Toyota F1 sets new lap record at Laguna

I wonder what kind of time he could have done with more a few more laps.

Mark

 

Kewl and how it is supposed to be. I'm still scratching my head why Ferrari wasn't capable of doing that a few years ago.

 

Are they still allowing that guy on track? He was horrible on track and caused plenty of accidents. He is more suited to the "rubbing is racing" mentality of NASCAR than in the cock pit of an open wheeled race car.

On a side note. If Indy gets ditched it sure would be a nice track for the U.S. F1 race to be held at.

 

Zonta can drive and put down good times, just not in race traffic.
And F1 would never go Laguna Seca. The facilities are quite primitive even for ALMS events.

 

That's interesting. I wonder why they didn't do 20 something laps. Was it a low fuel run, I wonder? Just imagine if they actually did some laps and than made some adjustments, like they normally do for racetracks.

 

Okay so apparently this was on old tires and they were just installation laps. They also ran into electrical problems. Tomorrow they will put new tires on and go for the lap record.

 

That must be it. Because to run nearly the same times as a CART car is pretty sad.
With the car properly set up and fresh tires, it should bring that time down even more.

 

Ferrari couldn't even beat the CART time a few years back.

 

From what I can recall, the record attempt by Ferrari in the 2003-GA was made by Andrea Bertolini who was the Maserati racer. It wasnt be the F1 drivers or test drivers. Obviously Bertolini wouldnt have had the same level of confidence in the car as say a Luca Badoer would.

Also the car was not really set up for Laguna - it had too high gearing.

Here is a quote from itv-f1.com on the Toyota run ...

The record lap is going to improve futher tomorrow!!!

 

"Sorry this is so off topic that it had to get moved but here is today's F1 update. Today they had the car repaired (our bumpy track caused the wiring harness to break loose- it's now repaired with lots of zip-ties)- they went out and 4 or 5 laps later set a 1:06.7, a full second under our track record. Very cool. Not sure of the times he turned in the later session this afternoon.
On Sunday they will be turning the traction control off and putting on a show, no pressure to turn times, just entertainment."

from http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=299498 - Pelican "Gibson"

Ian

 

To somewhat quote an NBA star: 'We're talking practice..... PRACTICE......'

We're talking a 'test' driver on a track he may not be the most familiar with, and I bet the car - or parts on it - are not current.

Makes ya wonder what a top-notch driver in a car with 100% current stuff would do, if they were SERIOUS about speed and time.

 

Zonta ran again at 12:45 and around 3:45 today - seemed to be faster than yesterday. Each time he's on track, it's a warm-up lap, and then 3-4 hot laps only.......he's running two more times tomorrow (Sunday), so we'll see what the "fastest" lap truly ends up being.

- Dan

 

I think for the attempt at the record, Ferrari ran the F2002 on incorrect tires. The 2003-GA was trucked off to Pebble that night to be on display there for Sunday. So thus they weren't able to run the GA on Sunday at Laguna.

 

It was pretty cool to watch the car run today... I snagged a special photo port right next to the track so the car was very close going by.

 

they should do some kinda upgrading there. it'll be like another hungararoring, very narrow and tight indeed, expect, there's more overtaking places. i can't imagine 22 F1 cars going thru the cockscrew w/out crashes!

 

I'm very sure they would be willing to do all the upgrading they would need, but get out YOUR checkbook...

I see a time in the not-too-distant future where Laguna Seca goes the same way as Riverside, Ontario and Ascot. And Lion', Irwindale, and....

 

Laguna Seca will be around for quite some time. It is arguably the greatest track in North America, and continues to attract quality racing series'. They have been doing a bit of renovation this year with new buildings and such. However, i know they are limited in what they can do, and can't host super large races like F1. I believe it was due to traffic and noise regulations. Also, they have a hard time filling the stands at many events due to the secluded location and weather. This years A1GP saw snow on the sides of the track!

 

But how great it is as a track doesn't mean much if the facility is making X dollars while the land value rises by Y values. The tracks I mentioned above are perfect examples, they drew crowds, but the land was worth more than the crowds could deliver.
Ontario broke my heart because I used to ride my bike to it almost every day for two years, the things I saw....

 

So, I guess that means Toyota is looking good for this year's Irrelevant Championship.

 

At this point in the season, we will hear 'There's always next year' SOON.

Besides, if the 2007 cars are inthe showrooms today, why can't they have a 2007 F1 car on the track ?