real pavement carving

[Jack M]

[bumpyride]

Do I have to smoke to be that cool?

[Neil Gendzwill]

You can give up cigarettes but that doesn't mean you have to give up sah-mokin' (cue the band).

[Tommy D]

The pictures on that site are fantastic. I have a few of Rossi leaning it over REAL far; nice closeups from down low.

And how about the MGP race yesterday at Catalunya? Aweseome stuff.

[Jack M]

Rossi has it in the bag. I just hope Capirossi can climb out of the hole and put Ducati back on the podium some more.

[Tommy D]

It was nice to see Hayden finish in the top 5. I forget who, but somebody once said if Hayden isn't in the top 5, he's crashed. And I think he's crashed quite a bit this season.

Funny how he was on top in the AMA, but in MGP he's struggling to keep up. MGP must be a whole new ball of wax from the world of AMA!

[Guest Randy S.]

You guys suck! If you are going to talk about race results in a thread, you need to put "SPOILER" in the title. I only watched the first half of the race last night. I'm going home to watch the rest this evening. Now I'm pretty sure I know the results (not that its a big surprise).

Just a few more weeks until MotoGP right here in Northern CA! Yeah.

[Tommy D]

Originally posted by Randy S.

You guys suck! If you are going to talk about race results in a thread, you need to put "SPOILER" in the title. I only watched the first half of the race last night. I'm going home to watch the rest this evening. Now I'm pretty sure I know the results (not that its a big surprise).

Just a few more weeks until MotoGP right here in Northern CA! Yeah.

Yeah, Randy. You are correct. I avoided that whole StarWars thread for the same reason; I didn't want any spoilers.

We'll blame this one on Jack. He's a Mod, and should know better! :p :D

Even if you know the results, the race is worth watching! From turn 1 until the last turn, it was exciting stuff.

Another exciting race was the Formula One event at Catalunya. Give that a look-see if you haven't yet.

Oh and Randy, I envy your proximity to Laguna Seca; I'd love to see those MGP guys in action! I've seen the AMA crew at NHIS, but something tells me that's not the same. I've never been to California: Mebby next year!

[Zcarver]

That is a nice shot! The knee is touching and all!

Just curious about what type of tires the racers use. How are they different from normal "jap" bike tires?

[Kent]

sigh.......

Jack, you need to support your snowboarding sister.

http://www.roadracinggirl.com/

[Guest Randy S.]

Originally posted by Zcarver

That is a nice shot! The knee is touching and all!

Just curious about what type of tires the racers use. How are they different from normal "jap" bike tires?

Touching your knee down isn't as hard as it might appear. You should have some knee sliders on your leathers, but its not too hard to do. Although the first time you touch your knee down, its a bit surprising!

As for tires, that's an entire thread unto itself. Racers use slicks (unless it is raining). There are various manufacturers (Dunlop, Pirelli, Bridgestone, etc.). Each mfg has its own variety of compounds (rubber combinations) of varying hardness/durability, depending on track conditions (temp, texture). DOT, or street tires have tread like the tires you'd see on a street bike. There are also lots of varieties of this. On my track bike I have DOT tires, but I probably wouldn't ride them on the street. There's not a lot of tread to them and they don't last too long (about 3 track days, or maybe 200 miles). If the track is mostly left turns, then I shred the left side of the tire and the right side on clockwise tracks.

An interesting bit of lingo about tires: Most street riders have what are called "chicken strips" on their tires. These are the edges of the tire, where there is little or no wear. Look at a sport bike and you'll likely see chicken strips on both sides near the edge. They're called that because most folks are too chicken to lean the bike all the way over. On my track bike, after a day on the track, all you see are little bits of melted rubber along the edge of the tire. No strips.

[Guest Randy S.]

Kent,

I suspect you already know this, but that picture of Jessica Zalusky is great. I loved seeing her on the starting grid of the recent races at Road America (what a track - I'd love to ride there). She's also big into Snowboard competition. I don't know if she's a carver. Kent? She's on USASA's site pretty regularly since I think she holds some sort of position there.

Hmm. I wonder if she's married? Probably a bit young for me.

[Tommy D]

Originally posted by Randy S.

Hmm. I wonder if she's married? Probably a bit young for me.

Hey, She and I were born the same year! :D

As for being too young, my response to that is: She's a person too! I say BOO to age differences; if you're compatible, go for it. Or in this case, I'd say your best chance is if you can catch her on the track! (Or roll up in a shiny new Porsche.)

Of course, if she's married, you'll have to go through her husband first. :p

[mirror70]

<img src="http://f1.cf-cars.com/2005/06.11.05/IMG_1366.jpg">

Took that at the Canadian GP this past weekend.

It's like a bike, only six or seven notches faster.

