"Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans", by A.J. Baime is worth a read.
A.J. Baime deals with the epic battle between Ford and Ferrari with a sensitivity to context and a sympathy for the characters involved that elevate what some might consider just another car book to literature.
Several characters get star billing; Carrol Shelby, John Surtees, Ken Miles, and Enzo Ferrari. Sketches of Henry Ford II and several Ford managers are fairly well fleshed out. And there's a wonderful cameo appearance of our native son, the Kansas City Flash, Masten Gregory.
But the beauty of the book is A. J. Baime's capturing the zeitgeist of racing in that era (and it touches on almost all aspects of big league racing in the day).
Deep technical specs are avoided - but where technology provided an edge it's explained. (In particular Ford's use of data logging, one of the first cases of it's use in motorsports.) But the characters come to life and jump off the page.
One reviewer mentioned that there would be great heros and villians in the book. I didn't find any villians though. Rather, I saw fear, lives, huge egos, and money ground into dust in the high speed crucible of international motorsports.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The Second Waltz
This collection of commercial footage has a surreal aspect that marries perfectly with the Shostakovich waltz.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Another British LSR
In this case a wind powered vehicle - at an astounding 126 MPH.
It is the Ecotricity Greenbird. Here's the link to their website. But the amazing thing is that they can travel at three to five times the speed of the wind. Truly special engineering, and I'm sure, given Great Britain's history of sailing, another source of national pride. Good on them!
It is the Ecotricity Greenbird. Here's the link to their website. But the amazing thing is that they can travel at three to five times the speed of the wind. Truly special engineering, and I'm sure, given Great Britain's history of sailing, another source of national pride. Good on them!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Update to British LSR Steam Car
From Reuters, a nice overview of the UK steam car land speed record team. It's always nice to see the UK and USA flags together on a nice British Racing Green car.
F1 Follies: Part Deux
Eight F1 teams have broken ranks with the organizing body (the FIA) and have announced that they will run a competing series next year.
At which tracks? ; -)
That was the problem CART had when the IRL split from it. The IRL was more than a mere breakaway - it also took with it THE race, the Indy 500.
The new F1 (it will have to be called something else) will have an assortment of tracks (heck, maybe even one or two races in the US) and name drivers at their disposal. They won't have one key race probably - the Grand Prix of Monaco, and they won't have the legitimacy of a recognized sanctioning body.
Regardless, they will have the manufacturers support, the key technical people, and the 'name' drivers. The 'legitimate' F1 will have to make do with scratch entries and pick-up teams (those who currently have little or no chance of fielding a competitive entry).
So let's welcome the 'World of Outlaws' version of F1. (The cars probably won't look like this though. ; -)
At which tracks? ; -)
That was the problem CART had when the IRL split from it. The IRL was more than a mere breakaway - it also took with it THE race, the Indy 500.
The new F1 (it will have to be called something else) will have an assortment of tracks (heck, maybe even one or two races in the US) and name drivers at their disposal. They won't have one key race probably - the Grand Prix of Monaco, and they won't have the legitimacy of a recognized sanctioning body.
Regardless, they will have the manufacturers support, the key technical people, and the 'name' drivers. The 'legitimate' F1 will have to make do with scratch entries and pick-up teams (those who currently have little or no chance of fielding a competitive entry).
So let's welcome the 'World of Outlaws' version of F1. (The cars probably won't look like this though. ; -)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Formula 1 at the Brink
The FIA's Formula 1 (F1) is supposed to the premier motorsport series in the world. However the recent controversy over spending caps (of which the better teams are adamantly against) may unravel the bonds between the constructors and the organizers. The back and forth at the moment is in regards to 'conditional' entries for the 2010 season. It's a dance that mere mortals may find difficult to follow (substitute 'boring' for 'difficult'. ; -)
It's happened before, both in F1 in the 1980s and in American open wheel racing in the 1990s. The prior split in F1 didn't result in as damaging a fracture as the CART/IRL split in the US. But the issues at hand could very well be as bad for F1 as the previous US split.
