Random Thoughts... (Motorsports Edition)

First time I've seen the old layout of Laguna.
 
Okay, dates finalized. Karting starts in May, and I'll do 3 races, one per month until July and then I'll send in my Skip Barber shootout papers. In August I'll do the Skip Barber 3-day in the F2000 (and a couple sessions in the MX-5 Cup) and then the 2-day in September. In October I may do the final double-header of the Jim Russell karting series. Then in late October/early November the western regional starts in the SB F2000. Then in December is the SB karting shootout, which I'll win and then move on to the F2000 National in 2011. Sometime in November or December will be the Jim Russell 4-hour event, which I'll try to do if it doesn't sit too close to any F2000 stuff (takes a day or two to recover from that one, as far as driving sharpness is concerned). I'm getting my fire gear at the end of this month, but I'm leaving out the HANS because you have to get the right shape for your seating position/size, and since I don't have an R/T 2000 to try at Infineon, guessing which version of a $1,000 item to get isn't really a wise choice. SB doesn't require a full HANS any way, but I will use one of those foam collars.

I'm looking at getting this suit and these gloves. Combined with nomex underwear that should give me about 40 seconds of on-fire time before I get second-degree burns. SFI ratings actually only apply to each individual layer. SFI 3.2A/5 means 10 seconds of burn per layer. So a 3-layer suit has 30 seconds of protection if the material is rated for SFI 3.2A/5. Underwear rated to SFI 3.3 should give me an extra 10 seconds. Manufacturers try to avoid getting SFI ratings above 3.2A/5 because a rating of 3.2A/10 (20 seconds per layer) or higher requires recertification every 5 years. Kinda twisted. The other interesting thing is that for any SFI 3.2A rating the suit must self-extinguish in less than 2 seconds. Wow.
 
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In BTCC news, James Nash will be driving the #888 Triple-8 car for the rest of the season. Giovanardi is looking for a drive in other championships at the moment.
 
Tanner Foust will take part in the European Rallycross championships:
Tanner Foust moving to ERC for 2010 with Eriksson's Olsbergs MSE Ford team
Tanner Foust has about the most solid "car guy" curriculum vitae there is. Drift king, stuntman, rally champ, X Games legend, TV star, momentary Top Gear USA host, two-time U.S. representative for the International Race of Champions and of most important/impressive, Autoblog Podcaster. Well friends, let's go ahead and add Rallycross participant to Tanner's already padded resume.

Foust will be competing in the 2010 European Rallycross Championship as the sole American representative. Tanner will be traveling to Europe for the first four races before returning to the United States and bringing the races with him.

Says Foust, "I've been watching European-style Rally Cross for years. I love the combination of dirt, pavement, jumps and door-to-door action ? it's like a real-life videogame. I'm really excited to be on the leading edge of this discipline as it grows in the U.S. It's been popular in Europe for years ? the fans here are going to love it." We're fully in agreement with Tanner on that last bit. When it comes to Rallycross, there's very little not to love.
Autoblog.com/Jonny Lieberman

For his first European-style Rally Cross event in May, in Portugal, Foust will pilot a 600-horsepower, all-wheel drive machine prepared by European Rally Cross Champion Andreas Eriksson's Olsbergs MSE Ford team. Foust got his first feel for the vehicle at X Games in 2009 when he drove one of the team cars to a bronze medal.

"These are nimble, high-powered cars with incredible handling," said Foust. "They're purpose-built for this incredibly challenging discipline and absolutely insane to drive."

Foust said he's pleased to be getting a head-start on the competition and is proud to be representing the US as the sole American in the European Rally Cross Championship this year.

"The European rounds are a great opportunity for me to get a handle on this sport before it comes to America," said Foust. "When the sport debuts in the US later this year, I'll be ready to go."
http://www.rallycross.hu/tannerfousterc2010.html?page=2&language_code=en
 
Tanner took part in the first round of the British championship in Lydden Hill as well.

I'm looking forward to see how rallycross is received in USA. I think it's a sport that could work rather well over there, fast paced, concentrated in small area and very crowd friendly...
 
Coulthard and Brundle said they'd be racing this weekend in Hockenheim. Any ideas where to get coverage? :cool:
 
Interesting sponsorship on the BTCC Vectra.

st_5491_e4d0.jpg
 
Coulthard and Brundle said they'd be racing this weekend in Hockenheim. Any ideas where to get coverage? :cool:

DC is in the DTM, that should be on something on digital TV. Martin is one of the "celebrities" in a VW Cup race for the first race with the Scirocco, alongside Derek Bell, Jacques Laffite, Carlos Sainz, Frank Biela and a host of others, but I'm not sure if anyone broadcasts this one.


EDIT: Martin is also racing alongside his son in the Lamborghini Trofeo support race at the DTM meeting.
 
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Martin needs to do more racing. His did a few palmer audi races back in '08, but he should do something more serious. I'd love to see him return to Le Mans..
 
Dumb question: do any of you guys know a site with all major motorsports categories schedules for the '10 season? I can find pretty easily, F1, LMS, etc, but if possible, one page with all or as many of them would be real nice! It's because I want to see what I can conciliate with vacations or weekends while I'm here in France...
 
Just watched the Scirocco cup race. Martin finished third, a nice podium finish for the great F1 legend : )
 
My first kart race is taking place today (Last time was just a training day), but unfortunately it's very likely to rain. Anyone experienced have tips for racing on a wet track?
 
Be extra careful. :p
 
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