Ford Returning to F1


Specracer

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I have read that the tickets for F1 Vegas are the most expensive for the year. Even more than Monaco. Ill probably go in a couple years after things shake out.... Not interested this time.
 

dbk

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I’m here with Red Bull Ford. I was a skeptic, and there were issues with schedule and price but I’m sold. Like beyond sold. This thing done properly next year is going to be beyond belief. There will be nothing like it in the world.
 

twobjshelbys

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Jul 26, 2010
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If there's one thing about Vegas, it sure knows how to put on a show.

Hopefully the major disruptions are done and next year's setup will go more smoothly. The paving was the biggest part and they say that it'll need to be redone for year 6. They're still speculating that the tear down will take 6 to 8 weeks which means it'll still be going on just as Superbowl is spinning up.
 
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KennethClay

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I’m here with Red Bull Ford. I was a skeptic, and there were issues with schedule and price but I’m sold. Like beyond sold. This thing done properly next year is going to be beyond belief. There will be nothing like it in the world.
I'd like to be added to "the list" for the Red Bull Ford hospitality, please--sounds like it's gonna be epic! .;)(y)
 
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2112

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I hope Vegas remembers to cover up all the utility access holes.

IMG_0014.webp
 
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twobjshelbys

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Multiple




I saw at about 12:00AM that FP1 had been stopped because a driver said his car told him to "stop the car NOW", so he did. Didn't give a reason. FP2 was running so they must have resolved it.

There was an interview with a guy from Ferrari (I assume he was wearing their jacket) and he was none too happy. Still they replace the entire frame before the next practice session, so WOW!
 
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PL510*Jeff

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I hope Vegas remembers to cover up all the utility access holes.

IMG_0014.webp
This type of issue has been around for a long time. The initial Long Beach race had similar problem. The cars have so much down force, they "picked up" the man hole cover, which weighs about 60 pounds. Fortunately Long Beach uses a cast iron ring and they ended up welding the cover to the opening ring. The issue in Las Vegas is that they use a much less expensive concrete opening ring. So welding the cover isn't an option. They do a lot of good things in LV but as it turns out manhole covers is not one of them.
 
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twobjshelbys

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This type of issue has been around for a long time. The initial Long Beach race had similar problem. The cars have so much down force, they "picked up" the man hole cover, which weighs about 60 pounds. Fortunately Long Beach uses a cast iron ring and they ended up welding the cover to the opening ring. The issue in Las Vegas is that they use a much less expensive concrete opening ring. So welding the cover isn't an option. They do a lot of good things in LV but as it turns out manhole covers is not one of them.
Yes, a later more informed article I just saw explained that downforce is accompanied by a high amount of "vacuum" and that literally sucked the cover out of its hole. Certainly the organizers should have known this and made it part of the paving specification for the track route. They were tearing up the streets so the could have replaced the rings.

They apparently shoved all spectators off the route before the delayed practice 2. One excuse (the press sometimes jump to conclusions, gee, who'd think that might happen) was that it was past the time and that the security people's shifts were over.
 
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extrap

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... and the damaged car gets penalized??!
 

twobjshelbys

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Jul 26, 2010
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... and the damaged car gets penalized??!
Yeah, that's wrong... They claim there's rules :(

Still they were able to replace the entire frame in two hours... They must practice that stuff.
 

twobjshelbys

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I'm watching the DVR from last night and they showed the in-car camera of the hit. There was a huge motion and the "engine off" on the display. Now the talking heads are speculating...

Edit: Now they've speculated it's a drain cover and a couple of them have said this has happened many times before. One of the talking heads is a driver and said he hit one. The officials stopped the session but the observers called it before the officials. Gee, you'd think the cover would be fairly close. Maybe it's like catching a home run baseball :)
 
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Apollo

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We're here with Aloha GT and were a bit disappointed they kicked us out of our area just before they resumed practice. Apparently, they needed to get people out early so streets could be converted back quickly without waiting for fans to exit. Lots of grumpy fans for sure. Still the event is beyond amazing and so over the top. Most of the drivers are giving positive reviews besides low grip after FP2.
Unfortunately, there are still big hurtles as they are now dealing with their other over-complicated regulations they have - basically saying they cannot hold FP3 and qualifying for X hours after FP2 - that would ruin tonight's schedule for being back on schedule. I hope they are smart enough to make an exception otherwise it's going to be a fan, PR, and logistic disaster.
 
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twobjshelbys

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I think the pic that is going around is a representative sample. Here is a screen grab of the cover from the beginning of the FP2 broadcast.

I'll insert them on an edit. Phone not cooperating with screen caps.

ESPN started the second session on time but I expect it will be cut as the actual session didn't restart until much later. As Apollo mentioned they had to have the city streets opened by 4AM.

Now they're talking about how they have to implement the fix and the engineering time it will take. If they get building permits the race will not continue until next year :)

f1 water cover 1.png


f1 water cover 2.png
 
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twobjshelbys

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Jul 26, 2010
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Las Vegas, NV
The Aston Martin car hit it too. Was he first or second?
 

twobjshelbys

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Before the crash the talking heads were talking alot about the down force adjustments and variations between cars. Not many people really understand how it works.

Down force starts from the wing, the function of which is to "push" the bottom of the car towards the road surface, but the actual "force" is to create an air pressure zone that allows the car to "float" on the surface. The result is a high pressure zone zone at the bottom of the car (the "down") but also creates a significant vacuum at the road surface. The whole system together creates what is called an "air bearing".

I grew up around air bearings in the Hard Drive industry. I actually watched one of the industry's premier HDD air bearing designers create one for a drive that I was working on. It's quite a bit of voodoo and black magic (aka intuition) coupled some mechanical design tools and simulators. The complexity comes from having to not only minimize flying height but also to be sure the "wing" surface is parallel to the platter. Race car air bearings are measured in inches. HDD air bearings are measured in nm.
 

twobjshelbys

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Interesting. The ESPN telecast of the FP2 time of course included no track time but did have a sort of panel discussion/interview.

The guy in the black shirt (Mercedes head guy?) said two things that impressed me:

1. The fact is that the new cars create so much "suction" that even if there is a standard for anchoring covers to the pavement, that with the amount of suction those standards may now be inadequate.

2. He really railed into one guy who questioned "this is a black face on F1". BS he said, it's Thursday and nothing matters until the flag falls Saturday and really belittled the questioner. The rest of the panel agreed. They never showed him but I bet his face was red.

Even the Ferrari guy said "what's done is done and we need to move on".

I still think if the teams are penalized it's wrong...

The problem with live events is that the programming guides don't cover it if it goes into overtime so what happened???? As I understand it the stands were empty.
 

dbk

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IMG_2387.jpeg

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Specracer

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^^^ There we go.... that's better.
 

Apollo

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Well, most would have to admit that that was one heck of a race and an unequivocal home-run for the sport and Vegas in general. Even street circuit critical drivers like Max had to admit it was better than expected. The thing I think they got right is run off areas and general design of the track to keep things rolling and exciting. Very high speed with great passing and overtakes during the race. There was several times yellows came out that could have spoiled the rhythm of the race but they designed the track so carefully that they cleared easily and there was little interruption to the action. That is remarkable feat for a new venue. Looking forward to seeing that Ford logo back on an F1 car again!
 
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Ed Sims

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DBK - some of those look like undercover/spy photos! LOL

Dr Frank - Vegas prices are more than COTA. They are reportedly the highest of all F1 races.

twobjshelbys - F1 has an agreement that up to 10 races may be held in Vegas but only 3 races are for sure.
 
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