the mid-pack at T5) and the same no room for passing argument can also hold true for any street course.

I'd love to go see a race at that venue one of these days.

 

So which "Lotus" is this?
They've apparently resolved the Lotus v Lotus situation in F1.
(I guess they gave Petrov to "Caterham" in exchange for the name. )

But Lotus doesn't even use their own engines in their production cars.

So which "Lotus" is trying to make Indy engines on a shoestring budget?


Interesting all the troubles they're having with tire changes.
(You'd think the wheel gun sockets would be magnetized to keep the wheel nuts from falling out.)

Sato still seems to be moving forward on track, but losing all those positions in the pits.

Be interesting to see how Rubens does on an oval. Especially since the first oval of the year will be Indy.
(Not exactly a good thing for the rookies.)

 

Rubens has had some testing on this track. He is at a huge disadvantage not being classified as a rookie. It would give him another hour or so during the weekend to learn the tracks.

 

the wheel nuts are aluminium and the socket grips it with a set of spring teeth. not sure why some teams haven't solved the issue. it may be that because the rear body makes wheel removal a little harder, they are pulling out too soon and dislodging the nut. Tell you after Indy if I get a gig fo the race..........

 

I heard the crowd on Sunday was 52,000, which sounds like close to a packed house. Not to worry.....

 

Is it just me, or are the news cars hideous?

CW

 

I have to agree. They look like the rental go karts you get at the state fair. You can still be safe with style and this aint it.

 

The South isn't the South we once knew. It's far more homogeneous than it was in the late 70s when I first lived down here. Back in 1983 when I was Marketing Director for CART we had a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway that only attracted 6,000 fans--and many of those were freebies. This despite a pre-race concert that included Merle Haggard and a few other acts I can't recall.

 

yep, they're pretty ugly. a shame IMO.

 

Hey Bill, I used to be Marketing Manager at Rockingham. We should catch up and drink a few and tell stories sometime...would be fun.

Regards,
MB

 

The last time Indy raced in the south, 'Bobby Ray Hall' was the top driver.... and I'm not kidding on the name, that is what one local article in Atlanta called him throughout.

 

LOL!

 

Mmhmm. Remind me of those little Shelby CanAm cars actually.

 

Pinky and the "Bubba Bo Bob Brain".



I did a bit of googling. It looks like Proton has slapped the "Lotus" name on some Judd mills for Indycar.

 

They're hideous. Watched a few minutes of St Pete because of Rubens. Yawn.

 

We attended the race and there was a huge crowd. We sat in a section that allowed us to see about 60% of the track which included 10 turns. There were so many people, everyone was literally crawling over each other to get to their seats.

We witnessed several passes. Not only were they passing on Turn 5, but also through the straight going into turn 8 and then coming through turn 10, 11 and down the back straight into turn 12.

Marco, Dario, RHR, Simon P, Josef, Rubens,were all passing people left and right (and I'm not talking about lapped traffic; there were battles for position throughout the entire field).

Everyone there seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. I think IndyCar has a definite future at this location. It was our first time there and it was one of the best races I've attended. My husband and I will definitely be going back; for future IndyCar races and to attend their driving school. It's an awesome track.

 

Everyone there seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. I think IndyCar has a definite future at this location. It was our first time there and it was one of the best races I've attended. My husband and I will definitely be going back; for future IndyCar races and to attend their driving school. It's an awesome track.[/QUOTE]

+alot, cant say enough about Barber, finest racing facility (road course) Ive been to in the USA. The museum and the grounds are stunning and meticulously maintained. They housed Grand Am, Continental, Star Mazda and IRL series simultaneously with ease this past weekend (each have their tier for transporters and sponsor entertainment).

Very large crowds both Saturday and Sunday. The design of the place can accomodate almost unlimited great seating with natural and graded benching, freshly trimmed, thick zoysia seating no less.

Above all else, from my various seats over two days saw great racing from each series. (BTW, Lotus is providing Judd prepared motors for 4 teams. dicey) Im putting this race on my have to go annual hit list.

Lastly, the new corvette prototype is awesome. Ran away with the overall in its second race ever.

 

I didn't realize the Lotus engines were Judd designs....is Lotus building them or Judd?

was it a clean sheet design or based off something else?

 

I hope that "Legends of Motorsports" returns there this year; I've enjoyed myself immensely the past two years, including our escorted drives to Mountain Brook Village and seeing Historic Grand Prix cars in action. As of now, nothing for 2012 has been scheduled.

 

All new, built to series spec by Honda, Chevy/Ilmor and Lotus/Judd, V6 TT programmable 550-700hp. Lotus powered teams have had less testing/practice time due to availability (lack of) issues relative to their competitors.

 

Basically Lotus is paying Judd to put their name on the engine. Lotus doesn't have a whole ton of involvement in the development/design.

 

Barber is a stunning road course. TV does not do justice to the elevation changes throughout the course. They have trams running constantly, so if you aren't interested in walking, hop on the tram. You have access to just about anywhere around the track, so you can check out the different corners.

The Museum is a must see for a gear head. They have the largest motorcycle collection and the largest Lotus race collection on display.

We were there for the full weekend of racing: Grand AM, Sports Cars, Start Mazda, Indy Lights & IndyCar. We wandered the paddock checking out everything.

People that say the only place that passing occurs is turn 5 has not been to Barber. All of the different series were passing throughout the course. Marco executed a pass in the difficult 14-17 turns. I watched a Star Mazda driver set-up and execute a pass in T16.

If you are a race fan, Barber needs to be on your Must See Live list.

 

Matt. I would enjoy that I have fond memories of Rockingham in the late Seventies/early Eighties. I even attended the Driver's Roast in Sanford, NC before the race. That's something that would never occur in today's racing scene.

Regarding Bobby Ray Hall something very similar apparently happened at Watkins Glen during one of the early GPs. As the story goes, Franco Lini, who later went on to manage the Ferrari F1 team, was one of the first journalists to cover the race. The locals were so proud they posted banners proclaiming "Welcome Frank O'Lini" to honor him.