USF1 Formula1 Journal

Bahrain Facts and Stats - By Paul_Murtagh

Bahrain GP Stats

This week sees the first race of the season at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Although the circuit has only been on the F1 calendar since 2004, there is quite a long list of stats for the race:

Circuit Stats:

·   This will be the 7^th race at the Bahrain International Circuit. But it will only be the second time that the race has started the season, with the only previous time being in 2006.

·   When it made its debut in 2004, it was the first Formula 1 race to be held in the Middle East, being joined by Abu Dhabi in 2009

North American F1 History - Mosport Park by Flood1

 

More than forty years ago, far from the sophistication and urban convenience of Montréal’s Ile Notre-Dame, the first Canadian Grand Prix was run on farmland located 70 miles northeast of Toronto.

Mosport Park is a clockwise, 10 turn, 2.46 mile (3.96km) road course that first opened in 1961. It was first conceived of in 1958 by members of the British Empire Motor Club. The turn 5 complex was named after Sterling Moss who influenced the design.

Mosport Park was home to the Canadian Grand Prix for 8 races over 10 seasons (Mont Tremblant hosted 1968 and 1970). The circuit has an interesting and diverse history. In 1967, Mosport Park hosted F1, Indy Cars, Can-Am, USAC stock cars, and the Canadian World Championship 500cc motorcycle grand prix. It was the first purpose built road racing course constructed in Canada.

The field of drivers in 1967 for the first championship race in Canada included Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Denny Hulme, and Jochen Rindt. Between them, from 1959 to 1973, these men won 12 World Driving Championships.

My Favourite Moments of 2009 - By Paul_Murtagh

2009 - Arguably the best season in Formula 1 for years. Since 1984 only four teams had won a Formula 1 title - Ferrari, McLaren, Williams or Benetton/Renault. But it was all to change this year, when two new forces emerged in Brawn and Red Bull. These teams breathed fresh air into F1, with new regular winners in Button, Vettel and Webber. F1's elder statesman Rubens Barrichello showed that he could still do it, while Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen showed that both McLaren and Ferrari were more than capable of challenging the new regime. Here I look back at my highlights of 2009

18 Years in the Making - By Paul_Murtagh

After weeks of speculation, Mercedes have announced on Monday that they are to buy a 75.1% controlling stake in Brawn GP, meaning that for the first time since 1955 there will be a full works Mercedes GP team in F1. It was an expected announcement in many ways, but still a shock to many. But this decision has been 18 years in the making, with the original decision scuppered by an unusual move.

 

Back in 1991, Mercedes were dominating the world of Sportscars along with Peter Sauber. They had won the Le Mans 24 hours, and were on the brink of winning the World Sportscar Championship with their young drivers Karl Wendlinger, Heinz Harald Frentzen and a certain Michael Schumacher. But the German marquee had bigger plans in mind, and was preparing themselves for a full works effort in Formula 1 from 1992 onwards. Part of this plan was to get their young drivers F1 experience before this full-on assault on F1, and Wendlinger was allowed to race for March at the end of 1991, and Schumacher was funded by Mercedes for a Jordan drive. Mercedes had even went as far as designing a race car for 1992, with the Sauber team in charge of running the operation. But things were about to unravel for the manufacturer because of an unexpected source.

Schumacher's Greatest Drive? 1998 Japanese GP - By Paul Murtagh

 
When it comes to listing Michael Schumacher's greatest drive, what one comes to your mind? Belgium 1992, where he took his first win? Spain 1994, where he drove half the race stuck in fifth gear? Europe 1995, where he made a do-or-die move on Jean Alesi to take the lead? Spain 1996, where he won in terrible conditions? Without a doubt these are all great drives, but there is one which many remember for the wrong reasons, and tend to forget about just good how good it is

The race I'm talking about is the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix - a race that showed all that's good about the German. Going into the race, Schumacher was 4 points behind championship rival Mika Haikkinen, having been soundly beaten at the previous race at the Nurburgring, their respective teams, Ferrari and McLaren, had a full 5 weeks to prepare for the race, and it looks like Ferrari had done the better job when, after a thrilling duel in qualifying, Schumacher took pole from Haikkinen in the final minutes of qualifying. In these days of a 4-point difference between first and second, it looked liked Schumi was all set for the win which would give him the title.