Personally, I'd like to see F1 lose its 'parade-like' aspects. There is little racing/passing in F1 at the top of the field. The aerodynamics preclude that. From a fan's perspective, I'd like to see them lose more aero grip (restrict the chassis configurations) and place a weight penalty on engine displacement/cylinder-count. Hopefully you'll end up with some screaming 4 cylinder turbocharged cars dicing for the lead on a week-in, week-out basis.
It's happened before, both in F1 in the 1980s and in American open wheel racing in the 1990s. The prior split in F1 didn't result in as damaging a fracture as the CART/IRL split in the US. But the issues at hand could very well be as bad for F1 as the previous US split.
Personally, I'd like to see F1 lose its 'parade-like' aspects. There is little racing/passing in F1 at the top of the field. The aerodynamics preclude that. From a fan's perspective, I'd like to see them lose more aero grip (restrict the chassis configurations) and place a weight penalty on engine displacement/cylinder-count. Hopefully you'll end up with some screaming 4 cylinder turbocharged cars dicing for the lead on a week-in, week-out basis.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Peugeot Prevails
That was the preview from EuroSport for this year's race, but the results are in:
Audi is eclipsed at the 77th running of the Le Mans 24 hours. Peugeot's push to the first podium step took three years this go around, Peugeot's last overall win coming in 1993.
There's an old salt about racing that says while the American's enjoy the spectacular the Europeans revel in the epic. There is nothing else that compares with the French road race at Le Mans as an epic battle of man & machine against time and each other. But in the end at Le Mans you have to defeat time and entropy before you can beat your human opponents.
Nowhere else is the saying, "to finish first, you first have to finish", as apropos. Le Mans is grueling, unforgiving of the unprepared, and can test the will of the strongest. It is, quite possibly, the premier race in motorsports.
Run by the Automobile Club of the West (ACO), the race features four classifications of cars (two prototype and two sports car classes). It has been won overall by diesel prototypes for four years running.
Rules for next years race will open the door for hybrid systems, keeping the ACO in the forefront of technical innovation. Le Mans will continue to be important and relevant.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Penske Purchases Saturn
Saturn's future is secure. Roger Penske has purchased the brand.
In statements made to the press, Mr. Penske has outlined the product plan for Saturn. In the interim they will continue to utilize products manufactured by GM. Down the road they are open to branding and supporting products from other sources.
Penske has associations with Renault Samsung Motors, which makes a couple of cars that are inherently prior generation Nissan vehicles. That is one possibility. But I don't think that likely personally.
There's the possibility that the products will be sourced from Opel (if they get the sale of that group to Magna sorted out). Opel builds decent product and it would help them to have a market in the US. (Ask Fiat if it's good to be in the US market. ; -)
However, I'll go out on a limb and say that Saturn may go after a Chinese manufacturer (and there's still a lot of work to be done to make that a viable proposition).
The one thing for sure that will happen with Penske ownership of Saturn is that Saturn will be a good company offering good product and service. Nothing is done shabbily, it's the Penske way.
In statements made to the press, Mr. Penske has outlined the product plan for Saturn. In the interim they will continue to utilize products manufactured by GM. Down the road they are open to branding and supporting products from other sources.
Penske has associations with Renault Samsung Motors, which makes a couple of cars that are inherently prior generation Nissan vehicles. That is one possibility. But I don't think that likely personally.
There's the possibility that the products will be sourced from Opel (if they get the sale of that group to Magna sorted out). Opel builds decent product and it would help them to have a market in the US. (Ask Fiat if it's good to be in the US market. ; -)
However, I'll go out on a limb and say that Saturn may go after a Chinese manufacturer (and there's still a lot of work to be done to make that a viable proposition).
The one thing for sure that will happen with Penske ownership of Saturn is that Saturn will be a good company offering good product and service. Nothing is done shabbily, it's the Penske way.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Supreme's Fold!
Chrysler and Fiat - a marriage made in the biggest sausage factory in the world, Washington, DC. ; -)
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