DCsportsfan53 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I know this America so we don't care about racing that it isn't "going fast and turning left" but did anyone else follow the race this year? Absolutely 1 of the best automobile races of all time. Peugeot and Audi have been battling for top honors for several years now. Peugeot ended Audi's 5 consectutive win streak in 2009 and had the faster cars in 2010 but lost when all 3 cars had engine failures 16+ hours into the race. This has largely been attributed to the Audi's consistency, reliability and hard charging to push the Peugeots despite them being faster. The Audi's made them run hard and over time it took it's toll leaving Audi with a 1-2-3 podium finish. Audi is in the midst of one of the most successful periods of endurance racing ever having won 9 of the last 12 Le Mans races. So onto this year's race. Early on it was clear that the Audi's were faster this year. New engine regulations for this season have seen the Audi replace the V10 TDI with a V6 TDI and Peugeot replace their V12 turbo diesel with a V8. However, despite the slight lap time advantage, the Audi's were consuming more fuel forcing them to make a pit stop every 11 laps (of the 8 mile circuit) rather than the 12 laps Peugeot was getting. One hour into the race this happened to the Audi of Allan McNish p2Nb0Ienv6k&oref Amazingly, McNish got out and walked away under his own power and none of the spectators were injured. This caused an hour long caution while they cleared the car and fixed the tire wall and left two Audis to battle the 3 french cars. Then, at 8 hours in this happened to Mike Rockenfeller's (last year's winning team) Audi at 180+ mph on a straightaway. MMxRvEQnzaI XK75nfZc3cM Perhaps even more amazingly than the first crash, Rockenfeller also exited his car and got over the wall under his own power and escaped uninjured. Truly a testament to the engineering and dedication to safety put into these cars by Audi. 15 years ago either of these crashes (especially the second one) would almost certainly involve significant injury and possibly death. Complete amatuer hour hack driving by the GT Ferrari in this instance and he was later barred from competing for the duration of the race, though technically not for this crash (technically, it was the reason, though). So, following these two wrecks we're left with 1 Audi, in the hands of the least experienced team and the only Audi team left to have not won here previously. This car battled all through the night and into the morning, constantly changing leads with the 3 Peugeots. They went back and forth with each other, racing balls out the entire time for the remaining 16 hours, with the Audi and lead Peugeot coming into and leaving their final pit stops at the same time. Mere seconds separated them on exit. The Audi was able to put a little distance on from there and wound up crossing the finish line 13.8 seconds in front of the Peugeot. 13.8 seconds. After 24 hours of marathon sprinting (these cars are too close for them to take an easy pace, they were going for it all 24 hours) the Audi wins by 13 seconds, the closest Le Mans race since 1969 and by a wide, wide margin at that. Some race highlights -47ftlb8kqk And just for anyone who's interested, here's a commentated lap of the Circuit de la Sarthe that the race is run on and has been for 79 years. Gives you a great idea of the kind of speed these guys are doing and what the track is like. sIAIA9u1WbE I'm well aware this thread will likely be off the first page in forgotten within 15 minutes buy hey, I figured it was worth a shot, I know I'm not the only car guy and racing fan here and I wanted to share what I and many others thought was instant classic and one of the great races of all time. Congratulations to Audi for their 10th overall victory in 13 years of participating and congratulations to the Corvette teams for taking home the class victories in GT and beating out the **** Ferraris. Peugeot put in 11 different 35 hour test runs with these cars in preparation and all 3 finished this year, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, but they couldn't overcome the machine that is Audi sports car racing. It's worth noting that, in 24 hours the winning Audi had not one single, lone solitary unscheduled pit stop. It ran flawlessly the entire race. Quite an accomplishment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinnedAussie Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I'm hoping there's more interest in our V8 Supercars in the US than there is in the above race. I read that our premier motor racing category is looking at having an event somewhere in the US in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 I'm hoping there's more interest in our V8 Supercars in the US than there is in the above race. I read that our premier motor racing category is looking at having an event somewhere in the US in the near future. I was watching some of this a few weeks ago. You'd think there would be interest over here, it's pretty much modern muscle car racing but I doubt it. Me personally, I'm anxiously awaiting the 24 hours of Nurburgring the weekend after next. Being a die hard VWAG guy I'm pulling for VW's new 440hp awd Golf 24 to make a good debut. It's really quite mind boggling. 100s of millions around the world watched this weekend's race, 250,000 people were on hand to watch and on a football website that should theoretically be full of red blooded males a thread about one ****ing hell of a great race gets 9 views and is falling off the page before an Aussie steps in to prop it up. Sometimes I really don't understand American tatse, or lack of really. I guess WWE racing is good enough for most of us. :sigh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Your talking to Americans. We have the attention span of 2-year olds. Especially now that most of us are plugged in to our electronic devices. You expect us to follow a 24-hour race? