I don't understand vintage racing

Unless you want to get Cancer I wouldn't be sniffing Auto Union Exhaust...

 

Obviously you've never felt the sense of victory one gets by being first to come about at the bouy, because you planned out your tack just right and took the leader's wind right out of his sail at the crucial point of the upwind leg.

Competitive sailing is faster than you think, more intense than you think, and harder to do well than you think. It is also more technologically advanced than anything on land, short of F1 and MotoGP. Of course it should be, it was around for thousands of years before the automobile was even thought of.

 

With Travis' Audi R8, there's little choice but to sniff exhaust.

Fast car...

CW

 

And don't forget the Goodwood Revival across the pond. I love the sports racers from the 60's. I WILL be there some day. (As a spectator. Unless I marry well... )
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Well maybe you just don't get vintage cars period, which is fine. But for those who do, racing represents one extreme pole of appreciation context, without which your appreciation is... incomplete.

At one extreme: visit Fred Simeone's museum and immerse yourself in the scrupulous preservation of the world's most important sportscars, frozen in time as nearly as possible at the height of their competitiveness and significance.
Impressive stuff, and worthy of days of drooling study and analysis. However, Fred's philosophy is that a _static_ display coupled with intense study of the written record is sufficient to fully appreciate what you are seeing.

At the other extreme: see the same cars, updated (sometimes slightly, sometimes radically) for safety and (often) performance. (Peter, be honest, how much of your "vintage" S2000 is 'as delivered!') At the vintage race, however, the cars are on _dynamic_ display, driven, I daresay, with about the same distribution of skill levels as they were in-period. Sights joined with sounds, smells, and period-correct slip-angles.

So visit Simeone in Philly, and the Brian Redman Jefferson 500 at Summit Point, then tell me how much understanding you gained from each relative to the other. I'm not saying one is better, just that you need both.

 

Agreed, you need both!

On my Sports 2000, the only thing on it that has been updated from the time it was delivered to Rolex 24 veteran Dick Greer in 1983 is a replacement of the Koni shocks with Penskes, that's it. My Giulietta Spider Veloce still has a 750-series engine and drum brakes and my wife's Siata 300BC still has a Crosley 747cc SOHC in it!

It's fun racing cars that are older!

 

Exactly
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

What comes out of the tailpipe of an R8 is a lot different than what comes out of the tailpipe of an Auto Union which runs on a very nasty mixture.

"When administered by inhalation, nitromethane significantly
increased the combined incidences of benign and malignant tumors at
three tissue sites in mice and at a different tissue site in rats. In mice,
nitromethane caused harderian gland and lung tumors in both sexes
and liver tumors in females. In rats, nitromethane caused mammarygland
tumors in female F344/N rats but did not cause any increased
tumors in Long-Evans rats (exposed to lower levels) (NTP 1997). The
International Agency for Research on Cancer (2000) also has
concluded that there was sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of
nitromethane in experimental animals."

 

I used to race 'blow boats' competitively in Lake Michigan. On a good day, these things haul. There is a direct connection to strategy, individual strength, and knowledge of the boat and water that always comes into play... besides the 'luck' of the start. You haven't lived until you capsized in 40 knot winds LOL.

Out in the ocean... the seriously competitive boats are running 60+ knots in 30-40 knot winds.

Find any form of transportation, and man will figure a way to race it .

 

Cooper-Norton or Cooper-JAP FIII?

What Stirling Moss, Ken Tyrell and Bernie Ecclestone started out in! That was an awesome formula. They had over a dozen at the Pittsburgh Schenley Park races a few years ago. Serious commitment to go fast is required. <grin>

 

I don't know much about all that , but can tell you doing the starter for a Lola/Menard (buick) for an Indy car was a nasty smell! Basically hold your breath and wait until several feet away!!!

 

Just read the thread and it strikes me that there is a common misconception that vintage/historic racing is a spectator sport. It is not meant to be that first and foremost.
The core of it is that it is an outlet to enjoy both racing and classic cars, as a participant.
Is it racing ? Absolutely, but with more emphasis on participation than winning due to the
requisite disparity of the run groups and the value and age of the cars (and drivers).
The top drivers in vintage/historic could have been pro, or perhaps they were.

 

And several are.

But as you pointed out, it's primarily about the cars! That's why I[/] particularly like working in this venue. It's whipped cream on top to drive some of these cars...

 

My vintage race cars. Trust me we ARE racing out there
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Mine, a 1970/71 Brabham BT29

And yes, we are racing hard as well.

I've been vintage racing since 1990, always in purpose built race cars.

I love the pre-wing era.

Its great fun, no trophies, just ten minutes of bragging rights
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

10 Minutes? You're not milking it enough...

CW

 

If you read any of Patrick O'Brien's "Master & Commander" novels about the British Navy men 'o war sailing ships, you'll gain a new respect for sailing. Their chases were sometimes nip and tuck with life-or-death consequences. Absolutely pushing their boats to the limits to pursue a quarry - or avoid getting caught (or hitting a reef). Great stuff.

 

Aubrey/Maturin. Wonderful stuff. Have read the series 2x. Many other fine works along those lines. In particular, I'm thinking of the Matthew Hervey calvary series.

CW

 

I'm giving away my tickets to the NHRA Spring Nationals....I can't hold my breath ALL DAY!! LOL!

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbyzW5lduEQ[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPzR028chmw[/ame]
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbxOe2vLieU[/ame]

 

Cool!

LOL! That was exactly my first thought too.

When I won the go-karting event on my Stag Do a year ago, I got a little plastic trophy to proudly display in the living room (and it's been on show ever since) and still take every opportunity to remind all my friends how magnificent I was on the track.

I figure I can keep that up until they get fed up and take me to the track again to try to humble me.

All the best,
Andrew.

 

Man, I love watching Dave Nikolas. He is awesome, especially passing a twenty-five year younger, state of the art Audi UNDER THE BRIDGE at Road Atlanta. Great stuff.

What Paul Brown does with Tom Hollfelder's Alfa T33 at Laguna is magic. It's a blessing that Tom gives his son-n-law such opportunities and we are all the beneficiaries for being able to watch!