Spaghetti Gangsta!

Who said Formula 1 drivers have no sense of humor: this is Tonio Liuzzi's helmet for Monza! FTW!

Actually there is more to it than that: the helmet , by Kaos-Design, glows in the dark and has heat sensitive paint!...don't believe it, check it out after the jump
(Kaos-Design via Omnicorse.it)


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Monza in Perspective

(photo: Marco Zamponi)

I though it might be useful to see what Monza looks like from a prospective we can understand, as you would see it driving a normal road car, albeit a very fast one.

Our host is one of our go to tracktards in the EU, Manu, a man with an impeccable selection of cars and the good taste to rip them hard on track. Today he chose to play with his Porsche 997 GT2 and in the couple of laps of this video is turning 2:00 minute laps which, for a street car not on slicks, is a quite a fast time.

More interesting than the lap times though is seeing how, from a "normal" prospective, the track is quite tight in places, the chicanes and especially the two Lesmo corners are much tighter than you would imagine from watching formula cars on TV. You can also clearly see the spot in the first Lesmo where trees overhang the track and there's all sorts of slime on the tarmac. Make note of the braking points and how the car rides the kerbs.



Now, after the jump, compare this "normal" car to the alien spaceship driven by Lewis Hamilton to pole last year. The time was 1:24 meaning the GT2 would be approaching the Seconda Variante, the second chicane just as Lewis is starting his lap. Note how well the F1 cars ride the kerbs, a key to proper setup for this track...



Of course the first Lesmo is a nasty corner, turn in a bit early and...



And of course even Lewis' time is slow compared to the 2004 pole record by Rubens Barrichello, 1:20.089!

Sanity prevails: $100K fine enough for Ferrari.

and progress was made towards eliminating hypocrisy in F1: repealing the team orders regulations (at least as presently worded) was proposed to the council. Let's see if they get this right.

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The Magic World of F1

(Alberto Crippa)

"The Magic World of F1" is the 9th edition of the photo competition and exhibit dedicated to the memory of F1 journalist Pepi Cereda. If you are lucky enough to be in Monza this week you can go have a look at the historic "Arengario" building in the center of town, not far from the Autodromo.


(Emily Davenport)

More fantastic pictures after the jump



(Thomas Lam)


(Mark Thompson)


(Steven Tee)


(Laurent Charmiaux)


(Frits van Eldik)


(Eric Vargiolu)


(Raymond Ho)


(Vladimir Rys)

The unbearable price of lightness

Amazing document linked by a reader in the Jochen Rindt post: A letter from the Austrian driver to Colin Chapman in 1969, sometime after his accident at Montjuic where the high rear wing collapsed on his Lotus 49.






Not that much has changed at Lotus to this day, typical British way: brilliant engineering, crap build quality.
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Porsche Club Race: New Jersey Motorsport Park

Another great performance by our CG at the Porsche Club of America races at New Jersey Motorsport Park last month. You got two races, two stories, same result...of course!

"Started from pole (out of 12) in class, but had my worst start ever. Almost everyone was earlier full throttle and went wide in T2 trying to make up for it.
Went back to P4 and had to reel back in the positions 1 by 1.

Took me 15 laps to get back the 400yds I lost on P Debusmann and G Crawford in their 993s. My car is faster for a few laps but then it becomes a handful in the fast corners without the help of rear Wing. Had to lift in the faster corners and it was a tight battle between the top 4 in class.

Was able to play the traffic to my advantage and make the pass for the lead just before a double yellow, and then fend off P. Debusmann for the last few laps before the checker.

Video includes front and rear view cam of the tight racing with the 4 top cars in class."



Race 2 after the jump

"Started the Sprint 2 P3 in class as I didnt get the fast laps in Sprint1 due to my poor start.
Managed to move to P1 in lap 1 before the double yellow and then got Baron Jacobs on the restart. Held him at bay for a few laps but I got slower as I started to have to lift more each lap on the fast corners where the rear wandered without the Wing (to prevent lift).
Tremper passed me for P1 and we had a good dog fight with one more pass each for position until I finally got him helped by traffic.
Ended winning race defending against Glen Crawford for the last few laps. Hard work!!



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