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 No, not really. I guess I'm just a dreamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolUsernameHere Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I've followed it in the past, but I didn't have time this year. I went through a stage in my life where I lived, breathed, slept an date automobile racing so the 24 at Le Mans was always a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 I've followed it in the past, but I didn't have time this year. I went through a stage in my life where I lived, breathed, slept an date automobile racing so the 24 at Le Mans was always a blast. You missed one of the best ever this year. Very intense, emotional race, especially with the two crashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubbs Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I'm hoping there's more interest in our V8 Supercars in the US than there is in the above race. I read that our premier motor racing category is looking at having an event somewhere in the US in the near future. Wait, we have cars that run on V8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 That race looks amazing! I think there isn't enough violence per hour in Le Mans to attract an American audience. Imagine NASCAR without the mass crashes, or hockey without the fistfights. They really wouldn't get the same viewership at all in the US if not for the destructive angle. Baseball seems like an exception, but honestly it centers around smashing something as hard as you can with a bat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 That race looks amazing!I think there isn't enough violence per hour in Le Mans to attract an American audience. Imagine NASCAR without the mass crashes, or hockey without the fistfights. They really wouldn't get the same viewership at all in the US if not for the destructive angle. Baseball seems like an exception, but honestly it centers around smashing something as hard as you can with a bat. You're probably right and on top of that I think baseball is dying a slow death probably for the same reason. It's not popular among younger people like it is for previous generations. One of the most amazing things about this race to me was, for the Audi, 1 flat tire, 1 slow pit stop, 1 minor little mechanical gremlin, one minor spin out on the track somewhere and that car does not win the race. The team and the car literally ran a flawless race, pushing hard the whole time for a full 24 hours. I mean, for anyone who knows anything about racing you know how incredible an accomplishment that is. It reminds just how amazing it is the feats that man kind can accomplish when they work as a team and dedicate themselves to something. There was a lot of luck involved, for sure, but that's an amazing effort by 100+ people to get that car ready and then get it through the race like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teller Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Part of the problem in attracting NASCAR fans is the perceived condescention of fans of other forms of racing. A perception confirmed by the same, tired, "drive fast, turn left" BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Nascar will always be top dog. Deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 You guys don't even know what you're missing, and there's no perception of it hh, it's fact and for good reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Part of the problem in attracting NASCAR fans is the perceived condescention of fans of other forms of racing. A perception confirmed by the same, tired, "drive fast, turn left" BS. Michael Waltrip participated as a driver in the Le Mans this year. His car was actually responsible for the second Audi crash (different team member driving at the time, though). Speed channel interviewed him after that little incident and it was abundantly clear by some of the things that he said that he was in way over his head. Now, I'm not a huge racing enthusiast by nature. NASCAR has always bored me to tears even though I can appreciate that what they do is very demanding and requires a lot of expertise. The skillset is just somewhat different and far more specialized than what is required for events like the LM24. The condescension towards NASCAR may not be entirely justified and it may just boil down to simple button-pushing more often than not but there is a legitimate basis for it. The amount of overall driving ability displayed in a NASCAR race pales in comparison to that of Le Mans, there shouldn't be a debate there. The relative worthiness of different racing events, however, just depends on what you value as a viewer. Nascar will always be top dog. Deal with it. I think dealing with it is less of a problem than understanding why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Nascar is the greatest. If Formula 1 and Indy, or any other racing, was so great then explain why the best of the best (Montoya) fleed to come to Nascar? And don't say money. Cause you'd be wrong. He's said over and over that he wanted to race against the very best drivers in the world. And to the guy talking about Waltrip: Dude, please. He's not a good example. He may or may not have been over his head in those cars, but I guarantee you guys like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Juan Montoya etc would not be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 explain why the best of the best (Montoya) fleed to come to Nascar? Montoya was the best of the best? Again, I'm no avid racing fan... but about two minutes of looking around just about confirms that the man's career in F1 was pretty pitiful compared to the likes of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel. This blurb was fun, too... Montoya has been criticized during his Formula One career for his unreliability and tendency to make costly mistakes. His driving style is too characteristic of the 80s Formula One era. In this matter it was difficult to build a car that suited him well as engineers and aerodynamicists had to adapt their work to build chassis that were more suited finer and smoother driving styles. Moreover, Montoya failed to adapt to the cars that were provided for him.Entering his sixth season, in 2006, it was evident that Juan Pablo Montoya had not developed into a title