But as the drivers came round to form on the grid after their formation lap, disaster struck for Schumacher. As he slipped the car into first gear, the car lost engine power, moved forward a few inches and stalled. Schumacher held his hand up to signal that he had stalled, and the race start was aborted. The rumour was that a mechanic failed to get enough dry ice into the car to keep the engine cool, others said that it was a simple clutch problem. Whatever the cause, Schumi had to now start from the back of the grid, with his title rival Haikkinen now on 'pole' heading the field as they got away.

Brooklands, The First permanent Racing Circuit - By Paul Murtagh

History

The history of permanent motor racing circuits began in Weybridge, England in 1909 when Hugh Locke-King financed and created the Brooklands racing circuit. It was the second ever oval style track built for cars, after the Lakeside Auto Speedway near San Diego, but the first custom-built banked circuit built solely for the purposes of racing.

When the track was built, it was 2.75 miles long and 100 foot wide - a remarkable stat even by today's standards. The banking was also very steep, reaching as high as 9ft from ground level in some places. In addition to the steep banking, there was a finishing straight that bisected the circuit which increased the track length to 3.25 miles, and the circuit could hold upto 287,000 paying spectators - the second highest in motor racing history behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Unfortunately for the drivers it wasn't the greatest circuit in which to drive on. Due to the high cost of laying asphalt, added to the complications at the time of laying tarmac on a banked surface, the track surface was layed using a mixture of gravel and cement, and as the circuit settled over time, it began getting bumpier and more uncomfortable for the drivers.

The circuit also had a unique characteristic that set it apart from other banked circuits that followed. Due to the steepness of the banking, the circuit owners painted a dotted black line along the centre of the circuit and called it the 'Fifty Foot Line'. If a driver was to drive over the centre of this line, then he could theoretically drive around the banking without having to use the steering wheel.

Circuit Firsts

Due to being the first permanent racing circuit, Brooklands holds a number of firsts in the motor racing world. Eleven days after the circuit was officially opened, it hosted the world's first 24 hour race. With electric lighting not the standard at the time, the circuit was lit with 300 red railway lamps along the side of the track, and flares lit at the top of the banking to mark the edge of the track.

It was also the scene of the first car to travel 100 miles in less than an hour (averaging 60mph). It was achieved by Percy E. Lambert on the 15th of February 1913 in the Talbot, and he covered jsut over 103 miles in 60 minutes.

It was also the first host of the British Grand Prix in 1926 after the success of Henry Segrave at the French Grand Prix in 1923 and Spanish Grand Prix in 1924 raised the profile of motor racing in Britain. The first race was won by Louis Wagner and Robert Senechal in a Delage 155B.

The End

Unfortunately racing stopped at the circuit after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 due to fuel rationing. Six years later after the end of WWII, it was decided that racing cars had now become too fast for the famous old circuit, and competitve racing never returned to the circuit. Today the circuit still stands but is not fit for any type of racing, and serves as a base for many light aircraft demonstrations (using the finishing straight as a runway) and a motor sport museum. Today the Brooklands name does remain at the top of motorsport - a corner at the Silverstone Circuit is named after the first permanent circuit

Monza 2003, A Phil Hill Story - By Flood1

We arrived in Como Italy around midday on Thursday after a drive up from the Aosta Valley. We were headed to Monza. Our trip began with a couple of days in Nice and then an adventure through the mountains to Albertville and Grenoble. Next, we drove through the Mont Blanc tunnel into the Aosta Valley of Italy, a beautiful part of the world.

 

This trip started at sea level in Nice and wound its way through the Alps. Very impressive, but now we were ready for some racing. So we turn north at Milano and on to Como to catch up with a group of Americans touring with Grand Prix tours. We don’t travel with them, but we hook up with them for coach rides and social events associated with the race weekend.

 

We lodged at the Hotel Metropole Swisse, a lovely hotel located on the main piazza directly facing the Lake Como. We were expected to join our group on Friday morning for a look at free practice. As we had Thursday night free, we decided to dine at the hotel’s Restaurant Embarcadero.

 

I first noticed Phil Hill when a serveur near the door leaned toward another serveur and said something and nodded his head toward a short guy in his seventies wearing a blue shirt and khaki slacks. It was Phil Hill, and he was alone. I looked Dorri in the eye and nodded his direction. She took a look and said, “Who is that.”