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Official Motorsports Thread of 2013 (MotoGP, WRC, Le Mans, Nascar, IRL, V8's etc)

Dilly

Banned
This is the first time I've (briefly) tuned into the live YT DTM thingy (first time I've known when it was on, TBH) and damnit, why the fuck can't you do this, Bernie?

Brilliant idea and piss-easy execution, it seems. All I need is a reminder service to tell me when it's on... Fernando? ;)

Haha, about that reminder service, I could use something like that myself!

It's also possible to review the race on the YT channel, quite handy.
 

B.K.

Member
Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are cheating again. His qualifying time for this weekend was disallowed and now, his car can't pass the prerace inspection.
 

Arcticfox

Member
Lots of stupidity in the Nascar race so far. Logano running over his pit crew performing a dangerous move on pit lane and Harvick intentionally taking out Ambrose. At this rate I would not be surprised to see Jimmie Johnson in the top five by the midpoint.
 
Shame about Nicky losing his ride. I'm definitely a big fan of the guy, but his talent level has always been less than elite. I'm sure he'll be happy to never have to ride another Ducati again though. The light at the end of the tunnel just never came with that program.
 

TJP

Member
I've watched Nicky earn pole position trackside at Phillip Island - the guy has talent as the world title in 2006 indicates (whether one thinks it was a 'lucky' championship win or not is sadly a subject of much debate) but years spent on Ducati haven't helped him. Thinking about it...what other options did he really have in MotoGP? Honda weren't interested and Yamaha had very likeable riders from the USA (Edwards and Spies) and more recently both manufacturers can pick and choose from the best riders because no one is winning races on anything else.

I think Nicky would be a star in World Superbike on just about anything but that series is a massive step down for some riders (Crutchlow for example has stated he's never going back, Edwards has said the same thing) and I doubt the money would be brilliant compared to what he's paid by Ducati right now. Still, Max Biaggi was happy enough to win a couple of WSBK titles before retiring...

I see a MotoGP rookie once agian heads the timesheets at Laguna Seca - Marc Marquez is one talented rider!
 

Jezbollah

Member
I've watched Nicky earn pole position trackside at Phillip Island - the guy has talent as the world title in 2006 indicates (whether one thinks it was a 'lucky' championship win or not is sadly a subject of much debate) but years spent on Ducati haven't helped him. Thinking about it...what other options did he really have in MotoGP? Honda weren't interested and Yamaha had very likeable riders from the USA (Edwards and Spies) and more recently both manufacturers can pick and choose from the best riders because no one is winning races on anything else.

I think Nicky would be a star in World Superbike on just about anything but that series is a massive step down for some riders (Crutchlow for example has stated he's never going back, Edwards has said the same thing) and I doubt the money would be brilliant compared to what he's paid by Ducati right now. Still, Max Biaggi was happy enough to win a couple of WSBK titles before retiring...

I see a MotoGP rookie once agian heads the timesheets at Laguna Seca - Marc Marquez is one talented rider!

The only team that is willing to spend big bucks in WSB is BMW, and they will be dangling a massive carrot in front of Nicky. I think he'll be a good addition to World Superbikes, however in MotoGP he wasnt as talented as an on-form Ben Spies and doesnt have the marketability of Colin Edwards. He did a fine job at Ducati, but as Dovi is pointing out nicely this year, the problem with that team isnt the riders....
 
So Crutchlow is actually going to join Ducati next season - lol, supposed to be an official announcement today.


Just seen the horrific accident that happened in WSS, all the other races have been cancelled. Antonelli air lifted to hospital with head injury, unconscious, I don't think this will end well :(
 

TJP

Member
Watching SBK race one was edge of the seat viewing, Sykes engine failure was epic in size and Melandri got a brilliant stop from his team. Felt for Chaz Davies who had ridden a brilliant race from the front.

World SuperSport race was held in nasty weather; I've just driven home after watching the WSBK race with my father and left when the WSS race was red flagged and then the entire round was cancelled due to the weather only to read the terrible news - RIP Andrea Antonelli.
 

caramac

Member
:( RIP Antonelli

You always fear the worst in those situations where a rider falls off and stays on the track, even when the conditions and visibility are fine.
 

Jezbollah

Member
Marquez used the Rossi overtaking line on Rossi. Got to love that.

Bradl and Bautista producing the best rides when it's contract time? Surely not!
 