contender. In particular after five full seasons the necessary consistency never materialized. However, he often challenged for race victories and was voted top Latin American driver at the Premios Fox Sports awards in 2003 and 2005. He sounds great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Montoya was the best of the best? Again, I'm no avid racing fan... but about two minutes of looking around just about confirms that the man's career in F1 was pretty pitiful compared to the likes of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel. I'm not privy to what he did in Formula 1, but the guy won the friggin Indy 500! And yes, he was widely considered (still is) to be one of the best all around drivers in the world. And while he's had success in Nascar, he isn't even one of the 10 best in the sport. Tells you all you need to know. ---------- Post added June-13th-2011 at 07:02 PM ---------- Enter, Why are you in a thread commenting on racing when you obviously have no clue about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I'm not privy to what he did in Formula 1, but the guy won the friggin Indy 500! And yes, he was widely considered (still is) to be one of the best all around drivers in the world. One of the best drivers in the world in the sense that Mike Jenkins is one of the best football players in the world, sure. And while he's had success in Nascar, he isn't even one of the 10 best in the sport. Tells you all you need to know. Not really. I actually think you're grossly oversimplifying things here. I wouldn't be surprised at all if some of NASCAR's better drivers could translate their success to other motorsports if they dedicated themselves to it. I doubt all of them could pull it off, though, and what non-NASCAR events they are best suited for would probably vary. The intuitive comparison would be that transitioning from one motorsport to another would be a little like making the jump between traditional, non-motorized sports. Many of the basic tools you need to succeed may remain the same if you're transitioning between reasonably similar events but it's still not an easy thing to do and there's no guarantee you'll succeed under the different set of rules and circumstances. Enter, Why are you in a thread commenting on racing when you obviously have no clue about it? I knew enough to raise the red flag on your Montoya name grab and had a few more highly decorated F1 drivers in mind when I decided to do some fact-checking, so I suppose I'm at least as qualified as you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolUsernameHere Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Nascar is the greatest. If Formula 1 and Indy, or any other racing, was so great then explain why the best of the best (Montoya) fleed to come to Nascar? And don't say money. Cause you'd be wrong. He's said over and over that he wanted to race against the very best drivers in the world. Sure, he may not say that it's for the money. But I think that's what it is. Those open-wheel cars take a lot more skill to drive. And Montoya wasn't exactly the best of the best. He never won an F1 championship and only won 7 Grands Prix in his 6 or 7 years in the series. The best of the best for Montoya's entire F1 career was Schumacher. Sure he won a CART championship and an Indy 500, but CART wasn't exactly a top-tier global series when he was a part of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Sure, he may not say that it's for the money. But I think that's what it is. Those open-wheel cars take a lot more skill to drive.And Montoya wasn't exactly the best of the best. He never won an F1 championship and only won 7 Grands Prix in his 6 or 7 years in the series. The best of the best for Montoya's entire F1 career was Schumacher. Sure he won a CART championship and an Indy 500, but CART wasn't exactly a top-tier global series when he was a part of it. At the time Montoya entered Nascar he was widely considered as one of the best racers in the world. Its not even an argument. Never said he was the best driver in F1. Hell, I don't even follow it, but I knew he had some success in it. And he was definitely one of the best Indy drivers of his time. And he's made a decent transition to stock cars. Again, he says Nascar is the best form of racing out there. And he also said its the most competitive. I'll take his word over any of you guys'. And Enter, you're embarrassing yourself, man. Your lack of racing knowledge is evident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolUsernameHere Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 At the time Montoya entered Nascar he was widely considered as one of the best racers in the world. Its not even an argument. Never said he was the best driver in F1. Hell, I don't even follow it, but I knew he had some success in it. And he was definitely one of the best Indy drivers of his time. And he's made a decent transition to stock cars. Again, he says Nascar is the best form of racing out there. And he also said its the most competitive. I'll take his word over any of you guys'.And Enter, you're embarrassing yourself, man. Your lack of racing knowledge is evident. I followed auto racing pretty heavily when Juan Montoya made the move to NASCAR, and the only people I remember calling him one of the best driving talents in the world were the people involved with NASCAR (as in commentators, writers on nascar.com, team owners). To me it seemed that they were just trying to promote him as a part of the sport's diversity-related PR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubble Screen Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I followed auto racing pretty heavily when Juan Montoya made the move to NASCAR, and the only people I remember calling him one of the best driving talents in the world were the people involved with NASCAR (as in commentators, writers on nascar.com, team owners). To me it seemed that they were just trying to promote him as a part of the sport's diversity-related PR. How many guys you know have won Cart titles, the Indy 500, and had success in F1? At the time, he was definitely one of the best "all around" drivers