[Jack M]

Originally posted by mirror70

It's like a bike, only six or seven notches faster.

don't forget the 80/20 rule.

although in this guy's case, it's 20/80 -

http://www.funnypictures.dk/data/media/10/cooldriver.wmv

[mtnpig]

I believe that one problem you have to watch for (along w/milage) is the number of "heat cycles" you put it thru. DOT or slick they get up to some real hot temps and the oil will cook right out of them (they get "greasy"). Then on top of that if you do track days (maybe one a month or every other) out in SoCal and just roll it in the garage between "days" the dry temps kinda dry the tire out and it gets hard as a rock. DOTs are a bit more tempermental if not ridden at race speeds. If your tires are shredding, then your suspension set up sucks.

[mtnpig]

From what I understand the amount of down force on those F1 cars prevents top speeds/straightaway acceleration? The MotoGP bikes have posted faster top speeds at some same tracks however the cornering speed on an F1 is WOW! You think in wind tunnel testing an FI could maybe run in an inverted position?

[Derf]

Originally posted by Jack Michaud

don't forget the 80/20 rule.

although in this guy's case, it's 20/80 -

http://www.funnypictures.dk/data/media/10/cooldriver.wmv

This is one of my favorite cars: a Caterham Seven . So small, yet performant. And it doesn't need a big engine either. Also because it is the Prisoner's car;)

[Jack M]

Originally posted by mtnpig

You think in wind tunnel testing an FI could maybe run in an inverted position?

That is true. They said that in the Andretti/Newman documentary "Super Speedway". At 100mph, the car generates more downforce than its own weight.

I wonder which has a higher power/weight ratio, F1 or MotoGP? Too bad in 2007 they're dumbing down to 800cc.

[BDZal]

Controlling a car to the same degree takes way more skill than a motorcycle... although not as fun. I'm scared of those things anyway.

[Kent]

Originally posted by Randy S.

Kent,

I suspect you already know this, but that picture of Jessica Zalusky is great. I loved seeing her on the starting grid of the recent races at Road America (what a track - I'd love to ride there). She's also big into Snowboard competition. I don't know if she's a carver. Kent? She's on USASA's site pretty regularly since I think she holds some sort of position there.

Hmm. I wonder if she's married? Probably a bit young for me.

Yep, she's married....just last year. Although, don't let that keep you from saying "hi".

As for snowboarding, she was on the US Team (ISF days) and competed in both carving and freestyle. When the ISF went down the crapper, she took over the reigns of the G Team (from Neil and Rothman) and basically stopped competitive snowboarding (like so many others at the time). I think she brought her hardboots to practice perhaps once in the last 5 years.

All the oldschool guys (Enos, Baldwin, etc) know her from ISF/AST racing.....

[mirror70]

Originally posted by mtnpig

From what I understand the amount of down force on those F1 cars prevents top speeds/straightaway acceleration? The MotoGP bikes have posted faster top speeds at some same tracks however the cornering speed on an F1 is WOW! You think in wind tunnel testing an FI could maybe run in an inverted position?

F1 cars run a different aero package for every course. In Canada this past weekend, they were getting right up next to 210mph before the chicane. I believe at Imola they hit 220 and used to go even higher. On most tracks where they run the same layout, I believe the MotoGP bikes do hit higher top speeds. On the other hand, the F1 cars post hugely faster lap times. F1 cars do corner harder than......everything, but the biggest advantage they have over bikes is stopping ability.

Jack - At the end of last season, Toyota and BMW were both estimated to be making somewhere between 900 and 950HP. Minimum weight for car + driver is 600kg, so that's between 1.4 and 1.47lb/hp. MotoGP bikes probably have a lower power to weight ratio than an F1 car. IIRC, last season, Honda's V5 was making something like 250HP, so to match an F1 car, the bike + rider could weigh no more than ~350lbs and I believe that is under the minimum.

[mtnpig]

Are the engines different in the Euro cars compared to the cars run in the USA?

[mirror70]

Originally posted by mtnpig

Are the engines different in the Euro cars compared to the cars run in the USA?

F1 cars are not to be confused with Indy cars and CART/Champ cars, although they do look similar. Pretty much everything is different: the engines, the aero, the cars, the methodologies, the courses they run on.

The Indy and CART cars are essentially open-wheeled stock cars. F1 cars are the ultimate technological showcase and recently have started exceed what you see done in aerospace. Ferrari and Toyota each spent over $400m on their F1 programs last season. That is more than all of the Indy and CART teams combined.

[Jack M]

Are ceramic engines still prohibited?

It's amazing what gets spent on racing. I heard once that a set of forks for a World Superbike (factory suped-up streetbikes - not MotoGP) machine are over $30,000.

BDZal - you make me laugh. bike easier to control than a car. good one.