Oh the irony.. I can't quite believe Honda's claimed competitive and reliable Indycar power unit has died on Fernando here too... of all the possibilities I didn't see this one coming.
Maybe the problem is Fernando and not Honda? :o
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Oh the irony.. I can't quite believe Honda's claimed competitive and reliable Indycar power unit has died on Fernando here too... of all the possibilities I didn't see this one coming.
Maybe the problem is Fernando and not Honda? :o
Taku!
Takuma Sato!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes!
I've been having a pretty awful weekend.
My Crank Case Ventilation Valve, Oil Separator failed on my BMW X5 - $1000 repair job
Chelsea lost the FA cup ( my fav team)
Hamilton failed in qualy and finished 7th in rthe race
alonso's bloody honda engine blows on him
...but Takuma Sato redeems it all for me after the epicness of 2012 this is awesome
a bit emotional :)
The F1 boys certainly gave a good showing today!
Congrats Takuma!
Very unlucky Fernando..
and don't forget Max Chilton finishing 4th and leading with 4 laps to goQuote:
Originally Posted by Zico
Gutted for Nando, at least Taku got it in the end.
Japanese driver, PR redemption for Honda..
Imagine how big a blow it would have been for them if a Chevrolet powered car had won after Alonso's engine failed.
Congrats to Taku, tough break for Fred!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starter
I absolutely agree on all points made.
The 500 is a mere shadow of what it once was, nevertheless it was good to see a F1 regular dismiss Monaco for a crack at this event, no matter what the motives were.
Unless I missed something during the last 15 or so years, I can't recall another F1 full-timer by-passing Monaco for Indy, since Andretti in the late 70's.
Glad to see it.
And hope he gives another crack at it
Chilton!
Alonso!
Sato!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was SO happy when he won the race. He used to be quite reckless but he settled down and held off a veteran for the win!
F1 alums everywhere! So nice to see.
Delighted for Sato. Amazing to think that his career could have ended up as a chef.
Gutted for Alonso. I really felt he deserved more than what he got but once again Honda couldn't make an engine last the distance. Sucks big time. What an impressive performance from the one true great of the current F1 crop. Provide once again that he is one of the greatest of all time and that is no surprise.
I couldnt watch the whole race but delighted for Takuma Sato. He is such a nice guy and has battled away in Indy car over recent years.
Gutted for Alonso but he put on a good show. Great effort by a class driver.
Unlucky for Max Chilton too. Just couldn't handle the pressure and pace right at the end.
Goes to show what the forum is now that there is more Indy 500 chat on the F1 forum than the Indy car one.....
There won't be real innovation in the IndyCar until more people watch it. Poor TV ratings mean poor sponsorship and that most teams outside of the top three must run on a shoestring budget. Most teams can barely afford to buy and service their spec chassis right now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starter
All eyes at the afternoon start to the dinner party shifted towards me when I screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !" when I saw the smoke from the edge of my seat on the couch .
Zo was done .
I turned it off .
One of my guests turned to me and said "You're turning it off ?" .
I'm glad he did .
It snapped me back into remembering that my boy Taku was still in with a real shot , so on went the TV again and they heard me screaming a resounding "YEEEEEEEEEES !" only twenty or so laps later .
So , thanks Doug .
That win couldn't happen to a nicer guy .
Now he's a legend .
Excellent performance by Alonso. Shame about the car, but at least he got a chance to show his talents.
I don't know what Alonso's plans are now, but I had a thought that if he won the Indy 500 this time, he would leave F1 quite swiftly in order to work on achieving the final part of the Triple Crown at Le Mans. Perhaps with some confidence of an equally-fast but more reliable car next year for Indy, he might continue with McLaren in F1, then if he wins the Indy 500 next year he'll be off pursuing the Triple Crown then instead.
Alonso should pull a Nigel Mansell by signing up full-time in IndyCar in 2018 (like Mansell did in 1993) and winning the championship.
I think Alonso proved just how quickly he was comfortable in that car, and I seriously doubt that anyone thought he didn't at least have a solid chance at a top five, if not a podium. Even though the last laps can get a little wild at Indy, he seemed to really figure things out quickly. And even though the Honda engine failed not unlike has happened many times in F1 recently, at least it held together long enough for him to run up front and in the lead, something unlikely to happen any time soon in the F1 car. It was a bummer to see that engine let go on him.
As for Sato, pleased but personally a bit shocked. He seemed less stable, and I didn't think he would pull it off. Well done!
Indy 500 is a fun race, but things that went in it underscore just how dangerous this form of racing is. Nothing has really changed since 2011. Drivers get injured on regular basis. First, Bourdais crashed in the qualifying requiring surgery from broken hip and fractured pelvis. He is confident he can return to racing for the season's end. Next, Dixon's crash looked horrendous. While Scott Dixon was able to walk away, I suspect we were lucky those two crashes weren't worse.
I was really impressed with Alonso. Not just how well he raced, but also the way he acted. I thought he would behave like a prima donna. I'm so happy he came here and made a huge fan out of me and probably some more. Hats off Fernando.
Hope he'll be back next year.
I'm not sure where Juancho stands on racing at Le Mans, but I'd love to see him in a good car at Le Mans before he hangs up his helmet. That would give him Monaco, the Indy 500, the CART championship, NASCAR wins and Rolex 24 wins, as well as Le Mans. That would be one hell of a career accomplishment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tazio
The two that I'm surprised that didn't win Monaco (to go along with their Indy victories) are Mario Andretti and Emmo Fittipaldi.
Sucks for Alonso. I didn't watch the race (only saw the last three laps), but when I saw a replay of Alonso's engine smoking, I can't say that I was surprised. He lost one in practice or qualifying too, didn't he? Does the IRL require engines to be picked at random? How can a guy have that much bad luck???
Even though they'll still be spec cars, I'm pretty impressed with the bodywork changes being proposed for the near future. From what I understand, the IRL is making a sincere effort to pick up styling cues from the CART era and Champ Car... including the roll hoop and losing the airbox, as well as losing the baby buggy bumpers. From the renderings, it looks like a very clean and attractive design.Quote:
Originally Posted by zako85
I followed his progress in the Indy 500 and I was cheering him on until ...Quote:
Originally Posted by zako85
But, having been a fan since his very first season in F1 in 2001, I want him to stick around longer. I'm convinced that he's better than both Hamilton and Vettel, and even if he's not, he still deserves more than the two championships he has.
I'm not sure what else you could expect when the lap speeds are consistently well over 200 mph for the whole lap. That's a lot of energy to dissipate when something goes wrong. Still, those crashes weren't bad at all compared to not all that long ago when a regular feature of the event was a death or two.Quote:
Originally Posted by zako85
The last driver to be killed in the Indy 500 was Swede Savage in 1973, 44 years ago. Since then, three more drivers (Smiley in 1982, Marcelo in 1992 and Brayton in 1996) have died during the month of May and one (Renna in 2003) during testing at another time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starter
So fortunately, the days when a death or two was a regular feature are indeed long ago.