in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantasm Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 I'm hoping there's more interest in our V8 Supercars in the US than there is in the above race. I read that our premier motor racing category is looking at having an event somewhere in the US in the near future. I heard this, and am very excited about it. I love the V8 Supercars, mostly because I used to own a Monaro (GTO in the states), and I really want a Chevy version of the Commodore. I guess the most obvious place would be Sears Point or Watkins Glen, but I am really hoping for the upcoming Austin F1 track. I live on the east coast, and I would definitely make the trip to see that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 At the time Montoya entered Nascar he was widely considered as one of the best racers in the world. Its not even an argument. Never said he was the best driver in F1. Hell, I don't even follow it, but I knew he had some success in it. And he was definitely one of the best Indy drivers of his time. And he's made a decent transition to stock cars. Again, he says Nascar is the best form of racing out there. And he also said its the most competitive. I'll take his word over any of you guys'. This sort of logic reminds me of something I witnessed on a Royal Caribbean cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage, about 10 years ago. Aboard the 7-day cruise there were two nights of "marquee" entertainment in the ship's Grand Theatre. One night was John Davidson, long-time star of Hollywood Squares and That's Incredible plus a million spots on a million other shows in the 70s/80s, and I literally have completely forgotten the other lady's name. To plug the John Davidson show aboard the ship, Bobby the cruise director staged a painfully scripted live interview with John himself in the ship's multi-story central atrium a few hours before the show started. It was well attended. And Bobby asked John: "You've been a major TV star since the 1970s, well through the 1980s, and you've been called a major 'get' for any big television show during that time. What brings your electric, world-renowned presence to the MS Vision of the Seas ship tonight?" John's answer should sound remarkably familiar to anyone reading this thread: "Well Bobby, television was a great, great place to work for two decades, and I have continued to work in TV a bit here and there over the past ten years. I'm tremendously grateful for all the opportunity and success I had there. But you know what, Bobby? This is where it's at these days. Cruise ships. This, right here , is the best-kept secret in Hollywood! And to share this evening with all of you wonderful people, right here in the most intimate setting possible -- it's just glorious! Yes! This is the best environment a performer can ask for, right here aboard the Vision of the Seas!" Well! The assembled crowd in the atrium just went bananas for that. Ate it up. But did I believe John Davidson, 30-year veteran of television stardom, when he said that cruise ships are where it's at? When he told all of us that this gig -- which just happened to be the one he had at the moment, the one that was paying him money to apply his trade skills in front of a receptive audience which needed to be maximized -- was the best one he'd ever had in his life? You bet I did! He made a decent transition to cruise ships. Again, he said cruise ship theater is the best form of live entertainment out there. And he also said it's the most intimate. I'll take his word over any of you guys'. [...] Yeah. Sometimes it pays to stop and ask yourself why a famous, quite possibly overrated person might be claiming that his current paycheck coincides with the most spectacular, stupendous embodiment of his trade that has ever been conceived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinnedAussie Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Part of the problem in attracting NASCAR fans is the perceived condescention of fans of other forms of racing. A perception confirmed by the same, tired, "drive fast, turn left" BS. I'm a fan of the 'drive fast, turn left' type of racing, but only if it's on dirt. And the race cars have huge wings on top. ---------- Post added June-14th-2011 at 03:41 PM ---------- Wait, we have cars that run on V8? Yep, and have done so for many years. However, the main 'problem' as seen by the world auto industry is that only Fords and Holdens (GM) are eligible to run. There is development of what's being called as the Car Of Tomorrow, which, much like NASCAR, consists of a single vehicle construction, as a rolling chassis, but can accommodate any number of body styles. This will give the impression that automakers like Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, etc, build their own versions of the race car. Sound familiar? It should generate more interest, and more importantly, more sponsorship dollars. ---------- Post added June-14th-2011 at 03:48 PM ---------- I heard this, and am very excited about it. I love the V8 Supercars, mostly because I used to own a Monaro (GTO in the states), and I really want a Chevy version of the Commodore. I guess the most obvious place would be Sears Point or Watkins Glen, but I am really hoping for the upcoming Austin F1 track. I live on the east coast, and I would definitely make the trip to see that. We don't run ovals, so cross any of those prospects off your list. Road circuits, whether purpose built or a street circuit, is what we race on. We do run on F1 tracks - Albert Park and a shortened version of the Adelaide F1 track - as well as street circuits. Our best race of the year, the Bathurst 1000, is actually a rural road for 360 days of the year, but come Bathurst week, it is race fans heaven. A 6.1km circuit, with the race consisting of 161 laps makes for one lazy day in front of the big screen. If it rains on the mountain on race day, be sure that there will be several incidents every hour of the 6+ hour race. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a hulking Aussie V8 lurch it's way through the cork screw! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.