Fun MGP race. Great pass by Marquez. The guy that used to ride that bike would have probably been bent about getting squeezed out, but it's no sweat off this kid's back. Too much fluff in the coverage though. Too many cuts to other things besides the best live battles. No more pitboards, please. You're giving us live splits, remember?

Hopefully Pedrosa and Jorge will feel better by the time Indy rolls around. I'd like to see the championship battle get back on track.
 

Jezbollah

Member
I dont think so. I think this is just to get his rocks off.

The thing with Stoner is that even though he is racing domestically, a combination of him being on a non domicile tax classification, in combination with the Australian tax year means he will get completely hammered by the Tax man if he stayed in Australia for a prolonged period. This, in combination to him still moving back home after nearly two decades of living abroad, means he's doing a lot of air miles and not able to really progress in the Dunlop series.

He wont get the proper benefit of living in Australia full time until the next tax year. That's when his four wheel career will really kick off IMO.
 
Really looking forward to the truck race in Eldora tonight. I'm a big Dave Blaney fan, so I'd love to see him win it. He's driving a truck for Brad Keselowski and was fast in practice, so he's certainly got a chance. I wouldn't mind seeing Ken Schrader win either.
 

Hackbert

Member
Damnit, would like to follow the 24 of Spa, but i agreed to help my friends moving. Maybe i will check some hours in at night. Will there be an Audi dominance like at leMans? I hope the Classes are more even
 

B.K.

Member
The first qualifying heat race is about to start at Eldora. There are going to be five heat races that are eight laps long and only green flag laps count.
 

Chris R

Member
I won't be able to watch any of the Eldora stuff until much later tonight :( DVR set to record the next 5 hours or however long this stuff will be on.

Hope the racing is good!
 
Norm fucking Benning! I've been watching him run uncompetitive, unsponsored cars in NASCAR for 20 years. I don't think I've even seen him pass a single car until tonight. He earned his way into this race. That was some old school NASCAR racing.

DWEjmpe.jpg


What's even better is other teams are pitching in to help fix his truck for the feature.
 
That race owned so much. Wish NASCAR would switch back to tires with bad grip on asphalt, the sliding around is what makes stock cars so good. (see also the end of last years Watkins Glen race, where they covered the track in oil for the last 2 laps)

Dillon got the win, but ... damn, Kyle Larson is good.
 
Too bad Larson couldn't get the win. He just couldn't restart very well.

Yeah, in his interview after the race he said he was screwing up his shifts. Crazy to think he's only been racing stock cars for a year and half. The rest of the field is in trouble when he really starts figuring this stuff out.

That race owned so much. Wish NASCAR would switch back to tires with bad grip on asphalt, the sliding around is what makes stock cars so good. (see also the end of last years Watkins Glen race, where they covered the track in oil for the last 2 laps)

Agreed. It's awesome to go back and watch old Darlington or Riverside races from the 80s on YouTube where the cars are bouncing and sliding all over the place. What made NASCAR so fun to watch back then was that the drivers had to wrestle the cars around the track. That's what the racing was like on Wednesday night and why it was so awesome. There was a badass shot of Norm Benning through his windsheild sawing on the wheel like crazy on the last lap of the LCQ.

The problem with the current cars is that the tires they run are so hard that they need all these aerodynamic devices to be drivable on the high-speed 1.5-2 mile tracks that make 75% of the schedule, to the point where they are now overly dependent on them ("aero push"). The tires are hard because the cars have gotten faster and Goodyear is scared to death of looking bad when there are failures (see: Indy '08). I think NASCAR needs to slow the cars down some by reducing horsepower, then they can soften the tires, get rid of splitters, get rid of the "shark fin" and shorten up the side skirts. Then maybe the drivers will have to drive the cars and we'll have actual races instead of single-file chess matches for track position.
 

Dave Long

Banned
I went to New Hampshire last year and almost fell asleep during the race. The cars were so pasted down there that no one could pass. By comparison, the modifieds with the bias ply tires slide all over the place and put on a super show on that flat track.

Cup should be the same, but the current package of aero and tires is just plain bad. They've got way too much downforce for a "stock" car.

IndyCar figured this out and that's why the racing has been so amazing with the DW12. They have a lot of downforce, but not so much that the horsepower doesn't overcome it from time to time.

All that said, racing on dirt will always be better IMO. You think the trucks were good at Eldora? Watch the USAC sprints or the World of Outlaws there. WoO turns 12 second laps. The trucks were barely below 20 seconds...
 
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